Location: Underway to the Azores
Hello hello.
This morning I awoke at a bright and early 4 am to Celia’s pitiful and evil giggles as she informed our watch team members that we should dawn our foulies, our massive rubber boots, hats, gloves, and whatever we saw fit to tackle near gale force winds and 3-4 meter swell in the pitch black. Upon our arrival on deck, we were briefed on stern crashing waves, flying fish assaults, and the newly developed strategy for our deck walks: crawling and or butt-scooching our way across the deck.
After four long but, as usual, hilarious hours, members of watch team 2 (Maya, Drew, Leo, Santana, Phoebe, Claire, and myself) had to chance to go back to bed. Let’s just say going to bed was the easy part; staying in bed, however.. and I mean that literally, as in, not flying across bunks and waking up on the floor, was a bit trickier.
Albeit some difficulty sleeping, crew members still had to wake up a few hours later, as they were summoned on deck to tack (or turn) Argo back on course after a night of tricky winds. After a few attempts, we successfully completed the tack and returned below deck soaking but satisfied. Props to Lily, Will, Rob, Claire, and Amanda for taking spots at the especially wet station up on the bow.
Tragedies of the day include finishing our last box of peanuts. That’s it, really. Eyes of students looked longingly over to the desolate snack shelf during the afternoon as Alex fondly observed the uncooked pasta, and Santana noted the potential satisfaction of eating uncooked rice… maybe we are going a bit crazier than we thought. In Robert’s wise words: “All we have left are raisins. I’m officially down bad.” To which Gabe replied, “At least now that the snacks are gone, you can’t eat them during my class.”
No, but in all seriousness, this little stint in the storm has been full of learning moments but also such a game-changer for our crew. While uncomfortable at times, many students have discovered the power of levitation and are clocking in more air time at the end of the day than time with their feet on solid ground. Others have discovered the true definition of spills: whether it’s them taking spills themselves or literally spilling things… like oil all over the galley floor. Thanks, Charles and Sammy.
But, within these moments of chaos, I think most of us can agree that no better laughter or inside jokes have been created. Whether it was watch team 2 renaming everyone (our personal favorite was Quagmire Quinngiss Pinggiss the Third, aka Maya), sing-alongs in the cockpit, or aggressive Italian accents during dinner in the saloon, one thing we can all say for sure is that we are learning so much and are also having a TON of fun.
Finally, I’d like to give a shout to the person back home who gave me the book Daisy Jones and the Six. With no cellular service at sea, Argo’s crew has been doing a ton of reading. All of the books are passed around like little treasures, hoping to be scooped up by the next unoccupied student or staff member. This book, in particular, has been one of the crowd-pleasers. Even impromptu mid-Atlantic book clubs make for memorable moments when crossing an ocean. And these little moments, the ones that make the storms pass faster, or the swells feel smaller, are just as important as the bigger moments we will remember to share with you all when we get home.
As I type this, standing unsteadily in a soggy bathmat, Argo is carrying us just a little bit closer to land. Several birthdays in the next few days to look forward to, along with more little moments and much more fun.
And to my fam and friends at home, I love you all and can’t wait to tell you all super long-winded stories when I get home. And I bet most of my crew-mates feel the same.
We can’t wait. We hope you’re all on the edge of your seats because we can barely stay in ours.