Monday, December 1st, 2008
Finally the weather has moderated a bit and we are heading back to the South. This means that if all goes well we should reach our destination in Morocco tomorrow evening.
After last night's squall things were more reasonable on watch today.
I only bashed myself a couple of times and only gashed myself once. I think I will have very few body
parts that haven’t been bruised or lacerated at least once by the time I get home.
Even when the seas have moderated they can still throw a surprise twist into your day. Mid afternoon
today while I was off watch I went to the head, but it was busy so decided to stand and wait on deck. I
was just in front of the Fore mast fife rail enjoying the sunshine when I heard a sort of thumping crash
and the ship shuddered. “This can’t be good” thought I and what seemed like a full second later a wall of
water came crashing down across the fo’csle head and drenched me. The second Mate says the splash
went up to the topsails! Of course since I was just going to the head I didn’t have my fowlies on, blah.
But at least the Sun was shining :-)
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Atlantic Rollers
Showing posts with label November. Show all posts
Showing posts with label November. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Gale and Galley Saturday Nov 29,08
Monday, December 1st, 2008
Shortly after I went to bed last night the wind picked up to a force 8-9 Gale. Since we were hove to the
ship began to seriously roll, like 45 degrees or more. All sorts of things rattled and crashed as well as the
seas pounding against the side of the hull. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep.
This morning we wore ship to get back underway in a steady force 7 with much larger seas, the captain
says 18-20′. Still rolling, making movement very difficult. Starting to feel a bit queasy after 12 hours of
this, blah.
Moving food around is difficult and doing the dishes an exercise in acrobatics. I found sitting at the stern
to be the best even though the motion is greater simply because I can wedge myself in and not have to
worry about sliding around.
The nice thing is that the sun is shining at least, there are rainbows in the spray when the rollers come
crashing aboard.
Last word goes to the Bosun Kolin who said “This is what you paid for right?”
Right :-)
Thanks for reading
KJ
P.S. When I went on night watch at 4:00 I had first lookout. The seas were too rough to be on the fo’csle
so we had to stand watch on the bridge, which is just in front of the chart house. About a half hour into
my watch a great black bank of cloud blotted out the stars and the wind began to howl. The gusts were
strong enough to knock me off my feet. The mate says they were easily 50 knots in the gust close to Force
10 steady! We hove to again to ride it out then wore round and reset the sails at 8:00am. We are now
sailing South again. Hopefully that is the last we’ll see of that system.
Posted in On Watch | 1 Comment »
===================================
Postscript 2014
Jayne suggested that I should maybe comment on some of these posts from the perspective of nearly 6 years on. I am reluctant to do that on most of them but in this case I think it might be worthwhile.
This is an interesting post which shows how things in our memories don't always match what actually happened. Ever since I returned from this trip, anytime I'm talking about it people always ask if we had bad weather. The incident described in the P.S. above is the one I relate. What is interesting is that we had gales and "interesting" weather for several days beforehand!
Also there seems to be a post missing here, this is the day AFTER our big American Thanksgiving Dinner during which we were hove to so everybody could enjoy it. In my memory it was that same night that the incident on the bridge related in the P.S. occurred but actually it was the following night!
Funny thing memory.
Here are a couple of pictures from that time.
Shortly after I went to bed last night the wind picked up to a force 8-9 Gale. Since we were hove to the
ship began to seriously roll, like 45 degrees or more. All sorts of things rattled and crashed as well as the
seas pounding against the side of the hull. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep.
This morning we wore ship to get back underway in a steady force 7 with much larger seas, the captain
says 18-20′. Still rolling, making movement very difficult. Starting to feel a bit queasy after 12 hours of
this, blah.
Moving food around is difficult and doing the dishes an exercise in acrobatics. I found sitting at the stern
to be the best even though the motion is greater simply because I can wedge myself in and not have to
worry about sliding around.
The nice thing is that the sun is shining at least, there are rainbows in the spray when the rollers come
crashing aboard.
Last word goes to the Bosun Kolin who said “This is what you paid for right?”
Right :-)
Thanks for reading
KJ
P.S. When I went on night watch at 4:00 I had first lookout. The seas were too rough to be on the fo’csle
so we had to stand watch on the bridge, which is just in front of the chart house. About a half hour into
my watch a great black bank of cloud blotted out the stars and the wind began to howl. The gusts were
strong enough to knock me off my feet. The mate says they were easily 50 knots in the gust close to Force
10 steady! We hove to again to ride it out then wore round and reset the sails at 8:00am. We are now
sailing South again. Hopefully that is the last we’ll see of that system.
Posted in On Watch | 1 Comment »
===================================
Postscript 2014
Jayne suggested that I should maybe comment on some of these posts from the perspective of nearly 6 years on. I am reluctant to do that on most of them but in this case I think it might be worthwhile.
This is an interesting post which shows how things in our memories don't always match what actually happened. Ever since I returned from this trip, anytime I'm talking about it people always ask if we had bad weather. The incident described in the P.S. above is the one I relate. What is interesting is that we had gales and "interesting" weather for several days beforehand!
Also there seems to be a post missing here, this is the day AFTER our big American Thanksgiving Dinner during which we were hove to so everybody could enjoy it. In my memory it was that same night that the incident on the bridge related in the P.S. occurred but actually it was the following night!
Funny thing memory.
Here are a couple of pictures from that time.
 |
| Thanksgiving dinner. By John Gareri |
 |
| The Morning After |
Into the Atlantic Nov 27,08
Monday, December 1st, 2008
The Mediterranean shoved us through the Straits of Gibraltar with a cold squally blast.
