Greetings from Down Under

The Southern Hemisphere is totally different. Fish swim upside down. I'm sure that the water in our Lavac is swirling the other way except that we have to shut the lid to pump water through it so I can't tell for sure. And Carol and I both feel like we might fall off the boat now that gravity has reversed.

OK, so, in reality this patch of ocean looks, not surprisingly, exactly like the patch of ocean before it.

For the non-boaters, there is a maritime tradition that until you cross the equator (in a boat) you are a pollywog/tadpole who is dirty and not worthy of Neptune and must be cleansed (read: hazed) in some manner prior to crossing after which you become a shellback.

Carol was already a shellback having crossed in a motor vessel many times. He also crossed many times while piloting an aircraft which, although cool, doesn't count for the maritime tradition.

I was a pollywog and as we approached the equator, Davy Jones boarded our vessel. You might be surprised to learn that Davy Jones looks suspiciously like my husband with a tropical print shirt on his head and an eye patch. Who knew?

The ceremony, with parts redacted for National Security, went something like this:
1) ----------------- (redacted because of pact with Neptune)
2) ----------------- (redacted because not PG-13)
3) We climbed down the swim ladder steps, with a rope tied to our wrist, and took turns letting the movement of our boat drag us through the water as we held onto the swim ladder, racing back on deck when our fear of shark bites overcame us.
4) Finally, we opened a bottle of Driftwood Ale we have carried with us from Victoria, some canned smoked salmon that was caught and canned by our friends aboard SV Shannon, a celebratory email from SV Eagle, and opened an extremely touching care package created by my parents which included a certificate for our equator crossing to be filled out, tasty treats and notes from my family.

The equator is just over 2/3 of the way between Baja Mexico and the Marquesas. All is well aboard.

8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. $!!&%*$!! great!
    (does this need to be redacted?)

    Congrats!

    David

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  3. So Cool!! Tate and I have spoken many times about the idea of getting in the open blue ocean while crossing it...you are brave.

    I too fear sharks, while they are unlikely, anything way out there is sure to be hungry.

    congrats on making it so far!!! Your updates are inspirational.
    Dani

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  4. Wow - This just brought a big smile to my day! Thanks for the update and great account of the hail to Neptune. Congrats, Livia, for making the transition from pollywog to shellback!

    Katie and Mark
    www.ControlledJibe.com

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  5. Congratulations! What a fantastic accomplishment! Almost there & can't wait to hear all about it!

    Cindy
    SV Orion

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  6. Our dear friends... congratulations on crossing the equator and on doing so with aplomb! (that's aplomb...not a plum). And thanks so much for allowing our little gift to be part of your crossing celebrations... that was great. We're heading home to Canada soon but will continue to follow your journey. Thanks for sharing. Much love, Carolyn, Kathy, Sophie and the SV Shannon

    ReplyDelete

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