Programs Blog

Author: Rachel Meyne, Colgate University

Ship’s Log

Winds / Sail Plan
Force 5 from ENE, Sailing under the, fore stays’l and main stays’l

Position
13’ 44.4 N x 142’ 56.5 W (celestial fix)

Log
2586 NM

Souls on Board

Today I had dawn watch (0100-0700), field day (all hands spend 2 hours deep cleaning the ship) and am about to go onto evening watch (1900-0100). To be honest, I spent most of the day sleeping. Not super blog worthy so I thought I would take a slightly different format and share 34 things I love about SEA semester:

1) Alice. I wish Alice could follow me around and color commentary my life. She knows so much and always recognizes irony in a situation.
2) Eva is so good at having a laugh. She puts out positive energy that is uplifting even on tough days and helps me find humor every situation.
3) You can always count on Carson for a quick laugh but I really appreciate how he always does the right thing very mater of factly.
4) You can tell after a few conversations with Hannah that she reads a lot. I appreciate how in conversations her contributions are very substantive and thought provoking.
5) Sofia is very bright. She is fun to chat with because she is usually the first person to know the latest tea on the boat.
6) Mat is a natural conversationalist. He has a lot of interesting stories to tell and is low key a great photographer.
7) Cassie is one of my dear friends. She is truly a friend who is down for anything and goes out of her way to make others feel special.
8) Audrey is one of those people you feel almost instantly comfortable with. She is a brutally honest, mellow and unpretentious.
9) For a combination of reasons that are hard to pin down Itai is someone who is very easy to be around. I have never heard him complain and you would be hard pressed to find something negative to say about him.
10) Carly’s personality has a pretty wide range. She is fun to be around because she is very goofy but behind the goofball there is a seriously smart individual that we will probably see someday in space.
11) I wish I have had more interactions with Oscar because I have always though he was a kind and hilarious person. I learned recently that he is a great guitarist and had a great time jamming a few nights ago.
12) Stevie is someone who I am so happy to have gotten to know better since first meeting over a year ago. She is an incredibly deep person who I know I can always go to if I need to talk, and I always appreciate them checking in.
13) I love playing cards and sharing stories with Nick. He has a deadpan sarcasm that cracks me up and I hope we can meet up to go hiking sometime.
14) I didn’t expect someone as sarcastic as Kira to be so equally kind. They have a sense of humor unlike anyone I have met and when I am sometimes a step behind the punchline I never feel judged.
15) I am so thankful to have been put on C watch. These are the shipmates I have spent time with the most time with and have genuinely enjoyed getting to know everyone so well!
16) Bella is one of the silent leaders on C watch. She isn’t always the loudest presence, but we can count on her to be aware and know her stuff.
17) Adam has a persistent positive energy that can yank you out of a slump, though an outsider listening on a conversation with Adam might need a translator.
18) Carolyn had a consistency about her that is good at bringing the pace of watch down when we all need to just take a breath. She also has a beautiful singing voice that helps keep spirits high on the boat.
19) Colin Has so much energy and enthusiasm about sailing it is contagious. I have learned a lot from asking him questions and receiving help when I am feeling behind on the sailing learning curve.
20) Many of the memories that will last far beyond the boat are with Katie. She is a kind, hardworking individual and every conversation I have with her is more interesting than the last.
21) I have a lot of respect for Abby Mai because she seems to have a well thought out set of values and has found a lifestyle to go along with them. She is also the type of person to see something wrong and fix it in the background without making anything of it.
22) Abby W has an unpretentiousness about her that makes her very easy to learn from. The more I learn about what the engineers do the more I am glad Abby is on board and I appreciate everything that goes on behind the scenes to make the boat function.
23) Nate is pretty fun to hang out with. He is a great listener but is also a wealth of knowledge when you get him talking. He is the other engineer onboard and probably does more for the ship than I’ll ever know.
24) I was really amazed by how Hanna integrated with everyone in California. She is one of the more introspective people I have met and can’t wait for her to join C watch for the last couple weeks!
25) Talia is a positive energy I think the whole boat feeds off of. On my second day in the galley we sang songs from wicked and felt like they really broke a shell I didn’t know was there.
26) Ashley is one of the hardest working people here. She spends most of her day in one of the hottest parts of the boat and manages to crank out 3 square meals and 3 snacks a day.
27) I learned a lot from Emily the first two weeks I was here. She is a patient teacher that never made me feel dumb for the things I didn’t yet know in lab.
28) Lila so fun to be in lab with. She is an upbeat person who explains things in such a way that stick with you effortlessly.
29) Duncan adds a lot of spice to the ship. We haven’t spent much time together, but from what I know so far I think that this last rotation in lab will be a fun one.
30) Christine is the chief mate onboard and has a preceding reputation as a stern but fair leader. Her presence will let you know when it is time to get serious and when we can shoot the shit on deck.
31) I am so thankful that Darcy was the mate C watch had first in the rotation. She is younger than the other mates but someone to learn a lot from.
32) Megan is a great person to talk to when you have no idea what direction your life is going in because she has really made the most of hers. She is someone you feel you should try to impress but that you also shouldn’t stress too hard about it.
33) Jan must be one of the busiest people on the boat but whenever someone needs to ask him for help it is like you are the only priority in the moment.
34) Sean is the captain of the Seamans and an excellent leader. I appreciate how down to earth he is because it allows us space to ask questions and learn about decisions being made on the boat.

So to friends and family following the blog I hope you can see that your loved ones appreciated on the boat. To my loved ones here is a photo for proof of life taken at sunset I the Pacific. Every day can’t be as glamorous as a birthday but even so there is something to appreciate every day.

Rachel Meyne, Colgate University

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