It was quite cold on watch last night and about 5:30am it began to rain heavily. A big front moved
through and dropped the temperature significantly.
I ended up on helm in pitch darkness as the front moved up. The Mate had John take over on helm as it
arrived, much to my relief.
As a watery dawn broke the wind dropped away and we briefly hove to until the mates were confident in
which direction the wind would come from. We ended up sailing almost due North for a while.
The ship was really rolling in that brief calm but there was no sign of seasickness and I’m not even queasy
typing this which is cool :-)
No sign of the potential gale yet but there was a big low forming right over us when the wind dropped this
morning.
I think I will dig out my heavy sweater for the night watch this evening.
Later…
Just came off the evening 4-8 watch. Ended up not needing the sweater, which is good I was not looking
forward to using up all my ammo, so to speak, this early in the campaign.
The weather has moderated nicely and the forecast now calls for steady West winds with some showers
for tomorrow. We are about 100 miles or so out in the Atlantic and the sky has cleared to reveal an
amazing display of stars. A bright planet to the west is even shining on the sea, I think it is Venus.
Tomorrow we ill be heading farther South along the coast of Morocco.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all you folks down South! We will be having our Thanksgiving tomorrow,
Friday, with a turkey dinner all the fixins and lots of pies (7 at last count) with various fillings. Yummy!
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
The Mediterranean shoved us through the Straits of Gibraltar with a cold squally blast.
It was quite cold on watch last night and about 5:30am it began to rain heavily. A big front moved
through and dropped the temperature significantly.
I ended up on helm in pitch darkness as the front moved up. The Mate had John take over on helm as it
arrived, much to my relief.
As a watery dawn broke the wind dropped away and we briefly hove to until the mates were confident in
which direction the wind would come from. We ended up sailing almost due North for a while.
The ship was really rolling in that brief calm but there was no sign of seasickness and I’m not even queasy
typing this which is cool :-)
No sign of the potential gale yet but there was a big low forming right over us when the wind dropped this
morning.
I think I will dig out my heavy sweater for the night watch this evening.
Later…
Just came off the evening 4-8 watch. Ended up not needing the sweater, which is good I was not looking
forward to using up all my ammo, so to speak, this early in the campaign.
The weather has moderated nicely and the forecast now calls for steady West winds with some showers
for tomorrow. We are about 100 miles or so out in the Atlantic and the sky has cleared to reveal an
amazing display of stars. A bright planet to the west is even shining on the sea, I think it is Venus.
Tomorrow we ill be heading farther South along the coast of Morocco.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all you folks down South! We will be having our Thanksgiving tomorrow,
Friday, with a turkey dinner all the fixins and lots of pies (7 at last count) with various fillings. Yummy!
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Underway from Gibraltar Wed Nov 26,08
Monday, December 1st, 2008
This morning dawned breezy and cold with some dark cloudy patches.
During the morning we had to put on our immersion suits so we coulkd wax the zippers and check them
for damage. we also tested the lights and inflation devices.
Then we hoisted the anchor and sailed out of Gibraltar Hrbour under Topsails, and T’gallants.
The weather has been deteriorating steadily all day but the wind is almost due West which is too good to
pass up. The temperature ha also been dropping. Apparently there is a massive coldfront moving down the
West coast of Europe bringing unusually cold wreather. When we went on watch at 4:00 pm this
afternoon I added my longsleeve hoody under my fowl weather gear and boy did I need it.
We were chased out of the straights by a wicked looking squall line. The seas were steep and grey, almost
like polished steel. On lookout ships appeared and disappeared in the rain squalls. Eventually the Sun
came out and even though it was still rainy,windy and cold we were followed by a lovely double rainbow.
So we are nearly in the Atlantic. Mike (the first mate) says there is the possibility of a big SW gale in the next few days so we are going to head West and get ourselves some sea room.
Could be an interesting couple of days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Postscript 2014
A great photo of me on lookout going through the straits.
This morning dawned breezy and cold with some dark cloudy patches.
During the morning we had to put on our immersion suits so we coulkd wax the zippers and check them
for damage. we also tested the lights and inflation devices.
Then we hoisted the anchor and sailed out of Gibraltar Hrbour under Topsails, and T’gallants.
The weather has been deteriorating steadily all day but the wind is almost due West which is too good to
pass up. The temperature ha also been dropping. Apparently there is a massive coldfront moving down the
West coast of Europe bringing unusually cold wreather. When we went on watch at 4:00 pm this
afternoon I added my longsleeve hoody under my fowl weather gear and boy did I need it.
We were chased out of the straights by a wicked looking squall line. The seas were steep and grey, almost
like polished steel. On lookout ships appeared and disappeared in the rain squalls. Eventually the Sun
came out and even though it was still rainy,windy and cold we were followed by a lovely double rainbow.
So we are nearly in the Atlantic. Mike (the first mate) says there is the possibility of a big SW gale in the next few days so we are going to head West and get ourselves some sea room.
Could be an interesting couple of days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Postscript 2014
A great photo of me on lookout going through the straits.
Fueling and back to anchor Tuesday Nov 25
Monday, December 1st, 2008
(Note this is the dated originally posted)
This morning dawned bright but cold.
Yesterday while we were ashore the on watch had to let go the heavy port anchor to bolster our starboard
one which was already out. Apparently the ship had started to drag her anchor in winds gusting to force 7.
