Location: Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou
The day started with a majestical sunrise over Grenada while Jack Johnson sang us a song about pancakes. Sleepy people with clumsy feet that never fail to find every D-ring on deck, slowly stumbled up the companionway to help with passage prep and get ready for a day of sailing upwind (Ocean Star’s favorite wind angle…) to Carriacou. Breakfast was beautifully prepared by Chef Matthew, Sous Chef Matt, and Sous Chef Rob, and I was filled with excitement when a pan of fried eggs made an appearance on deck, followed by the biggest pot of grits I have ever seen. Once breakfast and cleanup were finished, everyone sat in the cockpit for a scheduling meeting where they chose their own destiny (schedule for the next week). Next, we raised the sails without too much difficulty (except for when we had to lower and then retry on the foresail, but it’s all good practice for Classics week). While underway, we had a fire drill that escalated into an abandon ship drill. Unfortunately for the fo’c’sle inhabitants, the IMAGINARY fire was in the fo’c’sle, but the watch teams were able to work together to get the fire hose set up quickly and fight the fire (still an imaginary fire). With drills complete and standing orders reviewed, we all enjoyed the calm seas and kept an eye out for the whales I’m convinced we will see at some point. Sails were dropped as we neared Tyrrel Bay, and we very quickly heard the booming music being played in anticipation of Carnival tomorrow. Steve found us a sneaky anchoring spot that we believed no one would come near. We were wrong; boats love us (Steve does not love them). Sash taught a riveting lecture on algae in Marine Biology class. While sail covers were being put on, Tye and Gus trapped me on the bowsprit, and I couldn’t get off until they finished securing the sail cover, which took a very long time. Dinner was another wonderful meal that “the boys” spent most of the day preparing in the galley. Faith has discovered a new talent for negativity speeches for when people complain about the number of dishes in the dish pit. Everyone is now learning about marine sediments in Oceanography with Amanda and looking forward to exploring Carriacou tomorrow.