The windy spring continues to take its toll as Bravo team was once again denied the chance to leave the dock. We are still plenty busy with our upcoming environmental projects and journey planning.

After a quick check in our bird box project workday (coming up April 23rd) and our upcoming Bird Zine, we headed down the Bosun’s locker. Our plan was to set up the boat cover on the dock so that we could practice for our journey and also experience what it will be like to set up the boat for sleeping.

Our guest captain Nahja had the idea to present the boat cover to our team as an initiative. She offered us only these clues: the cover is designed to shed water forward to aft and top to bottom,  and the cover is designed to fit perfectly on this boat. With those clues and the leadership of coxswain Gabe, the crew set to work.

After a bit of experimentation and discussion, the crew had successfully pieced the cover together and attached it to the boat. We then set the boat up for sleeping. This happens by using the oars to create bunks on both port and starboard side. Sleeping boards are added to make bunks off of the queen seat and the rest of the crew sleep on the sole.

Some of us weren’t so sure about this sleeping arrangement, but after we set up the boat we laid down for our Moment of Silence.

Bunking up under the boat cover

Kyle broke our moment of silence with a quote about being tested. Many of the crew found that poignant as they are going into state tests at school in the coming weeks. We were appreciating the coziness of our shelter out of the wind so we decided to stay under the cover for snack.

Finally it came time to put the boat cover away and head back to the classroom. We ended the day by studying the tides and currents on our journey and working on a float plan.

While most of us were disappointed by not getting out on the water, we all enjoyed setting up the boat cover. Excitement is building as we get closer to our journey date!