Crossing the Equator (January 29, 2016 - January 30, 2016)

Length Rating: Grab ‘n’ Go Coffee 

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 25^th 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