Date: December 5, 2011
Location: Les Saintes
Author: Zep
ÒThe only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, delirious of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes ÒAwwwÓÓ(Kerouac) If the people around you are not Òexploding like roman candlesÓ, then either change your surroundings, or change yourself. Everyday we step foot on shore people have different priorities and interests, whether it be to talk to a girlfriend on the internet, get gelato, find the nearest beach, or explore as much as possible. After the staff did an early morning move of Argo around a small peninsula about a mile to the nearest town we began in good spirits with fresh pastries from shore brought on dinghys by the early risers. While waiting to clear into The Saints, we had time to show Argo some love, rust busting, waxing, and giving her a much-needed soapy wash after all the diving equipment dirtied her up. We got the go ahead, and made our way to shore, with ice cream, internet, and cliff jumping on our minds. With fixes satisfied, groups split, some meandering uphill towards the old fort, whilst others walked to the opposite side of the island to find the beach. Iguanas were scattered in every grassy spot and mopeds buzzed erratically while we walked east towards the beach. The beach we found was the classic Caribbean desktop screensaver. Palm trees lining the water, a small island off the shore, and gentle waves breaking on the golden sand. Plus goats. I almost forgot the goats. Some of us laid out and slept, others swam to the island and had hermit crab battles with upwards of fifty crabs in the sand ÔarenaÕ. Death match. Not really though, I lie, I lie. They were all returned safely to their shady dens. Three oÕclock rolled in and the dinghyÕs brought us home to Argo. After completing passage prep, we motored off anchor, headed for Saba. Chefs took on the task of pizza tonight, committing themselves to 4+ hours of dinner prep, that was very much appreciated. Goodnight everyone. ÒGo so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back.Ó Eve Ensler.

Date: December 3, 2011
Location: Portsmouth, Dominica
Author: Erika Fletcher
Today started off as usual at around 7:15 with a hardy breakfast of pancakes cooked by our amazing chefs (Sean, Emily and Kris). The day continued on as usual with half of the PSCTers having their navigation exam while the other half of the group went on a tour down the Indian River. The tour was absolutely beautiful, tall mangrove trees covered the shoreline of this majestic river with brackish water. The river is especially unique because the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed here (the scenes with Calypso). In the afternoon the other half of the PSCTers completed their navigation exam while the rest of the group who are not in PSCT started with getting the deck organized, and ready to set sail tomorrow for Les Saints. Tonight we are finishing up our long day with a relaxing snorkel consisting of feeding the fish right off the boat; I know IÕm excited for it. I am looking forward to our short sail tomorrow and getting to see more of the Caribbean as the day goes on.

Date: December 3, 2011
Location: Portsmouth, Dominica
Author: Erika Fletcher
Today started off as usual at around 7:15 with a hardy breakfast of pancakes cooked by our amazing chefs (Sean, Emily and Kris). The day continued on as usual with half of the PSCTers having their navigation exam while the other half of the group went on a tour down the Indian River. The tour was absolutely beautiful, tall mangrove trees covered the shoreline of this majestic river with brackish water. The river is especially unique because the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed here (the scenes with Calypso). In the afternoon the other half of the PSCTers completed their navigation exam while the rest of the group who are not in PSCT started with getting the deck organized, and ready to set sail tomorrow for Les Saints. Tonight we are finishing up our long day with a relaxing snorkel consisting of feeding the fish right off the boat; I know IÕm excited for it. I am looking forward to our short sail tomorrow and getting to see more of the Caribbean as the day goes on.

Date: December 2, 2011
Location: Portsmouth, Dominica
Author: Leah
Back to the diving world we go. It seems like it has been ages since tanks, regs and bcds scattered the deck. To kick off the warm water diving in the Caribbean, everyone had the chance to do two dives in Portsmouth, Dominica. The first dive was along a sloping wall covered in coral and marine creatures. For those completing their Advanced Open Water certs a few skills were required at depths around 80 feet. On the second dive we swam along an old pier, which seems to be a favorite among a number of species. Eels could be seen hiding themselves in the sand, batfish looked as though they were hopping along the bottom and crabs could be found in massive coral heads. No one should be worrying about finding fifty marine species for their Marine Biology Journals after those two dives.

Date: December 1, 2011
Location: Roseau, Dominica
Author: Galen
After yesterdayÕs fruit tour, it was hard for us to imagine that we could have a more interesting day. However we were proven wrong during our journey to the boiling lake of Dominica, one of two boiling lakes in the world. In a quest similar to FrodoÕs in Lord of the Rings, we ventured through the valley of desolation and vast amounts of sulfur to arrive at the lake. Along the way back we decided to reenact another movie and ended up swimming up a canyon to a waterfall that was in the pirates of the Caribbean! Upon returning home to Argo, we left port and headed up to Portsmouth, on the north end of the island. Tomorrow we dive again for the first time since the Mediterranean!

