Day 43 – A Fleet of Fishing Boats

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 43 of our voyage. Being a Sunday I was going to give the Crew a night off from writing the Log but by the time that I got around to going up to the bridge to give them the good news Michelle and Robyn had already completed it. As always both girls have done a wonderful job so please enjoy tonight’s Log.Until tomorrow, take care.Yours AyeCaptain GavCapt’ns Log 01Feb2015Greetings everyone,Sundays may have traditionally been a rest day at sea, but today was anything but uneventful for the “Atlantean” Young Endeavour crew.Red Watch had enjoyed a beautiful evening in the First Watch the day before. For the first time in a long while, we had a relatively clear night. However, the wind once again decided to go elsewhere, meaning we had to furl all the sails except for the mainstaysail and once again motor our way forward. But all was not lost. The clear conditions gave us a magnificent view of the stars in the night sky. Not only could we identify the planet Jupiter, our watch also witnessed no less than three unidentified flying objects – possibly planes or satellites. We also managed to take out the sextant and reduce some of the stars to the horizon. After some calculations, this would give us our position on Earth. Much like sailors of years gone by. White watch during Middle (Guts) Watch noticed a bright glow in the horizon unlike anything we have seen thus far. Was it land? Atlantis possibly? That would certainly give another meaning to the name “Atlanteans”! However, as we drew closer, the next watch, Blue Watch, was slowly able to identify them as individual contacts. By the Forenoon Watch, they handed over to us 66 contacts. Apparently we had stumbled upon a fishing area or an area where ships dead in the water with only a sea anchor to maintain a position, waiting to be met by a mother ship. We spent an interesting watch weaving in and out of the other vessels, trying our best to maintain a minimum distance of half a nautical mile. By the end, we must have passed over 100 ships, giving each of us a chance to hone our skills as lookouts.  The afternoon proved to be quite warm and sunny. In fact, the temperature has not dropped below 12 degrees Celsius for almost two days. While it might still seem to you readers a little cold for summer weather, the crew beg to differ. Many spent their time up on deck in T-shirt and shorts, enjoying the much welcomed sunshine. Sunglasses were worn, not just for the sun, but from the glare of very white arms and legs which have devoid of sunlight for the last month!  A special thanks to Fiona for a delicious dinner. Masterchef Fiona has taken charge of the galley and all our meals for the next two days, giving Double A a chance to relax and hone his skills in other areas of the ship. Well done, Fi!  After Buenos Aires, the staff crew will give us a chance to take command of the ship, playing a more major role in navigation and sail plans. In the coming days, we will decide how we will run this and who will take on what responsibilities. So watch this space!  Finally, we thought tonight would be a good night to mention Matt the Officer of the Watch, who handed over all those contacts to Sandy before having the next eight hours off. By the time he was back on deck, we had passed most of the fishing vessels. Nonetheless, he is always welcome in the café. We all love him for always offering to grab our dishes and help out with the washing up. Guts Watch wouldn’t be the same without his music and his “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.Yours aye,Michelle and Robyn (Red Watch)      “