Programs Blog

Tuesday, October 28^th, 2025

Noon Position: 25°13.4’ N x 055°28.2’ W

Ship Heading 240°

Ship Speed (knots): 7 knts

Log (nm): 2200

Weather: SE Wind Force 3, sailing under Deep Reef Mains’l, mainstays’l, forestays’l, jib, jib tops’l, and fisherman

Description of location: South Sargasso Sea (heading to St. John!)

Today I woke up to an amazing breakfast of a few different kinds of cereal, we had lucky charms, cinnamon toast crunch, and raisin bran. Then I had watch from 0700 to 1300. During watch, we used the hydro wire to do a deployment of a Secchi disk, which is a piece of equipment that we use to figure out what the visibility of the water that we are in is. Every time we deploy the Secchi disk, somebody walks around the ship with a whiteboard taking guesses on what everyone thinks the visibility is. Today I guessed 34m and the actual visibility was 34.5m, tucker guessed 35m but we use “Price is Right” rules so if you go over you are eliminated, which meant I was the closest. Then right before we had our ship’s meeting, I walked up on deck and noticed that the fishing line was out of the clip that we use to tell if there is a fish on. So I started to pull the line in, and I didn’t really feel like there was a fish on but when I got it closer, I saw that there was a Mahi Mahi on the hook. This was cool because it was the first Mahi I have ever caught and it was on a hand line in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The fish wasn’t that big, but it was the first fish that we have caught so far.

Kai, B Watch

Today was one of my best days on the ship so far. First, I woke up to a breakfast of lucky charms, and it was delicious, then I went off to morning watch. I was in the Lab with Kai, Tucker and Eliza. We did not do any processing during the watch, we did a wire deployment of a Secchi disk, unfortunately, I didn’t win the Secchi disk bet, and I haven’t won one yet. Then we did a Phyto net, a Neuston and three dip nets. Those dip nets were very exciting. Eliza and Tucker both netted two separate kinds of sargassum which we hadn’t seen once on our cruise track, and for a couple hours, we thought might’ve been new species of sargassum. Eliza and Tucker named them Zatans (Eliza-tans) and Tucketans (Tucker-tans). We were all convinced they were new species. Then about 20 minutes ago I was informed they were probably just Natans II and Fluitans X, which was disappointing, but is still very exciting because those are very rare types of sargassum. After watch however my day really started to get good.

              A few days ago I discovered that I had accidentally brought a chocolate bar onto the ship, possibly the only chocolate bar on the ship, and it wasn’t just any chocolate bar, it was a Milka and Chips Ahoy collab Chocolate bar. One of the best chocolate bars I’d ever had. That same day, Wells told me that she had two seltzer water cans. The two of us agreed to split the chocolate bar and the seltzer water. We then refrigerated everything and waited. Finally, today during a delicious lunch of some sort of chicken and veggie stir fry, Wells suggested we have our seltzer water. I agreed. I went into the fridge and got my chocolate bar. But the seltzer water cans? Nowhere to be found. For ten minutes I searched, I moved everything, and still nothing, neither Wells nor I had any idea where they could be. We were worried that they might have been taken out of the refrigerator, or even worse somebody else had already taken them to drink. Then Davidge, thank goodness, saw what was going on and I told him he could have some chocolate if he found the seltzer waters. Five minutes later he climbed out of the refrigerator with those two spindrifts. My day was saved. I then went up on deck on this blistering hot 85-degree day and enjoyed the best seltzer water and the best chocolate bar I’ve ever had.

              After Seltzer water, I was hanging out on the bow of the ship and then I heard Kai yell he had a fish on. We had had a hand line out most every day for hours a day for a week, and hadn’t caught a single thing. So, I ran up and saw him pulling in a super cool and colorful Mahi Mahi. I think we are going to eat it tomorrow, or at least a couple of us will. To round out my day, my group, B-watch won the science charades game, and I just had a delicious dinner of pork chops, sweet potatoes and salad. All this happened, and I’m on a Sailboat. I can’t imagine a better day.

Danny, B Watch