Date: November 30, 2011
Location: Roseau, Dominica
Author: Vic
Today was the group excursion on the lovely island of Dominica. Our aptly named guides were Sea Cat and Stowe, they showed us the culinary delights of the island. All the cool kids got down and boogied in StoweÕs van on the way to grape fruit picking. Climbing trees to get our own fruits was a new and very fun experience for a lot of us. We also had sugarcane fresh from the tree; the perfect recipe is to put some grapefruit juice on it, itÕs delicious! We then hoped back in the taxis, making stops on the road to pick some more local fruits and berries, including guava, raspberries, bread nut, nectarine, ginger and cinnamon. We discovered a nut, which seeds deliver a red fluid, used as face paint or as food coloration. Some pretty artistic face drawings happened during the ride, which made us not look like tourist at all when we arrived to an artisanal coconut bread stand. Very delicious bread! Afterward we learned how to make chocolate directly from the chocolate bean and had some very tasty passion fruit. After having lunch on a gorgeous beach we went swimming at the Emerald Pool, which is a little pond of fresh water with a stunning waterfall in the middle of the rain forest. On our way back to Argo we stopped at the Botanical Garden and at a high point of the mountain where we could see a striking view of the island. As a conclusion, it was a very flavorsome and appetizing day!

Date: November 29, 2011
Location: Roseau, Dominica
Author: Mitch
We all started the day with smiles on our faces when we got up on deck and saw the lovely green of the local rainforest. Its weird how you donÕt realize how much you miss a color until you see it again. After a special breakfast of chocolate pancakes (Thanks JP, Chris and Erika) we started to pay Argo back for bringing us all this far safely. We scrubbed everything from the water line to the top spreaders, which I can tell you from personal experience is a lot farther up the mast than you think! After lunch we went swimming in the rain. ItÕs hard to explain exactly how amazing swimming in the Caribbean Sea during a tropical rainstorm is. But I know many of us will remember it forever.

Date: November 26, 2011
Location: Atlantic Ocean / Roseau, Dominica
Author: Sean
After what seemed to be a very quick two weeks, Argo delivered us safely to the island of Dominica around 1800 local time. We endured a few Caribbean storms as we got closer and closer to the island but it did not bring down our spirits because we were ready to finally enjoy the beauty of our new destination. We made it out of our last storm and there appeared Dominica with one of the brightest rainbows any of us had ever seen. When we arrived we realized that someone had taken our mooring space and we ended up anchoring with our stern lines tied off to a dock on shore. The highlight of the day was finally getting to go swimming, something we had all been looking forward to the entire passage. Our night swim was in 84¡ F water and was one of the most refreshing things I have ever experienced. I cannot wait to see what else Dominica has in store for us from the Boiling Lake Hike to the Indian River tour; I cannot imagine that we will not like anything though.

Date: November 26, 2011
Location: Underway
Author: Becca
One boat comes in and out of view on the horizon. For many of us this is the first glimpse of human life outside Argo in quite awhile, a sign that we are closing in on the Caribbean and our epic journey across the Atlantic is coming to an end. We are still sailing downwind and everyone is thankful for the silence of sails. It seems like forever since the rumble of the engine was heard. The sun is setting and shipmates are funneling up the companion way for dinner. Sam points out a piece of floating debris off our port side, another sign land is near. Those on deck turn to visually inspect the foreign object and instead get sight of a large Mahi breaching the surface. We have two lines out and quickly all attention is turned towards those. Nothing has bit yet but along the surface we see the Mahi closing in on one of the lines, and as best as you could predict it, it strikes. George is first on the hand line. He is given a pair of gloves to make the job easier and begins hauling the fish towards the stern of Argo. Putting up a fight, it is apparent the fish is sizeable. The Mahi is hauled out of the sea and onto the deck where a lively match of Mitch versus the fish ensues. Mitch wins. Fresh meat two days out from land is welcomed and thanks is given for the MahiÕs sacrifice. The catch is a fitting culmination to an exciting day of Marine Biology, Oceanography, and cramming for the PSCT Tides and Currents exam that is taking place after dinner. Hope all is well back home, see you soon.

Date: November 25, 2011
Location: Underway
Author: Parker
As a short continuation of last night: the crew gathered around as 5 weary souls took part in Argo's first annual food eating contest. The challenge consisted of the 5 having to eat a spoonful of canned chicken/turkey every 30 seconds. The cheering squad was led by Cap'n Sam as the winner of the contest (Galen) finished with 24 spoonfuls in his already full Thanksgiving belly. It finally ended past sun down but gave the rest of the crew some unforgettable pictures and laughs to hold them out through the night.
As for today, the crew enjoyed another fantastic routine day as we ventured through day 10 of our odyssey Atlantic crossing. Watch teams ran throughout the day only stopping for a wonderful lunch of tortillas, Thanksgiving leftovers, and so much other food that I can't even remember. We had our second and final installment of the PSCT oral law exam for the many taking the class. Following, we had a short Oceanography quiz before taking refreshing deck showers. We had dinner at 6 consisting of pasta bolognaise. Another beautiful sunset was watched by many and is still currently shining in my face as I write this. SLD awaits us in a few minutes so we're excited to doing something fun and interactive. We currently stand on 5300nm logged, 475.283 miles to Dominica, and an ETA of mid- day (7:37) November 29.

As for the rents and fam, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and Alex