Location: Underway to Cartagena
This morning began with the PSCT superstars waking up at the crack of dawn to lift the anchor and get Argo on the move. We were on the way to Cartagena (mainland Spain) around 6 am, and by 8:30, the crew was on the deck enjoying the fast sail. Then, we heard a crash from down below. Everybody was nervous to find out what it was because the motion of the swell is amplified in the saloon. Still, a few brave souls (namely Nicole and myself, Liza) made our way down the companionway and into a disaster zone. The entire hammock of potatoes and onions that resides on top of a shelf in the saloon had fallen over, scattering spuds across the floor and crushing the bread that had also recently fallen. We were completely flabbergasted and completely at a loss for what to do at first. Then with the guidance of Britt, we slowly but steadily picked up the netting and placed the potatoes into bags, where they stayed safe on the floor for the rest of the passage. We had an oceanography class scheduled, but it was cut short due to the fact that there was a new person running out of the room and up to the deck every minute. After lunch, the seas calmed down, and the crew was able to rally for an MTE class where we learned all about day shapes and boat lights. Then, Karl taught everybody about sleep cycles and styles during his SLD how-to presentation, which made us all ready for nap time. However, we had to continue our watch team rotations, so some weren’t able to get the sleep Karl made them crave. Argo showed a great ability to bounce back after a rough morning and stay strong throughout the rest of the night. The watch teams had extremely eventful nights, marine-life wise. Ted and Avery saw bioluminescent dolphins FOUR TIMES while on bow watch, and Andrew and I experienced the spectacle, only once. Watch teams two and three were treated to the rare sight of a whale in the Mediterranean when it breached during the switch off between their watches, then watch team three caught a bioluminescent jellyfish during their night watch! We made great speed to Cartagena, arriving a lot earlier than expected, which was well deserved after a very long passage day. set date: 2012-10-15