Location: Underway to Dominica
When we swam in the Atlantic two weeks ago, I wondered if one of the water molecules that touched my skin had ever interacted with me before. Maybe one of them was once a drop of rain that landed on my face on a random day in a past life, or perhaps it was there when my dad taught little me how to float in the ocean during a summer in North Carolina. Was it there in the pool when I took my first breath underwater with my scuba instructor? While somewhat comforting, this wondering left me with a weird feeling of loneliness. And several existential crises. Thank goodness for my most recent read, There Are Rivers in the Sky, for allowing me to work through this mystery for hours and hours and hours. All at sea.
Today is day 18 of our Atlantic crossing. With 16 days counting down until this semester wraps up and about three more days until we reach Dominica (although dont hold us to that), I will word-vomit some reflections on our program and passage:
This passage has been hard for most of us. It will be the longest passage many of the staff have experienced, and several unexpected things were thrown our way. All of us, students and staff, have had to grasp the reality that by participating in this crazy social experiment (living on a boat with a bunch of once strangers), we are at the complete mercy of our beautiful Earth and whatever she throws our way, and also at the will of our own resiliency to solve problems and adapt to change, with no where else to run. No digital connections to the world beyond this boat and these people, we have all confronted within ourselves how we choose to react when met with a challenge. In other words, weve been forced to be present. Weve laughed, weve cried. Weve supported each other through this really hard thing. In a literal sense, we are all in the same boat. But we will not be for much longer.
For 18 days, the ocean has been all thats here. And the sky! Weve had epic cloud performances every single day. Closing my eyes and just listening to the waves today, I was reminded of my smallness and insignificanc,e being surrounded by so much water. Its not just water, though. Weve been surprised by other things sargassum, flying fish, mahi, dolphins, (whales, you still have time to make an appearance), and bioluminescence. Okay, so crazy thing about the ocean at night is that it literally sparkles, and its so pretty. Also, the water is different every day, and I think that is so cool. Every day, even every hour, the ocean shows up differently, and we adjust our little floating home in response.
To me, being on the ocean mirrors what it means to live there are ups and downs, and some courses are easier or faster than others. Life is unpredictable like the sea. Not one moment is guaranteed, and the next moment is not guaranteed to be just like this moment. On a calm day, a huge wave could be coming your way, and you just have to adapt. Underwater, if you encounter a heavy current, you fight it or let it sweep you away. Our survival instincts demand our reactions, but then it is up to us to actively decide to live and feel to spend our extra time reading a book or staring at the clouds or laughing with a friend or screaming in the engine room.
I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies, The Dead Poets Society, and what stuck out to me was a quote from the poet Henry David Thoreau, which the film relates back to the sentiment of Carpe Diem, or seize the day:
I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life! To put to rest all that was not life And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
Under a backdrop of twinkling stars and sailing on an infinite canvas of motion and energy, we have talked about life outside of Argo, life on Argo, our future lives, past lives, meaning in our lives, what makes a life well-lived, what makes us feel alive, and the afterlife. With evidence of life all around us as our only entertainment and demanding our attention, we have experienced in our own personal ways what it means to be alive. Whether its learning how to survive on a constantly rocking vessel eating well, sleeping enough, remembering to shower, etc, or choosing to stay present and truly appreciate with some perspective (however much you can really have out here) how awesome and beautiful and actually insane sailing across an ocean is. As hard as this passage has been for me, I dont think I will ever be able to be chill when thinking or talking about the fact that this is my job.
Sorry, long blog oops! As I mentioned earlier, I recently finished probably my new favorite book of all time (a HUGE win for a passage with tons of free time) (also thank you to Kyler on Vela for the rec) (everyone should seriously consider reading this book please its really cool). In fact, many of us have been reading away the last few weeks, so here is a list of what the book-inclined have been pouring themselves into lately:
Me/Rachel: There are Rivers in the Sky
Meg: The Last Train to London
Charlie: The Soul of an Octopus
Shane: Master and Commander Far Side of the World
Aidan: Aquanaut
Nacho: Un Brin dEsprance
Oscar: Helsreach
Bryson: The Alchemist
Maria: Daisy Jones and the Six
Cameron: The Bible
Samantha: Book Lovers
Chloe: American Psycho
Luca: The Surgeons Mate
Teagan: 1984
Hailey: Darkhaven
Emily: Norwegian Wood
Jem: The Odyssey
Fish: We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Teo: Alex Rider
Liv: Malibu Rising
Amelia: The Wager
What did we do today, youre probably wondering? Well, watch team 1 gybed at 2 am (oof). I began my day at 7:45 am, and after about two minutes of being on deck getting briefed for watch by Meg and Aidan, we spotted dolphins! After a fire lunch by Maria, Sabrina, and Matt, we met the King of Time for the last time on our passage (this means we changed our clocks back an hour because weve been having f-orbs at 8 am the last few days). In leadership clas,s there was a passionate Shark Tank-style debate judged by Aidan, Shane, and Charlie. In the afternoon, I met my fruit buddy Amelia on deck with a can of pineapple, and got to watch Jem do his best Rachel and Teagan impressions. Emily and Amelia made pumpkin pancakes, literally just for funsies. To no ones surprise, Bryson and Cameron worked out on deck, and everyone else not on watch got a nice nap in. Aidan claims he had a fish on that was so big it almost pulled him in sure. Meg backs him up, okay, maybe it was real. Dinner was a flavorful peanut sauce, rice noodles, and veg. We LOVE interesting meals when were in deep passage. Shane found his PS (personal spork), yay!! My watch team is currently blasting Christmas music on deck now that its acceptable.
Oh, today is also fake-real Thanksgiving, but we will be having real-fake Thanksgiving next week when we have fresher food and more time to cook. What am I thankful for? I dont have enough space to answer that, but for now, a massive appreciation for being on Argo at this time in my life and the ocean for making me feel alive.
Happy early birthday, Pap. I hope you have an excellent day! Abby and Sophia, I cant wait to call you soon.