Life Aboard Mystic Whaler

This summer I was a deckhand aboard the Mystic Whaler in New London, Connecticut. My first day was July 2nd and I was there the whole summer up until a week before school started. I remember being anxious and wondering what it was going to be like being away from home in another state for 2 months. When I first arrived on the boat, the crew had just come back from a sail and they were beginning to furl. Furling is when you fold the sail and nicely place it on top of the boom. I'm tremendously afraid of heights and I always will be but I have gotten better at climbing higher! This summer definitely helped me face my fear of heights. I remember the first weeks of furling were the absolute worse. My legs would be shaking the whole time and I needed help getting to the top of the boom because I wasn't strong enough to pull myself up. I remember the first day that my legs didn't shake when I was up there, I was so proud of myself! I also remember the first time that I didn't have to stand up on someone's leg to help myself get up on the boom. I definitely got the upper body strength and bravery to help myself be independent when it came to furling. My ultimate goal was to be able to go aloft and on my last week on the Mystic Whaler my crew members made it possible for me! It was honestly not as bad as I had made it seem for all these years that I had been refusing to go aloft. I'm very proud of all my achievements and growth as a sailor!