Explained

So i feel like i should explain really quickly qhats going on. i havent had a fast enough connection to update my blog in over a month so ive been writting new entries on my computer and have only now been able to get them up. it will most likely to continue to be like this so thanks for your patience!!

Next Adventure?

It's insane to think that I am already almost half way through program. I can already tell I'm going to be a mess saying goodbye to the people here but I need to start considering what I am going to do after. I've received an offer from ANIR Experience (the program that I went to Africa the first time with) to go to Haiti in July to work on disaster hurricane relief for a couple of weeks. That gives me roughly two months in between when program ends and when I would need to be there. I'm considering trying to find a Scuba shop somewhere in the Caribbean where I could do an internship for my DM (Dive Master...means I could teach scuba). I'm getting my advanced and my rescue divers while with Sea|mester. An internship is a great opportunity because I would be able to get my DM for virtually no money as I would work for the company. I would also get a crazy amount of experience which I think would be pretty cool. Any ideas on this? Feedback?

Also the guys are trying to convince me to cut my hair when we cross the equator. uh oh.

A Typical Day

We have about 34 days of program and 23 of those we have been at sea so I will hopefully be writing more things like the following when we arrive at mainland Brazil. Our next passages will not be longer then 5 days, most averaging 2-3 so we will be really starting to adventure.

Started out with a 06:15 wake up. After a delicious breakfast we were dingied in to the port of Fernando de Noronha, a tiny island off the coast of Brazil. The thirty minute walk to the beach carried us through the small island town and even though it was barely 08:00 we were all sweat soaked and eager to get to the water. We arrived at the perfect postcard beach and true to "island time" our surf instructors didn't show until 10:30. We took the opportunity to play in the waves (85degree f water temp..not bad hey?) and a couple others and I built a sand mermaid. Cat, Brian, and I walked along the beach to a tiny, secluded hut placed up on a rocky outcrop. The hut was maybe 6ft by 6ft, just providing enough shade for the three of us to sit and look out over the crashing waves. After a while we made our way back to the group and Cat and I split a mango smoothie (which was unlike any smoothie I have ever had...delicious!).

Shortly after our surf instructors showed up and we split into three groups of six and each group had thirty minutes in the water. It was really cool because those who weren't surfing stood on the beach and cheered everyone those in the water on. The waves were pretty tame so I was able to catch all but two and I wouldn't get enough! At the end of my thirty mins everyone was heading in with the instructors and I begged the one who I was with (through some poor Spanish and a bit of English but mostly hand gestures) to let me go one last time emphasizing that the wave should be "mas grande!" The last one was absolutely phenomenal! It was pretty big and I got up right away and rode all the way in and when I turned back he was jumping up and down in the water clapping and smiling for me. It was a perfect moment!

After "shredding the knar" we split up and Cat, Brian, Spike, and I went adventuring through the town. Some locals told us that we absolutely had to try the "Acai" berry (it contains the second highest amount of antioxidants of any berry in the world) so off we went, through the intense heat, to find the outdoor restaurant that sold it. The four of us split two large bowls of crushed up, chilled Acai that was mixed with yogurt and another berry. Absolutely delicious!

By this time it was about 15:30 so we hitchhiked back to the port. The couple who picked us up were really nice and were more then happy to help us out. The culture here is so different when it comes to hitchhiking and I love it! We went swimming on the beach and then dingied back to Argo. We had shower time (jump in the ocean, climb up, soap up, jump in the ocean, rinse off with fresh water) and then a delicious meal. We got ready for our night out and it was hilarious because all the girls got dressed up, did each others hair, and then we all showed up on deck in bikinis with our dresses under our arms. The dingy ride in it pretty wet so we just slipped into a dress once we were on land. What a way to show up to a night on the town!

We found a local bar that ended up letting us use a full outdoor section. The bar was located on top of a cliff overlooking the beach. The stars were out in full force and the moon was bright enough that you could see the waves crashing along the beach. The part of the bar we were in just had a bunch of giant bean bag chairs on the ground surrounding a long, low table that we all sat around. This wasn't like our other nights out because we didn't hang out with the locals but it was so nice to just chill with everyone and have a beer after a long day of adventure.

The day came to a close with Cat and I setting up hammocks on deck under the stars with Argo rocking us to sleep. It was an exceptional day and I can't believe that this is my reality!

Passage #2

Second passage seems to be going much easier. It is estimated to be twelve days long and we have switched up our watch groups and our schedule. We've switched to a schedule of four hours on and eight hours off which has turned out to be a lot better then the other schedule. We get more time off to do work, socialize, and sleep which has been really nice. This way we can actually get a full nights sleep (7.5hrs max) as apposed to only partial (5.5hrs max) like on the last watch schedule.

