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February 17, 2025 17 mins

“Declan’s Day at Sea” imparts a powerful lesson about the importance of courage and the spirit of adventure. The story illustrates that while facing the unknown can be intimidating, it is through these experiences that we discover our true strength and resilience. Declan learns that by embracing challenges, he can overcome fear and embark on new adventures. Ultimately, the moral emphasizes that life’s greatest journeys often unfold outside our comfort zones, and with bravery, we can navigate any tempest that comes our way.


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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hansil to paper, sketching you art on this page. What
kind of journey will this drawing bring to life? Today?
Another adventure waits for you. A ro scout and Layla

(00:27):
my comm along to It's imagination.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Time and Curiosity Cold, Curiosity came.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's a magical place come true. Welcome to Adventures of Curiosity.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Cald Hello, it's me Ella the Curious. Whether you're joining
us for the first time or coming back for more adventures,
I'm thrilled to have you here. Welcome back to season
two of the Adventures of Curiosity Cove, where each episode

(01:13):
we dive into one of my own Ella the Curious
adventures or listen to an original story right here in
my cozy treehouse. Picture this. We're nestled among the trees,
surrounded by comfy bean bags, piles of fluffy pillows, and yes,
my favorite stuffy roe is here too. It's like we've
stepped into a peaceful world, almost as if my mom

(01:35):
used her relaxing dream spray to accept the cone. It's
just peace and quiet, perfect for story time. So what
are we waiting for? Let's dive back into today's tale.
Declan's Day at Sea Part two are you ready to listen? Hi? Sure,
am all right, let's do it.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
It wasn't just one dark figure, it was three figures
that made it look so big. Declan thought this was
the end of his new friend when he realized it
was a female sea lion.

Speaker 5 (02:16):
With two pups.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
The female landed next to Mo, and the pups landed
on their outside shoulders. It was an entire family of
sea lions laying on the boarding step. The boarding step
is like a small wooden deck that hangs off of
the boat and into the water for easy in and out. Mo,
you're a dad.

Speaker 5 (02:37):
Oh my goodness, are those the two cutest pups I've
ever seen in my life?

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Moe and his wife's Sage nuzzle each other's necks.

Speaker 5 (02:47):
This is the way sea lions hugged.

Speaker 4 (02:49):
One of the baby sea lions jumped off the boat
and into the water, swam to his sibling, and jumped
up in bit it's tail. This gave way to the
pups playing behind the boat for a short piero until
they scurried off towards the other parts of the marina.
Moe and Sage jumped off towards the popps, and just
as soon as all of the.

Speaker 5 (03:07):
Excitement happened, it stopped. It was quiet.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
Declan waited some time for Motor return back to him
to continue on their journey, but the only excitement was
a little fish that kept jumping out of the water,
but eventually it scurried off as well. Declan was all alone.
I wish I had someone to share this journey with.

(03:35):
Just as he said that, the wind picked up and
his boat started moving. Whoa, whoa, yikes. I don't know
if I can do this on my own. For some reason,
I felt courageous with mo, but now that I'm all
on my own, I'm not feeling as brave.

Speaker 5 (03:51):
The wind picked up even more.

Speaker 4 (03:53):
The wind was not giving Declan any choice but to
use it in his favor. Declan started worrying that this
may not have been a good idea. Okay, calm down, deck,
deep breath in, deep breath out. Okay, now focus, you
know everything about sailing?

Speaker 5 (04:14):
No, no, no, I don't. I don't know anything.

Speaker 4 (04:17):
Calm Maybe one more deep breath in, deep breath out. Okay,
back to the basics. Declan kicked into gear. He pulled
the sails, steadied the rudder, and used the wind to
his advantage in a matter of minutes. He felt as
if the boat was an extension of himself. Whohoo, wind,

(04:40):
thank you for the journey.

Speaker 5 (04:42):
Let's go. A huge boat was coming straight for Declan.

Speaker 4 (04:47):
He stayed put and watched this massive vessel float right
past him. There were ten people on the boat waving
down at Declan.

Speaker 5 (04:54):
Hey, little guy, you're doing great.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
Thanks you do WHOA? That was so cool.

