Programs Blog

March 1, 2025

Position: 37 51 S, 178 45 E

Wind: 13knots, SE

Sail plan: Sailing under the mainsail, mainstaysail, forestaysail, jib and topsail

It’s the first day of the new month! But honestly, with one day flowing into the other so seamlessly, some aboard the Seamans probably haven’t even noticed that we’re entering into March. A good couple of days into the longest leg of our journey down South, things are starting to taste, feel, and smell familiar. When I hear my name called out, during wakeups for the next watch, I know where to reach in the darkness of my bunk to grab my harness and my clothes from last night. But despite the days fading together like the sky with the ocean on a cloudy night, there is always something new.

Today started with a beautiful sunrise, which was the first thing we saw as we stumbled up on deck after a wonderful breakfast of potato and spinach quiche. Watch progressed in a usual way, we were hove to for a while, for doing science, but just as I was veering towards boredom due to our lack of movement, we had a visitor. An albatross, circling slowly and gracefully above the ocean, with one edge of its wing almost touching the water’s surface. It didn’t seem to be very interested in us, but much more in the nearby petrels. It circled our bow before leaving us, a truly majestic sight.

In the afternoon, we practiced drills-MOB, Fire and Preparing to Abandon Ship. To calm down all potential readers, none of the above is even remotely likely to occur on our trip, but it is important to be prepared for every situation, so every week there is a time allocated to practicing. While retrieving a buoy with the Zodiac, as a part of our MOB drill, the albatross graced us again, and flew directly over the small boat, granting the crew members in it a sight you do not see every day.

As I write this, sitting up on the decktop, the setting sun casts shadows on the white paper, tempting me to trace the contours of my hand instead of finishing this blog entry. If I look up, I see the shadows of the rigging upon the white sails, illuminated just like the pages in my notebook.

Kinga Toth-Rohonyi, C-watch, College of the Atlantic