Pacific Odyssey - Leg 4

Last night was a very hot night on the ship and people slept restlessly=
.
It also rained.   Breakfast was pushed to 0900hrs and the pool was open
early.  By 0800 hrs people were enjoying the perfect temperature of the
ocean and rowing around the Grace in the dugout canoe. Breakfast was cereal=
,
one of the favorite breakfasts on board, and wonderfully simple for the
cooks. Skipper began right after breakfast making his mom=B9s famous turkey
soup.  Chase and Katie started a batch of buns to go with the soup and it
was all done by 1400 hrs, when we had lunch.  Delicious.  Today we held the
Pacific Grace=B9s second Boxing Day Water Sport Extravaganza.  This offshore
it was more organized than last offshore.  Skipper and Antony were in charg=
e
but were ably assisted by a bizarrely dressed crew of Elske, Bec, Gillian,
Sarah B., Tav, and Arwen who were the judges. For the first event 2 members
per watch free dived down the anchor chain which was marked off with a line
every 5 ft.  The trainee who went down the deepest won naturally.  Kelly wa=
s
the only female who participated.  The second event was the dory race.  All
members of the watch had to get into a dory, row it around the Grace and ge=
t
out again.  They had to wear lifejackets, row with proper technique, and be
the fastest dory around.  This event was a testament to how little we used
our dories this leg!  Fore watch did a quick loop of the ship only to swamp
the dory on disembarking.  The third event was rope swing tricks and diving
from the shrouds. Points were given for difficulty of maneuver and grace of
landing.  Chase sat on Tom=B9s shoulders off the rope swing for an impressive
trick, while synchro dives seemed to be the stunt of choice for diving off
the side of the ship.  The fourth event involved surfing behind the zodiac;
there were lots of laughs.  We are still waiting for the winner to be
announced but the rumor is that Starboard watch earned the highest number o=
f
points. Word is also out that a Boxing Day Sale is going to happen today.
It will give trainees a chance to get rid of any items they don=B9t want to
take home; they can try to exchange them or give them away.   After the
Water Olympics we continued our Boxing Day Water Sport Extravaganza with
surfing, snorkeling and scuba diving. Around the ship people continued to
swim, jump, and row the dugout canoe.  Matt and Brooks went surfing on a
nearby wave that was breaking with the swell and shallow water.  Sam,
Tristan, Noah and Jacob snorkeled on the reef.  Antony, Jordan, Skipper,
Tavish and Bonice went scuba diving on the same reef, but just in deeper
water.  The reef is incredible; there are hundreds and hundreds of fish,
from 2cm small ones to 1m long ones, and in every color and shape
imaginable.  The coral too was amazing with its many shapes, colors, and
textures.  There was so much to look at, so much to want to know about. The
day stayed hot and there were quite a few brown/red backs and faces; it was
a true day on the water. Everyone returned by 1800 hrs for lasagna.  Katie
made 3 huge pans and they all disappeared.  After dishes we watched a 48
minute slide show of Leg 4 put together by Jose and Thomas.  It was
beautiful; there were so many memories brought to the forefront again.  We
sat spellbound, not needing to say anything, as we were all present at the
experiences being seen on the screen. This leg has taken us to some
incredible places with even more incredible people.  There is a lot to lear=
n
from this leg; I hope we remember it as we return to our own culture and
somehow try to incorporate the best parts into our lives at home.  While we
watched we ate brownies that Arwen had baked and vanilla steamed milk made
by Katie.  After the slide show many crew and trainees went to bed; it has
been a big day.  Good night, Bonice.