Arrival Day
Location: Tortola - BVI
Today the chaos started, organized chaos, should I say. After a long interim of maintenance and getting the boat ready, it was looking beautiful, for when the first shipmate arrived around 9 am, Argo's pearly white hull acted as a beacon, guiding all remaining shipmates over the course of the day.
The shipmates arrived and were greeted by one of the seven crew; introductions were made, names were exchanged, forgotten, and later on remembered once again. It takes a while to learn 20+ names in the course of a few hours. After getting settled in and being shown to their bunks, they unpacked to make the bunks feel as homely as possible before being let loose to relax and chill around the marina, stock up on snacks for the long crossing ahead, and get the last bit of precious internet and Facebook posts.
We later met up for a filling dinner of pasta and tomato sauce beautifully cooked by Steve, Chapman, Cooper, and the odd guest appearance of Keenan. After dinner, the new shipmates were introduced to the post-dinner tradition of the Squeeze, wherein we all sit around and answer a question asked by the skipper of the day. Today's question was a simple, quick introduction and where you're from, which worked well as it was another chance to learn some of the names.
After dinner, the shipmates were given a quick introduction of the jobs ahead in the following weeks, from cleaning dishes after dinner to how to appropriately dispose of, well, let's just say, their personal waste. Post dinner, the shipmates were given a practical showing of how to use the heads by first mate Ian, after which they were given some time to enjoy the area before going to rest their weary heads before fully starting the adventure that is Seamester tomorrow.