How to describe the beauty that I am playing witness to!? I'm definitely going to miss the open ocean. There's something to be said for not seeing land 360 degrees around you and looking up to see a city of stars. We can see the Southern Cross off our stern, the Big Dipper (upside down) to starboard, and Oryans Belt off our bow. We can also see a couple of other galaxies and the milky way is ridiculously bright! Night watch is one of my favorite times. There's nothing like having life chats while sitting on the bow of Argo at 4am or sitting in the cockpit watching the sun rise. I think I've seen, and appreciated, more sunrises and sunsets in the last month than I have in a couple of years.

About three days before land we had the big occurrence of seeing a bird! We haven't seen a lot of life other then the flying fish who periodically fly onto our deck. I had heard about them a lot before but never thought they would be something that I ever saw. Turns out they are pretty common out here and for about four days my watch teams goal was to try and have Sean get a really good picture of one of them...didn't happen.

I've gotten to know the people on my watch team really in addition to a few others. I'd like to introduce a couple of people to whoever is reading this because then you can know who I'm talking about. First person is Jason: he's 23 and one of the most traveled on board. He spent a year in New Zealand studying abroad and some time in Tibet. He's an EMT and working towards becoming a doctor, he definitely has his life together. He's one of the first people I really connected with because we spent a lot of time up on bow watch together. Another is Brian. He just had his 21s birthday and is the most chilled out person you will ever meet. He takes life slow and loves to enjoy the little things. He was one of the guys I met up with in Cape Town early. Annie was the first girl that I connected with. She just turned 20 and is crazy passionate about sailing and the whole boat life in general. She's really funny and outgoing. And then there is Catherine, known to more as Cat. I don't even know how to describe her. She is easily the person I am closest to on board. Her charisma and humor make her easy to get to know and she has a tenacity and zest for life that is unmatchable. We've had several amazing life chats and I find myself in total awe of her life story. She studied in New Zealand for a semester and is a professional dive instructor. I could go on and on with the people on board. They each have their unique characteristics that I love and I can't wait to get to know them all better!


This is a picture of the port sixman room. my bunk is the middle on the left side...you can see part of my sleeping self there!

St. Helena

If you were to look up St. Helena on a map it is doubtful that you would even know where to begin looking, much less know that it exists. It is a tiny island in the Atlantic that is home to less then 4000 people and was our only provisioning stop on our way to Brazil. The island was absolutely amazing, definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity to go there as it is only accessible by boat and is situated 1800nm (nautical miles) off the African coastline. As described in a brochure it is "virtually unknown in the travel world, this small British Island in the middle of the South Atlantic is a place of unique character and unspoiled beauty." If you have heard of St. Helena it was most likely one of two places. Firstly, you may remember it from history class for this is the island on which Napoleon was exiled to. You also may have heard of "Jacobs Ladder" which is the tallest continuous staircase in the world and 699 steps later I can officially say I've climbed it!


Island life was the most stress-free, tranquil environment I have ever been in. The "Saints" take life slow and encouraged us all to do the same. We had two full days there and were able to go on a hike along the coast on our last day. The other day I explored with Cat and Annie. We had lunch, followed by some delicious home made ice cream, in one of the 'mom and pop' restaurants. The food was surprisingly delicious as most of it, aside from a few fruits, vegetables, and milk, is brought to them monthly on a ship.

Realistically, I'm not sure that I will ever return to St. Helena so it was a bit sad to see it fading into the blue but thoughts of our next adventures didn't have me looking back for long.

Land Ho!

11 days out on an open ocean later...

Argo is fast becoming home to me and falling into the rhythm of living on a ship has been much easier then I expected.We are divided into 3 watch teams, each watch team rotates through every 3 hours, day and night. At first waking up for the midnight to 3am watch or the 3am to 6am was extremely hard but after a while it became pretty natural for us. Cooking underway is pretty intense....pots and pans flying everywhere and bowls of already cut up vegetables zooming across the kitchen. You learn to balance and your body slowly adjusts to moving with the ship as it rises and falls with each swell. We're living five people in each cabin and the cabins are tiny (three bunks on top of each other) so we've gotten to know each other pretty fast! Most everyone is chill and there haven't been any big arguments which is really nice.

Life on a ship is much more intense then life on land. You are constantly balancing and half falling all over the place, constantly trying to find something to hold on to. I'm finding hard to find the words to describe the feeling of raising a sail or taking in a sheet. We are a new ship but because it is traditionally built we only have one winch on board which means everything else is done by hand. We hand over hand the halyard line (line=rope) up and just when you think your muscles are about to give out you have it sweated all the way up. There's something about the first few moments when the motor is shut off and it's just you and the ship sailing across the ocean.