Pacific Odyssey - Leg 2

It started out a clear and hot morning, though much of the day was cloudy. Port watch had a chance to practice their man overboard drill when our one and only black horse bucket fell overboard.  Arielle pointed at the bucket just as she was taught and the
bucket was retrieved on the first drive by, with the pike pole. A great collaborative effort. Tavish and Chase pan-fried the dorado today in an egg mixture and seasoned flour coating. It was incredibly tasty; it melted in our mouths, there´s never enough. Skipper, Jordan, Sara, Elske and Becca began preparations for our equator crossing in about 4 days. For those whose first time it is crossing the equator, there is an initiation ceremony which will turn them from greenhorns into shellbacks. The prep committee consists of those who have previously crossed; fortunately, once you have been initiated, you never have to go through it again. Trainees and crew will receive a special SALTS stamp embossed in their log books, to remember the event. Gillian and Sara received haircuts today;  the hair is being saved to be used in the near future. This afternoon we lowered the trysail as the wind seemed to be picking up. The main was set and we had a chance to sail without the engine with the already up, fore, jumbo and jib. Soon the sky turned an ominous grey and blue-black colour, the wind was increasing in strength, the air cooled and the water became grey. Some of us stripped down to bathing suits, others grabbed their raingear, and we stood for 20 minutes on deck watching the storm approach. It was quite beautiful; the crew was on deck the entire time watching different sections of the ship, preparing to lower sail, while Skipper stood in the stern watching the
squall come, continually checking all around him. Just before the wind was at its strongest, the jib came down, though we continued to make good speed and sailed through the squall. The rain had already
started and it felt like small hailstones, hitting our skin hard and
cold. The sea was impressive, very deep grey, with the wind blowing over the top of it, giving off white spray; quite beautiful really. Jordan had the video camera ready in its new waterproof
housing and was filming from the foredeck. Within 15 minutes the
squall had blown itself over and calm was restored on the boat. We continued under sail until after supper when our speed dropped below 4
knots, the engine was turned on and the mainsail was swapped for the
trysail. Arwen made eatmores and Arielle and Gillian had squeezed
lemons for lemonade and left it to cool in the freezer. We sang up on deck in the stern, under the decklights, the moon and the stars, with the sails drawing us forward; one of the many moments to remember. Jose and Antony played guitar and mandolin while Tavish and Noah played the drum. This group loves to sing and we sang for an hour after which the Mug-up was passed around. Delicious. The rain started
fast and hard soon after and Karen, Elske and Chris were left to get
completely soaked in the squall. Their voices sounded happy though, fresh water is always welcome, even at 10:30 at night! Attitude is everything in many things we learn to put up with living on the ship, and it´s always worth it. Good night, Bonice.