Location: Tangier, Morocco
Hey y’all! For those of you who need a refresher, we are still in Tangier. However, we will be leaving on a passage in the next hourgiven that Moroccan customs let us goheaded to Essaouira. Let’s talk about other news today! This morning started with a full-volume display of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son paired with electronic gunshots and flashing lights from my toy gun. I thought wake-ups were going pretty well until Luke (a 270lb rugby prop) freaked out and launched me into the ceiling above his bed. It was a good battle, but in the end, I think the ceiling won. Afterward, we had a great apple-oatmeal breakfast provided by Audrey and her Sous Chefs, Dan & Claire.
After breakfast and clean-up, we did passage prep for an hour, which tested our sail-raising skills. We dogged hatches, topped booms, and put in storm boards for our two-day passage ahead. After passage prep, we had oceanography with Mich up on deck. We learned about the different layers of the Atmosphere, and then, towards the end of the class, we experienced the different layers as rain landed on our papers and smeared our ink.
After class, we were sent off for optional shore time. During shore time, Cat, Ruby, Ellis, and I went and got coffee. In my opinion, the coffee was ok, but the real treat was the Orangina that Cat and I got on the way back. Other groups explored different markets and malls and indulged their selves in authentic Moroccan food. Towards the end of free time, a bunch of us rallied onto the dock to play some football. The game was a bunch of fun, but in hindsight, playing barefoot probably wasn’t the best idea. After a whileand due to poor weatherwe decided that we were done playing, and we went back to the boat for some bacon mac n cheese.
Once we were all stuffed, we went back to the boat for some more optional shore time where people like Luke, Jesse, Audrey, and Dan worked out, whereas others decided to catch up on school work or just relax below deck. Our free time came to an end quickly, and we all met up on the boat to sail a whopping ~500 meters across the marina to the customs office. Once re-docked, everyone cleaned up after a long day of exploring, and after we were all free of sweat, we had dinner. Dinner was Chipotle bowls followed by a squeeze question that left people with nicknames like Stinkabutt, Chlogre McGee, Sugar Plum, and, best of all, Giggles.
Thanks for everything, Tangier