Day 10
Halfway! 1,500 nm down, 1,500 nm to go, and we can almost taste the margaritas!
With 10 days at sea under our belt, the crew has settled into a comfortable rhythm onboard Sea Dragon. Most days consist of cooking, reading, standing watch, resting, and occasionally dancing while helming.
Sailing halfway across the Pacific is no small feat so Anna announced that a day of celebration was in order. No a party is complete without a theme and “pirates” seemed the most appropriate choice for our salty crew. At 6am Andrew kicked off the festivities and emerged from his cabin with a bandana, lionfish-parrot on his shoulder, and the accent of a true sea dog. Throughout the day everyone else got into character. Ben and Anna won awards for their commitment: Anna drew sleeve of nautical tattoos on herself in sharpie and Ben shaved a rough, long goatee complete with an underwear bandana (we’re told he used a clean pair, but can you ever trust a pirate’s word…?)
Despite the tropical sounding nature of a sail from Hawaii to Mexico, the past few days have been a little chilly, and a cozy dinner was in order. Bruce, Rebecca, and I cooked a big bowl of butternut squash chili with a pan of cornbread. Anna and Maggie hadn’t tried cornbread before, but gave the “dinner cake” rave reviews. To cap off the night Anna declared she was making pudding with smarties….after some confused looks from us Americans onboard Maggie helped translate that this meant brownies with m&ms, not chocolate gelatin with sugary nuggets mixed in. Everyone offered to help “clean” the brownie-mix covered dishes and we all enjoyed gooey, chocolate, deliciousness before slipping into mild food comas and climbing into bed.
Asked about the highlights of the first half of the trip everyone said:
“When Andrew stopped vomiting” -Anna
“Andrew almost crashing the drone” – Maggie (to those concerned about the drone’s fate, don’t worry, it was returned to the boat unscathed)
“Oh definitely, this facial hair. And the swimming” -Ben (who scarified his fingers to catch the drone)
“Not being sick, and swimming” – Andrew
“Stars!” – Jaden
“Leaving the dock and not seeing land” – Rebecca
“Seeing the stars and being in the middle of the Pacific!” – Bruce
So far, our time at sea has been wonderful. We’ve all learned so much about sailing, the environment, and where the best snacks onboard are hidden.
Cheers to the next 1,500 miles and fingers crossed for smooth sailing to Mexico!
-Elle
