Upon arriving in Mazatlán, I was informed that I was a Pollywog. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded bad and I knew I didn’t want to be one. My crewmates told me they were all Saddlebacks- that sounded much better. So here I was, the youngest by 15 years, the most rookie sailor of the 4 of us, the only one with no open ocean experience and now this! Soon after, I learned that a Pollywog is someone who hasn’t crossed the equator- by boat. This was about to change…
On our 15th day at sea, we slowed the boat in the middle of the night so that we could cross the equator in the morning. I was on the bow of the boat- the first of our crew to cross- and I was so excited! As we approached, we dropped the sails and drifted across to the southern hemisphere. With a crew member on board and a line off the stern for safety, I dove into the Pacific on the equator for a swim! It was fabulous! Warm water- 4536 meters (14,881 ft) deep- INCREDIBLE!
As of 0830 (middle of the Pacific time) on April 18, 2009 I officially became a Saddleback…I was no longer a Pollywog!
