Location: On Passage to St. Lucia
What a great day to be a part of the S/Y Vela crew! Today was an Amazing and challenging day, with ups and downs (just like the boat right now, especially on the low side).
We woke up at 7 am, as usual, ate some eggs, sausages, and cheese, did clean up, and then finished passage prep. After that, we pulled the anchor up, and there was a BABY OCTOPUS on the anchor chain. It was soooo cool!
We moved a little further away from the shore of Guadalupe on motor and then set the sails up.
The sail started really smooth. Watch time three got in charge of the deck first and did boat checks while the others got some more sleep or tried to memorize the phonetic alphabet or catch up on work. Then we had BROCOLLI MAC N CHEESE for lunch ( Thanks TOLO <3 ) which was really tasty.
After lunch, watch team one was in charge, and we started preparing for our first jibe (turning the boat with the stern to the wind), and then we would have marine bio class. But all of that got postponed when Tom, our captain, spotted a WHALE on the horizon.
The whale was jumping around, showing off her tail and splashing while swimming towards us. Everyone got together on the deck to see it. We were all very excited and made a lot of sound effects indicating enjoyment. The whale started to get closer and closer, we were able to ID it as a humpback whale, and she was surrounded by this huge pod of big ocean dolphins. It was honestly one of the most magical, amazing, indescribable things I ever saw, and I believe everyone here shares this feeling. Eventually, the whale passed Vela, and we lost her from our sight.
After that, we finally did the jibe very successfully and went to class.
In marine bio, we learned about seaweed (yay), and then we had our first actual leadership class, where we took a test to see which was our leadership style. Then we got in groups of people with the same styles and debated our strengths and weaknesses. We have a lot of greens and yellows on board! Some reds, and only two blues (me and Tolo). Classes were fun but a little bit hard because a lot of us get really seasick when we are inside of the boat.
When class ended, Tolo, Audrey, and Ryan started making dinner, some of us went to watch, and others went to sleep. That was when the waves got bigger, the wind got stronger, and the boat started rocking harder. A looot of seasickness, hard time walking around on deck, water splashing on us, veeeery hard time for gophering and having dinner. But we made it!
After that, we finished the night with a really nice and comforting squeeze, with hugs, appreciation, and shooting stars. The squeeze question for the night was `”If you could be part of a fictional family, which family would you choose?” We had a lot of great answers like the Incredibles, the Skywalkers, and the Scoobie-doo gang.
Finally, we did clean up (which, turns out, is kind of chaotic when you are on passage) and started the watches of the night. We got to sail using the stars and constellations like Scorpio and the southern cross. It was sooo cool!
That’s it for now,
lots of love from today’s skipper,
Sierra Oscar Foxtrot India Alpha
Ps1: To all the families, I. hope you are well and know that you all have amazing sons and daughters, and they are all doing great here!
Ps2: ” you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…” (there’s also Tolo!)
OKOK agora o papo pros de verdade. OIOI galerinha do Brasil, finalmente chegou meu dia de ser skipper! Me diverti muito com o poder (brincadeira no eh poder eh organizao…) como vocs ja devem imaginar. Aparentemente eu gosto a sensao de liderana kkkk espero que vocs estejam todos bem! Estou indiscritivelmente feliz aqui, nunca estive tao bem ento no se preocupem. Estou com muita saudades de qualquer jeito.. Beijos especiais pra mame, papai , rafa e vovos. Foram 20 pssimos dias para os meus haters 😉 S2
Photos:
1- Alissa, Nick, and Anna working on the mainsail halyard
2- Sidney and Annika working on the forward staysail
3- Cora, Nick, and Anna pretending to be useful
4- Anna and Alissa doing some coiling
5- Sharp, Caroline, and Jaycee doing arm workout (just kidding, also pulling lines)
6- Tolo, Audrey, and Ryan cooking
7- Salties and freshies on clean up time
8- WHALEEEE
Love from your skipper,
Sierra, Oscar, Foxtrot, India, Alpha
Ps: You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.. there’s also Tolo.
OIOI galerinha do Brasil, finalmente chegou meu dia de skipper! Foi muito legal kkkk Como voces ja sabem, adoro posicoes de lideranca (poder!!!) entao me diverti organizando o grupo por aqu iksksks
Estou feliz em quantidades indiscritiveis e muito grata por essa oportunidade. sinto saudades de voces todos os dia e espero que estejam todos muito bem. Beijos especiais pra mamae, papai, rafa e vovos. Amo voceees! Pessimo dia pros meus Haters 😉 S2