Strumming and steaming

The day dawned with some squall lines, but quickly cleared for C Watch after we took the deck and lab. In lab, we finished some batch nutrient processing; getting data from all of our stations so far in one big push of chemistry and spectrophotometry that requires pausing the usual deployment schedule. I celebrated with Arthur and John when we ran the last sample in lab, signifying the end of 16 hours of intense labor for the scientists and students.

On deck, C Watch shot sun lines and tracked a sailboat traveling west, just like us. They gained on us in the light wind - until we set our D-sail, and then we steamed on ahead. We felt a lot of affinity for a fellow sailboat, and watched it through binoculars as we passed one another. Much more so than the tankers and fishing boats that have been our usual traffic so far out to sea.

The afternoon brought another awesome and successful Field Day. The ship feels well cared for and a deck fire hose shower got all the souls onboard cleansed, as well. I found myself clean and relaxed, not quite sure how to end this lovely afternoon, with the sunset blazing red in the distance. I made a fish print on some envelopes (look out for some sweet letters, pen pals!) at a craft afternoon organized by Farley.

After stowing my art, I heard a banjo's refrain carried on the wind and followed it back to the quarterdeck. There was Arthur, strumming away, singing some tunes. I listened awhile, then he told me to go grab my fiddle, and a jam session began! I brought the melodies, on the fiddle, and with Arthur picking on the banjo and Scott on the guitar, we had a real band going. In the waning light, we practiced some tunes for our Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow. Morgan, the steward, volunteered us to play for a contra dance set at some point during the day.

Our band even has a name, created by Sailing Intern Anna, "the Tops'l Trio!" Keep your ears out, we could be coming to a quarterdeck near you real soon!

Fair winds, we could use some!
Kelsey