Day 20 – Thick Morning Fog

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day 20 of our voyage. Over the past 24hrs we have continued to motor sail in extremely calm conditions (even the swell has dropped off to next to nothing) and we are now located 1860nm from Wellington. One day at the moment seems to roll very quickly into the next and sometimes it may sound like we are not doing a great deal when in reality just sailing the ship takes a fair bit of effort from everyone let alone everything else we fit into our day. The pleasing thing is that everyone remains in good spirits and all are supportive of any new initiatives that we may introduce into the program that helps to makes this long passage a little more interesting. In this area Kenny the Sail Master is doing a fantastic job!  Information on the weather that we are experiencing seems to be a regular theme in the Captains Log and tonight is no different, so please enjoy tonight’s log which has been written by Blue Watches Liam.  Until tomorrow, take care  Yours Aye Captain Gav  Day 20 – Friday 9th  As we went into our overnight watches a thick fog began to slowly descend upon the ship. A few from Blue watch braved the cold, moist conditions and climbed aloft in hope that they would catch a glimpse of the sunset. However not even from the vantage point of the upper top could our eyes penetrate through the haze. As night fell the fog grew thicker to the point you could not even see the bowsprit from the bridge. Despite being in the so called ‘furious fifties’ the sea was eerily calm and the fog had a strange supernatural feeling. Many of the youth crew believed that this was foreshadowing an attack by either the mythical kraken or a ghost pirate ship but alas nothing eventuated and by morning the fog had dissipated.  Our gracious leaders had for the second day decreed a morning of rest which was well received by all (except those on watches and the masterchefs).  Lunch today was treated by most as a sort of speed bump between the extended sleep in and our afternoon siesta. With the crew nice and refreshed we had our afternoon briefing followed by a thorough cleaning for happy hour.  Following this the crew and staffies were given the opportunity to enter the inaugural 500 card game tournament with the winners set to receive fame and adoration amongst their peers. The first round was drawn and the first game is currently neck and neck between young up and comers “Michelle & Katherine” playing old dogs “Kenny and Lindsey”. Talk amongst the crew though has the mysterious duo “Lamb Shank & Pork Chop” listed as the ones to watch. We will continue to provide updates as the tournament progresses.  As I write this we are at currently at 51ËšS, the temperature is a balmy 9Ëšc. The wind however has travelled uninterrupted from Antarctica and is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. It has left me very envious of those blessed with the ability to sprout coarse hairs from their faces seemingly at will.  Yours Aye Liam”