Location: North Atlantic
First full day under sail!! And what an absolutely gorgeous day it has been. Throughout the night, the seas calmed, and our watch team (watch team 1, best watch team) was welcomed up to deck with a gentle, consistent roll. Although the 0330 wakeup was initially harsh, the sunrise watch certainly did not disappoint. Shooting stars, aligned planets, the glow of first light (the coffee also helped to raise some spirits). Max finally got to set his long-anticipated trolling line after some extensive planning in pursuit of any (marlin? Mahi? tuna?) fish. Impressively, nearing a large feeding frenzy, fins were already spotted chasing after his hook. His speculation was a shark. Im not so convinced
The beautiful conditions continued throughout the day as we munched on mac n cheese and sat through two lectures – the first nav master lesson with Amanda, covering basics of geographic coordinates, and an overview of scientific reading and writing with myself. Back on deck, our watch team rounded out the afternoon, playing balancing games (have you ever tried standing stable with both feet together on a rocking boat??) and jamming hard. Daniel and sous chefs whipped up a delicious dinner of chicken 6-5 (and the equivalent tofu version for us veg-heads); a wonderful pairing with the spectacular rays and soft colors of sunset.
The evening ended with the squeeze question, describe the person to your right as a part Vela. Notable answers included Laura as the flying jib (propelling us forward, were all happy to see her), Gigi as the bilge pumps (keeps us afloat, has spewed a significant amount of liquid over the side), and Dylan as the galley (chaotic energy). Heres to another luscious day of sailing tomorrow, with steadier stomachs 😊
P.S. Original title, no? Shout out to the Belak fam for one of my favorite concert experiences (another watch question today), Styx. What a time!
Photos!
1. We hoonin!
2. The beginning of the trolling pursuit
3. Max, Zoe, and I hanging on at the bowsprit, wrassling the flying jib down.