Amalia from C watch here! Happy to report on the beautiful day we had anchored in a bay in the Great Barrier Island. Summer vibes on this part of the world! (Or at least they look like summer vibes to this tropical girl) and seas as calm as a mirror.

When people say that time flies, ask them what happens when time sails! The amount of information and sights and smells and thoughts and so many other things that occurred over the last few weeks seem nearly infinite. Yesterday was our last day at sea, which started with a squall that had us nearly walking on the bulkheads of the ship and drenched above deck, but that soon changed!

Greetings from Great Barrier Island! While we are now anchored, our final 24 hours of JWO sailing ensured that we got one last taste of every kind of natural phenomenon including erupting volcanoes (from a distance), wild squalls, torrential downpours, our “sportiest” winds yet which allowed us to sail a whopping 10 knots at one point-in addition to TWO birthdays!

Naomi from C-Watch here!

I believe that homemade bread is the purest form of love. Our lovely stewards, Ashley and Kylie, are always spoiling us with it. For this blog, my initial idea was to write a short story but as I looked at the calendar I realized how little time is left before the trip ends, so instead of my original idea, I’ve decided to take a more reminiscent route.

Let’s take a break from hearing about what a great time we’re having and have a chat about decolonizing the future. This is Climate & Society, after all (and we did do actual coursework).

Hi everyone! This is Mujahed, B watch, from Methodist University. Going back to land was very interesting; it felt overwhelming seeing people everywhere and going back to civilization in a way. I have noticed living my present moment became harder as I connected to the internet.

Things I learned on my first day as JWO (junior watch officer): it’s not as scary as it seems, your watch has your back, and when in doubt, the JWO survival guide holds the answer. It turns out calling the shots is a lot of fun, especially when everybody else’s goal is to help the JWO succeed.

Ahoy! Jessie from C-watch here, writing from our on-board library which is back to its usual rocking and rolling since our departure from Napier this afternoon. The day began with a deck sweep for C-watch. One aspect of sea life I hadn’t thought about before this semester is that the accumulation of dirt is rather dependent on our greatest dirt source: land! Following the sweep, we had the morning off to head into Napier for last minute errands.

Today was a day of celebration, as not one, but two shipmates had birthdays today, Jessie, and Jeff! We just rounded out the day, which was sunny and warm, with carrot cupcakes and a couple of rounds of Happy Birthday singing, including a Danish rendition by our resident Dane, Amelia.

Hello bloggies!

Natalie here from C Watch. Today was a wonderful day. We had some free time this morning to explore the art deco-d streets of Napier and do some laundry (yay!). Later in the afternoon, we went a winery and learned all about the effects of climate change on the winery industry.