These are the games that test the skill, savvy, speed and strength of men and women, boys and girls. These are the SAS Sea Olympics. With their war paint applied and sea chants ready, 10 sea-worthy teams competed in this tri-annual Semester at Sea tradition. While the MV Explorer rocked and rolled its way along the Atlantic Ocean, the shipboard community supplied a hefty blast of energy and hilarity despite the waves. Sea Olympics transforms the ship into an all-day arena of spirited competitions that range from the standard (dodgeball, tug-of-war and limbo) to the silly (synchronized swimming and lipsync) to the outrageous (reverse spelling bee and a race to thaw out a frozen t-shirt). Everyone participates, including faculty and staff, who named their team “Diploma Sea”, and dependent children, whose team was called Dead Sea Seals. After 26 activities all over the ship throughout the day, it was down to seven teams all within 10 points of one another. The lipsync competition was the final decider and, ultimately upon final tally, the Mediterranean Sea (clad in white) emerged the victor, earning them to right to disembark first from the ship when it arrives in Fort Lauderdale on December 16.
