Dear Diary,

In the good news, I'm beginning to feel more like I know my way around the boat (which, for those of youbon the know, is a Bermuda rigged staysail schooner.)  I've learned several knots, including the bowline, the clove hitch, and a couple others whose names are...irregular.

In the "bad" news, typical journal entries from people on the trip might look something like this:

Dear diary,
Bowsprit broke today. Seasick before it did. Hard bunk. Good food though. I may survive.

Dear diary,
Stuck in the little bay a couple more days. Scratched legs from a forced march through thorns. Outlook grim. Still now shower, though I took a dip in the sea.

Dear diary,
In spite of no shower for days, today we ran out of water.  Soooo thristy.  Soooo dirty.  Food and oxygen seem to be in good supply, but one is bound to run out next.

Dear diary,

We still have no bowsprit, no internet, we're out of water, I had to clean out the greasiest locker ever, I can't tie knots properly, and the puns are getting progressively more painful.  Mutiny looms large on the horizon.  

Dear diary,

Tonight we washed the dishes in the bilge buckets on the poop deck, sitting on ropes and the trash from the bathrooms.  All time low.  

In reality, though we often joke about our journal entries, and just about everything that can go wrong has, we're generally in good spirits.  I've probably laughed more today than I have in the past month.  Still, if you think of it, please pray that we are able to get our bowsprit fixed and reattached tomorrow so we can be on our way.  We've had some good discussions and class sessions, but we are eager to be on our way.