This meant that this morning we got to hoist BOTH anchors. This was my first time on the windlass
which was one of those “not too tough but hard on the back” things I’m sure I will be very familiar with in
a month or so.
Once the anchors were up we chugged over to the fueling dock and took on enough fuel to top up our
bunkers. Did I mention that it is clear and cold.
The Mate then announced that these winds had shifted to headwinds and would be leaving tomorrow so it
was back out to anchor.
During the afternoon I learned how to do serving and tarred all the new servings on the rigginng screws.
There is a lovely three masted topsail schooner anchored beside us. David says they were at the tallships
festival in Bergen which is cool.
I expect it will be very cold on watch tonight as it will be clear and the wind is still force 4-5.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
(Note this is the dated originally posted)
This morning dawned bright but cold.
Yesterday while we were ashore the on watch had to let go the heavy port anchor to bolster our starboard
one which was already out. Apparently the ship had started to drag her anchor in winds gusting to force 7.
This meant that this morning we got to hoist BOTH anchors. This was my first time on the windlass
which was one of those “not too tough but hard on the back” things I’m sure I will be very familiar with in
a month or so.
Once the anchors were up we chugged over to the fueling dock and took on enough fuel to top up our
bunkers. Did I mention that it is clear and cold.
The Mate then announced that these winds had shifted to headwinds and would be leaving tomorrow so it
was back out to anchor.
During the afternoon I learned how to do serving and tarred all the new servings on the rigginng screws.
There is a lovely three masted topsail schooner anchored beside us. David says they were at the tallships
festival in Bergen which is cool.
I expect it will be very cold on watch tonight as it will be clear and the wind is still force 4-5.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Gibraltar Monday Nov 24
Monday, November 24th, 2008
Went ashore on the first skiff run this morning and headed out to the Southern end of Gibraltar to Europa
point. Along the way I stopped to look at the Victorian 100 ton gun and Rosia Bay where the Victory was
docked after Trafalgar.
John and I walked along the shore road to Europa Point and nearly got blown off the rock by the very
strong West wind that has been blowing force 5 all morning.
There is a wrecked ship right below the lighthouse that doesn’t look very old. The power of the sea is
evident in te ripped plating and smashed hull. The ship split in half!
The weather has changed, it’s now cloudy and the wind has apparently dropped a bit. Have to go buy a
belt and some other miscellaneous stuff and then have a bite of supper before heading back to the ship.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be moving the ship to a fuel dock to get our tanks topped up and then we are
supposed to sail for Morocco.
Maybe more and some pictures later.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Pictures are Here!
P.P.S My shipmate John Gareri's pictures of our rambles on Gibraltar are here.
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
Went ashore on the first skiff run this morning and headed out to the Southern end of Gibraltar to Europa
point. Along the way I stopped to look at the Victorian 100 ton gun and Rosia Bay where the Victory was
docked after Trafalgar.
John and I walked along the shore road to Europa Point and nearly got blown off the rock by the very
strong West wind that has been blowing force 5 all morning.
There is a wrecked ship right below the lighthouse that doesn’t look very old. The power of the sea is
evident in te ripped plating and smashed hull. The ship split in half!
The weather has changed, it’s now cloudy and the wind has apparently dropped a bit. Have to go buy a
belt and some other miscellaneous stuff and then have a bite of supper before heading back to the ship.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be moving the ship to a fuel dock to get our tanks topped up and then we are
supposed to sail for Morocco.
Maybe more and some pictures later.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Pictures are Here!
P.P.S My shipmate John Gareri's pictures of our rambles on Gibraltar are here.
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
Gibraltar Nov 22-25
Monday, November 24th, 2008
We arrived in Gibraltar Friday afternoon about 3:00pm.
I was on lookout when we sailed and motored into the harbour to anchor. That was a bit nerve wracking
keeping track of all the ships, bouys, sailboats , tugs ferries etc.
We split into two watches and luckily my watch had Saturday off.
I rode the skiff into Gibraltar, we are anchored over a mile from the quay we are allowed to land at and
then John and I headed out to see the sights and do some geo caching. I had never done that before. Geo
caching consists of looking up interesting places that people have recorded the GPS coordinates for and
then listing them on the Internet for others to find. At most places there is a little box or bottle with a
notebook which the finder signs. Often there are other little objects like coins, little stuffies, cards (we
always left a Picton Castle card) fridge magnets etc..
We bagged 5 of the 8 Gibraltar caches! They were in interesting and out of the way places that lead us to
WWI and WWII gun emplacements tunnels and natural features. Pretty cool.
Today we were on watch so it was “make and mend” we washed all our sheets and bedding and “soogied”
out our bunks with bleach and water to kill off any hitch hikers before we head South.
In the afternoon I helped Ben and Susie work on renewing the footropes on the fore lower and upper
topsail yards. I learned how to do repair serving, winding tarred yarn around the wire to keep water out
and got thouroughly tarry and greasy. The tar we use is pine tar mixed with turpentine or some other
solvent and ha a really strong smoky smell.
I’m off tomorrow, Monday, so I think I will wander back ashore and maybe go to the museums and do a
little surfing and emailing at a pub somewhere… Not a bad life at Gibraltar so far.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Here are some pictures from my wander around Gibraltar
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
2014 Postscript
We arrived in Gibraltar Friday afternoon about 3:00pm.
I was on lookout when we sailed and motored into the harbour to anchor. That was a bit nerve wracking
keeping track of all the ships, bouys, sailboats , tugs ferries etc.
