Location: Underway to Bermuda
Well, hello there,
My day started at 4 AM this morning with Watch Team 2, aka “The Troopers” (Calum, Sonnet, Jordan, Dre, Maddie, Katie, and Bennett).
We were greeted by a starry sky, lots of sea spray, and pretty cold conditions, 17*C to be exact (yes, we are spoiled … we’ve spent the past 2 months in tropical warm weather ~27*C).
On our watch, we saw the new moon set and the sunrise and cast its sun rays through the thick storm clouds that were forming on the horizon. As the winds picked up, we decided to trim the sails, to set us up for gusting winds and stormy conditions. When the wind started to haul and the rain started to fall, our spirits remained high and got even higher when a vibrant rainbow started to form, seemingly right next to Vela.
At 8 AM, Watch Team 3 (Shona, Adelaide, Greg, Ethan, Will, Meghan, Mack, and Andrea) released us, and we gladly retreated down below into our cozy bunks to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
The day went on uneventful, Adelaide taught a Marine Biology class, and I taught a class on tides in Oceanography.
And just like that, it was time for watch again, and we huddled around the helm, our eyes peeled on the horizon … who would spot land first?
Calum: “Land Ho!!!” With his eagle-eye vision, Calum was the first to spot the outlines of Bermuda.
As we sailed along, the blurry outlines became defined shapes of buildings, mountains, and even a lighthouse.
At the moment, we are just sitting outside Bermudas coastal waters waiting for the next morning to be able to pass through the channel, finally drop anchor, and add another stamp to our passports.
After 11 days of passage, it’s great to look back on how far we have come, literally and figuratively … we sailed ~1500 NM from Bonaire – Bermuda.
When we departed from Bonaire, we were greeted with rough seas and constant rocking and rolling … and oh boy, the majority of the crew was seasick hanging over the cap-rail, feeding fish.
Around day 5, even the weakest of stomachs finally adjusted to life at sea, and people slowly got into the rhythm of sleep, eat, watch, repeat.
Over 10 days into our journey, passage life seems like second nature, and it feels weird to think that we will step on land again soon, wear masks, get our brains tickled, and our senses flooded with news from the outside world.
Time for watch; I’ll catch you on the flip side!
– Leoni
P.S.: Liebe gruesse ans kalte Deutschland. Ich hoffe euch allen daheim geht es gut. Hab euch lieb (ihr wisst wer gemeint ist).
Photos:
1) Captain Tom, looking majestic
2) Colm, happy as always
3) Charlie, focused on the helm