Location: Underway to Tenerife
For me, today began with the 8-12 morning watch, which, to be honest, can sometimes drag on when you’re standing there in the heat with the sun beating down on you. However, this morning it went super quickly as we were entertained not only by a sighting of what we think might be Sei whales but also a pod of dolphins off in the distance. As you can imagine, the excitement flew around the boat as the word was spread, with people on other watch teams waking up to join in with the excitement. It took some time to decide what type of whales they were, and we had to consult the Whales and Dolphin guide as well as ask the advice of Dylan, our Marine Biology instructor. We decided on the possibility of them being Sei whales, which is very exciting!
Just when the excitement calmed down, however, we spotted something big over the Starboard side. The jury is still out on what we saw for this one, whether it was a different type of whale or perhaps some very relaxed dolphins at the surface. My guess is that they could be Risso’s dolphins due to their dorsal fin shape and color. But that wasn’t just it for our watch. Towards the end, a couple of students spotted a pod of dolphins (definitely dolphins this time) off in the distance, and then a turtle even cruised on by, right next to the boat!
Other than that, today has consisted of the regular underway passage life routine of watches, classes, and mealtimes. Today we had Marine Biology with Dylan and Leadership with Shona, where we were split into groups to discuss chapter 8 of our leadership book. Leoni, the Oceanography instructor, also put on a revision session after classes for anyone who wanted to attend in preparation for their next quiz tomorrow. During dinner, the squeeze question was asking everyone what they are most looking forward to in the second half of the trip. The most common answers were the ocean crossing, seeing land for the first time after the crossing, diving in the Caribbean, and exploring some of the Caribbean islands.
To update you on where we are, we are over halfway to Tenerife now and expect to arrive sometime around midday tomorrow. We are currently passing by two islands, one called Selvagem Pequena and the other Selvagem Grande, which are both wildlife preserves, and the only people that live on them are the rangers, so we are hoping to see some more marine life as well as some interesting birds passing over us.
Pictures:
1. Watch team two on watch this morning
2. Dinner line at sunset, featuring Emerson, Helayna, Sav, Henry, and James
3. Elle, Dylan, and Brianne
4. Akiva and Zoe
5. Joe being fed while helming by Emerson