English Students Will Hit the Deck

John F. Kennedy High School freshman English students will leave their “Treasure Island” books at home today, gulp down a class-size dose of seasickness pills and head out for a day as honorary swashbucklers.

About 25 students are participating in the hands-on English lesson, which includes hoisting sails, swabbing the decks and keeping watch for land aboard the Californian, a replica of an 1848 revenue cutter.

In preparation for the trip, students have read most of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic about a boy’s experiences with pirates and watched the film version of Rudyard Kipling’s “Captains Courageous,” said teacher Hal Morris, who arranged the field trip.

“The book and film involve a ship which is basically the same kind of ship as the Californian,” said Morris, who rented a pirate costume for the trip. “Hopefully, this will help them relate to what kinds of chores the boy was doing in the book and what kind of appreciation he might have for the sea.”

Besides the pirate enthusiasts, a Kennedy biology class will be on board trying to catch a glimpse of some migrating whales, Morris said.