Last night the moon shone vibrantly, illuminating the deck as if a street lamp was hung above our ship. During the 8-12 watch, the topmast stuns’l halyard parted. With the light of the moon, the on duty watch was able to see clearly as they worked to take in all three stuns’ls, packing them away for the night. The Captain says it’s all good practice.
On Sunday morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise. There’s always a pleasant calm on Sundays, despite the watch schedule remaining intact and particular duties on those watches remain, there is still a feeling of relaxation. This morning, post breakfast, the riggers, lead by our chief mate Erin, along with many helpers, re-rigged the stuns’ls and had all three of them set by 0900. Increasing our speed by half a knot to a knot, over time, allows us to gain a lot of ground. Once the usual ship’s tasks like deck wash, cleaning heads, dishes and so forth and were completed, the on duty watch was able to enjoy their Sunday by working on personal projects or reading.
With Christmas only two days away the crew are frantically wrapping presents, or scrounging up a last minute gift. There’s no sneaking out of the house to run to the store to complete your last minute shopping around here. A little gift goes along away on board, a chocolate bar is gold, candy is always welcomed or a good book is much appreciated, in the end it’s the thought that counts, as it should be. Crew members are getting into the Christmas spirit, the carolers rehearsed on the well deck, the bat cave had a viewing of the Christmas movie “Elf'” and Christmas music is being played throughout the main deck. Tomorrow we will be bringing out our tree, crafting decorations for it and decorating the ship for our Christmas at Sea!
From: Bali, Indonesia
Towards: Rodrigues
Date: Sunday December 23rd 2018
Noon Position: 15°58’S x 091°20.5’E
Course + Speed: W1/2N + 4.9 kts
Wind direction + Force: SExE + 4
Swell Height + Direction: 2m + SE
Weather: Hot, sunny
Day’s Run: 118 nm
Passage Log: 1715 nm
Distance to Port: 1638 nm
Voyage: 15490.8 nm
Sails Set: All sails except mizzen staysail, plus all three stuns’ls