We split into two watches and luckily my watch had Saturday off.
I rode the skiff into Gibraltar, we are anchored over a mile from the quay we are allowed to land at and
then John and I headed out to see the sights and do some geo caching. I had never done that before. Geo
caching consists of looking up interesting places that people have recorded the GPS coordinates for and
then listing them on the Internet for others to find. At most places there is a little box or bottle with a
notebook which the finder signs. Often there are other little objects like coins, little stuffies, cards (we
always left a Picton Castle card) fridge magnets etc..
We bagged 5 of the 8 Gibraltar caches! They were in interesting and out of the way places that lead us to
WWI and WWII gun emplacements tunnels and natural features. Pretty cool.
Today we were on watch so it was “make and mend” we washed all our sheets and bedding and “soogied”
out our bunks with bleach and water to kill off any hitch hikers before we head South.
In the afternoon I helped Ben and Susie work on renewing the footropes on the fore lower and upper
topsail yards. I learned how to do repair serving, winding tarred yarn around the wire to keep water out
and got thouroughly tarry and greasy. The tar we use is pine tar mixed with turpentine or some other
solvent and ha a really strong smoky smell.
I’m off tomorrow, Monday, so I think I will wander back ashore and maybe go to the museums and do a
little surfing and emailing at a pub somewhere… Not a bad life at Gibraltar so far.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Here are some pictures from my wander around Gibraltar
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
2014 Postscript
 |
| Me on "The Rock" with our fine ship in the harbour below. Photo by John Gareri |
Rolling along to Gibraltar Nov 20,08
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
The seas really picked up last night and the ships is rolling quite a bit. We are still headed due west with
the wind just starboard of due aft.
I seem to be getting my sea legs I only get queasy while sitting below typing but not standing or lying.
Went aloft on watch lat night to furl and gasket the mainsail and we furled the t’gallants and main t’gallant
staysail.
Steering with the wind due aft and a following sea is interesting, the waves lift the stern and shove it one
way or the other which has to be taken into account when correcting the course. There is spoke or two of
play on the linkage which makes it even more interesting.
We are sailing long at a great pace 6-8 knots, the mate says we hit 8.5 knots last night and probably
averaged about 7.
Sleeping when the ship is rolling like this is a compromise between lying comfortably, like I normally do
on my side, and trying to avoid rolling around in the bunk. I found that lying flat on my back with one of
those blowup neck pillows to keep my head from rolling worked well.
Today is my first stint on galley duty, with Bruce and Corey, so I don’t have to stand regular watch for 24
hours. Carrying food around when the ship is rolling is fun, sort of.
Not having to stand watch means I can watch the sea for a bit.
Waves are interesting, they appear to be solid and independant things but in reality they are transient
artifacts of the interaction of the sea with winds and other waves. Like a life which is moved along by the
winds of time and influenced by the passage of other people, I hope they are enjoying their time as much
as I do.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Here are some pictures from the passage.
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
The seas really picked up last night and the ships is rolling quite a bit. We are still headed due west with
the wind just starboard of due aft.
I seem to be getting my sea legs I only get queasy while sitting below typing but not standing or lying.
Went aloft on watch lat night to furl and gasket the mainsail and we furled the t’gallants and main t’gallant
staysail.
Steering with the wind due aft and a following sea is interesting, the waves lift the stern and shove it one
way or the other which has to be taken into account when correcting the course. There is spoke or two of
play on the linkage which makes it even more interesting.
We are sailing long at a great pace 6-8 knots, the mate says we hit 8.5 knots last night and probably
averaged about 7.
Sleeping when the ship is rolling like this is a compromise between lying comfortably, like I normally do
on my side, and trying to avoid rolling around in the bunk. I found that lying flat on my back with one of
those blowup neck pillows to keep my head from rolling worked well.
Today is my first stint on galley duty, with Bruce and Corey, so I don’t have to stand regular watch for 24
hours. Carrying food around when the ship is rolling is fun, sort of.
Not having to stand watch means I can watch the sea for a bit.
Waves are interesting, they appear to be solid and independant things but in reality they are transient
artifacts of the interaction of the sea with winds and other waves. Like a life which is moved along by the
winds of time and influenced by the passage of other people, I hope they are enjoying their time as much
as I do.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
P.S. Here are some pictures from the passage.
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Underway Wed Nov 19 08
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
Just got off watch and had a bite of breakfast.
My patch kicked in while I was sleeping and I felt really good when I got up at 3:30am to go on watch. I
have to come up with a routine to speed up that getting up part I was the last member of the watch to get
on deck.
Our watch was pretty exciting we had lots of sail handling and a fast moving thunderstorm squall just
before the end of the watch that forced us to take in the mainsail and the main t’gallant staysail in the
pouring rain. Pretty exciting for a new sailor like me.
I also stood my first turn as lookout, I can see how that could be really cold, luckily the wind was fairly
warm today.
Standing alone for an hour up on the foredeck scanning the horizon for ship’s lights, etc is very conducive
to introspection. But do you think I can remember anything to write here? Not a chance
Typing on this little laptop makes me queasy so I think I will end this note here.
Thanks for reading
KJ
P.S. After 4 hours of sound sleep in my bunk and a bite of lunch I feel much better. We are sailing along
at more than 5 knots in a steady force 5 breeze from right aft. We are sailing under foresail, both topsails
and t’gallant on the foremast and topsails and t’gallant on the mainmast. We have the fore topmast
staysail and the two jibs flying as well. It’s glorious! The sea is a rich deep blue with intensely white
horses scattered across it all the way to the horizon.
