#61 The Sea’Lympics

In real life, the Olympics come around once every 4 years. But in yet one more difference between real life and ship life, here the Sea’Lympics come around once each semester!

There are no classes. The library is closed. And everyone participates – either as an athlete, a judge or a cheerer. The ship’s captain, Captain Roman Krstanovic, starts off the games at the opening ceremonies with the traditional, “Let the games begin.”

The day’s competitions include tug o’ war, Dodgeball, Ping Pong, Whipped Cream Pie Eating, Volleyball, Synchronized Swimming, Scavenger Hunt, Jumpsuit Relay, Root Beer Pong, Suck ‘n’ Blow, Obstacle Course, Flip Cup, Spaghetti & Marshmallow, Limbo, Egg Toss, Hot Dog Eating Contest, Hair Styling Contest, Free Styling Contest, and Talent Show. Of particular note to Kelly are the volleyball competition and the Spaghetti & Marshmallow competition. The goal of the second was to build in 20 minutes the tallest and most creative structure from 20 uncooked spaghetti strands given 20 marshmallows for connectors. Kelly’s team worked in the geometric style of Buckminster Fuller and too soon found the structural limit of the marshmallow.

In the spirit of competition, Captain Roman cranked up all four MV Explorer engines to bring our speed to 29 knots, the fastest of any cruise ship. About the same time, Kelly’s team took the volleyball court creating a distinct wind shift. K’s team took 4th in the competition.

Our shipboard community is divided into seas. The student groups are called the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Bering Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Arabian Sea. We - the faculty, staff, and dependents - make up the Pacific Ocean. Our Pacific team didn’t win the overall competition, we didn’t finish last, and we had a lot of fun.

Yours in friendly competition,
Mary

Current location: the Arabian Sea
Latitude: 10 degrees, 31 minutes N Longitude: 65 degrees, 46 minutes E
Speed: 17.3 knots