Programs Blog

Sights, Sails, and Shipmates

November 30, 2023
Full stack party hat! All the squares'ls are set for downwind sailing, with Cricket next to the furled mains'l.

Author: Jenna Lilly, Teaching Assistant

Ship’s Log

30 November 2023Position at 1800: 36 02.112S x 177 26.197EShip’s Heading and Speed: course 085, 1136 RPMWeather: wind SW F2, seas WSW 1ft, clouds 8/8 stratocumulus and altocumulus, 17? C, 1015.2mb

Dear land-lubbing family and friends,Here we are: motorsailing under the four lowers, underway at last to Napier. After our extended time at dock in Auck(land) doing lots of training, it has been a delight watching the action truly begin. And as such, we need to talk about the sights, sails, and selfless shipmates of the last few days.SIGHTSOur stop to anchor at Great Barrier Island was a short but sweet treat. Everyone enjoyed the golden hour of sunset, as the light peeked over one side of the island and lit up the forested hills and mountains on the other. Diving gannets were our evening entertainment in this quiet bay. The next day when we got underway and out to sea, I was transfixed by the unique landscape of the island and all its little parts. Because of the way the trees were growing, it seemed the vegetation carpeting the island was dense forests of broccoli, with those towards the cliff edges having been clearly windswept. We passed many smaller islands or pieces of the large island on our way out, and several had interesting shapes, and one even had a solitary house, halfway up the steep hillside≈how anyone got there was a mystery, as there seemed to be no dock for a boat. At sunset, a large pod of dolphins were playing in the waves, about half a soccer field distance away. At first three and then 7-10 of them split from the rest and danced around under the bowsprit to the sound of gleeful noises from those of us on deck.SAILSFrom the first couple hours off the dock, we dove right in to setting sails. Sometimes in the first few days we will start small, with the four lowers, but with this class, we put them straight on the squares’ls. In the first couple days, we have already set 7 of the 10 different sails on the Bobby C! This was a great practice, because today was the line chase, where the three watches face off in a relay race to see who knows their lines best. After much fast walking (no running), ⌠Hot! Cold! yelling, and dodging the other watches, A Watch came out as the line chase victors. The chance to set sail and be out on the water is what everyone had been waiting for after 7+ weeks on land, so the pent-up excitement has now been able to come out in the enthusiasm for learning all these new things.SHIPMATESOne of the sayings we have on the SEA ships is ship, shipmate, self. Rather than explain the concept, I’ll illustrate this phrase with a few examples of actions my shipmates have done recently: stepping in on dish duty for someone else, helping seasick watchmates either with tasks or by sitting next to them in solidarity, volunteering to cover someone else’s blog day, asking someone else how can I help? when you’ve finished your own task, and brightening other’s days with laughter, music, and sweet notes. Being in this new, dynamic environment of the ship is challenging in ways that are hard to internalize and fully understand until you are in it. Yet because of or in spite of this, it is also an environment full of opportunities for care. I am amazed by the kindness and support that my shipmates have shown to each other so far, and I look forward to the ways this community will come together in the coming weeks.To all those on land, thanks for following along with our journey!Pyrosomely yours,Big Tuna aka Jenna LillyTeaching Assistant for S312