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Location: Underway to Fiji

After last night’s 8 p.m.-12 a.m watch, where we all got to sit under a star-filled sky and hear dolphins off the side of Argo, watch Team 1 got woken up at 7:30 for our 8 a.m-12 p.m. watch. We had an eventful four hours as we got to turn on the engine and raise both the fisherman and flying jib, of course with some breaks in between so everyone could make boatmeal or their morning coffee to wake themselves up. Mac did an awesome job in leading us all in how to raise the fish by telling everyone what lines to be on and what to do. Soon after, I led our group in raising the flying jib, which consisted of taking in on the main staysail, flaking the downhaul, taking the daisy chain off the flying jib, taking in on the halyard, taking in on the sheet, and then easing out again on the main staysail. It was a ton of fun as the five of us worked together, with Lolo giving us some helpful tips every now and then. Before we knew it, our four-hour watch was up, and we were handing off the helm to the next watch team. While we had been busy up on deck, several people down below had been working hard to prepare lunch for everyone. Frankie, Tim, and Riley were the designated chefs for the day and made lentil soup while Thea, Lewis, and Niko were starting on the breadmaking for the day for our delicious dinner.

Since we’re all on such different sleeping schedules and awake for various hours of the night, lunchtime is perfect for everyone to come together and get to see people outside of their watch teams and just relax for a little while. We decided to switch it up today and do both science classes after lunch rather than just one in hopes of finishing all our schoolwork before we get to Fiji (which, of course, means more dive time and nights full of fun activities). After our usual cleanup, we went into Oceanography class led by Steph, who taught us about tides. After about an hour, Amanda came in to teach Marine Biology, where we learned about the continental shelf, the open ocean, and the parts of the ocean that different marine organisms live. It was full of a ton of super interesting information and definitely much easier than our last unit on the Kingdom Animalia. We ended up finishing class early today, around 3 p.m., Which meant some extra free time for the people who weren’t on watch. Once everyone rotated through deck showers (which are the best part of the day for some people like Giselle, or arguably the most miserable part of the day for people like Gillian and me), we all got about an hour of free time before dinner, which was definitely much appreciated by everyone as there is not always a ton of afternoon downtime when we’re underway. Some of us chose to hang out in the salon and read, catch up on studying, or practice for our upcoming NavMaster exam. After a relaxing hour, Frankie, Tim, and Riley pulled through with another great meal. For tonight’s dinner, we had BBQ and feta burgers with french fries and hamburger buns made by Thea, Lewis, and Niko.

Cleanup is now over, and we’re all getting back into our watch team rotations to do it all again tomorrow with smiles on our faces, of course. But good news! It looks like we’re a little less than a week away from French Polynesia, which is pretty cool. And after passing by French Polynesia, hopefully, it’ll be a breeze to Fiji. Talk to you all in 26 days from now!!!!!

-Bella

Current Position: 0759.74’S x 125 37.33’W

Pictured:
Frankie, Tim. and Riley preparing dinner (while Riley wears his PFD in the galley because he never feels like taking it off and then having to put it back on again)
Giselle, Izzy, and Amanda flaking the flying jib on the bowsprit before dinner started