Another Beautiful Day in Heavy Weather

Author: Cade W., C Watch

It's hard to encapsulate a day on the Cramer because everyone's day is
always so different, but I will describe how my day went today and hope that
will give you a good idea of what it was like living onboard for a day. My
wakeup was at 06:00 for my 06:20 breakfast and 07:00 watch. I got out of bed
and ate some biscuits made by the stews with some peanut butter. I went on
deck at 06:50 for watch turnover. We are currently in our Junior Watch
Officer phase and I was the first one.

I controlled the rotation on deck to make sure everyone did every role and wasn't in the same place for too long.
I also briefed the captain on our plan for the day and learned a lot about
how running a watch works. Towards the end of my time on JWO, I called a
sailing maneuver called gybing. It was intimidating at first but I got the
hang of it quickly and became more confident. Lily was the next JWO after
me, so I gave her an update and she took control. She did a very good job
running the rotation and also walked us through a gybe. It was cool to be
able to learn from not only my officers, but my classmates as well. After
watch we ate some delicious rice bowls for lunch. I did some journaling and
was able to talk with friends and relax for a few minutes before class. The
bell rang for ship's meeting at 14:15 and we were all on deck at 14:30. We
did our science, weather, and navigation reports for the day. Because I was
on morning watch, I presented the navigation report with Lily.

After reports and announcements, we had some study hall time for class. This was a nice
time to be able to catch up on work I was behind on because of our busy
schedule. After class, we had a lemon cake for Riley's 18th birthday that we
called the "Starboard Tack Cake" because it was slanted in the oven and
baked crooked.  It was still delicious though. We all sang happy birthday
and celebrated her milestone. Happy Birthday Riley!!!

I went on deck for a while to get some fresh air and look at the waves. I was feeling good today
but this is definitely the best cure for seasickness. It's truly a bonding
experience to sit on the deck boxes with someone and look at the horizon. I
took a nap before dinner, a vital part of life on a ship. I woke up for
dinner and ate some amazing homemade mac and cheese with peas, such a great
way to end the day. I helped clean up and hung out in the main salon until
around 19:45. I'm staying up a little too late to be on dawn watch, but it's
always so fun to have some laughs in the salon before going to sleep. Well,
goodnight, I have dawn watch wakeups at 00:30 so I gotta get to sleep.
P.S. Hi Mom, Dad, Callie, and Bob!!! I miss you all so much! See you soon
enough. Love you! (Pet the animals for me).