Nicole Journal #5:
Last Report


Nicole Before Departure

I spent my last three weeks getting the ship ready to north, to Tokelau, the ship’s next destination. Helping with buying the dry foods for the next few months was a bit weird because I knew that I won’t be on the ship when it leaves Western Samoa. Most of the time I was passing on the information I had to the people who had recently joined the ship while in Samoa. I was passing down the responsibilities that I had taken on while on board and finishing up some jobs that I didn’t want to leave undone.

I had taken on the role of food managing, rigging, and a third mate in training. With the food managing I would be the one to go onto shore to get food for people to cook meals with. I use to make lists for the crew of when and sometimes what they would cook. I knew where all of the food was and how much we had of what. It was sometimes difficult to think about every meal, everyday, and who was going to produce it. To make sure that all the nutrients were in the meals, that it was presentable and edible was at times exhausting and time consuming. I am glad that I took on this responsibility. At home we are always eating or preparing food at a feasting, wedding, or for just a good family get together. There is so much that I can bring back to the dinner table; like the many ways to cook fish. I learned so many wonderful dishes to prepare and have acquired many different tastes like a Polynesian raw fish salad. So I passed on what I had learned from this experience to the next food manager.

Another responsibility was the rigging. I was the rigger, which meant I was taking care of the sails, and ropes, and everything that was related to them. I would sew up any rips that were in the sails and made sure that the ropes were all in good condition. This was mostly a lot of maintenance because ropes, lines, and sails wear out, so if a person is on it, it helps us to make things last longer. This led me to days in the hot sun getting sunburned, but it was worth it. There’s nothing like the feeling I get when looking up at the raised sails knowing that I had put a lot of energy into them, and of course how beautiful they are.

I was a third mate in training for about five months. In this time, I learned what being a mate meant. I was being trained in all the aspects of the ship. How to start the engines, generators, and the other machines we had on board, like the dive compressor and our desalinator for making water.

I and three other crew members were responsible for the ship for eight hours a day while we were on voyage. I learned how to navigate, set a course, and at times I was a bit overwhelmed, but I did gain a lot of confidence from this responsibility.

All these roles that I had taken on affected me in such a positive way. I am grateful for having had this experience. I was given the opportunity to explore the world, see other cultures, and to be able to share to the world me and my people. There were even some places where the people have never even heard of American Indians and that gave me great honor to have represented a nation that I am proud to be a part of.

The day came when I had to say my farewells and shared the last hugs. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Saying good bye to some of the people who had been there since the day I joined the ship was sad. Then saying bye to some of the people who were just on board, I just wished they had joined sooner. I got my three spins around the ship in the small boat, a part of the Heraclitus tradition. The ship had been my home for eighteen months. With tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat I left the good ship Heraclitus.

I have become part of another tribe, not among the Lakotas or the Apaches, but among a tribe of sea people. I will not forget about the Heraclitus and its ever changing crew, my prayers and thoughts are always with them. I wish them a safe journey and may the Great Spirit guide and protect them.

Nicole