Location: Underway to Mauritius
Today I awoke at 0700 and followed my usual passage routine. I popped my head up on deck to make sure the sun was indeed rising and to check in on the 48 watch to ensure they were all still awake! I then gravitated toward the ships computer to prepare Velas daily position report. I glanced over the logbook to make sure everything was filled out properly, then copied the 0700 coordinates into the position report along with a few other observations.
Checking todays logbook wasnt nearly as fun as it was last week when we were putting up 200+ miles a day, all under sail, no less! I clicked send, and the email was suddenly sucked into the satellite abyss before landing back in Sarasota, Florida, to update the office on our movements.
After the morning email, I checked the day tank: 30%time to do a fuel transfer. As I popped out of the engine room, I saw Sam climbing down into the chart house. We didnt even have to say a word to know it was time to double-team some coffees.
You see, with this confused sea state caused by a moderate southbound current running into the swell pushed up by the southeast trades, combined with the massive rollers from the Southern Ocean, the conditions were fairly wonky. Therefore, it was nearly impossible to make coffee single-handedly. It would be too much chaos and not enough finished coffee.
The coffees were done just as the fuel transfer finished, what great timing! I could then roll up on deck, coffee in hand, ready for the long-awaited mid-semester check-ins. Its always interesting hearing from all the crews perspectives. This is a great group, too! Everyone has a positive attitude, understands the challenges of the program, and is pushing through while enjoying the process.
These check-ins took me right up to lunch, where we enjoyed Jewels chicken and rice bowls, delicious! After lunch, I played a few games of chess with Perry before heading back on deck for the daily staff vocabulary study. Weve had a good streak of vocabulary study this passage. One of our favorite new words is equanimous, it means calm and in control of ones emotions.
After staff vocab, it was back to the computer to finalize the schedule for Mauritius. We arrive tomorrow, after all! Dinner was another delicious meal prepared by Head Chef Jewel: baked potato bowls, yummy.
Dinner was followed by a moment of reflection on how far weve come this passage. It reminded us how unique this experience truly is, never mind the epic sailing and big waves, but also the simple reality of being away from cell service, having to show up, and finding something to talk about on watch just to stay awake. There are so many situations that passage exposes us to that we may never encounter in the outside worldever.
With our final appreciation for passage not left unsaid, we hunkered down for one more night of watch before greeting new land in the morning!
Signing off,
Capt. Mac
P.S. To my family, I love and miss you.