The mountains of Spain are just visible to the North.
Lovely.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Just got off watch and had a bite of breakfast.
My patch kicked in while I was sleeping and I felt really good when I got up at 3:30am to go on watch. I
have to come up with a routine to speed up that getting up part I was the last member of the watch to get
on deck.
Our watch was pretty exciting we had lots of sail handling and a fast moving thunderstorm squall just
before the end of the watch that forced us to take in the mainsail and the main t’gallant staysail in the
pouring rain. Pretty exciting for a new sailor like me.
I also stood my first turn as lookout, I can see how that could be really cold, luckily the wind was fairly
warm today.
Standing alone for an hour up on the foredeck scanning the horizon for ship’s lights, etc is very conducive
to introspection. But do you think I can remember anything to write here? Not a chance
Typing on this little laptop makes me queasy so I think I will end this note here.
Thanks for reading
KJ
P.S. After 4 hours of sound sleep in my bunk and a bite of lunch I feel much better. We are sailing along
at more than 5 knots in a steady force 5 breeze from right aft. We are sailing under foresail, both topsails
and t’gallant on the foremast and topsails and t’gallant on the mainmast. We have the fore topmast
staysail and the two jibs flying as well. It’s glorious! The sea is a rich deep blue with intensely white
horses scattered across it all the way to the horizon.
The mountains of Spain are just visible to the North.
Lovely.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Underway Tues Nov 18,08
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
I had a watch from 1:30 to 2:45 lastnight which was great because it allowed me to sleep for a few hours
before getting up.
After breakfast we did sail handling drills and I went aloft to both loose and furl the upper and lower
topsails on the foremast.
Then we got ready and steamed out of Mallorca harbour and out to Sea.
After drills for mn overboard, fire and abandon ship the watches stood down and we are chugging steadily
Westward.
Hopfully we will get to set sail soon.
We did set sail just before I cme on watch at four.
I had an interesting first watch at sea.
Just after we came on watcg a squall came in from the North and we had to brace the yards around to
handle the wind shift after the squall line passed I went aloft onto the Fore Yard with Nicky to release the
Foresail so it could be set just as it began to rain.
After we set the foresail I began to feel really queasy, ginger, saltns and lots of water kept things under control but eventually I had to use one of my seasickness patches.
My turn came to be the hemsman at 6:00pm just as it was getting dark.
Steering is an interesting process. We steer by the compass so the mate gives me the course and I have to
keep this little orange line (the lubbers line) aligned with the compass point that represents the course.
The steering is odd to me. The ship responds to the helm fairly slowly so it is easy to over steer. John
recommended I put one full turn of the wheel on at a time and then wait to see how the ship responds,
then when she begin to turn take the turn off. This work really well.
After I finished my hour on the helm I went to do a ship check with Nicky. This entails going into every
compartment and looking for leaks, overflows, fires or anything coming loose.
Once our watch wa relieved “I hit the rack” queasy stomach and all.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
I had a watch from 1:30 to 2:45 lastnight which was great because it allowed me to sleep for a few hours
before getting up.
After breakfast we did sail handling drills and I went aloft to both loose and furl the upper and lower
topsails on the foremast.
Then we got ready and steamed out of Mallorca harbour and out to Sea.
After drills for mn overboard, fire and abandon ship the watches stood down and we are chugging steadily
Westward.
Hopfully we will get to set sail soon.
We did set sail just before I cme on watch at four.
I had an interesting first watch at sea.
Just after we came on watcg a squall came in from the North and we had to brace the yards around to
handle the wind shift after the squall line passed I went aloft onto the Fore Yard with Nicky to release the
Foresail so it could be set just as it began to rain.
After we set the foresail I began to feel really queasy, ginger, saltns and lots of water kept things under control but eventually I had to use one of my seasickness patches.
My turn came to be the hemsman at 6:00pm just as it was getting dark.
Steering is an interesting process. We steer by the compass so the mate gives me the course and I have to
keep this little orange line (the lubbers line) aligned with the compass point that represents the course.
The steering is odd to me. The ship responds to the helm fairly slowly so it is easy to over steer. John
recommended I put one full turn of the wheel on at a time and then wait to see how the ship responds,
then when she begin to turn take the turn off. This work really well.
After I finished my hour on the helm I went to do a ship check with Nicky. This entails going into every
compartment and looking for leaks, overflows, fires or anything coming loose.
Once our watch wa relieved “I hit the rack” queasy stomach and all.
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Of Capstans and Topmasts Monday Nov 17,08
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
Today we raised the Mizzen Topmast back into place.
As I suspected I ended up working on the capstan on the foredeck. This was OK because there were lots
of pauses in th raising process which gave me a good opportunity to see the whole process. This is a good
bit of “sailorizing” that many people even those who sail on a square rigger more regularly will never see.
It also helpd that I had become aquainted with the intricacies of this spar while varnishing about 2/3rds of
it’s length the other day. It looks pretty “shiny” up there in the late afternoon Sun, if I do say so me self.
