Transit: Arrival

Atlantic Ocean

11/19/24

Written by incoming deckhand educator, Eliza

It is our last day at sea and what a day it has been! Over the course of the past eight days, our motley crew has come together, bonded by too-late nights, sweaty galley meals, huge dramatic squalls, dirty jokes, and good books. And today, all that bonding and hard work came to a head in the form of a time-honored tradition, schooner olympics! Competing in our watches, A-Watch (known as Awooga Watch), B-Watch (blonde watch), and C-Watch (C-Squatch) went toe-to-toe in a series of seamenship trials. There was pin rail chasing, knot-tying, balentine-ing, and heevee tossing.

As with all good sailor’s competitions, cook Andy served as bookie, taking bets and keeping score. In the end, despite the odds, C-Watch reigned victorious. The whole crew came together around a big bowl of popcorn and the last of the peelable banana candies to sing shanties, with a circling booby flying overhead. And, just as our singing was reaching its dramatic crescendo, we were interrupted by cries from the quarter deck. “Land-ho!” Tomorrow morning, we will make our way into St. Croix, our journey through. But tonight, the sky is full of stars and our voices still ring in the sweet tropic air.