A busy day on board the Alex II as we begin preparations for our final port before the Atlantic Crossing. The day started with a rather shambolic colours meeting, with a number of cabins failing to set their alarms! The offending late sleepers attempted to sheepishly creep into their watches- but were detected by eagle eyed Raf and will face an extra hour of evening gangway duty in Mindelo. The wind dropped between 8 and 10 and so the boat was switched to engine. Study Hall gave way to a brief “Basic Dive Skills” presentation, where our intrepid “Discover Diving” students were introduced to the basic equipment, learnt some of the hand signals for safety and pointing out wildlife and asked any questions they had about their upcoming dive with the 5 star PADI company Dive Tribe. Students were fascinated to discover that A) you can throw up through a dive regulator and B) that it will attract fish to the vomitter’s vicinity.
Watch 1 got to watch “Oscar” the dummy (pictured) get rescued by our crew after “losing consciousness” in the rigging- whilst other Watches got to participate in the rescue of a “box over board”. Also pictured is a photo of a Pan Tropical Spotted Dolphin that followed the boat for a while!
Students of Chemistry 11 were treated to an “only on Class Afloat” lesson experience during Period 4. Whilst trying to wrap their heads about Benzene rings, lessons were interrupted firstly by the fishing club landing their first fish (a Hemingway-esque contest between the rod and a 20cm Mahi Mahi), followed by a pod of at least 20 Pilot Whales.
In smellier news, the toilets blocked up due to a UFO (Unidentified Flushed Object)! With our sewage system backed up for a few hours, students were forced to exercise bladder control or “just let it mellow” whilst the offending item (a large chunk of cucumber) was located and expunged. Students were then invited to examine the offending pipe, an olfactory nightmare that will hopefully ensure we will never have a repeat performance! Special thanks are extended to Chief Engineer Torsten for literally putting up with all our poop!
As the islands of Cabo Verde loom on the horizon, students and teachers are looking forward to some well earned R&R!
Robert Bailey
Date: December the 4th 2022
Time: 08.00
Longitude: 24o 40 ‘W
Latitude: 17o 36 ‘
Sails: 0, approaching Cabo Verde under motor
Wind: 7 Knots
Distance in last 24 h: 130 Nautical miles
Distance to destination: 45 Nautical miles
Log Keeper: Amélie
