Location: Underway to Sardinia
Alrighty folks, lets buckle in for the grand finale of my blogs: weve reached my last skipper day (I know, I know, were all shedding tears on Vela, just as Im sure youre doing at home). Let me start by saying it has been an absolute pleasure being on this boat, and I love and cherish each and every one of the people Ive been fortunate enough to share this experience with. My dearest blog readers, your family and friends (or the random strangers whose sailing trip blog you just happened upon) that are your reason for reading this are truly a group unlike any other and the trip we have shared togetherand will continue to share for the next ten daysis one I will never forget for all the best reasons. Despite a late return from Barcelona last night, we had wakeups at the regular time this morning (7 am, which is pretty early for us college kids) because today was Garretts last day, and his taxi came at 7:15, meaning we had to be up to say our goodbyes. With such an important event happening, the crew was out of bed in record time, and soon, we were all walking down the Tarragona dock, catching the last glimpses of a beautiful sunrise. Once Garrett was safely en route to the airport, we returned to Vela for a classic Mediterranean dish of shakshuka prepared by our wonderful head chef, Shelby, and sous chef, Tom. Following breakfast, we got to work on passage preparation and I finally got the opportunity, as skipper, to handle The Clipboard! This clipboard holds the passage prep checklist that the skipper keeps, signing their initials to complete tasks and delegating each chore to people on the boat. Truthfully, its a bit of a power trip being in charge of everything going on, and I did enjoy every last second of it. The clipboard is like a magic wand in a lot of ways: its wielder holds ultimate power, and today, that was none other than me. Mwahahaha! Even though I didnt know all of the tasks or how to do all of them, Mac helped me out a ton, and the whole crew was very understanding and eager to do the various checklist items. Since the crew was super efficient with passage prep, we had two hours of free time on shore before lunch. Us students (now down to just seven: Will, Joey, Johnathan, Nate, Nora, Lucie, and I) went to the coffee shop next to where the boat was docked and had, you guessed it, a cumulative twenty shots of espresso (at least.. I think we lost count somewhere). Granted, it was over the course of these two hours, but nonetheless, it was enough to get some extra pep in our step on the quick walk back to the boat. Lunch, following the theme for the day, consisted of Mediterranean bowls with all sorts of delicious toppings. Quick shoutout to Emma for crushing it with provisioning and meal plans every single day. After a speedy cleanup, it was time to leave the dock and begin our short passage to Sardinia. We also had the fun experience of seeing the marinas drawbridge open for us as we left! The fourteen of us work like a well-oiled machine at this point, and getting off was a breeze. Speaking of breezes, we were treated to some nice wind coming out of Tarragona and got to put not one, not two, not even three, four, or five, but six (!) sails up! This is only the third time that this has happened all semester, so it truly put everyone in the giddiest mood. Pictures were taken, sails were admired, and the sunshiney weather was enjoyed. It was early afternoon at this point, meaning usually we would be settling in for our oceanography lecture, but with Shelby as head chef and a weary group of students from a busy few days in Barcelona, Tom was extra nice and gave us the day off from class. Instead, we began to watch teams with watch team 3 (me, Andy, Emma, Nora, and Joey) taking the 2-6 pm watch and other people getting some free time to study for their PSCT exams or take a well-deserved nap. Though Emma and I were on watch, there was another more important thing to attend to: Johnathans birthday! He turned the big one eight today, meaning he began his adulthood years, and we had to celebrate with an extra sweet treat. We made fancy brownies that included a layer of brownie on the bottom, then a layer of Oreos, and then a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough on top, followed by a sprinkling of Biscoff cookies. Yum! We also made the dough for the bagels that will be tomorrows lunch in order to give them plenty of time to rise. Dinner was Johnathans favorite: tikka masala, and we finished up with a squeeze question about what jobs should be added to the job wheel for next semesters trip that will have at least thirty people on it. With our small group, we had people working double jobs, so it was fun to be creative and see what unique roles we could come up with. Michelle suggested a 24-hour marine animal spotter whose job is just to look out for wildlife that we can take pictures of. Dan (similarly) proposed a photographer each day that acts like a paparazzi and takes pictures of everything, and (my personal favorite), Nora suggested someone who just gives compliments all day. My kinda person if youre asking me 🙂 The night finished up with lots of blog writing since were a few days behind, eventually putting down the jibs, fish, and main sail and enjoying some incredible sunset and shooting stars while on watch. I cant say enough how great this trip has been, and writing my last blog is such a bittersweet thing. The people, the places, and this entire experience have been life-changing in the best way, and I am so lucky to be a part of this group of people that I genuinely could write good things about forever. Sending love back home and afar one last time on this blog, and see everyone soon! – Zo