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Blog #11 Final Reflection

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My project questioned what it would be like to live on a boat. I had goals of learning how to sail and also gain comfortability and familiarity with living at sea. I had an amazing mentor who was really excited to teach Amelia and me. Vince was very engaged with us for the entire trip and I was able to learn so much from him about sailing itself, sea life, and the different islands that we visited throughout the Bahamas. While in the Bahamas I felt very engaged when I needed to be learning or focusing. We had a great balance of experiential learning and freedom to discover and explore this new lifestyle. Specifically, I learned a lot about how to sail a boat. Before the project, I wasn’t sure I even knew what a boom was. Through working with Vince I learned the names of parts on the boat, what their job is, and how to use them. I learned how to set up and take down sails, and when you should use each different type of sail. We learned about navigation and how routes are created t...
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Blog #10 Returning to the States

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We have just completed our crossing from the Bahamas to Florida, and it was quite the adventure. We started the outing on Saturday morning as we sailed out of Grand Cay. I faced some pretty horrible seasickness quite quickly and sadly had to put the books away and take some Dramamine. Luckily this knocked me out for a while which allowed my body to acclimate to the bigger waves and turbulence without me having to deal with nausea and dizziness. Thankfully, I felt much better when I woke up and returned to my normal sailing ways. We all took turns taking watch throughout the day to keep our paths from intersecting with other boats and watching for wind changes. Besides that, we read a lot, listened to music, made it through a lot of podcasts, and took a few naps. Through the night we each took a shift so that no one had to stay up all night; however, I don’t think Vince slept soundly knowing his life was in the hands of two amateur sailors. I had the first shift from 9pm-12am. T...
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Blog #9 Sailing Circles and Cruising Conservation

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Friday was our last day of sailing before we started our crossover back to the U.S. We only sailed a few miles from Double Breasted Cay to Grand Cay, but we used the opportunity to practice our new sailing skills and maneuvers. Amelia and I both practiced our jibes and tacks and then Vince challenged us both by having us perform circles. This consists of a tack and jibe back to back to the boat turn in a full 360. It was intimidating at first and quite intense to do so many things one after another, but after a few times, Amelia and I both completed the circles on our own successfully and confidently. After that, we learned how to do quick stops with the boat which are used in emergencies, like if there is a man overboard. Essentially we had to turn through the wind and then back into the wind which allows for the boat to essentially park in the middle of the water. It is able to stop the boat about 2 to 3 boat lengths from the hypothetical victim in the water, then you can throw...
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Blog #8 Shipwrecks and Practicing Sailing

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We started yesterday with a morning snorkel session by our anchor spot. We first took the dingy to part of an island covered in mangroves where we saw sea slugs, tons of sea cucumbers, and new big fish. Then we took the dingy over to a small shipwreck for the most amazing swim. We saw lion fish, turtles, needlefish, and a huge school of fish with countless small silverfish and larger yellow fish. This was the most exciting snorkel so far. It was really amazing to see so many different types of animals in such a small area, especially around an interesting surface like an old ship. After snorkeling, we relaxed for a bit and then set up the boat to sail. We set up the mainsail and the screecher because of the more gentle winds. After practicing all of our sailing maneuvers successfully, Amelia and I made California rolls before Vince made us cracked conch for dinner. Today we spent most of our day sailing, as we had our longest sail yet. Over about 4 hours we traveled a little ...
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Blog #7 Life at Sea

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Yesterday we woke up to the sound of chicken and pigs making their way to the beach of No Name Cay. After a morning coffee, we followed in suit and took the dingy to the beach to feed and make friends the pigs. Afterwards, we sailed to Green Turtle Cay to fill up on gas and water for the last time until we make it to the US. I was surprised to see that boating gas stations are just like car ones. We stopped at a Shell gas station where I learned how to set out the fenders, so the dock wouldn’t hurt our boat, and then we learned how to fill up the gas and water tank. Next, Amelia and sailed to Manjack Cay without the help of Vince! We first raised the mainsail by centering the traveler, unzipped the sail cover, and attached the main halyard to the headboard, and then using the halyards we pulled up the sail and trim it to catch the wind correctly. Then we set up the screecher for the first time, which is an only slightly curved front sail. After a lot of practice and hard work we to...
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Blog #6 Learning to Sail

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We started our second day by having a morning lesson on the basic of sailing. I reviewed the parts of the boat I knew and added on some new ones like the tack and clew, which are two different points on the foot of the sail. We also talked a lot about the wind in comparison to the boat. In sailing, you always orient yourself according to the wind direction. Broad Reach is when the wind is coming from behind the beam. Close Reach is when the wind is coming from in front of the beam. Beam Reach is when the wind is coming from the side, and Run is when the wind is coming from behind.   There is also a no-sail zone, which is right in front of the boat. You cannot sail with wind coming directly in front of you. The most exciting thing we learned was how to perform a jibe. We first have to tighten the main sheet to keep the boom from swinging dangerously. Then as the boat turns and the wind switches sides of the stern you use your hand as a break on the sheet and slowly release the lin...
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Blog #5 Bahamas Arrival

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Yesterday was our big travel day. We woke up bright and early at 3:50 and headed to the airport. We ran into a few issues starting at the check-in desk where the gate attendant wouldn’t let us through because of our sketchy appearance and a one-way ticket to another country. Luckily we had lots of papers and documents which got us through to the never-ending security line. We made it through with not much time to spare, but nonetheless, we made it to Atlanta Georgia. Our next leg of the trip worked much more smoothly. We landed in Marsh Harbor right on time and the security at the tiny airport of The Abacos was quite minimal, so we walked right through to meet Vince for the first time in person. As we met our taxi driver, Sandra, I knew this trip was going to be a fun adventure. She was quite the energetic woman who enthusiastically hugged us and showed us around her beautiful town. She took us to the port where we boarded Flight Plan , our home for the next week and a half. After ge...
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