First Day: Setting Sail 07/08/26

Today we set sail for Halifax around 9 a.m. We started with nice skies and big swells straight onto the bow, which meant we got to play the classic game of jumping on the swells. However, the swell also meant that Kaia and Dexter both got to find out that they do, in fact, get a bit seasick. To break up the motoring and slamming into the waves, we tried a few sea drags, which are when you jump off the bow of the moving boat, have to swim out of the way of the boat, and then have to swim back into the path of the boat to grab a line being towed behind the boat before the boat leaves you behind. Helene, Nathan, and Dexter got to try, but right before Kaia got a chance, a large creature we assumed was a whale jumped out of the water about half a mile away from the boat. It turned out to not be a whale, but a basking shark about the size of the boat that allowed us to get within 10 feet before diving underneath the boat and into the depths, which ended the swimming for the afternoon. Before the sun set, we also got to see a pod of 15–20 dolphins before preparing for our first sets of night watches.

Dexter, Helene, and Kaia Jumping on the bow with the swell.

A photo from the first time we got all of the sails out.

Nathan and I showing off our fresh buzz cuts.