Days on Antigone
By: Kelly Moran, high school alumna January 23, 2020 High School Adventures, Scuba, Sailing
Even when I was on Antigone, days blended together… but this particular morning started off memorably and I will not forget it. With the promise of a seven hour sail ahead of us, none of the teenage crew of Antigone were too reluctant to get up at 6:30 to get the boat ship-shape and ready to go sailing. When we set off, many of us went back to sleep and got the best rest since we’ve been here. Some slept on deck, but I felt like being dry for once, so I stayed in the galley with Jesse, who snored loudly the entire sail. There is nothing like a sail to rock you to sleep. On this particular sail, the wind was incredibly strong, and we were eventually sailing at 11.3 knots, Antigone’s record for our trip. Someone spotted dolphins at the front of the boat and we all rushed outside. To my delight, a party of about 12 dolphins was playing at the bow. For about twenty minutes everyone on deck was completely mesmerized watching them jump and play. They were everywhere we looked, under the trampoline, out on the horizon, and just about everywhere else. There was even a mother and child. Jeff and I named the baby Dominic. It was amazing, but then just as suddenly as they came, they disappeared into the deep waves. For five minutes Mikel, Jeff and I stood staring at the sparkling deep blue waves hoping for them to return, but it seemed that the playful party had moved on to enchant another part of the sea.
I remember this morning as clearly as if it had been today. I hardly need my journal to help me recall details. Most days on the trip blend together in a rush of diving, sailing and rescue scenarios. I just remember accomplishing more than I could have ever imagined in a short period of time… making lifelong friendships, learning first hand the wonders of the sea, and even growing up a bit, if that’s possible. But no matter how much time passes, there will always be things about this trip that I won’t be able to forget. Things like the way the stars twinkled, thousands of them glittering in the velvet black sky. Before seeing them out on the water I hadn’t realized they actually did that, being a city child, I rarely see stars. I will also always recall the different shades of blue the ocean seemed to turn from island to island, shades that I had only previously seen in flavors of Kool Aid – deep blue, sparkling turquoise and even a color that I can only describe as “bug juice.” The nights that seemed to never end, talking on the trampoline until exhaustion claimed us, the slow rocking of Antigone that wish I could have taken back home with me. Now that I’m home, I still occasionally imagine that I’m back on the boat with the waves gently rocking me to sleep like a cradle rocking a baby. I miss the noise, how cars and voices were replaced with the slapping of the waves against the sides of the boat. I never could understand how people slept inside on these nights, with so much beauty surrounding you, who cares if you wake up at 3 am every morning by the sudden tropical downpours. You just run inside and finish the night off on the galley floor, at least that’s what I did. These are the things my memory will refuse to surrender to the passing of time.
These are the days that friendships were made, and though I find it impossible to keep this journal entry from becoming sporadic, in my mind it all fits. My memory is like the ocean in this case. I never know what it will bring to the surface, but I do know that it will never cease to fascinate me.
