Hey all!

Its Grace here, reporting from the New Zealand EEZ (exclusive economic zone) just one day away from Auckland.

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to watch TV or movies and the only entertainment we had was the entertainment we created for ourselves. My childhood was marked with grand, fantastical make-believe adventures lasting for weeks at a time

Ropes and lines cascade down from the top of the mast, to the end of the spreaders, and all the way down to the deck, adorning our ship like a spider web that’s been stretched across the rig.

Today marks our 21st day on the Corwith Cramer. Three weeks and many long nights later we are almost at the end of our journey.

Over the course of the past few days, it has become increasingly common to overhear people exclaiming how quickly our time on board is passing. Today marks our 20th day – we have officially passed the halfway point of our journey!

Day 18:  Another beautiful day here aboard the Cramer in the sub-tropical convergence zone of the Atlantic Ocean.  Today, students spent time learning the ropes of whipping, seizing and eye splicing for our Nautical Science class this afternoon.

Today I was the birthday junior junior watch officer, as the plebs (or students) say. Officially, the title is junior watch officer, shadowing phase, but since it was my birthday and we like to get creative on the Robert C. Seamans, I was crowned the birthday junior junior watch officer (B-J-JWO).

As I rose from my nest (aka my bunk) this morning, the smell of warm zesty muffins wafted my way. I climbed up the ladder to lab approximately 30 minutes after breakfast to begin morning watch from 0700-1300. After turnover, the A watch lab crew for the day (Jordan 2nd scientist, Riley sailing intern, and I) realized we had a nice busy day ahead of us.

A ship on the ocean distills the idea of movement. It’s the underlying force. We pitch and yaw and roll, and learn that walking in socked feet will end in sliding. It’s all about finding the balance between bracing and moving to the ocean’s rhythm.

This morning started off slow with a late wake-up for A Watch as we had watch till 1 AM last night. I slowly rose out of my bunk in the forward ship and made my way to grab some waffles. Watch began at 13:00 and A watch had the privilege of making sure we stayed on the right course as we began to approach Fiji.