Location: Cocos Keeling
Good morning, Cocos Keeling; good morning, world! My day started at sunrise, watching at the same time the majestic full moon setting over the Indian Ocean. During my morning fitness routine, Argos deck is already full of life. Hannah, Charlie, and Ava swim to the nearby reef while Ali, the two Amandas, Ainsley, and Ben go diving – all in the name of science and their research projects. Action in the galley, too: Philipp prepares a hearty breakfast (photo). Juliette works on her artistic Fish ID illustrations (photo). The water is particularly calm today, and so are the resident black-tip sharks. I jump in for my morning swim. I return on time for wake-ups, but almost nobody is still asleep. Only Travis and Kiley are in their bunks, and Bodhi lies motionless in his hammock under the Main Staysail boom. As the divers return from their research, Will goes missing underwater while Drazka is in total panic on the surface! Before YOU panic, dear reader, here is some context: this super-realistic Oscar-nomination-worthy simulation is the fun part of a Rescue Diver certification. Ali, Amanda M, Travis, Ainsley, and Charlie come swiftly to the rescue. Happy Ending.
Breakfast is ready. During Kackies Seamanship class, I downloaded a fresh weather forecast on our SAT phone. A mini-depression has been previously forecasted to form tomorrow, about 1200 miles West of us. On todays updated forecast, it seems to be fading out. I will keep an eye on it. I integrate the latest forecast in our Passage Plan for the upcoming 2,340-mile ocean passage to Mauritius. I double-checked that our route is free of shallows and hazards. The Passage Plan also includes fuel consumption scenarios (in case of unfavorable weather), ports of refuge, and emergency contacts for the sailing area we cover. I look again at the weather forecast, and a sweet smile covers my face. It suggests consistent 5 Beaufort of SE wind during the first few days of our passage. These would be ideal sailing conditions. Trade wind, here we come! After lunch, we start preparing Argo for the long passage. Juliette, Charlie, and Allie play Tetris in the freezer.
Meaning that they empty it, label every package, and re-organize it in order of future consumption. That would hopefully reduce the time we open and search for ingredients in the immense depth of our freezer. From the outside, it looks like almost five feet tall. From the inside, it feels bottomless, some shipmates would swear. Hannah, Ava, Bodhi, and Drazka organized the salon and floor scrub everywhere. Philip and Amanda removed all the sail covers and connected the halyards with Kackie (photo). Ainsley, Travis, Will, Ali, Ben, Gabe, and Kiley team up for the deck wash. Argo sparkles in the tropical sun.
Feel-good music fills the air. I stole Bodhi from his floor-scrub team to test our emergency hydraulic steering together. He dives into the Lazz to engage the hydraulic arm, then connects a mini-wheel at the cockpit and turns it 20 revolutions to each side while I inspect the steering gear below deck. Success! Later in the afternoon, it is time for Drazka and Philip to lead a dive at the nearby reef with Amanda M, Kiley, Ava, Hannah, and Juliette. For others, it is time to chill or wash laundry. The squeeze question after dinner is, What are you most curious about the person to your left? Our time in Cocos Keeling is coming to an end soon. What an awesome piece of peaceful paradise. Weve had mantas, sharks, dolphins, reef research projects, and camping with BBQ on the beach. Weve had magical sunsets and the full moon, weve had the entire palette of aquamarine and turquoise shimmering from the crystal clear water around us, and weve had white sand beaches lined with coconut trees. Most importantly, we have an awesome group of shipmates to experience it all together. Five weeks ago, we were a bunch of total strangers. Now we share forks, we cut each others hair, we share our darkest secrets, we put our lives in each others hands. We cross an ocean together. Isnt that incredible? Tomer