Programs Blog

Date: May 1, 2025

Time: 1406

Location: Central South Pacific Gyre

Weather: Cloudy, hot (27˚C) and humid

Hi everybody! It’s Aimee again, reporting from aboard the Bobby C., sailing under the mains’l, stays’ls, and the jib, above more than 5,000 meters of water!

Happy May! In addition to the start of a new month, it’s Henry’s birthday! We celebrated with a delicious flourless chocolate cake (two cake days in a row?!? Crazy!) made by Jaimie and the stewards, and Henry loved the handmade banners made by myself and the rest of A Watch!

Speaking of celebrations, local apparent wedding planning has gotten started! Georgia and I typed up and printed out Save-The-Dates last night and handed them out during class today. On the invitation is the date (sometime), location (The Quaint Quarterdeck Chapel), the requested attire (Fancy Schmancy), and everybody’s role for the big day. Some of the roles are pretty standard, like the photographer, wedding party, and officiant (Cap, of course), but others are funnier: the IPad kid, the overly emotional family members, the wedding crasher, and the bouncers to keep the wedding crasher out (Sorry Izzy). I’m so happy that everyone is getting so into the fake wedding and can’t wait for the big day!

I’m writing this while sitting on the quarterdeck, surrounded by my crewmates. We just finished having our ship’s meeting and people are reading, talking, enjoying the breeze, and tying bracelets, anklets, and rings with Turk’s Head Knots. The knots, along with how to splice rope and how to sew whippings to stop lines from fraying are newly learned skills, thanks to Cap and the mates! My piece of line, spliced and whipped, will be a beautiful but slightly odd addition to the decorations in my bunk.

My favorite times on the ship are these, when everyone is together. We fill the time by playing music, reading, doing the Egg Dance, or just appreciating a beautiful sunset or sunrise. Even through rough seas, everyone aboard the Robert C. Seamans is excited and glad to be here with each other, doing what we’re doing, and that is just absolutely delightful.

One of the times when everyone was together was a few days ago, when Patricia spotted a whale while on lookout! Jackie made an announcement over the intercom, and everyone gathered on deck to admire the beautiful creature that Sarah identified as a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). It stayed with us for around an hour, inspecting us while we admired it. Fin whales are Mysticetes, which means they have baleen, not teeth, and filter feed on krill, copepods, and other zooplankton. Fin whales are the second largest animal on Earth, and are usually found in the Southern Hemisphere, in the central South Pacific, right where we are!

In addition to the whale, as my classmates have mentioned before, a pod of dolphins hung out with us about two weeks ago. After some research, I’ve found that they were perhaps striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) or maybe short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). (See Georgia’s earlier post on April 16^th for a photograph.) Striped dolphins are widely distributed around the globe in tropical, subtropical, and temperate oceans, and we saw them in this range!

I can’t believe that we’ve been sailing for 26 days, and that it’s almost over. I’ve grown closer with my shipmates, but also with the ship herself and the sea, or, as Grace calls her, “our big Mama Ocean.” In addition to my relationships with other things, I have grown as a person while on this journey. I’ve overcome some of my ‘FoMo’ and become comfortable prioritizing my needs while also being conscious of other’s needs. I’ve learned so many new skills, and I continue to learn more every day.

I’m extremely grateful for this trip and for these people, and it’s not over yet! Yippee!

– Aimee Bousquet, The University of New Hampshire, A Watch

Shoutouts:

Mom & Dad: I miss you so much! I’m always thinking of you and love you both so much!

To everyone else I love, especially my friends at UNH: I’m so excited to see you all again and can’t wait to tell you all about adventure on the high seas!