Day 6 – At Sea IVO Mackay

Ahoy there shipmates,

This morning we got to have a sleep in as we had the guts watch (from 12am-4am). We missed out on a great breakfast of French toast but it’s okay because lunch was salmon and lamb chops which was superb! We rushed to the morning brief chucking on our harnesses and bright red spray jackets. We then got our daily brief with Tomo and the Staffies. Today Matty let us in on a few sayings of ‘Jack Speak’ such as, bent over the barrel and rubbing salt in the wound. These are phrases derived from sailor slang back in the day. We then sang the daily happy hour song which means it is time to get down and dirty to clean the ship. Each group cleans different sections of the ship to a tip top standard and then afterwards gets it inspected by Tomo to see if it was cleaned correctly and no dust was on any surfaces.

Today was a day of rest! Until 1300 we got to do whatever we wished including sleep, play cards, study or simply just sit in the sun and chat with our mates! When the time came round we all had to meet at midship for our 3^rd and 4^th rounds of rope races. Red watch came in NO.1, White watch came in NO. 2 (overtaking blue from the previous day!) and Blue watch came in NO. 3. The 4^th round was special in the fact it had bonus points which were Joker cards! These allowed the user to have double points if they won the round, if not it was discarded and couldn’t be used.

Throughout the day we had to all come above deck when called through the pipes for tacking!!! Although we had the day for rest, the one requirement was to come when called meaning we all had to arrive as quick as possible. All groups put in a great effort and got the job done quickly and efficiently. The sails that we used today were the Jib, Forestay sail, Main forestay Sail, and Main Sail. Today the sea state was slightly calmer than previous days meaning we didn’t all get as drenched as normal. We are all slowly getting our sea legs under us and learning to move with the boat.

At 1600 we had mid voyage chats meaning we had a look at our progress throughout the trip where we talked about what we had hoped improve on as a group and individually. White watch took our time but was thorough.

After this it was time for more free time! We showered, slept some more, and waited for dinner. Dinner was amazing as usual as we had delicious multiple options. After dinner we played games with the bluey’s whilst waiting for our watch at 20:00. A few of us got out the ships guitars and had a sing song. Although we have minimal knowledge of how to play a guitar, we still had a ball.

Ty – Having an amazing time!! The food here is amazing and is really yum. We played heaps of games including uno and bluff where I lost miserably. I learnt how to set up the sails and how to tack. (which is moving the ship from one side of the wind to the other) It is fun but sooooo tiring. Love you heaps xox

El – – Hi all, so far I haven’t gotten sea sick and I am having an amazing time. I have kept safe and slip slop slapped on my sunscreen and hat (that’s an actual saying!) meaning I haven’t gotten burnt so far. I’m learning heaps and having a ball. Love you all xox

Thanks Ty and El for compiling the Captain’s Log for tonight.

Your aye, Captain Mike