Day 5 – Floral FriYay!

Arrrrrrrrrrrr, Ahoy there! I like the cut of your jib, fine lines fore and aft.

This update is brought to you by youth crew members Annabelle and Tamzin.

Overnight was calm with a gentle breeze, a relief for those dreading seasickness when heading back out to the open sea. The night watches passed smoothly, with occasional sightings of bioluminescence and dolphins (and a pod of pygmy killer whales – Ed), underneath a starry sky. Each watch had the opportunity to apply our newly learned navigating skills (with some help) in the charthouse. We used a combination of GPS systems, radars, and paper charts. We also had the opportunity to take the helm in between our hourly rounds of the ship.

Today was ‘Floral Friday’, so we all donned our brightest outfits, a nice contrast against the thick blanket of morning fog. The day started off with ‘Happy Hour’, and the accompanying song. The general consensus is that the youth crew is improving on keeping everything ‘ship-shape’.

We kicked off the rest of our day by learning how to set and furl the square sails, and the locations of all relevant lines. This was followed by a lovely lunch of cheese and chicken burgers. Following an afternoon siesta, we ran through some rope races, where we had to race the other watch members to find certain lines, testing our new knowledge.

Soon after, Captain Adam sat us down to teach us sail theory, covering the deck with brightly coloured chalk as he walked us through the different points of sail and corresponding sail settings. To revive us after a thorough workout for our brains, the Captain led us in some laughter yoga. Reinvigorated, we undertook more tacking drills, this time also learning about the stations of the other watches.

Following a delicious dinner, and one more tack, the night watches commenced and we all prepared for another night at sea.

Goodnight, and thanks for reading!

Annabelle and Tamzin.