Programs Blog

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Position: 41° 30.1’S  X  177° / Slightly north, but definitely more east of Cape Palliser / 119 nautical miles (in radar distance) from Wellington!

Ship Heading: 236° / Log: 1100 nautical miles.

Ship Speed (knots): 6.3 knots

Wind Speed: 31 knots

After a few days of windy weather preparations and many very informational warnings from our preceding weather reports, the Cook Gale finally made her appearance yesterday at around 1800. With A watch on deck, the winds began to pick up, coming in at around 30 knots. Wave height increased, the sky turned grey, and it was time to strike some sails. Right at turnover, B watch quickly jumped onto the bowsprit to strike and furl the jib. Eamonn and I went onto deck to get some pictures of their efforts, but the energy aboard picked up and we soon found ourselves helping sheet in the main and retrieving sail tiles to strike it. Watching the professional crew furl that mains’l reminded me of my 8-year-old self watching the US women’s national soccer team zip the ball around straight to goal on TV. All of them grabbing at that giant sail with such drive and ALACRITY!! Sail ties flying from hand-to-hand, getting made around the boom in no time. Somehow though, despite the high winds and fairly heeled over boat, the ship never felt warmer. Soaked crew coming down from the quarterdeck only brought more laughter and joy to the main salon.

B watch assumed the deck at 1900 and spent most of their time hove-to (not really moving forward, but definitely drifting sideways). We lost some latitude over the 6 hours, but the main engine was fired up right after midnight before they were relieved by us (C watch)!

I was in lab with Kenzie, Eamonn, and Karma, though there wasn’t much to do since we weren’t really able to do deployments. We write a fire science report and creature feature, but the dry-lab overcame me, and I was forced to the quarterdeck to relieve my gut contents overboard on the low side. A donation to Poseidon, if you will. Shout out to our mate Shel for helping me find my way to the side of the boat in the dark and taking care of me throughout the rest of watch <3. And to Karma, covering for those of us who were feeling extra queasy. And to Kenzie for making lab as enjoyable as possible. And to Eamonn for joining the club and also offering up his dinner to the big blue ocean shortly after.

We turned over to A watch at 0700 and had a delicious breakfast this morning. The winds and swells continue, but all of us are truly making the best out of it. We’ve started to throw our letters-in-a-bottle overboard, hoping someone may find our silly thoughts one day and let us know. Parents and friends who read this – do not fret! The boat has been set up with extra safety precautions, and we’re keeping one another in good spirits with countless ‘would-you-rathers’, haikus, and jokes. We’ll be in Wellington in no time (looking like March 11th but in the face of mother nature, this very well could change). But until then, the fun sailing adventures continue on.

Mom and Dad I miss you and the doggies! Give Hudson and hazel some pets for me. Josh, I hope you’re staying safe on the ski slopes. Donny, I miss you and good luck on any prelims or exams you have coming up! I know you’re setting some sick climbing routes right now.

Madi Kim, C watch, Cornell University