Did a bunch of “slushing” on the shrouds and stays for this part of the mizzen mast. This is literally taking
a handful of grease mixed with tar and liberally spreading it on the wire that makes up the rigging. I took
this opportunity to remove my rings as they might have gone flying on their own once my hands were
greasy. I think I will keep them off for the duration. My luck I will now get a sunburn on the ring bands :-)
The plan is to leave for Gibraltar tomorrow morning some time. Hopefully we will have wind and be able
to sail. For me, even if we have to use our “iron topsail” and chug out of the harbour of Mallorca, it means
the real start of my passage on the Picton Castle. It also means I have no idea when this post will actually
make it online :-)
I’m excited to be less than 24 hours from heading out. Excited and a bit anxious, not because I don’t
know all my lines (I have most of them figured out now) but simply because I don’t really know what to
expect. I’ll let you all know how I make out once we get ashore again.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Today we raised the Mizzen Topmast back into place.
As I suspected I ended up working on the capstan on the foredeck. This was OK because there were lots
of pauses in th raising process which gave me a good opportunity to see the whole process. This is a good
bit of “sailorizing” that many people even those who sail on a square rigger more regularly will never see.
It also helpd that I had become aquainted with the intricacies of this spar while varnishing about 2/3rds of
it’s length the other day. It looks pretty “shiny” up there in the late afternoon Sun, if I do say so me self.
Did a bunch of “slushing” on the shrouds and stays for this part of the mizzen mast. This is literally taking
a handful of grease mixed with tar and liberally spreading it on the wire that makes up the rigging. I took
this opportunity to remove my rings as they might have gone flying on their own once my hands were
greasy. I think I will keep them off for the duration. My luck I will now get a sunburn on the ring bands :-)
The plan is to leave for Gibraltar tomorrow morning some time. Hopefully we will have wind and be able
to sail. For me, even if we have to use our “iron topsail” and chug out of the harbour of Mallorca, it means
the real start of my passage on the Picton Castle. It also means I have no idea when this post will actually
make it online :-)
I’m excited to be less than 24 hours from heading out. Excited and a bit anxious, not because I don’t
know all my lines (I have most of them figured out now) but simply because I don’t really know what to
expect. I’ll let you all know how I make out once we get ashore again.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch | No Comments »
Sunny Sunday in Mallorca
Sunday, November 16th, 2008
Just a musing post on this sunny Sunday morning in Mallorca Spain….
I’m sitting in a very nice cafe just outside the Mediaeval Cathedral here in Mallorca having a cappuccino
and typing into my laptop. As the bells ring for Sunday Mass I ponder the odd set of things in my life
now… When I’m done here I will wander back across town to get back onboard a sailing ship rigged like
one from the 19th century. I have traveled halfway around the world on transport that would have been
amazing only 50 years ago, I’ve chatted in realtime across the planet from outside a building that was built
in the middle ages.
There is an odd kind of mental disconnect when I sum all this up. It’s a kind of temporal confusion. Odd
but exciting at the same time.
The Mate says we will be leaving on Tuesday for Gibraltar. That will be my first time at sea, the start of
this passage at last.
Time to go and look around a bit more before I have to embed myself in the ways of our fine ship once
more.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Musings | 1 Comment »
Just a musing post on this sunny Sunday morning in Mallorca Spain….
I’m sitting in a very nice cafe just outside the Mediaeval Cathedral here in Mallorca having a cappuccino
and typing into my laptop. As the bells ring for Sunday Mass I ponder the odd set of things in my life
now… When I’m done here I will wander back across town to get back onboard a sailing ship rigged like
one from the 19th century. I have traveled halfway around the world on transport that would have been
amazing only 50 years ago, I’ve chatted in realtime across the planet from outside a building that was built
in the middle ages.
There is an odd kind of mental disconnect when I sum all this up. It’s a kind of temporal confusion. Odd
but exciting at the same time.
The Mate says we will be leaving on Tuesday for Gibraltar. That will be my first time at sea, the start of
this passage at last.
Time to go and look around a bit more before I have to embed myself in the ways of our fine ship once
more.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Musings | 1 Comment »
Mallorca!
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Here are some pictures from Mallorca!
Mallorca November 2008
And some more from a wander around on Saturday:
A Saturday Ramble in Mallorca
I was driven to a really nice little cafe on the waterfront (thanks Deb!) with free wifi and great coffee!
Also full of Picton Castle crew
I have two full days off now (except for studying lines) and will try to get around and see the sights before
we head out on Tuesday.
They will be putting the mizzen topmast back up today or tomorrow which is a real bit of “sailorizing” and
will be interesting to be in on so I might hang around ship while they do that. Only risk is getting
dragooned into capstan duty
No sea sickness yet even with ship rocking a bit at the dock last night, there was a force 4-5 wind from the
NNE that was kicking up a bit on the harbour. So far so good, I wonder what will happen once we are
outside…
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
Here are some pictures from Mallorca!
Mallorca November 2008
And some more from a wander around on Saturday:
A Saturday Ramble in Mallorca
I was driven to a really nice little cafe on the waterfront (thanks Deb!) with free wifi and great coffee!
Also full of Picton Castle crew
I have two full days off now (except for studying lines) and will try to get around and see the sights before
we head out on Tuesday.
They will be putting the mizzen topmast back up today or tomorrow which is a real bit of “sailorizing” and
will be interesting to be in on so I might hang around ship while they do that. Only risk is getting
dragooned into capstan duty
No sea sickness yet even with ship rocking a bit at the dock last night, there was a force 4-5 wind from the
NNE that was kicking up a bit on the harbour. So far so good, I wonder what will happen once we are
outside…
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore | 2 Comments »
Friday Nov 14,08
Saturday, November 15th, 2008
Had a great night last night (Thursday) no watch :-)
When I got up I discovered that we were surrounded by cruise ships!
