Day 42 – A Routine Day at Sea

Hi EveryoneWelcome to day 42 of our voyage. Being a routine day I was thinking was their anything exciting to write about which really their isn’t but as always give it to one of the Crew and they will always see things differently to me. Tonight Grace volunteered to write the Log and yes she highlights that it was a routine day but it’s the way that she sees things that makes it so special.Enjoy tonight\’s Log!!Until tomorrow, take care.Captain GavSaturday 31/1/15As does the end of another month, the conclusion of our voyage draws nearer, much to our disgust! Dawn this morning saw the Whities take on the challenge of furling and brailing every sail we had set due to the failing winds and a change in conditions. Shortly after taking over the ship at 0800 and less then 20 minutes after completion, the Blueys swiftly ungasketed and reset the main sail, jib, forestaysail, topgallant and main staysail due to a recurring wind. As a result, we were then cracking impressive speeds of 9.9 knots, bringing Buenos Aires closer.  During this period we also hit a milestone: reaching the latitude of 49 degrees. One must worry when we are in celebration of the Furious Forties. However, this silver lining is well worth waiting for as sunshine graced our bow all day.  With the sunshine, our tub received a good upper deck scrub– disappointingly upon cleaning out our stores, we realised all our fresh fruit was spoiled due to its original inferior quality and the sudden temperature change – the boys then thoroughly enjoyed “skeet shooting” with the fruit into the Atlantic for about 20 minutes. Small things.  The main ingredient to a successful watch is a solid playlist. After X amount of days (lost count), we have managed to curate the best of the iPods on ship and draw out our inner “Helm Swag”. Necessary for managing the helm, staying on course and setting an example for future Watches, the Swag was expertly demonstrated by Tito (and his red short shorts) this morning.  Due to the constant head wind, the bow (and Twelve Berth) has received a beating day after day since Ushuaia. This led to a more interesting PT session with Taffy with waves crashing over the deck, running up and down a tilted ship (cardio?) and trying not to roll over while doing sit ups.  As part of our induction into Salty Sea Dogs, Sail Master Sandy has Staffies discussing the origins of Seaman jargon at briefing each day. Today, the birth of the word “Scuttlebutt” was thoroughly explored by our medic, Lauren, and introduced into our limited but none the less colourful vocabulary. Google it – I dare you.  A record was set on board today with double and triple duffers flourishing amongst our ranks. Hannah and Reece’s Lemon Cheese Cake has been hailed “best duff” – a title not to be scoffed at, but into.  Overall, what once was an exciting 600 word entry into the captains log has now become the cherished norm for many of the crew onboard. No longer can we dwell on what was different, challenging or thrilling in our daily lives as we have settled into comfortable routines and grown to know the ship well. Setting sails is now done seamlessly with our heads up, reconfirming the Watch Officers decisions. Duties, rounds and schedules are now accepted and undertaken habitually while enjoying the surroundings rather then focusing on the constant effort of staying upright. With this sense of comfort and routine which is usually found at our homes and with our families, life on this ship now comes with a satisfying and glorified element of “normal” of which we treasure.  Knuckles says hello.  Tonight we sail north. Yours aye,Grace (Blue Watch)  “