Day 1 and 2

Perhaps leaving on Mother's Day wasn't such a good idea after all.

Within 36 hours of setting sail from St. George's, most of the crew are clinging to rails or are haphazardly strewn across the deck. Although none has actually been heard calling out "Mom" in despair, it is safe to say many are wishing they could magically transport themselves from the mid-Atlantic to their mothers' warm homes.

The crew of the Spirit has been stricken with that terrible affliction which can reduce a grown man to a child — sea sickness. At the moment some fear there is no end in sight. As one invalid described it: "First you think you are going to die, then you are worried you aren't going to die."

Perhaps they had envisioned a different start to their journey; one that would have had them topping up their tan, occasionally trimming a sail and generally basking in the glory that they had escaped the monotony of life at school or work and traded it in for a few days on the open seas.

As they left the dock, young men — who make up the majority of the crew with only one female student aboard — could be heard making boastful bets that they would most definitely not be sick because they were tough, hardened sailors.

But one by one they stumbled or ran from their bunks and took refuge at the ship's rails, safe in the knowledge that their crewmates had clipped them in to ensure they didn't fall over and left them free, in a manner of speaking, to let it flow.

But those who are not sick have enjoyed some lively manoeuvres, be it traditional sailing manoeuvres or manoeuvring away from their puking peers. The quality of food has kept them happy and the lack of dishes to wash even happier.

They've taken to doling out water and bananas to their friends, who dare not leave the safety and "comfort' of the rails, in a bid to ease their suffering. Generally speaking this affliction should pass — perhaps by the time you are reading this update — and no one has ever been seriously injured from sea sickness.

Chief Officer Sarah Robinson, who is currently being called an angel by those who have made a miraculous recovery, has also recently doled out a special supply of top notch medicine that seems to have people springing back to life.

Plus, as any sailor knows, the memories of this unfortunate start shall pass, especially if it gets in the way of a good story. The exact length of time it took them to gain their sea legs will seem shorter, the despair they felt at the time will diminish and their pride in the voyage will grow. They will remember helming the wheel in 57-knot winds with 30-foot swells, which will of course grow to 50 feet as they recall the voyage to wide-eyed landlubbers.

They will reminisce about the star-filled night skies and fresh sea air and generally smooth over the rough edges in their memory.

Day 3 at Sea

As the Spirit of Bermuda picks up speed on its way to Turks and Caicos, its crew grows stronger.

Nearly 24 hours after more than half the crew was stricken with a serious bout of sea sickness, most have recovered and, as Captain Chris boomed at morning meeting, "The free ride is over".

On the third day at sea the crew has been told it's time to start acting like sailors. The young men will now be expected to fulfil all watch duties, kitchen duties, ship's maintenance and sail manoeuvres. No excuses will be accepted.

The crew has been split into three watch teams, each expected to steer the ship and keep an eye out for other vessels on the horizon for four-hour periods. The shift times are constantly rotating which means one evening a watch could be responsible for keeping the ship on course and fellow crew members safe from 8 p.m. until midnight and then, the following evening, be responsible for the 4 a.m. until 8 a.m. shift.

Rousing teenage boys is rarely an easy task, doing so in the middle of the Atlantic, in the early hours of the morning can at times seem impossible.

However, once risen, the night watch emerge from below deck to see a star-filled sky and steer the ship by moonlight, definitely a sight worth losing a bit of sleep over. A warm cup of tea often helps those who need an extra pick me up in the early morning hours.

But stars aren't the only sights they crew have enjoyed.

Mid-way through Wednesday's ship maintenance, when crew members were shining brass fixtures on the ship, a pod of dolphins decided to play off the left hand side of the Spirit. As they jumped and raced around the ship one young crew member exclaimed: "This is better than Sea World!"

Indeed Tall Ship sailing can at times be more exciting — and hair-raising — than any amusement park ride.

Ask the watch that had to go out on the bowsprit (pointy bit at the front of the ship) to take down a ripped sail in the middle of a stormy night. Or the guy helming when suddenly a 57-knot gust came along and sent the ship keeling right over and people falling out of bunks.

And the students who have been clinging onto the safety rails as the ship makes its way through the Atlantic can certainly attest to the roller coaster like motions of the ocean.

The ship has just passed midway point and has another few hundred miles to go, while some are finally getting into the groove of it others are wishing they could just see land and get off the ride. But that's the problem with this ride it doesn't stop until the ship docks at a tiny Island once colonised by Bermuda.

Stay tuned for the next installment from the Spirit and more on Bermuda's history with the Turks and Caicos.