This huge ship is docked right beside us. It’ amazing that these things actually sail. They have WiFi on
board but you have to give them a room number and pin number of some sort… blah
I spent the day varnishing the mizzen topmast, the one they took down on Tuesday. We also did a bunch
of training on lines and procedures.
Late in the day we unloaded a huge pile of fresh food and stored it away in preparation for the trip.
Our watch is off for the next two days (Saturday and Sunday) so
hopefully I’ll be be able to get a chamce to wander around and see some of the city and get a connection
somewhere.
We are officially supposed to sail on the 18th which is Tuesday. I’m
looking forward to that with a mixture of fear and excitement a you can
imagine.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Had a great night last night (Thursday) no watch :-)
When I got up I discovered that we were surrounded by cruise ships!
This huge ship is docked right beside us. It’ amazing that these things actually sail. They have WiFi on
board but you have to give them a room number and pin number of some sort… blah
 |
| Photo by David Bellows |
I spent the day varnishing the mizzen topmast, the one they took down on Tuesday. We also did a bunch
of training on lines and procedures.
Late in the day we unloaded a huge pile of fresh food and stored it away in preparation for the trip.
Our watch is off for the next two days (Saturday and Sunday) so
hopefully I’ll be be able to get a chamce to wander around and see some of the city and get a connection
somewhere.
We are officially supposed to sail on the 18th which is Tuesday. I’m
looking forward to that with a mixture of fear and excitement a you can
imagine.
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 5, 2014
An afternoon ashore Nov 13, 08
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
So we finally got to go ashore, by we I mean the four new guys, Nick, Jay, Rich and me only to discover
that the power was off in the city. So much for getting this posted.
We went wandering around and had avery pleasant afternoon shopping for things like Jay´s rubber boots
and an LED head lamp for me. After a late afternoon meal of chicken Fajita´s in an American
Kitch(chen) restaurant the power came back and I was able to get online only to discover that the PC in
the Internet cafe won´t read my memory cards so… blah hand tyoig and no pictoires (sic).
Sorry I´ll try to do better in future :-)
Thanks for Reading
KJ
Posted in Off Watch | No Comments »
So we finally got to go ashore, by we I mean the four new guys, Nick, Jay, Rich and me only to discover
that the power was off in the city. So much for getting this posted.
We went wandering around and had avery pleasant afternoon shopping for things like Jay´s rubber boots
and an LED head lamp for me. After a late afternoon meal of chicken Fajita´s in an American
Kitch(chen) restaurant the power came back and I was able to get online only to discover that the PC in
the Internet cafe won´t read my memory cards so… blah hand tyoig and no pictoires (sic).
Sorry I´ll try to do better in future :-)
Thanks for Reading
KJ
Posted in Off Watch | No Comments »
On Board at last Nov 10,08
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
I joined the ship Tuesday after a very long walk across the seafront of Palma. It seems that the cabbies
won´t go to this dock here just saying ¨Military Military¨over and over again. So I had them drop me at the
cruise ship port and I walked. As i did I saw that they were right there is amilitary base between the city
and the port that the road goes around. Eventually I hauled all my stuff around and onto the pier.
The on watch crew were busy downrigging the mizzen topmast which is quite the operation. (edited to
change the name of the mast proper like!)
Once aboard it was as if I had never left, everybody welcomed me back with open arms and lots of ´noshit
there I was stories¨.
Once that settled down I was assigned a bunk, number 32, upper bunk on the port forward side of the
salon if you´re interested. I then stowed all my stuff and was amazed that the sapce was much larger than I
thought. In fact several people mentioned that they were surprised at how little I brought, now I´m
nevrvous again about what I forgot.
They put me to work rustbusting the shrouds they had unrigged. Just like old times :-)
I stood my first dock watch last night between 3:00am and 5:00am `äll by me onsies, savy´. It was
wonderful and incredibly quiet, so quiet that the squeaks from my shoes on the dew damp deck was loud.
Today we spent the day sanding the inside of the galley preperatory to getting it repainted as well as
studying all the lines and eating really well. Kolin tells me I will be on the 4-8 watch at sea which means I
will be able to see both the sunrise and sunset. I look forward to that.
Tonight I will do another dock watch, 5:00 till 6:00 but this time I will have another crewmember with me.
More later
Thanks for Reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
I joined the ship Tuesday after a very long walk across the seafront of Palma. It seems that the cabbies
won´t go to this dock here just saying ¨Military Military¨over and over again. So I had them drop me at the
cruise ship port and I walked. As i did I saw that they were right there is amilitary base between the city
and the port that the road goes around. Eventually I hauled all my stuff around and onto the pier.
The on watch crew were busy downrigging the mizzen topmast which is quite the operation. (edited to
change the name of the mast proper like!)
Once aboard it was as if I had never left, everybody welcomed me back with open arms and lots of ´noshit
there I was stories¨.
Once that settled down I was assigned a bunk, number 32, upper bunk on the port forward side of the
salon if you´re interested. I then stowed all my stuff and was amazed that the sapce was much larger than I
thought. In fact several people mentioned that they were surprised at how little I brought, now I´m
nevrvous again about what I forgot.
They put me to work rustbusting the shrouds they had unrigged. Just like old times :-)
I stood my first dock watch last night between 3:00am and 5:00am `äll by me onsies, savy´. It was
wonderful and incredibly quiet, so quiet that the squeaks from my shoes on the dew damp deck was loud.
