Race 7 - Day 20
Crew Diary - Race 7 Day 20
24 February
Ahoy and Namaste my dear sweet Indian family and all my friends who are aware that I am on a Clipper Race yacht, somewhere between Australia and Vietnam. Actually, right now much closer to Vietnam; we are about three sailing days away from Ha Long Bay.
It took me time to send a sign of life, as - you need to know - this is not a relaxing journey with Aperitivo and chilling evenings. Life on board is all about sailing, eating, sleeping, and … repeating. BUT there is always time for thinking of you, and you need to know, I am missing you a lot!
So here is a little impression, of life on board:
We are 15 crew members, one 1st mate (they call her the Additional Qualified Person), she is a young woman who seems to have grown up on sailing boats! And then, of course, there is our Skipper: the boss!
The crew is divided into two watches, meaning two teams working on deck, as a boat needs 24-hour operation. So, during the daytime, we change shifts after six hours, and at night after four hours. Besides this, each team member has a daily changing duty; which is executed during the watch. This could be cleaning the toilets (called heads here – don’t know why?) or emptying the bilges (that's what is under the floorboards where sometimes water enters so it has to be dried with a pump). Taking care of the log book is another duty which is done every hour. There, we note down the exact location, speed, and direction of the boat and of the wind … plus notes about sea state, clouds, and sail plan.
Yes, we do have a lot of different sails with us, which we change according to wind speed and weather. Changing sails is done in “evolutions”, which are precise steps to follow in a given order, otherwise, something can go wrong! By now you may understand why I had to go four times to England for one week each time for training!
Coming back to the duties, there is the Mother duty (I really don’t like this old-fashioned term for the task of preparing the meals for the crew). When we are on Galley Duty (much better word for it!), we prepare Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner in our rather small kitchen. On our boat, the person who planned the menus is a young Korean woman who is very health conscious, and I am delighted that the food is a lovely mix of British and Asian fare.
Sometimes I am thinking of Franklin and Deepak, or of Don Stefano, wondering what they would create out of our kitchen!
There would be much more to tell about life on board, but I guess - for today - this is enough.
Very happy to spend lovely evenings with you once I am back, by a glass of wine sharing stories, insights, and learnings. Life-changing? The future shall tell!
LOVE and big hugs from a world elsewhere.
Bea