Location: underway to Lisbon
Today was a very inspirational glimpse into the life of a seafaring adventurer. We started the day off with some early morning sunshine and the beautiful sight of the tall ship Esmeralda raising her 10+ sails in the distance. Emma even saw dolphins and a shark! However, it had been a rough night getting back into the rhythm of night watch; many slept till lunchtime. Despite the waves that rocked the boat, it was a gorgeously sunny day that completely overshadowed the gloomy day before. Today for our lunch we were served a delicious meal of pasta salad, cooked by head chef Hannah and sous chefs Forbes and Ridge.
Today was a day of housekeeping and sailing towards our goal of crossing the Atlantic! We continued the day after dinner by cleaning the bilges and stowing away unused ropes, along with our normal cleanup. We then followed up the afternoon cleanup with a continuation of our seamanship class. We learned about the differences between magnetic north and true north and how to account for them when charting a route, a skill that is bound to be useful out here in the blue expanse. After class, we congregated up on deck for a delicious dinner of Joey bean soup and bread rolls, once again cooked by our wonderful chefs for the day.
Right now, our course is set to pass the semi-coastal waters of Nova Scotia in order to reach the waters of the even bluer North Atlantic expanse. Speaking of expanse, at the time of writing this blog, our tall ship friends that we have seen for the entire beginning of our transatlantic voyage have left our visible sight. Now, the only things that we have to travel with us on our voyage are the sun, the clouds, the waves, and of course our beautiful ship, Vela (and maybe even a bird or two :). Let us hope this beautiful weather continues. Cheers.
Signing off,
-Bryce J.