Location: Underway to Devils Island
Hello everybody!! Today, March 5th, was quite the day, filled with experiences that most of us have never faced before! My watch team (2) did a deck scrub on the 8-12 watch, aka the working shift. Balance is already hard on a boat, but we like to make it more challenging, so we added some soap and water to the deck and scrubbed away! We had chicken schnitzel + ratatouille for lunch – made by Kyler and Vittoria. After the cleanup, we had time to brainstorm ideas, choreograph dances, and think about the punishments we would receive if our sacrifices weren’t accepted by the court for our equator crossing ceremony. The court included Mac, Sam, Perry, & Emma, since they’ve already crossed the equator. Ideas came to life, costumes were put on, and the ceremony began. Each person/group had an opportunity to present their sacrifice to the court, and if accepted, they were clear; if not, they were punished. Henry tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube while getting sprayed in the face with the hose – FAIL! Vittoria and Nashota presented an interpretive dance of boat lights – FAIL. These three were first to be punished by playing Hungry Hippos (live edition) with chickpeas dumped in the cockpit. Henry collected the least amount in his mouth, which called for another punishment. Nashota also cut around 7 inches of her hair, too! Erin presented a Clue board – Vela edition – that included cards with the staff as characters, and weapons on board – ACCEPTED!
Hannah Y., presented a poem of our experience on Vela for the past 44 days – FAIL. She had to drink milk like a puppy out of a squirrel-shaped bowl, with the belly as the bowl. Reed performed a few magic tricks – FAIL. He received the task of turning a can of black beans into refried beans – with his bare hands – and shaping it into a snowman. Camilla, Hannah K., and I harmonized a few words to Neptune” and then proceeded to lip sync “Grenade by Bruno Mars – with our heads upside down, faces covered with bandanas, and faces drawn on our chins. This got the court laughing, so we were pretty hopeful that our sacrifice of dignity would be accepted – FAIL! The three of us + Henry had to eat a hot dog off a string without using our hands, and trying to balance on the stern of the boat. We were all content with this punishment!
Grant sacrificed his hair and is now bald – ACCEPTED. Seamester turned into boot camp real fast for him. Zoe presented a puzzle of Vela – FAIL! She had to put bean-filled gloves on and keep them on until the end of the ceremony. Kyler presented a chocolate fudge cake with cream cheese icing and a decoration of “4 U POSEIDON” on top – FAIL! He had to lie on the floor, have milk fountained into his mouth, and attempt to shoot it up in the air and catch it back in his mouth. This went exactly how you can imagine it did! By the end of the ceremony, the court accepted all of our sacrifices. We cleaned up the bean-filled cockpit and then had time to chill before dinner, which was “bangers and mash” – mashed potatoes with gravy and sausage. We completed our jobs, enjoyed the sunset, jammed out to music, and are ending the day full of excitement to cross the equator!
To my family and friends – I love and miss you guys so much, and hope everyone is doing well! My brutal sunburn finally peeled, and my skin is no longer tomato shaded anymore – yay! I can’t wait to talk to you guys in Barbados 🙂
Mimi and Pa – I love and miss you guys and can’t wait to spend the summer at the Grove! -Erin