Stu Stu Day in the Sargasso Sea

Author: Lily K., C Watch

Today was a rather irregular day aboard the Cramer for me because I was
Asst. Asst. Steward, or in Cramer words, stu stu! Instead of standing watch
today, I was cooking meals with our two stewards, an opportunity each
student has once per voyage. I was stood down from my dawn watch
(0100-0700), so I had a 0500 wake up to start on breakfast. Sleep in! This
morning, I went pretty simple with oatmeal and cereal. Cereal was a hit
because we had lucky charms, a rare Cramer delicacy.

After breakfast was cleaned up, I read my book club book, Cod, on deck and took a nap. At 1000,
I put out my mid-morning snack, plums, out on deck. Every morning around
0900-1100, we usually have our morning science station, which normally
includes three deployments: a Secchi disc, a Neuston net tow, and a CTD with
niskin bottles, as well as a surface station. After some more free time,
Raechel and Sebastian (the stewards) and I started on lunch. For lunch we
decided on tofu pad thai which had a delicious peanut sauce. After lunch I
started on my afternoon snack, brownies!! We were done just in time for
ships meeting/afternoon class. After our usual announcements and reports, we
practiced our gybes and sail handling because we have just began our Junior
Watch Officer phase of our voyage.

During JWO phase, each student has 2 opportunities to take on a leadership role on deck; this includes calling
all sail maneuvers and being responsible for everyone’s jobs and rotations.
To help us understand the steps of gybing a little better, for class we
gybed four times in a row. Each watch performed one gybe and each gybe was
called by a student who had previously been a JWO. After class, we wrapped
up with some brownies and I started on dinner. I made chicken and rice soup
with rosemary focaccia on the side. In between dinner seatings, I went up on
deck and enjoyed the sunset with friends. While my watch (C Watch) was
preparing to take the deck for evening watch (1900-0100), I was again stood
down because it was my steward day.

We have had some pretty consistent wind that had been in our favor since we
left Bermuda two days ago, so we have been cruising at a steady rate for the
last few days. The sea has also significantly settled, so the ride has been
pretty pleasant compared to our leg from Lunenburg to Bermuda. I had a great
day full of nice weather, science, sailing, and lots of cooking and I can’t
believe the sea component is coming to a close. I hope these wonderful
conditions last for the remainder of our voyage and I am excited for what’s
left.