Location: 37 Degrees, 58.6231' North, 37 Degress, 23.590' West
All throughout last night, our watch teams experienced the fun of playing in the rain. Each watch team got some use out of their Fowlie gear while enjoying the wonderful atmosphere a storm can provide. Watch team three (Runyon, Nate, Arabella, Lucie) also saw something pretty incredible. Instead of the typical staggered and sleepy wake-up Vela usually sees on passage, our crew woke up to Runyon yelling, “Dolphin!’. We had crossed paths with a pod of Pan-Tropical spotted dolphins swimming around Vela. Luckily for those not on watch, a second dolphin pod came around to say hi to Vela two hours after the first. Following this encounter, students began to go on with their day-to-day lives. Today, there was a lot of studying going on below deck. The closer we get to the Azores, the closer deadlines get to us. Instead of bringing stress onto Vela like papers and tests sometimes do, these challenges have brought students and staff together. The saloon was filled to the brim with sounds of studying students and background music for much of the day, along with, as always, the sounds of the galley crew making some lovely food. Today, our head chef was Nate, who was helped by Dan and Anda. They cooked a great pesto pasta lunch with olives and sun-dried tomatoes. This amazing lunch would come with great timing because oceanography students had their first exam after cleaning up. The exam was on the geological and chemical composition of the ocean, with a little bit of nautical history sprinkled in. Following cleanup, a study group was formed, and many unique acronyms were made to help with the test. The daunting nature of an exam looming was also eased by the wonders of candy when Shelby brought Skittles to class. The sweetness of the skittles and the kindness of Shelby went a long way. Following a little bit of downtime, we began our leadership class. Nate, Arabella, and Anda were presenting about leadership in group and team settings. Their presentation was motivating and exciting, and we finished our class with a fun, friendly competition. The Silly Willy’s (Will, Charley, Joey, Nora, and me) and the Mojo Dojo Casa House (Lucie, Runyon, Garrett, Zoe, and Flo). For every four-letter word found in a pile of Banana Gram letter tiles, a group would have an option of extending their time or unleashing a Danquake on the other team. The Danquake consisted of Dan going to a table and messing up all the pieces to throw a team off. The game had a leadership twist, though. Each group elected a leader (Will for Silly Willy’s and Lucie for Mojo Dojo Casa House) who could not communicate with their team about decision-making, leaving them alone in strategizing. The game turned into a balance of teamwork between the word finders and the thinking skills of the leaders. The competition ended up going into a hotly contested third round, where the Silly Willys would end up taking home the first-place prize: A second lollypop. After class, the day started winding down for many, but not for the galley crew. Chicken Tikki Masala was on the menu for dinner, and now Joey was baking some naan. After two hours of work, the galley would produce a world of art so fine that Tom would claim it to be one of the best curries he had tasted on board. The galley and saloon were filled with sounds of music and celebration after this remark. As a final farewell to the day, our crew got to watch another fantastic sunset while reflecting on our wonderful time at sea.