Location: Off the Coast of the BVI
We started the day with a nutritious breakfast of protein bars cooked by Chef Meg to prepare us to sail across the ocean. Finally, we were ready to set sail and leave the BVIs. As we were leaving, we practiced all of our emergency drills. Our life ring, Bob, fell overboard, and we had to scramble to rescue him. Dylan and I pointed at the MOB, and once we were positioned well, Greyson eased Meg, our rescue swimmer, down the side of Argo. After safely bringing Bob back aboard, we all helped to put the sails up. We put up all three boom sails at the same time. Watch team one put up the main sail, watch team two the main staysail, and watch team 3 the forward staysail. Watch team two also put up the jib, and watch team 3 rig the running backstays. Some of us were feeling seasick as we hadn’t gotten our sea legs quite yet. For lunch, we ate a pink sauce pasta with salad. Then, we learned how to do boat laundry, which is very different than land laundry. The sea has been pretty calm, but there has been the occasional sea spray that made it on deck; the people on bow watch got some exciting splashes. Dinner was chili and cornbread with an extra treat of chocolate chip banana bread. We have all been up most of the day helping with sail handling, but we are excited for our first night watch tonight.