Location: Underway to St. Lucia
We begin our story on a schooner anchored in Admiralty Bay. I wake up from a surprisingly uneventful night in the hammock, and every one is somehow already awake. I’ve slowly found myself becoming a morning person, which is something I never thought I’d say. After an easy wake-up, we help ourselves to a lovely breakfast of Heather’s carrot spice bread. I always get excited about Heather’s breakfasts, and the galley always smells amazing the night before. We head down to the saloon for an OCE class. Today is a presentation day for our literature review assignments, and a bunch of us get to show everyone what we’ve learned about our topics. I learned a lot about so many topics, from sea turtles to coastal erosion to ocean acidification and many more.
Leadership comes after Oceanography, and Carli facilitates a lovely conversation about interpersonal relationships and understanding one another. I really like that leadership has become a safe space for us to be vulnerable and express feelings we might have difficulty sharing outside of class. I always feel supported and heard in leadership, and I find myself better understanding my peers with every new presentation.
Lunchtime! Quinoa and salad bowls were absolutely phenomenal and exactly the energy boost we all needed for passage prep. Even though I’m really nervous to lead everything, everyone is really supportive and ready to help out. I learned so much and feel more confident in my seamanship capabilities than I had before. Before we know it, we’re ready for passage! We get the sails up, and we’re underway by 4:00 pm. Watch team 2 kicks us off, and we have a delicious stir fry dinner and oatmeal chocolate cookies under a starry sky.
The End…
…ok, never mind, it’s now 10 pm. We’ve just left the cover of St. Vincent, and the wind is whipping like crazy. Ocean Star is heeling so far to port I feel as though, any moment, she’ll give out on us and tip over (realistically, we were totally fine). Once I get over the initial panic, with help from other watch teams, we (watch team 3) centerline the sails and lower the foresail in the darkness, cracking up as we fall all over each other with each gust of wind. The bow bounces on each wave like a Cadillac, hitting us with sea spray as it comes back down. After what feels like ages, the sail is down, and we take our wet butts back to the cockpit to be relieved of watch duty. Today was a great day, and I’m really proud of all the hard work the crew put in to get us moving.
To my family back at home- I love you all so much, and I’m so sad I can’t be with you right now.
To my Savta- I love you to the moon and back. I miss you so much, and I know you will be so proud. <3