Thursday December 4th saw us experiencing mounting excitement at the prospect of reaching our goal, landing in Martinique. It was also one of our more magical days and evenings, with Mother Nature herself providing an incredible show. We entered an awestruck silence with the wonder of the setting sun, only to be further stunned in looking back to the stern of Sea Dragon, where we were framed by a spectacular rainbow around the rising moon. It was so unexpected and never before experienced by all of us, and seemed to encapsulate the spirit of this voyage across the deep ocean; a series of many firsts.
Too close to land to do more science in the afternoon, we finished our series of talks with Emily, our skipper. She took us on a journey of her life, studies, and ultimately her thrilling adventures at sea, which have helped to shape her philosophy that brings us all here. Emily was one to “never say never,” leaving one career to pursue her adventures both on sea and land, all of which were geared toward building awareness of and creating more sustainable communities around the globe. With “arms wide open,” she has participated in grassroots initiatives in islands in the Pacific that had us all agog.
This led to a wide ranging discussion around the many eXXpedition events, education initiatives, and projects that will be pursued by all of us in the months and years ahead. Many of these projects will see cross-continent collaboration among members of the crew, who are coming away from this grand adventure with greater resolve and a sense of hopefulness in carrying the mission of eXXpedition further, beyond the decks of Sea Dragon and into our communities.
We also spent our last evening at sea celebrating Lucy and her yet to be born child, our little male stowaway. Jenna led a Blessing Way ceremony, which included blessings and intentions from each of us, and Lucy was pampered with a cushioned seat, much coveted by all of us.
Finally, before heading to our bunks for a final sleep at sea, or to the last late evening watch, we were treated to some wonderful tributes from Constanca, who shared her visions of each of us as our animal or animated selves.
Included in our blessing for Lucy was this traditional Celtic blessing, the words of which echo the experience of each of us through these weeks of sailing across an entire ocean:
Deep peace of the running wave to you, deep peace of the quiet earth,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you, deep peace of the shining star
May peace, may peace, may peace make you whole
May peace, may peace, may peace fill your soul
– eXXpedition crew, December 4, 2014
