Race 3 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Cape Town, South Africa to Albany, Australia
10 November

On being 'Mother' for the day

Every day while we are at sea two people, one from each watch, are designated as 'Mothers' for the day. They are responsible for preparing three meals plus 'afternoon tea' for the crew on board, in this case 21 of us including Jim.

My day started at 0500 when I came down to prepare a breakfast of porridge, cereal, yoghurt and bread plus numerous toppings including peanut butter, Nutella, Marmite, jam, honey etc. Conditions outside were good with calm seas and little wind. It was going to be a good day. I say good from a catering viewpoint and not a racing perspective as we were probably heading away from our destination of Albany and going round in circles.

After feeding the off watch I retired to my bunk while Nick fed the rest of the crew, tidied up and started to prepare lunch of lamb curry.

By the time I got up to help with lunch conditions outside had changed. The wind had increased as had the sea state and it wasn't quite as smooth as I had hoped.

When the boat is heeling over at 45 degrees every task attempted is difficult. Water doesn't go down the plug hole in the sink when on a port tack so every drop of water used for washing up etc has to be transferred from sink to bucket and then handed to the crew on deck to throw overboard.

Measuring exact quantities of water in a jug that isn't horizontal is a challenge, as is trying to weigh out ingredients on scales that are continually jumping around from -25gm to +30gm. It takes a lot of guess work, but surprisingly the results have always been very tasty.

The cake for 'cake o'clock' (1800 hours) was to be an upside down pineapple cake, lovingly prepared and baked. What I hadn't taken into account was the constantly changing angle of the oven while it baked. It turned out to be an upside down pineapple 'wave' cake, 'tsunami' cake, or even a 'pool cake' as one end was significantly thicker than the other. Served with custard it didn't really matter what it looked like as it was much appreciated by all who ate it.

After lunch the next task was to bake the two loaves of bread needed for breakfast the following morning. Again, measuring 1 litre of tepid water was a challenge as the sea state worsened and we were heading for a storm.

Kneading dough while trying to hang on with one hand as the boat bounced up and down was interesting but in due course the two silicon bread 'tins' were filled and placed in the engine room next to the generator to prove.

Half an hour later with the oven up to temperature the 'tins' were transferred into a pre-heated oven. Even Paul Hollywood would have approved of the shape of the two loaves. Ten minutes later there was the smell of burning so I checked the oven and moved the two 'tins' away from the gas at the back. By this time the boat was bouncing and banging around and we were all holding our breath as no one was quite sure how it was going to land after being airborne. The smell of burning didn't go away and further examination of the oven revealed one of the 'tins' in flames. It was removed as quickly as possible but not before a huge hole was burnt in the end - 'Sorry', Janice, 'I'll buy you another when we get to Albany'.

Dinner of pasta with chorizo and a red tomato pesto was eventually prepared and really eaten by both the on and off watches at about 2200 hours.

Washing up then took a further hour and Nick and I eventually got to our bunks at 2300. I slept on the 'mother' bunk just forward of the saloon. A cold space just outside the sail locker next to the mast. Lots of strange and unfamiliar noises lulled me to sleep as the boat rocked and rolled it's way towards Albany.

The best thing about being 'Mother' for the day is that you are taken off general sailing duties and get to sleep all night without being woken. In my case I wasn't needed up on deck until 1000 hours the following morning.

Bliss! What did I wake to... calm seas, little wind and the boat heading in the wrong direction.

Hopefully only one more 'mother' watch on this leg, but who knows with these light and variable patches of wind alternating with storm conditions and winds gusting up to 60+ knots.

Kate