Brooks School (Day 1)

St. Croix, USVI

1/20/25

Written by students Ainsley, Kayu, Cam, Veronica, Hugh

Yay! We met the awesome crew members of the Denis Sullivan today at noon and played a fun get-to-know-each-other circle. After a brief introduction, we were finally able to board the much anticipated Denis Sullivan. Our first task on the ship was to enjoy the lunch made by our cook Darcie (delicious mac and cheese and salad). Everyone was overwhelmed with the hot temperatures of St. Croix and the new environment we were put in. But we were all super excited to go sailing soon. Not long after, we were separated into our watch groups to kick off the chores, such as doing the dishes, tidying up the deck, and more, and quickly adjusted to the routine aboard the ship.

Doing chores on the deck was extremely hot so everyone was thrilled to do their swim tests. While we waited our turn for the swim test, we got to know each other more through the game ‘personal preference.’ Thankfully, everybody got to cool off from the hot sun in the beautiful ocean. In addition to cooling off, we learned what an ocean shower is and we all took a nice ocean shower. With everyone feeling clean, we gathered around to learn about the most important part of living on a ship: safety protocols. Tatiana, the Mate, explained the three emergency situations and how to handle them - what to do when someone goes overboard, when there is a fire, or when we have to abandon ship. 

We took down all of the flags before we ate dinner consisting of pineapple chicken and rice before heading into our nightly chores. In the same watch groups, we did the dishes, cleaned the heads (bathrooms), and wrote this ship’s log. We are so excited to set sail tomorrow and begin our journey through the Caribbean. Signing off from an amazing day in Gallows Bay, Christiansted, St. Croix.

- WATCH GROUP B