Location: 7*28.333 S, 77*12.659 E
Hi Everyone!
Today marks day number 8 of passage, our engines remain off, and we are at the mercy of the wind. With some good wind here and there followed by some light wind, we are hoping to call today our last full day of heading south before turning west to the Seychelles. We’ve been heading south in hopes of avoiding a high-pressure weather system, and we are about to hit the trade winds to swing us in the right direction.
Today was a big step forward with relieving stress – everyone got their literature reviews done and turned in for Oceanography! Now we all have one less thing on our plates, even if it took pulling an all-nighter to get it done. The next step is getting our presentations done!
At home, class is normally interrupted by the fire alarm or assemblies, but today we all leaped out of our chairs for a whale. Tom came down to the salon, and we all sprang to action, rushing to get our PFDs and get on deck to see the whale’s spray and to see its tale flip up out of the water. Safe to say, it was the best interruption to class we could have had.
Our watch teams are in a constant “competition” of who is the best. On the horizon is the possibility of watch team points for who does the most thorough boat checks (and finding the assassin crocodile). We all are loving messing around, even if we are all exhausted from our four-hour watch the night before. Our watches are spent listening to Harry Potter, True Crime podcasts, solving riddles, and talking code over the VHF radios. Each watch team is settling into their routines, and we are all getting way better at raising sails. Today, watch team two raised the sail with Smudge’s right hand on the downhaul and his left holding a cup of tea. Tonight we finally got some watch team pictures (minus Emily who isn’t feeling great).
In the last couple of days, we have had more rain than we saw in the first month in the Maldives. While it could be bringing down our morale, everyone seems to find joy in it. The only thing is that we are all learning why our foulies have their names – damp clothes definitely have a slightly foul smell. We are all wearing our bibs and jackets.
Miss and love you all at home! – Cate
Picture One – Watch Team One – Myra, Danar, Zach, Valentina, Carly, Noah, Bee, Trey, Smudge, and Amy
Picture Two – Watch Team Two – Max, Dylan, Finley, Robbie, Sierra, Gillian, Mads, Cate, Elle, and Leoni
Picture Three – Watch Team Three – Mo, Ian, Seth, Angie, Henry, Sam, Emily (missing), Lucia, Tom, Jess, and Shona ( guest appearance Captain Tom)