Location: Underway to Palau

Hello everyone! It’s your favorite skipper Margaret. I know you all have missed me terribly. Boy, did we have an eventful day. My day started at 8 am when Justin woke me up to watch by scaring me. It was quite something. I was then very awake after that. Then, I came out into the galley to get my morning cereal as usual, when there was an amazing surprise awaiting. Heloise made an oatmeal bake! It’s like dessert for breakfast. It was so good and the perfect way to brighten everyone’s moods. Then, I went out for my 8-12 watch, where I helmed for a little over an hour in the scorching hot sun. I do not think I have ever sweated so much in life. Like seriously. I was dripping. I also did some laundry because it is so hot that I am always sweating, even when I sleep. Super gross. Watch is always super fun. We all get to talk and hang out for 4 hours and get to look at nothing but the ocean all around us. At the beginning of passage, I did not think I would be able to make it the 20 days, but now, it’s already been 8, and they went by super fast.
After my watch was lunchtime, and Sierra made pineapple fried rice that was very yummy. Then, during cleanup, I got a secret message that I could not tell anyone else. It was time to bob for some apples! Our apples were starting to go bad, so after we cleaned all the dishes in the salty pit, we saved that nasty disgusting food-filled water, and people competed in bobbing for gross soggy apples in it. I personally did not participate because I knew if I got a chunk of food in my mouth, I would probably vomit. We had serval rounds where people competed, and finally, we got to the final 2: Sierra and my roomie and fellow watch team 3 team member Nora. Of course, Watch Team 3 dominate, and Nora won!!! Super disgusting, though. Then, we all got to take a deck shower and cool off before class.
Then we had seamanship class, where I presented my project with Kirstyn on different rig setups and keels. Then we had the afternoon free!! Everyone sat in the saloon and turned on the AC and did homework or studied for our exams coming up. It was so nice to have some time to relax and get work done. By the time I had finished my work and was ready for a break, it was already dinner time. Also, Ben and Drew hoisted Kara’s shoes on the flag halliard, which was pretty funny. Dinner was chicken and dumplings. Sierra killed it once again. There were no leftovers, and people were scraping the pot to get the last bits. The days on Passage are super fun, and I will definitely miss it when it’s over. But I am super excited to be in Palau and be able to swim again!!
Hi Mom, Dad, Joseph, Eva, Mimi, and Jack! I miss you all so much! Can’t wait to talk to you guys soon. Love you!

Also, I have been traded. Kee, who I thought was my friend, betrayed me and sold me to watch Team 2. So, in 2 days, We will all have new watch teams, and I won’t be with her anymore. Super sad because she is the “coolest” human I have ever met. But for real, she’s pretty cool and has helped me a lot with learning how to sail and gaining confidence in helming because when the waves tilt the boat, I always freak out.