#2. las palmas to antigua| THE TEAM
January 23, 2025, 18:35 UTC | 18º 35.1’ N / 029º 35.6’W | Shift 33 | Log 21 | The Team
T’is the seventh day since we embarked on our voyage. With the simple stabilities and securities of land a distant memory. Where the sea is now our master, and the wind our courier. Where we battle to stand. Concede to fall. And settle for the rhythmic rocking and rolling motion as Nordic FALKEN transverses the unending undulating Atlantic Sea. Carrying us towards land, liquor and loved ones.
But yet, we no longer stand on shaky legs and see through weary eyes. But, walk in strides with the creases of smiles littering our eyes. Supporting each other, fighting for the whole, being a team, working our way home.
Which casts me away into this log. Setting my course, not for the thoughts of home, but for the ones that sail with me today. For the ones I work with, sweat with, and fear with. To the ones that I’ll remember when I share our story of cunning, bravery and a splattering of jovial humor.
Our skipper is Emily, a brave sailor with knowledge to rival the eldest of veterans. And yet, she isn’t doom and gloom, her way or the highway, but has enough charisma to make even Davy Jones chuckle with glee. Her first mate, Mia, continues this trend. Bringing smiles a plenty, mirth of the merry, and stories. Stories of heroism, endurance and humor. Passing the time as we dawdle away in mother nature. Which leads me to the youngest of the group, the apprentice, Vilgot. Who shouldn’t be considered any less wiser because of his age. For he too brings experience in bundles, stories in droves, and enthusiasm in spades.
Next on our list is us, the crew. Divided into two teams, Team A and Team B. Team A holds Jillian the bold, who’s letting her dreams come true. Paolo the speedy, flying to master every task. Janette the brave, turning her fears into memories. And, Kevin the conundrum, the American who can dream of more than a large house with a big garage.
The better team, my team, Team B has Derick the jovial, a lawyer that can laugh the real laugh. Scott the cheerful, always smiling, no matter the challenge. Sarah the unexpected, a gentle voice with a history of mischief. And then there is me. The least experienced of the lot, but yet perhaps the one with the most ambition.
And that is us. The crew, the team, the family aboard NORDIC FALKEN. Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in 2025. Sharing stories, laughter, knowledge and just having a cracker of a time.
B.P.Ryan
