By Chelsea McBroom
January 8th, 2014
It feels like the ship is trapped in time and space; waking up for each watch and looking around at the same endless (but incredible) view of sea and sky, you’d never know we were a third of the way to Pitcairn. Long rolling seas, sometimes grey with a dash of white foam icing its peak, sometimes sparkling blue. Some days overcast with a low ragged scud of cloud, other days a shiny dome of baby blue so far away it hits you.
The 12-4 watch noticed a pin loose on the spanker gaff so immediate action was taken. It was the pin for the sheave of the peak outhaul at the end of the gaff. It had worked its way out of its keeper plate. The lead seamen were rounded up and crew called on to help to lower the peak of the gaff down. While the pin was being re-secured, the gaff was lashed to the spanker boom with some chafe gear. When all was fixed the gaff was raised up again. All very smooth.
The Captain decided the inner jib needed to be replaced so the crew (Meg, Lily and Steve) dove into the aft sole to haul up a new one. When the proper size and shape was found, it was bent on by Finn, Gustav and Chelsea and hoisted and set just around the time the sun had set.
Sundays are even more interesting now since we are seeing newer faces in the galley on Donald’s day off. It was a rainy Sunday and people took comfort in the eggs and bacon for breakfast, the fish and rice for lunch (we keep catching more skip-jacks!), and the roast chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner, all cooked by someone new.
The swells have grown and sometimes reach 5 metres in height, a good reminder that we are in fact sailing on a ship. Yet still folks stack dishes too high and they go flying during wash-up, silly. Anything not properly lashed will make itself known and people are having trouble sleeping. Hopefully this will either pass or people will get used to it once again (the Captain say it will pass, all things do).
When watch is over, crew have been found huddled together in the Brocave, (aka the forepeak) to watch movies such as Star Wars or the Lord of the Rings series or gathered in the salon to learn or teach one another a card game. 500 has been popular.
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