Location: Statia
We started the day with a delicious breakfast of rosemary potatoes, eggs, and bacon provided by Will and Collin. We created a cooking schedule for the rest of the day and finalized our menus so Dom and Monika could go provisioning. When the provisioners returned, the galley and salon were inundated with chocolate and candy. We all indulged by the fistful. While some people went to shore to Skype with loved ones back home, others stayed on board to watch football-themed movies and continue consuming massive quantities of candy. Brooke and Bridget decorated the boat with images of turkeys and pilgrims. Meanwhile, tantalizing scents flowed from the kitchen. Nick made rolls from scratch and a delectable mushroom blue cheese broccoli savory pie. It did not make Ivy vomit. Success! Gwen mixed up pumpkin pies (and a gluten-free one, too!), and later she made stuffing as well. Bridget and Monika made green bean casserole, Shayna concocted a sweet potato dish with marshmallows, and Bret made mashed potatoes… which sucked more than his lasagna. Seriously. Keeley made an apple crisp, Aylee made gravy, and Ben made an incredible batch of churkey (chicken with a dash of imagination turned into turkey). Gwen also wrangled the cranberry sauce out of the cans. It was an ordeal, but she prevailed. Monika made a pineapple coconut upside-down cake, and Dom made chocolate mousse, yum! We broke out the tables, and finally, it was time to sit down and enjoy all of the food and, more importantly, the amazing company. Throughout all of the reveling and festivities, our minds were all reflecting on the time we spent with our dear friend James. We held hands around the table, and Kris read us a poem sent from Jim Stoll, a co-founder of Seamester.
LIFE IS ETERNAL
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, There! She’s gone. Gone where? Gone from my sight – that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was. She left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her, and just at the moment when someone at my side says There! She’s gone; there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout. There she comes!-Ernest Gann.
We will forever appreciate having James in our lives and spending this precious time with him. We are thankful to have each other, and for the love and support we can provide each other in the wake of losing James.
We all consumed massive amounts of food; some went in for 5ths and 6ths. After a few servings of dessert, we were all miserably sick and laughing hysterically about it. Nick’s leftover rolls were used for batting practice. He hit a home run off the starboard beam. After multiple shifts of salty-ing and some dedicated scrubbing, we had the deck cleaned up and started blasting Justin Bieber’s Christmas album. Gwen got everyone dancing on top of the chart house, but we ran out of the Bieb, so we resorted to Kris’ Michael Buble Christmas tunes. It was magical. We topped it off with a little Mambo No. 5, and Nick took it away with the river dance. 10 out of 10, Nick. Unfortunately, he managed to injure his ankle in the process. We finally wound down and ended up passing out on the deck with fenders for pillows. There are so many things we’re thankful for this Thanksgiving, most importantly the amazing group of people who now call Ocean Star home.