Location: Underway to Kadavu
Today started with the standard 7 a.m. wake-up followed by the most amazing carrot bread crafted by the one and only Anna. Post breakfast we jumped right into finishing passage prep on Argo. This involved putting dinghies on deck, ratcheting everything down, and running lines all around the boat. Lexi and I had the epic and only slightly nerve-racking task of climbing up the main sail to connect her halyard. Once passage prep was finished, we found out our watch teams (watch team 1 for life) and dived into detail about what we would be doing in case of any emergencies. Then, we finally got to pull up the anchor and started on our first mini-passage. This passage is going to be about 24 hours in order to help prepare us for the 3-week passage to Palau.
As we got underway, we were greeted by another smashing meal of turkey burgers. At this point, the sun was absolutely scorching, and the main topic of conversation was how we were all turning into puddles as we sat and ate. Just after lunch, we got to do our first man overboard drill. As part of watch team 1, I was involved in ensuring our the lines rescue swimmer (Anna) and the man overboard (a lovely buoy named Cedrick) were pulled in nicely and smoothly. I am happy to report everyone successfully completed their roles, and Cedrick is safely back on Argo. Just as we started the MOB drill, a light mist came over Argo. This was graciously accepted as the sun was extra spicy today. Through the mist and rain, we got to work putting up 2 of Argos 6 sails. Even though there is not much wind right now, the sails are helping with stabilization and giving us some much-needed practice on line handling.
Post sail time, we students packed our way into the stuffy saloon for a wonderful seamanship lesson from Gabe. We learned quite a bit about how to adjust the sails based on how the wind is hitting the boat and the terminology to go along with it. After class, we had a bit of time to ourselves. Those on watch team 2 headed back on deck to safely sail Argo while the rest of us dispersed to nap, work on our fish ID logs, and just chill out after a busy day. Tonight’s dinner marked the first time we clipped in (which will quickly become a common occurrence). This led to a bit of finagling as everyone learned how to stay clipped in a while, balancing their dinner bowl and not getting off balance from the waves. Clean-up came and went as people were now heading up to watch or off to bed to try and catch some sleep before our first night watched in watch teams.