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Spatch Patulak, A Watch, A Watch

A moment that is often a highlight of a sailors life at sea, is to close ones eyes and listen, just listen. To the wind running through the rigging, the sea rushing away from the hull, and birds flying by create a beautiful song that constantly plays. A personal favorite addition to this song, that is often heard when you wander forward. It plays amongst the other natural tunes, but doesn’t come from the ship, nor the wind or waves. It comes from a shipmate. Up at the very forward most part of our beloved vessel stands our lookout. Their job is to keep a keen eye out for clouds that may bring on negative emotions, friends in the form of other vessels, debris or hazards in the water and the like. And what do you do when your job is to stand alone, far far away from your shipmates (the reader should know that far far away does translated to apprx. 90ft), face into the salty breeze?

You  Sing! That’s right. As whistling is bad luck on boats – you could whistle up a wind – most everyone stands there and sings their little heart out. It is in fact a great way to spend the time.

So this week, as S-306 makes its way from The Marquesas Islands, sailing delightfully beam or broad reach, a much improved motion from the motoring square into it of weeks prior, here’s the rundown of what you might hear if you wandered forward on Seamans.

-       100 Years on the Eastern Shore

-       Build Me Up fro Bones  by Sara Jarosz

-       All N’ Yourn by Tyler Childers

-       Go the Distance from Hercules

-       All Night Long by ACDC

-       No Diggity by Black Street

-       The ENTIRETY of Les Miserables Soundtrack  (C- watch….. are you

okay?)

-       Carolina in my Mind by James Taylor

-       Stick Season by Noah Kahan

-       Farewell to Nova Scotia

-       A Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid

-       Sail Away by the Styx

-       Anything by Olivia Rodrigo

-       All That and More by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

-       Patty Layback

And that’s just some. When asked what they sang most, almost every 306er responded with “it depends”. So the variety of tunes you could possibly hear wafting from the foredeck is far more extensive than what I have compiled here.

After a long afternoon watch where I had a Bob Seager song drifting through my head as we dodged some squals and set the Tops’l for the first time on this trip (!!!) Its time for me to hum myself to sleep and dream of what the next port stop will be like. I am excited for what it will be after such a magic stop in the Marquesas.  As always, I am feeling grateful for the chance to be here experiencing these beautiful places with beautiful people.

Everyone at home please send us easterly winds to sail by!

P.S Happy Birthday Dad

Spatch Patulak, A Watch, A Watch