Speaker 5 (05:05):
Declan was sailing on his own.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
It was as if the moment he stepped away from
the spot where he had been rooted, everything around him
began to move and sync with him. A mother duck
and ate ducklings swam by his boat. Kayakers, boats and
people on stand up paddle boards were floating by him, waving.
The birds and the fish were moving with him. The
wind was dancing, the sun appeared. He was totally and

(05:33):
utterly in the moment. Declan's boat was cruising for the
open ocean, and he didn't have a care in the world.
He was part of this great ecology that's beautiful, awe
inspiring and vibrant. He saw the open ocean in the distance,
and he got a pinch of nervousness, a dash of doubt,

(05:54):
and a heap of excitement. Anything could happen out here.
Declan made it past the last rock piled that separates
the open ocean from the marina.

Speaker 5 (06:02):
Ah, I'm really doing this, I'm really sailing out to sea.

Speaker 4 (06:08):
Declan double checked all of his sailing equipment. He then
put his head down for a moment to check his
bag and his belongings. He was making sure no sneaky
seagulls landed on his boat and took his food. Everything
seemed to be in place. When he brought his head
back up to check his coordinates, he was so much
further out to sea than he'd ever thought he'd be.

(06:30):
The wind was so strong this day, and he only
had his head down for a quick second. How did
he get this far? He also noticed that the sea
was much.

Speaker 5 (06:40):
Different out here. The waves were wild.

Speaker 4 (06:44):
The boat was rocking in a manner that made Declan
feel like he was no longer in control. It was
a strange feeling, not being in control. He thought to himself.
This is what we strive for, right being in control.
We live our lives trying to hold on to control.
But what if we let go. I'm letting go decland

(07:09):
threw his hands up in the air, signifying that he
was letting go of control and giving it to the ocean.
He rocked and swayed, The breeze blew, the clouds danced.
He felt like he was part of everything, the water,
the sky, the wind, the animals. It was extraordinary to
be such a small piece in a huge place. Something

(07:34):
about this feeling was so comforting. He sat quietly, admiring
the stillness and the chaos, all the noises, in all
the commotion. He couldn't believe that he was a part
of something so beautiful. He sat for some time until
the moment passed. He thought about what could happen if

(07:55):
he didn't make it back to the dock, if he
got stuck out at sea. He began to worry again.
Did he bite off more than he could chew? He
looked around and he was the only one out to see.
All of the other boats were miles away. There were
no more kayakers or birds or fish. It was just
him and the wild ocean. Declan wasn't sure what to do.

(08:21):
He was ready to return, but he wasn't quite sure
how to use the wind to his advantage. He's never
felt afraid of anything. He didn't like the fact that
fear had control over him, making him want to run
and hide. So he tried to turn the sailboat around
to head back in, but the wind was pushing him
further out to see. He tried again and again, but

(08:44):
the wind was strongly pushing him away from the marina.
He did what he thought he could do, and he
pulled the sails down so he wouldn't go any further
out to see. He sat down in his boat. Oh,
what's the number one rule in sailing? Don't panic? Okay, think,
Declan think. He dug through his bag and pulled out

(09:08):
a single chip and held it in the air, trying
to entice a friend onto his boat so he wouldn't
be lonely.

Speaker 5 (09:14):
Here's Segall, here's Segall, I have a chip.

Speaker 4 (09:18):
No seagull took him up on his offer. In fact,
one Loan, seagull flew over his head and right on
his hand that was holding the chip. Declan stared at
his hand for a second in disbelief. Did that seagull
just pooh on my hand?

Speaker 5 (09:37):
Ah?

Speaker 4 (09:40):
Declan began laughing so hard. This was hilarious to Declan.
Out of all of the places in the gray wide ocean.
The bird could have pooed. It hit Declan right in
the hand holding the chip direct hit well. Like Dad
always said, if a bird poops on you, that's good luck.
I knew luck was with me all day, but I

(10:02):
kept doubting it. I'll get back home somehow. Declan looked
around at the landscape. It's incredible. He stood up on
the boat. I'm standing on water. I'm in the open ocean.
The breeze is different, the waves are different, the smells
are different. Even the birds pooping on me is different.

(10:24):
I'm so proud of me. Declan sits back down and
admires his surroundings. He takes in the peacefulness of solitude.
He goes to grab a sandwich out of his bag,
but realizes he needs to wash his hands off first.
He scoots to the side of the boat and hangs
over the boat to wash his hands when he's frightened
by a huge figure looming below his boat. Boop, it's

(10:46):
his dad, Dad, What are you doing here? You think
I was gonna let you go out here by yourself.
I had that bird poop on you too, for coming
out here alone. No you didn't, Dad. Yep, his name's Carl,
and he can hit a bull's eye from one hundred
and fifty feet in the air, So this better not
happen again because Carl has a posse. I'm sorry, Dad,

(11:11):
I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to get
out here.

