Location: East London, South Africa
No, no, no, no! The day has finally comemy last ever skipper day. The time has gone by so fast, but when I think back to the day I walked down the atrociously long dock in Bali, carrying my 50-pound duffle bag with my taxi driver by my side, I realize how much I’ve grown over these past 80 days. There are the obvious things from this trip that I will walk away with a scuba certification, nav master certification, and sailing knowledge. Yet, with each one of those little labels, there are hundreds of memories linked to them. The PADI certification is made from memories of doing the confined water dive in zero visibility and only being able to see Ben’s fist giving us a fist bump through the mud. Ava and I are creating our own dive sign language. Our first deep water dive was on Christmas Island, and I was absolutely blown away by the underwater world around me while pretending to be a mermaid and seeing so many vibrant fish and coral. Oh, and how could I forget the PADI video of the guy blowing bubbles that became an inside joke that still makes us laugh to this day?
The nav master certification (still a work in progress for me) is composed of memories of lying on the salon floor. We are so exhausted from our crazy sleep schedules and trying, oh, so hard to pay attention to Kackie. Wanting to quit during almost every practice problem, but then I felt so gratified when I finally got it. A reminder that, like Gabe says, “we can do hard things.” The IYT photo that Kackie photoshopped Ava and I’s faces into. And, of course, walking away from here, knowing how to sail. There are no quick sentences that can describe how amazing that experience has been. From singing songs while sweating lines, the test of friendship that comes with flaking the main, to the 3 days where the wind died, the prop was long gone, and we jibed and tacked countless of timesthere are so many memories and things to learn from every time we sail handle. This entire experience is composed of so many memories that are now a part of me, and I will cherish them forevergetting the entire street of Laumban Bajo singing Iris in the rainfree diving with dolphins.
Living with Clayson. Swimming to the beach in cocos with an SMB filled with water (thinking it was supposed to be that way), then getting Jimmy to dinghy us back to Argo, seeing thousands of stars at night while on watch. Amanda’s Halloween prank. The sunrise hike in Komodo. Losing both the prop and steering are big events that could never be forgotten. But what I might miss the most about Argo is all the little *mundane* things of our day-to-day lives. I’m going to deeply miss dancing to the Dead Sea on the charthouse or singing Champagne Problems for the hundredth time on watch. I’m going to miss waking up Ava and Ali in weird ways and seeing their shocked faces.
The excitement we all get from having a cold drink and going to the grocery store. Or noticing right away when a “new shirt just dropped.” Eating an ungodly amount of biscoff butter and Nutella. Sitting on the fender during sunset. Panfrying everything from pizza to Cinnabons to cookies. Waking up every morning surrounded by nothing but the ocean. And most of all, how comfortable we all are here. There’s not a lot of space to hide on a 112 ft boat. What you see is what you get. I love seeing everyone in the salon in PJs, watching TV before bed, and dancing in the galley. The days when we’re seasick or extra tired. The bad days and the days when it feels like we’re on top of the world. We’ve seen each other at our worst and best moments, and we’ve gone through it all together. There’s never been a moment where I have felt alone here, and I have a level of comfort that I’ve only ever had with my family.
Argo has definitely become a home to me. I’m going to miss it all so so so much!!!! The only solution I can think of is getting Argo tattooed across my chest in Cape Town! (Jk). In all seriousness, this has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Thank you doesn’t even begin to cut it, but thank you to my parents and all the other parents or “stakeholders” who made this experience possible for us. I am so happy and forever grateful that I ended up in the middle of the ocean with these 18 other strangers turned family.
Anyways, for those of you who just wanted to know what we’ve been up to recently! Last night, the prank war continued. Ava, Ali, and I put olive oil in Ben’s water bottle. He immediately spit it out at dinner, and then it spilled all over the cockpit. Post dinner, Ava fell asleep in the salon, giving us the perfect opportunity to draw things on her face and fill her water bottle straw with mayo. Unfortunately, as she went to take a sip of water I couldn’t help but laugh, ultimately blowing the prank and leading her to chase Ben and I around with the mayo straw. I woke up this morning at 6:00 am to have a normal tea, write in my journal, and review for our safety exam we had after breakfast. At 7:00, I woke everyone up by playing “Berries and Cream” by Stupid Thick. Go give it a listen if you haven’t heard it already 😉 After breakfast and the safety test, we took a taxi to Nahoon Beach. At the beach, Ava, Ali, Kiley, and I hung out on a sand dune while everyone else walked along the shore. We all met up for lunch a bit later at a place called Reef Cafe. Everyone ordered milkshakes, and we chowed down some burgers. It was revealed that the Lemurian Diamond is actually fake! It was quite shocking news to me.
