Last night the black Indian Ocean sky was radiantly littered with bright, twinkling stars and planets. When these nights arise, the night watches entertain themselves by learning new constellations. As we sail around this globe our night skies are constantly changing and new constellations are coming into our line of sight. It’ll be a sad day when we have to say goodbye to the Southern Cross which has been with us since before we crossed into the Southern Hemisphere nearly seven months ago.
The seas are small with 3-5 foot swell, the sun is hot and there’s a steady breeze blowing across the deck. Carpenter Carlos takes a break from wood working, as it is Saturday after all, which means greasing day! Carrying out a longstanding wind ship tradition for Saturday, he greases or oils all door hinges, freeing ports and the nooks and crannies on the windlass, keeping our ship well oiled and greased, keeps her running smoothly.
Today the residents of the forepeak, also known as the brocave, have been given the task of cleaning out the entirety of the compartment. Being full of boys one can imagine what it has devolved into over the last month or so, a task most parents of teenage boys can relate to as being much needed. Taking care of the space you live in is important, especially in a ship where you’re co-habitating in a compartment with a close group of 4-8 persons, plus the other 30 or so on board the vessel.
In the rigging, Tyler spent the morning greasing the main topmast while James added a patch serving on the main shrouds by the lower topsail yard where the yard chafes against the shrouds. Liz chipped away on her personal project of completing her second ditty bag, cutting out a bottom to nail onto the canvas from maria wood she was given on Pitcairn Island. Six year old ship’s boy Dawson draws a scary lobster monster, inspired by the very small, loonie size (for those Canadian), Portuguese Man of War, a jellyfish like creature, that Nic unintentionally scooped up with the sea bucket while he was filling the sea sink! The sea creature was safely returned back to it’s natural habitat without harming any of our crew members or the jelly fish.
All in all it’s been a lovely Saturday morning on board. Astoundingly we’ve gone 140 nautical miles in the last 24 hours under stuns’ls still, topping out last night at 7 knots. The current is in our favour and in no time we will be sailing into the new year.
From: Bali, Indonesia
Towards: Rodrigues
Date: Saturday December 29th
Noon Position: 17°05.8’S x 079°37.4’E
Course + Speed: W 3/4 N + 6.1′
Wind direction + Force: SExS + 3
Swell Height + Direction: 1.5m + SExS
Weather: Hot, Sunny
Day’s Run: 146.1 nm
Passage Log: 2430.4 nm
Distance to Port: 934 nm
Voyage: 16201.2 nm
Sails Set: All sails including stuns’ls