Length Rating: Grab ‘n’ Go Coffee
Kristin Reporting!
Kristin Reporting!
We officially
crossed the equator at 11PM on January 29, 2016. Recently, in my reading of
Captain James Cook’s memoirs, I learned of the time honored hazing ceremony
observed by sailors when their ship crosses this line:
“On the 25th
we crossed the line, and the next day, when it was no longer doubted that we
were to the southward of the line, the ceremony on this occasion practiced by
all nations was not omitted. Every one that could not prove upon the sea chart
that he had before crossed the line was either to pay a bottle of rum or be
ducked in the sea, which former case was the fate of by far the greatest part
on board; and as several of the men chose to be ducked, and the weather was
favourable for that purpose, this ceremony was performed over about twenty or
thirty, to the no small diversion of the rest.” – Captain James Cook
As we did not desire
to purchase a bottle of rum, Davin and I chose to be ducked. And, since we did
not think the ship would appreciate us jumping overboard, we used the next best
thing: the swimming pool. There was some miscommunication from the ship’s staff
as to when the equator was crossed, so we performed the ritual around 8PM on
January 29, 2016. Davin did a cannon ball and went straight down to the
bottom and hit his butt because the pool is only 4 feet deep! Only the next morning did we learn that we didn’t actually
cross the line until 11PM on January 29, 2016. Meaning we ducked ourselves
three hours too early! As such, our first ducking turned out to just be a practice
round. GoPro in hand again, we ducked ourselves officially on the evening of
January 30, 2016. This time Davin knew better than to attempt another
cannonball. We noted that the pool was significantly colder than the day
before, which made the experience better, as it was just a teensy tiny bit more
of an ordeal than it had been on the ducking “practice round”.
It is interesting to
note that at this location on earth-- in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at or
near the equator, on a fine summer’s day-- the water of the ocean is actually
warmer than that of the air. (Both are in the mid to high 80s F, with the water
being about 3-5 degrees warmer than the air.) As such, jumping into the heated
pool was not nearly as far off the mark from the experience of being properly dunked
as it may seem. The weather here is also abysmally humid, so I can imagine the
sailors who chose to be ducked truly did not suffer from the experience in the
slightest. However, I do believe that many of the men sailing in the mid-1700s
could not swim, and, as such, purchasing a bottle of rum would have had a much
greater attraction if that were the case.
All passengers
received official certificates for Crossing the Equator. If we can get them
home in good condition, we can put them on the wall to boast of this grand life
achievement!
Our sail south to the
island destination of Pago Pago, American Samoa continues. We shall arrive
there on February 1, 2016.
Until Next Time!
Davin & Kristin, Sibling World Adventurers
Davin & Kristin, Sibling World Adventurers
