Day 47 – Crossing the English Channel

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 47 of our voyage. Following our enjoyable anchorage at the picturesque Morgat we are back underway and now battling some strong winds and large seas as we cross the English Channel. Southampton is now only four days away so we are making the most of our time making sure that everyone achieves those goals that they set themselves back in Cannakale when they first joined the Ship.All of the World Voyagers have now reverted back to their original Red, White and Blue Watches but to tell you the truth I don’t know who wrote tonight’s log as it appears to be a mixture of all three watches and covers the past three days, please enjoy!! Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain GavCaptains Log: 09June15Sunday the 7thBienvenue tout le monde a une belle ville a cote de la mer en Bretagne, France. Nous vous dirons quelques aventures depuis la fin de notre “Jour de command” et notre lundi a Margot avant nous avons recommence notre voyage au’jourd’hui!(Je suis desole pour ma pauvre traduction. Je n’ai pas une dictionaire francaise ni les symbols grammatique francais!)Hello and welcome one and all to a beautiful seaside town in France. We are recapping some adventures since finalising Command Day and our Monday in Morgat before setting sailing today.Sunday morning saw some exhausted, exhilarated and exceptionally successful Command Team members and Crewies finalise and hand over the Telescope of Challenge back our favourite Capt’n Gav. We had reached our final way point, completed 17 of 18 challenges and successfully sailed through the Bay of Biscay. As our acclaimed Captain Derry Doyal stated in our previous Captain’s Log, we have’…achieved goals as a team and functioned simultaneously within several different cogs in a well oiled machine…’It was such an experience to be a member of the team, knowing what we had achieved, watching our peers lead with integrity and thus arriving safely through the infamous Bay of Biscay, but most importantly leading us to the ‘secret well hidden’ anchorage in France.After the official handover, there came a quiet and reflective lull – from such a motivated and enthusiastic bunch of Crewies, the ship fell silent. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze and all retreated to beds, books and baking in the sun. It took a few hours before we were all rustled from our slumber and we headed into a Staff conducted reflection and debrief. Gathering in three small groups we discussed the things that were Good, Not so Good and Things to Take Away from the Command Day experience. The overall consensus from our discussions, highlights how this experience has taught us to not only focus on the task at hand, to put in our all, but to savour, relish and enjoy every moment- the hard points, the highs and lows and most importantly the overall picture. It is so easy to be caught up in the dramas of organising tasks, delegating positions and achieving our goals that we forget that we are sailing a $22 million tall ship across the Atlantic Ocean heading towards FRANCE! We realise that every single moment and experience is drawn from and to our very own attitudes. Attitude is the very thing that can make or break an experience, the thing that can build us and others up, or drag us down. It’s the weather system, it’s the controlling factor and it’s contagious.To conclude our relaxing day anchored in the Baie De-Douarnez just shy of Brest, our amazing and gracious Staffies organised a pizza and movie night on midships. We all snuggled down with sleeping bags, pillows and delightful rocky road- some watched The Water Diviner while others had good intentions, yet fell asleep on deck. Anchor watches went through the night and our obscure and rather interesting ‘Terry Grimes the turtle’ completed his required hour. Anchor watches are always a nice chance to mix with others, listen to command day stories and quietly enjoy the stillness of the night together.Monday the 8thEEEEEeeee! This was the day we were all secretly questioning, the day that Gav attempted to keep hidden, the one where many a secret discussion was about (and obviously in favour of)- would we get to France?! White watch led the way, onto the RHIB and out into the unknown. We were faced with the beautiful, holiday seaside village of Morgat. As per usual we started our port visit with the essentials: coffee, croissants and wifi. Next we all ventured out, walked up towards the next town, exploring unusual and exciting garden paths, beaches and caves and headed up towards an interesting bush hike to a lighthouse. Off in small groups many had a delightful time, some had a picnic on the hill, complete with French wine and cheese, while others climbed massive trees, explored and conquered caves and rocks. Others had reflective wanders through forests and beaches, while another group befriended some French girls and ‘shared biscuits’, a nice touch in the Bay of Biscay. It was such a relaxing, quiet yet fun day- enjoying a beer, a pastry (or two or five Tom…) a crepe and baguettes in the midst of great company. The day could not have come at a more perfect time, giving us the chance to breathe, revitalise and recapture the beauty and wonder after some hectic days at sea. All returned to the ship tired and ready for a restful sleep.Tuesday the 9thAnd we’re off! White watch were set to work bright and early- setting and furling, letting loose the gaskets, climbing the main and foremast as well as navigating past a French Naval Submarine. The swell had risen, the wind had picked up and we enjoyed some hectic weather. It was awesome to see our sails in the wind, pushing us towards our destination at an incredible 12 knots- pretty decent for us so far. It also gave us the opportunity, for the first time this voyage, to turn off the engines and generators and enjoy the most perfect ‘silent sailing’. ‘Twas an eerie feeling, walking through the ship, not hearing a single buzz, beep or groan, lights were dimmed and all we could hear were the sounds of waves crashing against our hull. Almost magical- the engine room was silent, still yet delightfully warm…it may have become a perfect napping room for others besides just Lindsey! Overall we’ve enjoyed some incredible 3-4m swells, hectic 27knots of wind and the chance to get sailing properly again. Another great day on the ocean.Sadly we’re heading towards the English Channel, the concluding challenge of this adventure, with only a few more days to go, I’d like to just say that it well and truly has exceeded expectations- above and beyond. We’ve visited so many more ports than we could ever have imagined we’ve experienced the mission of sailing and enjoyed every single moment. Blessed is an understatement.Shoutouts:Ahoy Neat, Sarah, Niki, Justin, Jamie, Lou, Andrew, and everyone else…. Turns out I get seasick, boo, but am having an incredible trip, yay! I should be in Melbourne from 21 June for a fortnight before heading off again, so please book something in the calendar. Looking forward to catching up 🙂 Pirate Pip xoxoP.S. Neatie – now we have to go sailing together! Tschuss xHey Dad and Lib! See you in a few days time! Also a massive hello to Hollie, Evie, Mum and all my mates back home. Sorry I haven’t been in contact. My phone hasn’t had much luck with wifi when we are in port. Talk to you all soon!Mum and Dad, SPS, 2/3 Crowden and the Kelly’s,This time has flown, it’s been such an adventure just incredible. Hard to fathom what we’ve achieved, what I’ve experienced and how many memories that have been created. I’ve made some amazing friendships and been through some fun! I’m looking forward to coming home, seeing you all, settling into a ‘normal 8 hour’ sleeping routine and facing the next challenge of building my house! I do hope all is going well, I’m expecting to see some very big grade 2/3’s- hopefully you’ll still recognise me! Also hope you enjoyed Suesical- was very jealous! Love to you all. Love Lucy xx