Programs Blog

Author: Keya Mookencherry, B Watch, Carleton College

Ship’s Log

Friday, 26 April, 2024

Noon Position (Lat and Long): 25°41.4’S 148°56.4’W

Ship Heading (degrees): 230°

Ship Speed (knots): 5 kn

Taffrail Log (nm): 3241

Weather / Wind / Sail Plan (from 1300 Watch Change): Sailing on a broad
reach under the staysl’s, jib, and tops’l. Wind SE force 4.

Description of location: SSPG Gyre Core

Hello everyone!

Today is Halloween on the Bobby C. Festivities included: yummy food, some
Halloween decor, and of course dressing up (highlights being Bri in her
shark onesie and our beloved Davi who painted herself blue from head to
toe)!! Christmas was yesterday so you may be confused as Halloween usually
comes before, but as you may be able to tell from the blog messages
previously, time on the ship exists much different from the usual.

Speaking of time, it feels crazy that it’s already the 26th and we will be
in Mo’orea so very soon! As my parents know, creative writing is not quite
my strong suit so I thought I’d share about my day today and some of my
favorite things from the boat so far.

Phase 3 on the boat has begun meaning that each and every one of us will
experience being a Junior Watch Officer (JWO) and Junior Lab Officer (JLO).
So far I have been able to be both and have loved it! On dawn watch today I
was JLO and got to help lead lab processes such as doing an 100 count
sorting through lots of cool critters and goop, processed nitrates, and had
a little too much fun writing haikus and dad jokes with Elaina.

Later in the day, after getting some high quality sleep, Jocelyn, Elaina,
and I gave a brief presentation on Atolls that started off with a dad joke
(crafted during dawn watch of course). Our class subject of the day was
celestial navigation and we split into 3 stations. Rocky gave us a review on
calculation local apparent noon and calculating sun lines, Captain Allison
gave us a talk on how to calculate twilight on the ship, and JC gave us a
review on how to use sextants to shoot the sun. After class I spent a lot of
time on deck with friends. The sunset was so beautiful and Mya, Willa and I
painted our nails while JD played guitar and sang. A bigger group gathered
on the deck for the jam session and Amy brought her fiddle to play too! The
live music from all of the very talented people on the boat has been one of
my highlights for sure, especially when a bright colorful sun is setting and
it’s warm outside.

Some other highlights from the boat so far:

–          Any time when someone is playing live music

–          Hauling on the Mains’l halyard with my 22 closest friends

–          The food (all of it is incredible thanks to our lovely stewards!)

–          Pin rail chase day

–          Deck shower party with Megan, Willa, Taylor, Emily, and Elaina

–          Making each other friendship bracelets!

–          Furling the jib with our fabulous B watch crew

–          Valve day as friengineer

–          Field day (the one day a week we can listen to music!)

–          So many more moments but this blog would turn into a book if I
wrote them 🙂

Notes to home:

To my family, I miss you guys and hope everyone is doing well! I love you
all so much and can’t wait to see you all and share stories from being
abroad. I appreciate how much support you all have given me and it truly is
a privilege to be able to do this program. Also, so sorry Anya but your
crochet top is not even close to being done…I’ll finish it before summer
ends I promise! Hope the college search is going well too sista <3 Say hi to
buddy and give him lots of pets for me!

To Brandon, I miss and love you lots! I hope all of your computer science
projects (that maybe someday I’ll understand…odds are slim though) have gone
well and that you’re enjoying Asia if you still planned to go. I can’t wait
to see you after the trip and exchange all our stories.

To my friends who’ve kept up with the blog, I miss you guys lots too and
can’t wait to hear about what’s been going on in your lives since we last
talked.

Bye for now!

Keya Mookencherry, B Watch, Carleton College

https://sea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Apr26KeyaDewey-Sunsetsmall.jpg