On board
N EWS FROM G ERONIMO
S
be positively certain that as it was being thrown upwards it would
ounds of the sea once again end up in an amazing demonstration of color and
After three weeks at sea onboard Geronimo I have slowly light. In much the same way, it seems that life will always unfold
started to adapt to a new and unknown life at sea. Before the trip in ways that force you to make a decision. Though it will always
began I had a very different perception of the 69-foot boat I be easy to take the path of least resistance to a comfortable daily
would be spending my spring on. I thought I would be able to living, it’s also OK to step out of bounds once in a while and, just
jump into the cycle of Geronimo with little trouble. I was wrong. as the juggler did, play with fire. A trip like Geronimo may seem
To adapt to life at sea you must become one with the boat. At all overwhelming, but it is also one of the sparks that allows you to
times you need to know where you are in the wide open ocean, keep the torches flying through the air and to keep life rolling.
what on the boat is turned on, where every person is, and gener- And while the future may never be completely clear, all it takes is
ally what is going on. On the boat your ears are the most useful a risk to keep that fire burning and alive.
part of your body. They tell you where the waves are crashing on —Sophie Domanski ’10
the boat, they let you know if someone is cooking with the gener-
ator, you know if you are sailing because the boom will slam or if
you are motoring because the main engine is on. The sounds of Under the dark of night
the boat keep you in check and help you adapt. Your ears keep The aspect of this trip so far that has been the most memo-
you in tune with all happenings around the boat. Knowing what rable for me has been the night watches. We began our five-day
is going on at any given moment is key while you’re on the boat. sail from Poncé, Puerto Rico, to Georgetown in the Bahamas by
Along with keeping up with all the sounds, my ears have learned dividing our seven-student crew into two watch teams so that a
to mute certain sounds. At night I can sleep through even the group could be on watch every hour of the day to monitor the
loudest noises on deck, but can wake up to a man-overboard drill deck, be at the helm, and ensure boat safety while accompanied
call. All the sounds have been perfectly adapted in my ears as they by one of the two mates or Captain Hayes. My first night watch
filter the sounds of Geronimo. fell from the hours of 2300 to 300, or 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and at
—Max Richards ’10 first I didn’t think that staying up for this long would bother me
because how bad could four hours of a watch be? To my dismay,
P
night watches were not even close to how easy I thought they
laying with fire would be. The first hour or so of all of my night watches con-
There are few times in your life when you are given the sisted of my attempts to keep warm, pry my lazy eyes open, and
opportunity to spend six straight weeks on a boat with six of devote every limb in my body to remembering how to function. I
your classmates while sailing about the ocean and exploring found myself in a constant struggle just to sit up straight and
small towns off the coasts of islands you did not even know remain coherent during these four grueling hours. The feeling
existed. While thoroughly exciting, the idea of living in such a that I couldn’t control the closing of my eyelids or take my
small space with so many people in the middle of the ocean can thoughts off of my warm bed at home—where I would be able to
also be quite daunting. On a trip to shore this past week, the crew curl up with my cat and sleep undisturbed for hours—made me a
was able to discover the tiny town of Esperanza on the island of little nervous. I knew that I was responsible in part for maintain-
Vieques, a short distance away from its main island of Puerto ing Geronimo’s progress and well-being while other members of
Rico. We saw a few small restaurants, a couple of pleasant shops, my crew were asleep. So after deciding that falling asleep at the
and a number of beach-going tourists wandering about just as helm was probably not the best decision, I began to try different
the sun was setting. As we were roaming along, we suddenly approaches to help keep my watch mates and myself entertained
spotted a brave looking man take out three charred sticks. Not a and awake. I will admit that the conversations at first lacked body
moment later, the sticks were in flames and everyone in the area and substance, making me even more bored at times, but the
was turning to stare as the mesmerizing display of fire was jug- turning moment during these watches was always when the
gled through the air. It was altogether exhilarating and awesome, snacks would be brought out. I have discovered that sugar rushes
but also frightening and quite dangerous. You could never be are one of the best feelings in the world when you have been in a
quite sure where the torch was going to fall next, but you could daze. One simple cookie can instantly lift the shield of sleep that
42 ST. GEORGE’S 2008 SUMMER BULLETIN
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