WRITTEN BY LOUISE TREMEWAN
ON LEG TWO FROM AZORES TO ANTIGUA WITH COPERNICUS MARINE SERVICE

 

As we set sail from Ponta Delgada at 6am on Friday 1st November, 2274 nautical miles stretched ahead to our destination of Antigua.

An exciting, yet daunting adventure for us all! Who would be seasick first? What would the weather be like? Would we see dolphins?

Fast forward to the evening of Saturday 9th November; Anna, our awesome skipper, had an announcement for us…we had just reached our halfway point! 1137 miles down, 1137 miles to go!

Anna told us that a celebration was in order; a themed dress-up party on deck, with a special menu for dinner.  We were given our dress up theme – sea creatures (what else??). The next 24 hours passed by in a whirl of secretive talks and discussions between watch teams.

eXXpeditionPhoto credit: Sophie Dingwall & eXXpedition

All items on board the boat were fair game for costume creations, tactical hiding of random kitchen utensils and ropes from the boat ensued…

5pm – Sunday 10th November
The entire crew of SV TravelEdge are assembled up on deck ready to present. The atmosphere is a mixture of giddy excitement and anticipation, which team would be crowned the winners??

First up, WatchTeam One – Louise, Barbara, Maggie and Yanika…also known as Cindy Starfish, Tanya Turtle, Pingu the Penguin and Molly-Sue the Mermaid.  A devastating tale of plastic pollution began to unfold before Molly-Sue revealed her true identity…Molly-Sue, eXXpedition SUPERHERO MERMAID to the rescue!

Next…Watch Team Two.
Rikki looked fabulous as an ocean hero mermaid, Winnie rocked her awesome angler fish accessories, Emily put her enormous grey sleeping bag to good use by creating a spectacular humpback whale costume, Nita had raided the galley cupboards to find a suitable turtle shell and Marita stole the show with her ingenious octopus outfit. Together, they performed a brilliant self-penned mash-up to the tune of Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Under the Sea.

eXXpeditioneXXpedition eXXpeditionPhoto credit: Sophie Dingwall & eXXpedition

Watch Team Three brought our evening’s entertainment to a close. A clownfish, a squid, a swarm of jellyfish and a Great White Shark (Erica, Natascha, Sophie and Emilie) gave the inaugural performance of ‘Transatlantic Red Pants’, a song about the trials and tribulations of sailing across an ocean, sung to the tune of American Pie.  Check it out at your usual music streaming platform soon…

eXXpedition

Photo credit: Sophie Dingwall & eXXpedition

Throughout the proceedings, Anna stood expertly at the helm, keeping a watch over us all whilst impressively dressed as Queen Neptune – featuring a very snazzy wave themed crown.

 

eXXpedition

Photo credit: Nita Jirgensone & eXXpedition

The next feature of our evening was a delicious feast of homemade veggie burgers AND homemade bread buns, complete with all the accompaniments you would expect in a top land-based burger bar.
To complete our festivities, Anna and her crew brought out a tray of freshly baked brownies and a warm-from-the-oven lemon drizzle cake. Delicious!

We are now well under the 1000 mile mark until we reach Antigua. Spirits are high, and talks of ice-cold G and Ts on the beach are plentiful! Until then, we have more sensational science to continue with and a presentation to prepare for our arrival in Antigua!

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