Location: Underway to Mallorca
The gods of the job wheel have once again blessed the crew of S/V Vela, as I have been knighted as skipper once more. My duties started bright and early in Tarragona with another live guitar performance to wake up the crew though the music may have been too soothing to get some people up on time. After the stragglers were sufficiently roused by an abrupt genre change to flamenco guitar, it was time for breakfast. Eduardo, Lukas, and Eliza made bacon, egg, and cheese (Luke reminded us that this is pronounced as one full word if youre from New York) on bagels for breakfast, and we prepped the boat to leave port and started our passage to Mallorca. The bouncy ball toys that Eduardo, James, Dan, Mac, Eliza, and I bought yesterday continued to make appearances during this time, which we all agree is time well spent.
We said goodbye to the European super yachts that had been our neighbors for the last few days with one final dump of our dirty dishwater in their general direction and motored out of the harbor. We were lucky enough to have good winds on our port side and were able to hoist the sails, reminding us that though weve had the engine on for almost the entirety of the journey so far, we are, in fact, a sailboat. Getting out on the open sea with the wind in our sails has got to be one of the best feelings in the world. Mac, Eduardo, and I set up a fishing line off the stern, which so far has been about as successful as Theos attempts at getting us all to do our count-offs correctly. Maybe well have better luck while were diving in Mallorca if we just try and catch some with our bare hands.
After lunch, we had Marine Biology and Seamanship. In Marine Bio, Ben taught us just how microorganisms can get, and in Seamanship, Mac and Claire taught us how to tie some new knots of which we knew not. Something we have yet to learn is how to not face plant in the salon when the boat is heeling over from consistent winds. We also got assigned to our new watch groups today, where I got to witness Maxs continuing transformation into Jack Sparrow as he slowly adds new pieces to the outfit each time I see him. It seems that his pirate doubloons are just Nutella biscuits, but I can forgive the discrepancy since he was willing to share.
Over a delicious dinner of mashed potatoes and hamburgers that nearly set off the fire alarm, we discussed the age-old question of which historical figure we would party with if we could go back in time. Obviously, the Vikings are the correct answer, but it seems that the Founding Fathers are a fan favorite. Our instructor Mac had my favorite answer, though: “Id party with whoever discovered fire – immediately after they discovered fire. We were also entertained by a bird landing on our mast to take a rest, but apparently, its against policy to keep it as a pet for the rest of the semester.
With that, we headed to bed, and I handed over my title of skipper to Smash and stepped down from my throne to go back to scrubbing the deck after meals (which is surprisingly fun and one of my favorite jobs).
Tons of love to all the parents and families reading these blogs from home. Without you guys, I wouldnt get to spend this trip with some of my favorite people Ive ever met and explore the world in the coolest way imaginable. Shout out to Mom, Dad, Ryan, Patrick, and George.