Life on the Wavertree

May 2, Kindergarten got a taste of life on the high seas aboard the cargo ship, Wavertree, docked at South Street Seaport. Built in 1885, the Wavertree delivered goods around the globe with a crew of  20 sailors who put out to sea for months at a time. The children were treated to a glossary of nautical terms while going on a scavenger hunt from bow to stern looking for belaying pins, chocks, cordage, gunwales, halyards, and scuppers. They took turns at the ship's wheel, inspected the rudder, tested their strength turning the capstan, and even hauled in the foresail. A look at the crew's quarters and below decks where the cargo was stored completed the tour. By the end, a few hearty souls may have been tempted to set sail, but a graphic description of spoiled hardtack probably dissuaded many more!