I left my home in Seattle, Washington in the early morning of June 14th to meet up with the One Ocean crew in Juneau, Alaska. From finals at school to moving out of my home for the past two years, the turnaround was fast—but I would do pirouettes for what was to come. I finished my water quality and ecology classes on June 12th, moved out of my apartment on the 13th, and arrived in Juneau on the 14th. Two crew members, Grace and Tim, were flying out just as I got in—and they met me with hugs and enthusiasm for the journey I was stepping into. It was a truly warm welcome. It was even a sunny day! When I arrived, the crew was just finishing up provisioning to continue heading north. The next day, we would depart for Elfin Cove.
I just wrapped up my third year at Western Washington University, where I study environmental science and compete on the sailing team—among other things. Western sits at the top of Sehome Hill and overlooks Bellingham Bay, an incredible place to both sail and study the environment. My favorite spot to study is North Campus—it has the best view of the bay. There’s nothing quite like a sunset over the ocean’s horizon. One of my favorite activities is watching the Bellingham youth sailing program and calling it “studying”—I watch with joy, and a tinge of jealousy. I’d rather be out there on the water than cooped up in the library.
The WWU sailing team practices on Lake Whatcom at Lakewood. We compete against other schools in the Northwest Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NWICSA), which is part of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference. We sail dinghies (FJs), which are an absolute blast. I love the feeling of becoming one with the boat—there’s something about working with the elements that fully immerses you in the moment. This spring, I finally got out sailing in the bay with Todd Koetje and crew on the J/109 Hravn. Anyway—I love sailing, and I’m excited to do more of it.

In Bellingham, I had easy access to both the ocean and the forest. The Sehome Hill Arboretum borders campus and is home to an array of trees—Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar, Bigleaf Maple, and Alder. These giants live among a variety of mushrooms and other understory plants. The trails winding through the arboretum are my go-to for “nature time” between classes. Exploring the diverse landscapes of the Pacific Northwest never gets old—but I’m ecstatic to see new places and more incredible sunsets over the ocean’s horizon.
The evening I arrived in Juneau, Mike, Mark, Jen, and I visited Mendenhall Glacier and then went to a dive bar in town that served amazing halibut fish and chips. We also added our logo from McKenzie Spoor onto our dinghy—it reads: “One Ocean.” Location? “Earth.” To create the word “Earth,” we did some rearranging of the letters from “Anacortes.” We just had to get creative with the “H”… thanks, Mark. I love how this represents our message. We are all united by the fact that we live on planet Earth, and we are all affected by its health. We cannot have a healthy Earth without a healthy ocean. After all, the planet is ~70% water—and humans are similar at ~60%. We are not separate from the ocean. We are all connected to and by the ocean—an ocean that deserves to be cared for, just as we do.

So, I arrived in Juneau on June 14th, and we left for Elfin Cove the next morning—another clear, sunny day, with snowy mountains towering along the shoreline. A couple hours into our crossing, we came across a pod of nearly twenty humpbacks bubble-net feeding. Their technique was incredible to witness. It was truly a surreal way to begin this journey. We stayed for a while, watching and collecting imagery of the whales. I could have stayed there forever, but the whales kept moving—and so did we.

-Tess