Location: The Pacific Osh
After a fairly uneventful night of watch, the Vela crew was ready to seize the heck out of our third day underway to paradise on Earth, the Galapagos. The wind dwindled, and the sun beat down from the early hours of the morning. Nothing a little sunscreen and a good attitude can’t fix! The crew was treated to a lovely bean salad lunch courtesy of our head chef and captain, Tom Bizzle. After a swift cleanup, the crew watched another eight Oceanography presentations, with topics ranging from oil spills to sea turtles. A truly interesting class. After gaining such copious amounts of knowledge in one sitting, one might think we couldn’t possibly learn more. However, we went directly into crew class, which meant another two crew presentations. An exciting predicament indeed.
The first was a presentation on how to anchor from Saskia, Daphne, and Ula. We learned many valuable things about the anchoring process, such as where to place the anchor and boating etiquette when in an anchorage. The second presentation was a public service announcement regarding wearable safety contraptions in the fashion of a safety announcement on an airplane. A fitting format for this flightless bird called Vela. We learned how to properly wear our type 1 life vest, type 5 personal flotation devices, and Gumby suits with flawless demonstrations from Skyler, Gabby, and Ben. After class came to a close, we were treated to a little surprise, courtesy of both Tom and the calm seas surrounding us. We quickly ran to our rooms and grabbed our towels and shower supplies because we were being treated to a shower on deck.
After exceeding amounts of fun in the sun, the many, and might I add clean, students of Vela took naps, worked on classwork, or hung out in the cockpit, keeping a vigilant watch for any dangers plotting on Vela’s demise. Chef Tom Bizzle commandeered the kitchen alone. What a hoss. He even finished 20 minutes early, an event that is practically unheard of among this somewhat efficient crew. Impressive. We have a couple of students coming down with light colds but do not fear, for the morale is almost as high as our vitamin c intake. For dinner, we were treated to sausages and assorted vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots, broccoli, etc…)
Ben, Cosmo, Kirby, Matt, and I attempted to best the newly discovered Carolina reaper hot sauce. I’m inclined to say the sauce won. All in all, it was a lovely meal shared with our many sailing peers, or more accurately, friends. Who could ask for more than that? My squeeze question for the night was as follows: “If you could have dinner with one celebrity, who would it be?” The answers included Rick Rubin, Adele, Ana De Armas, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos (just to bully him), to name a few. For all you wondering, the propeller is very strong and in good health. I will give him my regards for you. And now, another beautiful day aboard Vela comes to a close. Have the sweetest of dreams. Goodnight.
Song of the Day: Disco Yes by Tom M