Location: Underway to St Helena
The day started early for watch team 2 with the 12 am-4 am watch (one some may call the best watch). The four hours passed quickly with many spooky stories being told and Benno on aux helping pass the time. After a few hours of sleep, I woke up while watching the team one morning watch. I made my cup of tea and went to hang on deck only to hear someone shout “whale.” Though we saw many whales last night during clean up, these morning whales did not disappoint. A large bride whale swam alongside Vela for a good while, almost like it was following us to St. Helena. Later in the day, we were again visited by a new species of whale, pilot whales. They hung out with us for a bit, then departed shortly before lunch was served.
After lunch, the crew went down below for Seamanship and started to learn how to plot positions on a chart, something they will soon be implementing into boat checks. Seamanship was followed by oceanography class, where they learned about marine provinces, sea mounts, and hot spots. The rest of the day was spent with many recovering from their small bought of sea sickness and starting to adapt to life at sea. When not on watch, many spent time down below working on their ID log books for marine biology or taking naps in preparation for that evening’s night watch. Most watches now consist of funny stories, learning about each other, and learning how to helm a (tricky one at the moment as we are sailing deep downwind).