Yesterday, I was thinking (always a dangerous activity) that it was so weird that THIS is my life. It feels so strange to be the one person in a thousand who is privileged to do this amazing adventure. I also thought that normal life on Sila was coastal cruising and the passages were intermissions in the every day life, no matter how strange the life. Now, I consider passages to be as normal as coastal cruising.
You might think that being on passage for so long would not be fun. On the contrary, I am in the daily pattern, making everything a lot easier to enjoy. Generally, each day is the same on the surface, but when you look more closely, each one is different.
Every morning I wake up (of course), read in bed for a while, get dressed, and have breakfast. Porter goes on watch from 8:00 - 9:00. The two of us like to stay synchronized in school so I wait until the end of his watch before I start math class. Then I read more, do some more home school and either talk with someone or get some fresh air on deck. At noon, Porter does another shift of watch until 2:00. The two of us chat for a good portion of that time.
During the afternoon and early evening, we listen to music, have conversations in the cockpit, play backgammon, cribbage or Settlers of Catan, or play on the poop deck in one of my imaginary worlds. I also stand watch from 3:00 until 5:00. Around 5:00, we have dinner together in the cockpit. There is boat-to-bed (a checklist we complete to get Sila ready for the nighttime hours), dessert sometimes, crew meeting, then the five of us do our own things. Porter and I sometimes do sextant readings if the sky is clear, before going to our cabin to read, or talk in quiet voices. Then I go to bed.
This is my pattern on passage. You may find it repetitive but it is normal to me.With about eight more days to go, I think I will make it. -Jack Rabbit
Editor's Note: The Rabbit wrote this blog on Friday, March 27. At noon on that day, we were at 03°34' North 015°56' West, not yet half way from Ascension to the Cape Verde islands.
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