“Trial by Fire on the Water”: 2023 AmeriCorps Crew Training Day 2

St. Petersburg, FL

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Log Written by oncoming Deckhand Educator Jordan Edwards

Today was the day. The new crew was finally going to see our new home in all of her glory out in the ocean with all the sails raised. Clear blue skies. A comfortable temperature all around. The sounds of air being expelled by porpoises in the background juxtaposed with the diving of seabirds. But not a single breath of wind was given on an otherwise perfect day…until we came back in and docked, then the breeze was splendid and welcomed candidly. Go figure. The purpose of this sail was a demonstration for the Coast Guard, making sure our vessel was ship shape and ready to depart to St. Croix tomorrow afternoon. As was expected, the amount of knowledge the new crew was tasked with was  immense and at times overwhelming, but just like learning anything new this will of course become easier over time. I myself have little to no knowledge of the sailing world, so this truly is trial by fire…but on the water. So many terms, so many sails, so  many thoughts of “What am I doing here?” So little time to second guess. Jake the cook quelled these thoughts of anxiety with delicious meals throughout the day. I believe we will get along famously. 

The rest of the day was spent dockside learning more terms and demonstrations. Coiling ropes, furling sails, learning commands to call out and reciprocate ending with what some would call the most nerve wracking part of a green sailor’s training, going aloft. While everyone had small measures of apprehension, we were all successful and happy to have climbed up and down without any issues. I’ll check back in when we actually perform this whilst at sea, the story may be different. Ending the day, the new crew took a swim test and upon returning to the ship, learned that our Captain was to be taking a leave of absence and that our voyage to St. Croix was to be postponed for another few days. With that being said, we toasted in his honor and retired for the evening.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.