Location: 05,16.22 S; 26,07.09 W
Today, we are only a couple of days away from finishing our transatlantic crossing. With the students, my self included, and staff member Jay passing our COLREGS exam for the IYT 200 Ton Yacht-Master Limited license, we are starting to feel like sailors. With one of the main milestones of the trip vastly approaching, it reminds all of the crew to stop and think about who we are, where we have been, and where we are going. It is a fun and exciting time on Argo. This morning, my watch team, who is also known as Watch Team Three-on-Four, lead by Steph and Calum (pictured), filled our four-hour watch with rigorous and fun sail training. After lowering and raising the forward and main staysails, we fit in a Gybe, set up the running backstays, and set a new course to steer, leaving the Atlantic behind and nothing but Fernando de Noronha, Brazil ahead.
Today was also a day of firsts for the crew. We took our first oceanography exam and had our first inside dinner in the salon due to rain. Even in the light grey of a heavy squall, the energy on Argo is bright and cheerful. It is crazy to think that in a little over a month, we have done so much, but this is just the beginning. Argo is not just our home but a vessel built to cross the seas, gracefully carrying the precious cargo of twenty-nine souls along with the hopes and dreams she helps inspire.