Location: Havana, Cuba
After tired faces finally woke up, Isaac, Drew, and Captain Ben greeted us with the first of our pancake meals. They were delicious! After breakfast, we had a Seamanship class with our second mate, Eric. We are now beginning to learn the ins and outs of navigation, how to plot on a chart, and how to read a compass rose. Hopefully, we will be able to start plotting our own passages soon! After our MTE class concluded, we were given free time until mid-afternoon! Some chose to jump in typical 1950’s cabs into central Havana, while others stayed in the marina to complete homework and catch some WiFi from the nearby hotel! Everyone had a relaxed and fun morning. After lunch, a scientist conducting research came on board to give us a talk about her research. We learned about coral reef conservation in Cuba, about sea turtles, and much more about her incredible work as a scientist. After listening to her speak, we hit the ground running with passage prep for our voyage to Nassau. Cleaning bunks, taking off sail covers, putting out lifelines, and much more hard work took up much of the afternoon! Once shipmates finished their introductions due for our Oceanography Research projects, we all enjoyed some yummy pulled pork for dinner and told stories from our free time throughout the day! SLD class followed dinner, testing our leadership skills. Most went to bed early, as we had a long couple of days to look forward to – ahead of us in the Bahamas.