Location: Tahiti
Rescue divers woke up at 0545 this morning to finish the course. The rest of us woke up at 7, as we picked up anchor, and smells of Alexis’s peach cobbler filled the cabins. People attempted to work on cards, but the sea state quickly became too intense for that. We all felt awful and made jokes about how Day 89 was the day we all got seasick. Breakfast was slow as people tried not to be sick, but it was delicious. Gabby said it was her favorite breakfast the entire trip. We struggled through a rolly cleanup, and then people took naps to fight off being sick. An hour later, we docked in Tahiti. We immediately started boat appreciation.
Some people got in the water and scrubbed the water line. Others hopped in the dinghy and scrubbed the topsides. Others chipped the ice out of the freezer and threw it at the people in the water. Lunch was “picnic vibes,” a charcuterie-style spread of cheeses, meat, and bread. Skyler and I were also sent on a cold drink run, which was a nice treat. Boat appreciation continued after lunch, the cabins a crazy mess of duffel bags, scuba fins, and trash (see photos). We cleaned and packed all afternoon, then prepared for the final squeeze and sign-out night. The final squeeze question was, “How are you going to live your life differently after leaving this boat?” Everyone took it seriously and provided some really good answers. To end the squeeze, we hugged the people to our right and left. We enjoyed our last few hours together at a nearby restaurant, I cried three times, and then we went back to the boat. We attempted to have a salon rave, but it was far too hot. We ended up lying on the top of the chart house, talking about how leaving doesn’t feel real and sharing boat confessions. Alexis was the first to leave, and we woke up at 0400 to give her hugs and touch her shaved head one more time.
A lot of us are staying in Tahiti for an extra few days, but it is still sad knowing these are the last few moments we will spend in the same place with all of these people, probably forever. We’re bonded for life after this and have shared some experiences people back home couldn’t even begin to understand, let alone relate to. We’ve all grown and have done a lot of self-reflection on the changes we want to make when we go back to the world where days of the week matter and responsibilities extend past what your job on the job wheel is that day. This trip has given a lot of us momentum and confidence to do things we’ve wanted to do for a while, and I’m excited to see what my 30 new friends get up to. I will miss every single one of them.
Signing off for the last time.