Sailing to Brazil

When the MV Explorer left Ghana, we only sailed for about 30 min. before we stopped and dropped anchor.  For some reason we were not able to bunker (take on fuel)) in port, so we had to stop for the bunkering ship to pull along side and re-fuel us.  The sea was as rough as any  time on our voyage, so this was a tricky operation in the pitch black night.  They finally left us at about 6 am the next morning, and we were glad to get moving.

One of the big events on the ship this week was the shipboard auction.  A fund-raiser is held to help generate scholarship funds for future voyages.  Many people on this voyage were recipients of financial aid of some kind, so it was a chance to give back.  From my perspective, it was also a good way to re-distribute the wealth.  You can tell that some kids come from more privileged backgrounds than others.  They buy more stuff, they travel more at ports, they stay off-ship at ports, they buy food at the grill instead of eating in the dining hall.  Well, some of these kids stepped up and bought some of the big ticket items like the chance to raise the ships flag as we come into Ft. Lauderdale.

Another part of the activities was a raffle where everyone had chances to win.  Some prizes included "first off the ship," cream cheese, a backpack with patches from all the countries we visited, etc.  There were about 50 items, and the winners were announced interspersed with the auction items.

There was also a silent auction that included home visits, sports events, and clothing items.  There was a flurry of activity just before this auction closed at 7 pm.  It was all great fun for a good cause.

A lot of sports events are wrapping up their championships.  This co-ed soccer match was hotly contested.  I've seen some killer ping-pong matches going on which is no easy feat on a tossing ship.  Basketball ends this week, and the movement of the ship seems to reward those who make layups.





One day  a couple of weeks ago, we had a film fest of short films made by students and staff.  Filmaking is getting to be one of the favorite things to do on the ship.  Almost every little pocket camera will also take video clips with sound, and you would be amazed at some of the things they do.  Workshops have been taught on using the video editing software that is on most of our computers, and, of course, the students figured it out really quickly.  Every Thursday evening is the viewing for that weeks production of "sea tv", and the showings include shipboard life, dramas, comedies, and port montages.  I made a cameo appearance in a vampire movie as "Giles", the librarian.

The ship store held a sale this week for us to add to our tee-shirt and sweat shirt collections.  I finally found something that wasn't ladies medium in pink--a nice green SAS shirt.

The students are studying and writing papers like mad, and the faculty have their red pens out and look equally as bleary eyed.  I'm not showing those pictures.