After lunch, we drove to the mall. Once at the mall, we b-lined for Cotton On (wearing our Cotton On outfits from Durban). We all bought some pretty atrocious matching onesie PJs, along with some other clothes. After a successful cotton-on trip, Ava, Ali, Juliette, Bodhi, and I went to the arcade to ride bumper carts. We ended up doing three rounds of the bumper carts in addition to a motorcycle game and this weird spinning neon room called the vortex. I forgot how fun arcades could be and felt like a little kid again. While we were getting whiplash from the carts Kiley, Ainsley, Amanda, and Drazka continued shopping, the boys got Pokmon cards and Philip found a “piece of clothing” that he was searching for.
We all ended up at an ice cream place together(an essential piece to any shore time) before leaving the mall and heading back to Argo. As soon as we got back, some Thanksgiving cooking began. Small and pretty, Ali and I made some chocolate mice, Phillip and Charlie made cheesecake, and Juliette made chocolate-covered strawberries. We quickly wrapped up our cooking to dingy over to the yacht club for a bry (South African BBQ). The bar had a guestbook that people on Argo had signed years before. It was really cool to know that past Argo students and staff were standing exactly where we were. We enjoyed the BBQ, and Calum had his grand entrance. We told him I’m Ava, and Ava is me.. so let’s see how long it takes him to know our names (sorry, Calum!) After enjoying our meal, Ava and I asked the ladies working there for aux. Surprise! They gave it up so easily. We instantly turned the quiet dinner ambiance of the place into a club techno remix vibe. Starting with the remix, to Despacito x shape of you, to the berries and cream song from this morning, I think it is safe to say the old sailors had never seen anything quite like it. We even got some old French dudes to join us in dancing! The night was filled with laughter and great energy. Of course, the last songs played had to be Dead Sea and Walls by the Lumineers. Both of these songs have become classics during my time here at Argo, and I hold them close to my heart. Ava and I sang Dead Sea on the chart house the first week of the program, and ever since then, it’s been kinda symbolic for the whole trip. As we sang Dead Sea with only 10 days left, we couldn’t help but get sentimental. After leaving the yacht club, we then attended a turtle funeral.
Ben found a dead turtle entangled in a fishing net earlier today, and we felt the need to give it a proper send-off. The new and old vegetarians (Ben, Phillip, Charlie, Ava, and I) headed towards the end of the dock to place it back into the water and play a few goodbye songs, including “See You Again.” Feeling even more sad and sentimental, we headed back to Argo to finish the night by cooking more Thanksgiving desserts. From 9-12, Ava and I cooked churros (turds) and chai cookies. Hopefully, they’re good! Anyway, I’m off to bed now. I’ve got a full day of Thanksgiving festivities and surprises for Callum planned for tomorrow.
To finish my final blog.
For the future, Argonauts cherish every single moment. Don’t be afraid to be embarrassed; don’t spend too much time stressing over homework. The program flies by so fast, and this is the perfect time to take life less seriously and be yourself completely. Be present, say yes to everything, and step out of your comfort zone. You are going to have the time of your life. It will be hard at times, but you’ll learn so much and come out a better person. Just trust the process!
For everyone on fall Argo 2024 reading this sometime in the future… there’s is no one else I’d rather cross an ocean, lose a prop, live with a rat, and lose steering with. Eighty days ago, we were complete strangers, and now you all have a place in my life. The people make the experience, and it would not have been the same trip if none of you had been here.Can’t wait for our reunion <3
Well, I guess there’s not much more to say, and I have to accept the fact that the program is coming to an end.
My best,
Hannah