Speaker 5 (11:14):
Dec Lann. I was watching you the entire time. You
were incredible. I'm so proud of you.

Speaker 3 (11:26):
Deck.

Speaker 5 (11:27):
You did everything right.

Speaker 4 (11:28):
You soared through the ocean, you sailed the great seas,
you braved the waves, you nailed the sail, You brave
the Okay, Dad, Okay, I get it, Deck. Seriously, I
couldn't be more proud of you. That was very heroic.
But if you ever take off without letting your mother
and I know where you're going again, you'll be grounded

(11:51):
for life. What if something would have happened and you
needed us, we had no idea where you were, Deck, Dad,
I'm old enough now, you are absolutely old enough to
know that, no matter what age you are, we will
always want to know where you are. Just in case, Sorry, Dad,

(12:12):
I'll let you know from now on. Promise, Promise. Now,
hand me one of those sandwiches. I'm starving, but wash
your hands first. Declan's dad hops up into the sailboat,
bringing his stand up paddleboard into the boat as well.
Declan hands his dad a sandwich and an apple. His
dad sits down and enjoys the open ocean with Declan.

(12:36):
After a while of enjoying their lunch in the ocean,
Declan's dad says, all right, Dick, get us home.

Speaker 5 (12:43):
Huh huh what?

Speaker 2 (12:45):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (12:46):
I'm not really sure how to get us back home?
So what was your plan when you were out here alone?
I hadn't gotten that far. So you had the plan
to up on the sailboat take it out to the
open ocean, but you didn't have a plan on how
to get back in. What I thought it was the

(13:09):
same as getting out here. And what did you find out?
That the wind pushes you out, but it won't push
you back in. So, in other words, the wind pushes
in one direction. Yes, so how can you use the
wind to your advantage? Hmmm, I'm not sure. So this

(13:31):
is where we'll learn. So you'll have to put your
sales back up. And what we're going to do is
we're going to cut in. Declan's dad went on explaining
to his son how to sail into the wind by
cutting back and forth. His dad sat and coached Declan,
not raising a hand. He wanted his son to get
the boat back all by himself. Trust me when I

(13:54):
say it took all day, a great deal of frustration,
and a bag for fowl of food was empty by
the time they made it back to the marina. But
it was a great lesson from a great father. Declan
learned all he could about sailing that day. He had
no idea how difficult sailing could be, nor did he

(14:16):
know that there were such advanced strategies. Even though it
was a difficult journey back, Declan was elated when he
made it back to the dock all by himself. He
was so proud of himself for making it out to sea,
but he was over the moon that he made it
back himself. His confidence was higher than ever. That night,

(14:39):
when he laid down in bed, he was so proud
of himself that he didn't think he could ever get
to sleep. But then he realized he still felt the
gentle rocking of the boat, and before he knew it,
he was fast asleep.

Speaker 5 (14:56):
The end.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
Wow, oh, what a story. Facing the unknown can be
pretty intimidating, but through these experiences, it seems like we
can discover our true strength and resilience. Don't you think?

Speaker 5 (15:14):
Ah?

Speaker 3 (15:15):
Part two is everything and more? Boy was I comfy
and cozy and all tuned in. If you loved what
you listened to, please leave us a five star review,
but only if you really mean it. We love hearing
your feedback. It helps us grow so we can continue
to bring stories to you and all our curious listeners.
You never know, you might even get a shout out

(15:36):
for me here in the cove. All right, I need
a snack, so I'm headed back home. Until next time. Friends,
we never say goodbye. It's always see you later. Be
sure to subscribe to our podcast, The Adventures of Curiosity Cove,
on your favorite podcast platform and on our Instagram page
at Love fort Sumter. Remind your parents to subscribe to

(15:58):
our newsletter at Fort Kiffensumter dot com. They'll get early
updates on what's going on around here for them and
for you. Adventures of Curiosity Cove was created by Tika
Sumter and Nicholas Muscarella. Today's story was written by Nicholas
James Muscarella. Adventures of Curiosity Cove's theme song was written

(16:18):
and composed by Mattie Limb and sung by Laura Saraphine.
Engineered by Robert Aultchuler, sound effects by Command Creative Studios.
Ella the Curious is an original story series created by
Tika Sumter.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
At Curiosity Cove. Curiosity Cove, It's a magical place. Come Troup,
Welcome to adventures. Up Curiosity Came. This is a Fort

(17:01):
Sumter production.
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