Location: Atlantic Ocean
Hello hello!
Today is day 12 at sea! We are currently about 300nm away from 5000nm! It is still such a crazy concept waking up every day and seeing absolutely nothing but blue water as far as the eye can see. The skies, however, are super dynamic and beautiful. The clouds, the stars, and the sunsets are always a top appreciation during the squeeze. It has been raining on and off recently, and it even resulted in a huge rainbow! The sky has been my salvation as our days blend together. We use the stars at night to navigate, and seeing a new sunrise or sunset has not only been amazing to look at, but it reminds me that another day has actually passed, and we are that much closer to our destination. Those who know me are aware of the crazy seasickness I have been dealing with since our very first passage. I am happy to report that I am finally used to the motion of the ocean again! (I did feed the fish a couple of times at first, though, lol.)
Our day started off with a delicious chicken soup made by Joel, Cooper, and Lauren. Everyone was very happy and full by the end of lunch, which led to a very… energetic cleanup. Our deckie team all ended up soaked from head to toe after our bosun Hendo got a little trigger-happy. The commotion and laughter spread right over to the dishy pit, where one of our crew mates actually ended up peeing their pants on deck from laughing so hard! One of our staff also had a close call with their own bladder, but thankfully, there was just one accident today. After the yellow river was cleaned, we got started with leadership led by Maya and Anna, where we had many discussions about building and maintaining organizations. Afterward, we got right into our last section of marine biology: seabirds and reptiles!
We have lots of assignments coming up in order to free up our schedule for the Caribbean. After class wrapped up, most of us got some free time to work while our PSCT crew squeezed in a lesson. At this time, Emy and Rachel performed their finished Vela song for those who spent their time on deck. I can’t wait to hear it myself! We began to wrap up our day with scalloped cheesy potatoes for supper and have an early squeeze. The question I chose for the day was: “What is one thing you have learned about the person to your left, and then give them a compliment.” I was hoping to give our sleep-deprived crew a little morale boost before we went back on watch. It made me really happy to see how much we have learned from each other and how a small compliment can just light up someone’s face.
Overall, today was one of our simpler days on passage. Personally, a chill but fun day like today was very much needed. I hope some of the others can agree with me. But I know our crew can handle whatever this ocean throws at us, and we are going to be in the beautiful Caribbean in just a matter of days now!
P.S. Sophie says: “Happy early birthday, Jambo!”
P.P.S. Mom and Rob, I can’t wait to see you again in Antigua! And Mekhi, I’m counting down the days until I’m back home with you! I hope you’re all doing good. I miss you and love you all so so much! Muah!!
-Spews