Location: Underway to Azores
Howzit! I am writing this blog just after our log reading hit 1000 nautical miles for our voyage on Vela thus far. Emma caught the reading change and ran up deck to tell us – we all cheered! We just finished watching another beautiful sunset with a delicious dinner cooked by Joey, Jonahthan, and Emma. We ate chicken nuggets, roasted brussel sprouts, green beans, veggie burgers, and for dessert, CINNAMON ROLLS – thank you, Zoe!!!!! The rolls were homemade, with sweet cream cheese frosting and gooey cinnamon goodness. Now we have some more snacks for watches and something new to eat with our tea and coffee – although the biscuits and cookies have been great, too.
We started the morning Watch Team 1/The Village on the 4-8 am, seeing Starlink cross us overhead, followed by a stunning sunrise. While we have been enjoying dreamy sailing conditions of consistent winds of 11-16 knots over this last week, today, there was a drop in the wind. On the positive side, that meant we could raise the Fisherman’s sail and could see Vela in all her majesty with all six sails raised. These are called the main sail, main stay sl’, forward stay sl,’ jib, flying jib, and the fish. Having those six sails up enabled us to keep cruising around 6 knots with the backdrop of a new morning and the peace of the sounds of sailing. We’ve had a lot of adventure on watch with The Village: fun squalls, countless shooting stars, cheeky banter, giggles, and games, and the rest of the day consisted of lunch, a navigation master class taught by Mac, oceanography taught by Shelby, boat work, and watches. The days are really starting to flow together as it does during a passage.
The beginning of the passage was a lot of excitement, settling into life underway and managing logistics, but now the days seem to flow by like the wind in our sails, the rhythm of the sea, or as Mac likes to call a “time warp”. Our team of 20 on this boat is an amazing group of people, and despite being somewhat sleep-deprived and working hard, everyone is still smiling, laughing, and performing small acts of kindness to one another every day. Like my amazing roommate who brought me tea right after I woke up from a nap, knowing it’s my favorite thing in the world to have tea delivered after waking up! And it seems like everyone has cured their seasickness, and I am so proud of them for powering through! Sailing is a unique feeling. On one side are the master of our universe and at the same time a spec of nothing on a vast open ocean. It’s always humbling to realize how vulnerable we tiny humans are while adventuring in wild spaces. But also very grateful to learn sailing while being in the safest hands of our incredibly experienced and knowledgeable captain and chief mate, Tom and Mac. Huge appreciation to you guys everyday, and also to our entire group onboard who have made this so great. Tomorrow, we do it all again! I’ve already rambled on way too much so I’m going to have to keep my personal shoutouts short and sweet… big love to my family and friends in the US, South Africa, and Mozambique. Love and miss you all lots. BBNNLYPD! Yebo!