Location: The Atlantic Ocean
We continue our passage smoothly, following a northerly route to take advantage of a rare opportunity to sail upwind on Vela. Were sailing close haul about 60 degrees off the north-easterly wind, averaging 6-7 knots an hour.
The crew has all settled into a good routine now, and the initial seasickness is mostly gone. We have almost completed one full rotation of the watch schedule, which means everyone has experienced ocean sailing at all hours of the day and night and can independently and competently complete the hourly boat checks. Watch Team 2 had a beautiful night sail from 20:00 to 00:00 last night with shooting stars and a slow moon rise. The moon is waning, so were all looking forward to a completely dark sky and looking for more constellations and shooting stars. Watch Team 3 take over for the graveyard shift, just in time to see aliens in the skyapparently.
Team 2 was back at 08:00 to take over from Team 1 (aka Squall Team 6, aka The Village People), who were decked out in full foulies, as per usual, and briefed us on all the adverse weather theyd dealt with. We werent worried; somehow, squalls had avoided Team 2 completely, and the squall we were briefed to keep an eye on disappeared into nothing once theyd headed to their bunks.
After raising the flying jib, the morning watch passed swiftly with a few rounds of Pancake or Waffle, mouldy fruit juggling and Anda spilling whipped cream all over the cockpit. Head chef Ara served up a delicious potato curry for lunch, and after clean-up, the crew headed into afternoon classes.
Tom and Dan took the helm while everyone joined Shelby in the salon for oceanography. They used trail mix to recreate ocean sediment, and afterward, for navmaster class, Mac pulled out Velas charts to teach plotting and converting from the compass to true. A tropicbird joined our voyage for a while, as did a brown booby that we watched dive for fish around the boat before it perched on our main mast for a short break.
As the sun set, some spectacular cloud formations aflame, the PCST students listened to a lecture from Tom on deck before everyone gathered for loaded baked potatoes and cornbread for dinner. Some of the less-cooked potatoes were put to use in a potato launching competition.
The sails are filled out, the sky is streaked with pinks, oranges, and yellows, and the diligent hammering of the trash master compacting our tin cans can be heard above. Nautical twilight is almost upon us, and another rotation of our watch teams will be alert for the magic of the mid-ocean night sky, aliens, and incoming squalls to keep those being rocked to sleep (or tossed from their bunks) safe for another night.
Love from the crew to all those who are sailing vicariously with us via this blog!