By Kate “Bob” Addison
Bound for Tonga, Norfolk Island and join the Tall Ships at Sydney!
As this new voyage kicks off, the new trainees and professional crew are settling in, making friends and starting their shipboard orientation. The focus is on getting to know the ship and all her routines and equipment, basic sail handling and learning lines and also getting the ship ready for sea. The decks have been oiled, the fore upper topsail parrel drum was welded, the spare topmast timbers were de-barked, reduced and hoisted aboard and lashed in the starboard scuppers. Today we’re starting drills on sail and yard handling and safety drills such as Fire Drill, Man Overboard, Abandon Ship, Damage Control and so on, these will continue for the next four days.
Everyone was delighted to welcome ship’s cook Donald back aboard after his holiday for Carnival in Grenada – he knocked our socks off on his first day back in the galley with homemade pizza for lunch on a Tuesday! George The Cat is getting to know his new shipmates, and seems to approve of them, more or less.
It is another lovely day here alongside in Rarotonga and we are all very busy. All’s well.