News

Monday, October 28th 2024
Position (Lat and Long): 36° 29.’N x 072° 34.82’W
Log (nm):  1368.6 nm
Weather / Wind and Sail Plan:  Close Haul, Starboard Tack Sailing with the 3 lowers (the main, the mainstaysl and the forestaysl.
Description of where we are sailing: Breezy, lots of sea spray/In the Gulf Stream, 160 nm off the coast of Virginia

One thing we’ve been struggling with on the boat is the lack of music. Today the song stuck in my head is a song by Miley Cyrus (Molly says it’s actually by Hannah Montana sorry Molly I’ve never seen Hannah Montana I just know the song) that I cannot remember the name of. But the lyrics seem pretty apt to life on the Corwith Cramer on this fine day. Please listen to it while you read this blog post for ambiance.

You can change your hair
Our friends with shaved and dyed hair is growing in well. It no longer feels like a shock to look at Dylan or Harold or Aubie or Quinn. My hair is getting dirty because that is just boat life :/ It is almost long enough to braid again! Cannot wait to take a non-navy shower in just about a week!

You can change your clothes
I have been rotating wearing the exact same 2 outfits since we left Baltimore. They surprisingly are both still feeling pretty clean. As tough as it will be when we leave the Gulf Stream and it gets cold, I am excited to bring out my third and final outfit (also my most stylish) which includes 7 layers, sometimes 8 if you count the foulies.

You can change your mind that’s just the way it goes
I started my hour of lookout at 0100 this morning not pleased to be there. Who would be?! I was just awoken from my cozy bunk and exciting dreams. I’m sleepy and a little cold. The wind is in my face and I just woke up so my voice is not warmed up enough to perform a bow concert. It’s hard to stay grumpy for long though. The sky is totally dark. No moon. No far away boat traffic. There’s not a cloud in sight and the milky way is spectacular. And the breeze on my face is warm which is a pleasant surprise (thanks Gulf Stream!) I count 10 shooting stars. How can I be grumpy with all this beauty around?!
I look down at the water. The movement of the boat illuminates the bioluminescence, creating a secondary map of constellations in the water mirroring the sky. Splashes build and I look down. There are dolphins riding our bow! As they surf the waves, their large bodies are illuminated, leaving glowing trails in their wake. It’s otherworldly.  I grin. Man, am I happy to be here.

You can say goodbye
Under the fantastic direction of JWO (junior watch officer) Virginia, we gybed twice this morning, setting up Cramer to go a cool 2 knots so we can deploy the mini boat and drifter buoy!  After this was smoothly and efficiently accomplished, the Millenium Raider was gently tossed overboard by the fantastic team of Penelope, Reagan, Quinn, Molly, Nora and Jeff early this morning and sailed away. Fair winds Millenium Raider!
(NOTE:  The miniboat and drifter buoy are scientific/educational devices built by students from  Hampshire Regional High School in MA.  To learn more about this collaboration checkout the Educational Passages website and look on the map for the Millennium Raider!).

And you can say hello
As dawn watch ends and the sun rises, we get our first glimpse of the water. It▓s so blue. A deep, dark blue.  So clear. And over 2000m deep!  All I want to do is jump in. Or take a big gulp. Instead I go to sleep until lunch.

But you’ll always find your way back home
Tonight C watch is on galley cleanup (again). It feels like we are always on galley cleanup. Evil JWO Overlord Molly has of course banished me to the galley to suffer.  Imagine the ‘clean’ water never quite gets clean. And the dishes never seem to stop coming. And the boat is rocking. And you’re basically done and then the tomato sauce on the counter slides onto the ground and splatters onto the clean floor and all of the clean dishes and the cleaned shelves and your work overalls. And now everything is covered in tomato sauce. But the galley is what makes this ship feel like home.  It’s the incredible food that keeps us nourished and excited. Today alone we had: potato egg breakfast casserole, banana bread muffins, Max’s special pasta (olive oil, salt, pepper, sautйed cabbage and sausage-so good I need the recipe), cheez-its and jerk chicken and coconut rice with lime and chocolate crinkle cookies! Imagine having to eat hard tack?!

Its mealtimes and coming together to eat with your friends before and after watch. And getting to share people’s favorite foods and family traditions and having glimpses into their lives beyond the ship.
It’s walking into the galley at any hour of the day and knowing it is a safe and welcoming space to take a breath from the sometimes claustrophobic  feeling of being on a ship with just 36 other people in the middle of the ocean.

The galley is the heart of this ship. And as much as I don’t enjoy galley cleanup, I love having delicious food. And I love making sure our amazing stewards Murph and Sara have a space that feels inspiring to work and create. So galley cleanup feels like coming home. And as we start the last week of our voyage, returning to our non-ship homes, I’ll know I’ll always have a home aboard the Corwith Cramer and its galley and all of the people I’ve braved the galley cleanup trenches with.

-Rebecca Dowd, Deck Hand and Program Assistant

PS to family and friends.
I love you Mom, Treely, Grandma, Akaash, Niki and Charlie. Missing you all lots and lots!

Sara T.- Mom you should make coconut rice for dinner, it’s really bussin.