The morning of Thanksgiving dawned warm and clear. With the clanging of the breakfast bell, the sleepy eyed students of S/V Concordia clambered up the narrow steps to the bustling mess hall. A hot steamy bowl of oatmeal, made by our treasured chef Dina, was rationed out with pleading voices calling for subsequent servings. “Five minutes to colors, five minutes to colors!” was announced by the very professional sounding Gavin, and with bubbles of laughter we all hastened out onto deck. After the flags were hoisted into the fresh breeze, we stood at ease trying desperately not to fall over each other at mercy of the tossing ocean that never relented in its mission to topple us over onto the deck. The daily report of our past day of sailing was given, and to our immense joy, the teachers announced that because it was thanksgiving, they would be doing the strenuous galley duty the whole day! We were all so thankful and gave an appreciative round of applause. Our day light hours passed in the usual spirited routine of day watch, classes, scrubbing and cleaning, free hand calls for sail maneuvers, and helming our proud blue vessel across the surging ocean to Aviero, Portugal. On top of this, the galley was kept in a vibrant state of cooking a magnitude of delicious dishes for our thanksgiving feast, while the dessert club dashed about creating “Concordia versions” of our favorite thanksgiving treats from home. Although some suffered from the oozing discomfort of seasickness, we soon were called to douse the sails and lower the anchor into the peaceful waters off the coast of Spain and relieve our stomachs. As the sun began to sink behind the dark outlines of the Spanish mountains, we put on our festive outfits and headed up into the transformed mess hall. Thanks to our hard-working social club, paper, and scissors, the tables were decorated with vivid Autumn leaves and roly-poly orange pumpkins. Also, the walls were covered in 64 “turkey hands.” If you are wondering what on earth turkey hands are, they can be explained as paper cut outs of each person’s hand with a turkey head drawn on the thumbs. On each “turkey,” the name of one of our crew was written with a note of why we are thankful for their individuality and the beauty that each of us contributes to our community. After documenting the exquisite evening with many pictures, we settled into our seats and received delicious quantities of our much awaited scrumptious turkey, fluffy potatoes, mouthwatering stuffing, cranberry sauce, tasty green beans, all topped off with golden gravy. But it didn’t end there- with exclamations of excitement, hot stacks of fresh assortments of treats were served. After filling our stomachs to the bursting brim, we headed out to get some raw sea air. One thing you learn from sailing across the Atlantic, is that the craving for the indescribable taste of salt on your tongue and ocean air in your nostrils becomes a desire constantly in need of replenishing. What we saw as we stepped outside almost made the world stand still, for, painted across the evening sky, was an explosion of iridescent color. Our faces were illuminated with tints of bronze, crimson, peachy orange, and rosy pink from the departing sun. In our hearts, we rejoiced in the beauty of our surroundings, our wonderful crewmates, our loved ones across the seas, and our proud blue vessel that never tires in carrying us across the latitudes and longitudes of the planet. She leads us to discovery of old and new, past and present, adventure and harmony.