Location: Les Saintes, Guadeloupe
I woke up to Alexa saying we are jibing and we need hands on deck asap (this was at 3:30 am). I gave my teeth a brush, put my contacts in, threw my PFD on, and made my way on deck. On deck, Bryson was leading watch team 4 through a jibe. My watch team eventually took over the final steps and ran the backstays. A wave crashed over the side as we were rigging the handy billy for the back stay, soaking us. When we get sprayed by the ocean, we call these ocean kisses:) Not long later, my watch team settled into our watch, and we saw the first sign of land: a lighthouse! Aidan was on the helm, staying on course with precision, using the stars and, at times, his vibes and feel. We watched more land come into view as the sun came up.
The anticipation of getting to the Caribbean was felt throughout the boat. Ben kept an eye on our service, seeing our service slowly come back, getting ready for some doom scrolling:). Later in the afternoon, after Chloe and Amelia’s lunch of quesadillas and tomato soup and another jibe, skipper Teo, chief mate Jem, and mates Haliey and Bryson lead us through an all-sails drop anchor. Everyone was assigned a job, and we dropped all the sails at once and released the anchor. Land ho! After 21 days, we’ve made it across the Atlantic! The realization of what we accomplished became real as everyone had a moment of celebration, hugging and smiling, before we got to work putting the boat to bed. Then I took an ocean shower. Swimming in the water after being on the boat felt freeing. Alexa, Maria, Cameron, Sam, Matt, and I attempted and did back flips off the bow sprite. We finished the day with chicken, chili soup, and cornbread pancakes, and everyone was reconnecting to the real world, making phone calls home. BOOM BOOM POW- Aidan