Today officially marks one week at sea for our Galapagos Glide crew! We have some remarkable human beings on board and its amazing what friendships can be formed after 7 days at sea. A group of total strangers at the beginning of this trip has turned into a strong crew that have weathered highs and lows together, fallen into the flow of life at sea together, and shared this adventure of our lives alongside. Amongst us we have a heart transplant specialist, an ER doctor, a ski patroller and travel guide, someone who helped design the international space station, loving parents, four veterans sea dragon crew members, world travelers, artists, and seasoned sailors alike. It’s truly a privilege to embark on opportunities like this with the chance to really get to know such incredible people whose paths you otherwise may never have come across. Its striking the kind of generosity and care you witness between crew members as well. People stepping up to make a pot of coffee for their watch mates when people are lacking sleep. Cleaning up your friend’s dishes when they’re needed on deck for some sporty helming. Asking someone caring and inquisitive questions about their lives and the bonding that takes place in the quite hours of night watch. Yes, it’s true we all came to Sea Dragon for the experience of crossing an ocean together, but what we may not have anticipated was the rich human connections that could be forged along the way. Enough poetic waxxing, how’s the sailing been you ask?! Well we are just starting to come out of a really sporty 48 hours of high winds and the biggest sea state we’ve seen on the trip so far (biggest sea state this wee deckhand has seen so far). We’ve almost crossed through the Tehuano winds and we saw consistent 30kt plus gusting to 37, and 4m swells. It was amazing to watch the crew come alive, the energy of the mounting seas invigorating us and the boat just felt electric. Sea Dragon was so happy to be doing what she was built to do after a yard period and the excitement was palpable. She just handles so marvelously! We’ve now got a freezer full of exquisite yellow fin tuna that was caught and prepared by our beloved fishmongers, Captain Mary and First Mate Jacob. The sea has really been treating us with such amazing nourishment on this trip! The sunrise watches have begun to anticipate the punctual pod of dolphins that you can see charge the boat from a distance every morning around 7am. They’re spinners so we all cheer in elation while they perform stunning aerials and the helms-person tries their best to keep their eye on the course. Other highlights include the last few nights of motoring before crossing the Tehuano’s we were treated to the enchanting sight of bioluminescent dolphins dancing off our bow on calm nights so you could see the plankton fluttering off their skin like glitter, all while the full moon was rising dark orange to the east. People are falling into the flow of their watches and we’re honestly all dreading how fast it feels like this crossing has already gone! Just give us more time! But the crew is looking forward with playful anticipation to our equator crossing ceremony and already scheming the gifts they plan to give to King Neptune. Stay tuned!
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