Location: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Being surrounded by fishing boats and a busy dock with a lot of foot traffic has given us a new kind of awakening today. Yesterday, I spent some time while the students were in class, getting to know some of the local fishers and the fish processing factory workers. Although 7 am feels like an early wake-up for the crew on Argo, the fishing industry never stops working, with fishers coming and going throughout the night, offloading their catch and refueling. Following our lectures on the state of the world’s fisheries, it has been good for the students to get a better understanding of all the intricacies of the fishing industry.
Once we were all gathered on deck, we scrammed in some breakfast burritos (ty very much big Allie) while watching a very large cruise ship pull into the dock over the way. After taking their final seamanship exam, we headed over to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) to look around their station. Inspired by the RNLI model based in the UK, the NRSI was established ~60 years ago and relies solely on donations. The practical rescue teams are made up only of volunteers, and they are on-call 24/7 to conduct rescues around the South African Coast. Their new vessels are phenomenal, and the level of training they deliver to their crew has proved very inspiring to us all. Ava and Hannah stayed back on Argo with Kackie, Allie, and Gabe to revise for their navigation master exam this evening and cook lunch for the team. After a coffee and cold drink break at the yacht club next door, we headed back to the boat for lunch.
This is the only Sea|mester trip that takes on one of the world’s three capes, which has had Tomer, Callum, Gabe, Allie, Kackie, and Will extensively discussing plans for getting us all to Cape Town. The nature of the trip meant that a sole student-directed lead passage was not feasible. So today, Allie and Kackie had the crew divided into two teams to come up with an in-depth plan for getting to Cape Town. The teams had to deal with issues on board, such as broken sails, faulty generators, strong winds, and storms, to name a few. After 3 hours of planning, each group presented their plan to Tomer and Callum. Both groups had robust plans, and the tricky, probing questions posed to them always had an answer of some sort, demonstrating just how far each and every one of the crew has come since first stepping foot on Argo.
A loverly tikka masala dinner (a British classic) made by Allie and Kackie was followed by a squeeze in the dying wind. After everyone shared something that had gone well in their lives, we ended up squeezing by hugging the person to the left and right. Being on board with the same people for 84 days and not really leaving their company has meant there have been no ‘hellos’ or ‘goodbyes.’ One of my favorite habits of being with friends and family at home is a welcoming and farewell hug, a simple gesture to show someone you care, to comfort them, and generally allow you to deepen your friendship. Sometimes, the simplest things in life do not require words and can make all the difference.
As the sun sets, we wish Bodhi, Ava, and Hannah luck in their evening navigation master exam. We are scheduled to leave Port Elizabeth this evening at 00:00, led by watch team 1.
Farewell for the final time from me.
All the best,
Ben