Today, we are headed back through the Strait of Gibraltar and the Pillars of Hercules. While I’m on yeoman duty today, the first time we passed through here I was standing watch on the bridge. After experiencing the excitement of steering, witnessing the 2/C muster up the confidence to navigate us through, and seeing us into the strait firsthand, I can imagine what joys must be unfurling on the bridge right now.

We just left our only Mediterranean port less than 72 hours ago; Palma was an amazing place. I, personally, made about one thousand new best friends at the Aquarium! I even got to see a ribbon eel, my favorite type of eel and one I had always wanted to encounter but knew I never would in Maine waters. Speaking of the waters, the tides here are crystalline blue. I could not believe just how warm the water was at the beach! Despite the beauties of this side of the world, I can’t help but still miss sailing the Penobscot Bay.

The night before we left Palma, the TSSOM was struck by dust rain. It’s a type of rain were sand from the Sahara Desert in the air are caught in rain droplets as they fall. The weather decks were absolutely covered in sand, which took my company and I two days to clean. We started with saltwater fire hoses day one, and yesterday, we finished the battle with freshwater and environmentally friendly soap.

After all of this, 2/C Andrew Brook (Charlie Co.) invited me, 4/C Brooke Foran, to learn some celestial navigation. It was a Brook and Brooke stargazing duo. We absolutely took over the bridge wings just in time to see the Mediterranean shake out the most stunning sunset and moonrise combination I have ever seen. On the port side of the ship, you could see the full summer moon pushing the night up into the sky. On Starboard, the sun was perfectly basketed by two mountains. Brook was nervous that the moon was too bright for us to see our stars and that the sea was too calm for us to have a horizon. As unfortunate as that was I, Brooke, held out hope. All of a sudden, one little star began twinkling- there she was! Our first shot. Then slowly, the next star crept out, slowly and slower. Finally, we had to find Pollux; time was running out, we were losing the horizon. At what felt like the last second, Pollux shed her dark cloak, and shone brightly in the twilight. We took the sighting as quickly as possible! It was such an honor and beauty to see the world spin magnificence before my eyes; I couldn’t be more grateful for 2/C Brook showing me the basics of celestial navigation. Team Brook and Brooke for the win.

Post by: 4/C Brooke Foran, MTO, Charlie Company

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