A LITTLE BAD WEATHER

Hi Everyone, Welcome to day 12 of our voyage. Well overnight our great run with the weather officially finished when the wind strengthened to over 30kts and the swell quickly increased to 2m. It had to happen sooner or later as we are in the North Sea which is famous for its storms and unpredictable weather. The good news is that it didn’t last to long and this afternoon the wind moderated to 15-20kts which enable all of us who experienced a sleepless night to catch a couple of hours much need ed sleep during our afternoon siesta..The other piece of exciting news is the late afternoon sighting of the Tall Ship ‘MIR’. She was out on the horizon but even at that distance she made a spectacular sight. It is hoped that come tomorrow we will meet a number of the other Tall Ships as they continue to make their way down the Norwegian Coast into Kristiansand. Tonight’s Captains Log has been written by Nick and Cristy from Red Watch and besides updating you on the normal activities that have been happening onboard it also enlightens you on some of the more humorous things as well. Enjoy!! Until tomorrow, take care. Yours Aye Captain GavPS. Most of the great photo’s that are appearing on the Captains Log are taken by our very talented Watch Leader/Bosun/Musician Brett (Dougy) Douglas who does an amazing job CAPTAIN’S LOG – 23 JULY 15 Welcome back to the adventures of the Whiskey Victors on the notorious North Sea! Up until this morning, the North Sea had been quite gentle – perhaps lulling us into a false sense of security. During the night the swell picked up substantially and the starboard side berths experienced what life would be like on a submarine with a beautiful ocean view. This was more than enough to see the lee sheets being dragged out in droves. The lee sheets are basically glorified shade cloth with varying degrees of stretch, supposedly designed to prevent the slumbering scurvy sea dogs from toppling from their racks. These only provide a limited sense of security, so the nervous sailor sleeps with one eye open and one arm wrapped around another part of the rack for support. Consequently there were many sailors with vacant expressions at this morning’s brief. At this stage in the voyage the fatigue is setting in and the first thing that crosses many world voyagers’ minds when being roused from sleep is when we can fit in the next nap. The highlight of the morning brief is when we have successfully convinced/bribed/threatened our illustrious Sail Master Kenny for an afternoon siesta.The rumour circulating is that the ship’s ooh-aahh meter (which measures the roll angle) hit 40 degrees during the night. Accomplishing basic tasks becomes a long, drawn out, and challenging process which requires prior planning, contortionist skills and superhuman feats of strength to hold on. As a crew we have had our fair share of bumps, tumbles and rolls, and I’m sure we could make Australia proud in the bruise-lympics. With the swell comes other consequences – blue watch got a good wake up call from Neptune while halfway up the main mast, and a few unfortunate crew members have resumed their bonding sessions with sick bags.Jack and Johnno played their version of sailor-roulette by requesting permission to go out on the bowsprit (that’s the pointy bit at the front for those playing at home). No sooner had they gotten themselves comfortable, they were rewarded with copious amounts of very cold seawater. Maybe they’ll time their swells more carefully next time. This afternoon the crew all got Sail Masters’ eye view of tacking and wearing the ship to get a feel of how all the tacking stations work in with each other and how the sails behave as the bow or stern cross the wind. The first three tacks went off without a hitch, but the final tack to get back on course turned into a wear after we lost too much momentum as Kenny hit a wave. Tomorrow he is back on L-plates.Another few favourite points of the day are meal times! Marcos is our resident culinary wizard and continues to impress us with his skills despite turning down several marriage proposals by the Whiskey Victors and staff crew alike. The food is so amazing that it has taken some of us 11 days just to get our portion size under control without lapsing into a food-coma (and that’s just the fast learners).Late this afternoon the first sighting of another tall ship on the horizon was met with great excitement (by those that were awake). The scuttlebutt is that this was the Russian ship Mir, showing off her 3 masts, each with 4 yards. So far the Whiskey Victors remain hopeful that we will outstrip all other ships in our racing class, leaving everyone else choking on our wake and barnacles. We expect to meet up with several more tomorrow afternoon and sail into Kristiansand together ready to begin the festivities of the Tall Ship Festivals. The lure of the festivities (and the pleasures of a stationary bunk) is growing, and the Whiskey Victors are all looking forward to our time in Norway, mingling with other scurvy dogs and drooling over all the other ships as well. Red watch signing off… Nick and Cristy  Heeeey Mum hope the house reno is going well and you haven’t chucked to many of my things away. Surprise I got sea sick the first day but I’m all good now  freaking out a little that I haven’t got my cheer routine yet but hopefully when I get wifi next I can make some contact. Also have you heard of facetime lol we should do that just thought of it. Love you and miss you xxxxxxxxxx Jess D Ps. Staffie Matt would like to wish his beautiful girlfriend Erika a very Happy Two Year Anniversary! Love you and miss you but see you in three weeks!