Today marks day two of our passage to Wellington. Despite the watch officer transition yesterday, things have been running smoothly and everyone is happily settling into life offshore once again.

C watch has the pleasure of being awake from 2200 to 0300 for watch. Though this may seem like a rough time to be sailing a tall ship through 12 foot waves, the sheer beauty of the full moon reflected on the water, the wind rushing past you, and most importantly the midnight dolphins and Sargassum, makes it all worthwhile.

Today was day one of our 12-day sail from Russell down to Wellington.  The near future is both exciting and daunting as we will not set foot on land for the next two weeks or so.  With that being said, everyone is settling back into the groove of being on a watch schedule and adjusting well to life at sea after being anchored for two nights.

Finally having a full day in port after a long week of learning the ropes (pun), the crew was ready to fill our one full day in the Bay of Islands with as much as we could before setting off on the long journey to Wellington. The day was to be separated into three main activities; a tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, “research time,” and dinner back aboard the Robert C. Seamans with important guests that were friends of Professor Jeff Wescott.

Today marks a week on the boat and the first port stop! As of this morning everyone has fully adjusted thanks to the amazing crew and a finely tuned combination of acclimation and the occasional medication.

It’s hard to believe that we set sail just yesterday from our anchorage at Francis Bay, St. John. So much science has happened since! When we were leaving St. John, we took three surface samples to get an idea of how nutrients and chlorophyll change from inshore to offshore, stay tuned for those exciting discoveries.

Day four of sailing, and we’re already accustomed to life at sea! It took a few days for a couple of us to gain our sea legs, myself included. Some waves are bigger than others, and I definitely could feel the bigger waves. But now, the gentle rocking, the unbalanced moments, and everything else the Pacific has to offer us, can now be fully embraced.

Aside from those of us who had anchor watch this morning, our day began at 0630. After breakfast, chores, and some packing, we launched our two inflatable boats and shuttled everyone to the nearby beach. From there, we walked across the island to Waterlemon Bay where we spotted a reef shark in the shallow water and surveyed a lively reef.

A 21st birthday celebration on land is deceivingly similar to that underway. Full of well wishes, tasty cakes, reflection, and likely some vomiting. I began my morning with a watch shift, where we made sure the boat was safe and secure and that all was well as the sun rose.

We left St. Croix yesterday and bounced over some waves to St. John, arriving at about 10:00 this morning! Today C watch was on from 7:00 am until 1:00 pm, during which we gybed 4 times, struck and furled all the sails, took water samples (for SCIENCE!), and anchored in St. John.