Jurassic Park Island!
0146 UTC | 05 33.231’N 087 02.516’W
Chatham Bay, Isla Del Coco
I am writing this as we sit on a mooring buoy in an idyllic bay in the middle of the ocean. Roughly 5 hours ago we arrived at Isla del Coco and promptly jumped in the allegedly shark-infested water for a quick dip. Everyone will be pleased to know we were very sensible and sent Nic in as a guinea pig before committing the whole crew — even better news is that every crew member still has all their fingers and toes. In fact, no sharks have been sighted yet, but I am sure that will not be the case for much longer!
It is beautiful here. Jacques Cousteau may have been onto something. The only slight complaint we have is we would like it to be less rolly, if possible! Lee cloths may need to be up tonight, but I think everyone is looking forward to a full night’s sleep.
We haven’t had contact with the rangers yet, despite multiple radio calls. However, a friendly dive boat swung by and offered us internet for one phone, some stickers, and maybe an opportunity to dive here. Regardless, where they dive is mere meters from our boat, so some good snorkelling is definitely on the cards. The diver, Roberto, used to be a park ranger on the island for 9 years, so we’ll be taking him up on his offer to help with anything!
Hopefully the rangers pay us a visit in the morning and we can get to some real exploration. In the meantime, we’re having a lovely time star-gazing and enjoying our moonlit view of the island (see pic!).
// Mary
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She’s a big ship on a much bigger ocean2335
We also have faced the fact that although Adrienne is a very big ship, she sails over a much, much bigger sea. We all recommitted to being more attentive - treating our watch as a verb not a noun. We might feel comfortable handling Adrienne, but we're not on cruise control and this is no highway. I had not realized to what degree sailing the open ocean requires a daily commitment to awareness, intention, and vigilance. I'm glad for all of us my tutorial was clear but relatively mild.
Day Four: The boat has figured us out
By day 4, things start to get into a rhythm that starts to look like a small community onboard. It’s when personalities start to flourish, when people start losing themselves and start to realize that they don’t really care about a lot of things! I’m pretty sure the disconnection from the internet starts aligning our inner selves. Clearly everyone has gotten their sea legs by now, and even the boat seems to have understood the type of crew she has now. I love to see how people start fitting into different roles with their peers and the boat itself.
Kärt barn har många namn
A dear child goes by many a name, or as we say in Swedish "kärt barn har många namn". This is the case for many a person, but also some species, not least the Mahi mahi, which also goes by dolphin fish, golden mackerel, and dorado, among others. Soon, we could see the fish jump, a hundred feet or so behind the boat, and as I kept reeling, a beautiful Mahi appeared under the surface. Manot showed us how to clean and fillet it, and after a complete team effort two large fillets are now in the freezer of Adrienne II.