Date: 15.07.2018
Position: 55° 10,07 N 000° 04,85 W
Weather: sunny with light winds
Racing towards Denmark
Our second lovely day is bright and clear. We sunk the land early this morning and now have an endless horizon broken only by our fellow ships. Better still the breeze freshened and we’ve been gathering speed throughout the day, so far reaching 7.2 knots!
When we have a moment between setting sails one of my favorite things to do is to step into the wheelhouse and learn from Felix, the Navigation Officer for the 0-4 watch. There on the consoles we monitor nearly everything about our ship and our surroundings. I love studying the chart- there’s so much information on it and with a little skill you can orient yourself to our course and progress. I learned today that we crossed the Prime Meridian. Not only am I in a new hemisphere and the farthest East I‘ve ever been, we have a time change tonight. 0-4 watch rejoiced because we’ll have on our less watch at night. Everybody else loses an hour to sleep, but they’re taking their hardship with good grace.
Life onboard the ship is all about rhythm. The toll of the ships bell marks time in the watch. Instead of “Heave! Ho!“ our cadence is “Hol! Weg!“ but it moderates the tempo of our pulls just the same. Our bodies are settling into our new routines and sleep schedules and for the most part harmony rules.
The 0-4 watch had time today for a round of introductions between our duties. What I learned is that anyone with the will can be a sailor. All you need is the courage to cast off.
Best wishes, captain Mike, Shelly and the crew