Halfway Day

At 2636 miles, the trip to Suriname is our second longest passage. Our longest was Puerto Vallarta to the Marquesas when Maia was 9. The difference between voyaging with a 14-year-old vs a 9-year-old is pretty huge. Last time I carried a supply of books, art and science projects and made a lot of playdough to keep her entertained. This time I just made sure our galley was well stocked with baking supplies. Still, 18 days is a long time to be at sea. Fortunately this is a pretty sweet passage. Nights are gentle enough and traffic minimal enough that Maia takes the midnight to 1am slot--giving both Evan and I a four hour rest. She also cooks some dinners, helps with sails and keeps up with school. But she's still a kid, and to ward off the 'are we there yets' I planned a few celebrations. Last night we hit the halfway point and along with a huge pod of porpoises which showed up to celebrate we had pizza as well as dessert crepes with chocolate mousse and berries. Dinner is often the highlight of a day on passage. We dream about ingredients we don't have and then try to make something tasty with what we do. Part of our daily check-in when crossing the Pacific was the recitation of each boat's dinner menu (Whatcha Gonna Do always seemed to have the best meals...). This passage is similar in that Crystal Blues and us compare notes each day. Halfway Day wouldn't be complete without a gift for Maia. I contemplated fresh playdough for nostalgia but instead took advantage of the wifi on Ascension to grab a new episode of a much longed for show. So we watched TV, ate yummy food and enjoyed the feeling of being halfway there. Next up: Equator Day.

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