Two days ago, Fiona–our Irish Bosun’s Mate–challenged Captain Darren to a wager: if England wins the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, she would clean his cabin, but if Ireland won, she would be made honorary captain for the rest of the day after the match. With ship full of crew from England, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Bermuda, New Zealand, and the United States, Fiona asked
for international support for her home team, and shortly had our New Zealander and most of the Americans on board emphatically wearing green for the next couple days, as well as actively practicing our Irish accents, pronounciations, and phrases. This morning, we were greated by Fiona’s perky voice over the intercom, reminding us to wear green and be sure to greet Captain Darren with, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!” The Captain’s place at the breakfast table was also mysteriously set this morning with raw potatoes and a can of Guinness, laid out on a green tea towel! The voyage crew listed our predictions and teased each other over our various loyalties over breakfast. Richard, one of the watch leaders, set up his phone to receive emails to keep us informed of the score.

Our Bermudians on board gave the voyage crew a talk on the history of Bermuda and the many fun things we must see while ashore. Meanwhile, we’ve continued motoring due north with a head wind of about 20 knots, moving at a little over 4 knots towards Bermuda. The temperature has cooled to about 21 Celsius–cool compared to the day before, but still quite pleasant. The sea state at the time of this writing is very exciting: the occasional 5 meter swell smoothly bringing the bow of the ship up and then falling back down onto the next swell with a spectacular splash! Beautiful to watch and the cause of much excited shouting of glee.

But what of the rugby match? Soon we heard the results over the intercom from a matter-of-fact Captain Darren: the final result was Ireland 19, England 9. Keeping his word, he granted Fiona the title of Captain for the rest of the day. She has since donned a fresh white uniform, epaulettes and hat and has so far proved to be a magnanimous authority figure. There will undoubtedly be much enjoying of gloating rights at dinner tonight!

Submitted by the Aft Starboard Watch: Tom, Angie, Jetarri, Sarah, John, Jonny, and Shawna.