Today we spent the day sanding the inside of the galley preperatory to getting it repainted as well as
studying all the lines and eating really well. Kolin tells me I will be on the 4-8 watch at sea which means I
will be able to see both the sunrise and sunset. I look forward to that.
Tonight I will do another dock watch, 5:00 till 6:00 but this time I will have another crewmember with me.
More later
Thanks for Reading
KJ
Posted in On Watch, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
In Mallorca at last!
Monday, November 10th, 2008
This part was remarkably simple, no canceled flights or lost luggage just a little trouble finding my shuttle
driver at Palma airport.
After a stunningly beautiful drive through Switzerland, over a high snowy pass and down into the
“lowlands” back to the airport, I boarded a Swiss Air flight and took off for the sunny south. It was with
some sadness that I said goodbye to Francois and Ursula as they have been truly wonderful hosts and
friends to this wandering sailor without a ship.
I arrived just as the Sun was setting into the Mediterranean. As we drove into Palma from the airport the
setting sun silhouetted not one but TWO sets of lofty spars. It seems that the Picton Castle has company
at the dock. So at least I know “my ship has come in”.
Tomorrow morning I will try to get me and my stuff over to get on board at last. Doesn’t seem real just
yet. Hopefully I can get squared away without too much trouble and begin trying to remember all 130
working lines on the ship :-)
Next post may be after I’m aboard or I’ll edit this one.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore, Packing and Preps | 2 Comments »
This part was remarkably simple, no canceled flights or lost luggage just a little trouble finding my shuttle
driver at Palma airport.
After a stunningly beautiful drive through Switzerland, over a high snowy pass and down into the
“lowlands” back to the airport, I boarded a Swiss Air flight and took off for the sunny south. It was with
some sadness that I said goodbye to Francois and Ursula as they have been truly wonderful hosts and
friends to this wandering sailor without a ship.
I arrived just as the Sun was setting into the Mediterranean. As we drove into Palma from the airport the
setting sun silhouetted not one but TWO sets of lofty spars. It seems that the Picton Castle has company
at the dock. So at least I know “my ship has come in”.
Tomorrow morning I will try to get me and my stuff over to get on board at last. Doesn’t seem real just
yet. Hopefully I can get squared away without too much trouble and begin trying to remember all 130
working lines on the ship :-)
Next post may be after I’m aboard or I’ll edit this one.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Ashore, Packing and Preps | 2 Comments »
Switzerland Day 2
Sunday, November 9th, 2008
Today we went up into the high alpine. We walked up to the toe of a glacier at a place called Morteratsch
which is between St Moritz and the Bernina Pass that leads to Italy. It was a beautiful sunny day with very
little wind. The scenery was stunning you can check it out here!
We then drove up the road to the top of the Bernina Pass where the snow is already a meter deep. Then
we went back down and through St Moritz past the lovely lakes and looked down the steep pass that leads
into Italy 1600m below.
It’s been great staying with Francois and Ursula, they are marvelous hosts. Thank you guys it has been
fabulous!
I think Jayne and I will definitely have to come back sometime.
Tomorrow I fly to Palma Mallorca and try to find my ship so I can finally get to sea.
Wish me luck.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Today we went up into the high alpine. We walked up to the toe of a glacier at a place called Morteratsch
which is between St Moritz and the Bernina Pass that leads to Italy. It was a beautiful sunny day with very
little wind. The scenery was stunning you can check it out here!
We then drove up the road to the top of the Bernina Pass where the snow is already a meter deep. Then
we went back down and through St Moritz past the lovely lakes and looked down the steep pass that leads
into Italy 1600m below.
It’s been great staying with Francois and Ursula, they are marvelous hosts. Thank you guys it has been
fabulous!
I think Jayne and I will definitely have to come back sometime.
Tomorrow I fly to Palma Mallorca and try to find my ship so I can finally get to sea.
Wish me luck.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
A great day in Switzerland
Saturday, November 8th, 2008
I did manage to get to Zurich eventually.
After flying to Frankfurt first, and then finding that Lufthansa had cancelled my flight to Zurich too, I had
to take another one on which my bags never got loaded… I was picked up by my friend Francois and his
lovely wife Ursula and taken down to the town of Scuol in South Eastern Switzerland. This town is in the
beautiful Engiadina valley and the house we are staying in is 400 years old!
When I got up this morning my bags were waiting outside my room having been delivered from Zurich Post Express by the efficient Zurich Airport Lost and Found :-)
Today Francois and Ursula took me around the town and out to a couple of beautiful little villages up on
the sides of the valley. We also went to two castles one in ruins the other, Tarasp, which has been restored
and had a look around. You can see a few of the pictures on a Google Web Album here.
Tomorrow we are going to go up to the high alpine, weather permitting, should be nice. The valleys here
look very much like valleys in BC but there are houses on the mountain sides in many places and some
villages are perched way up high. The tall Larch trees are all turning colour much like the ones in our
mountains although the colour is more orange than yellow (they look rather like pine beetle killed pines to
me).
It’s hard to imagine that just 3 days from now I will finally be aboard ship getting ready to begin my sailing
trip.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
I did manage to get to Zurich eventually.
After flying to Frankfurt first, and then finding that Lufthansa had cancelled my flight to Zurich too, I had
to take another one on which my bags never got loaded… I was picked up by my friend Francois and his
lovely wife Ursula and taken down to the town of Scuol in South Eastern Switzerland. This town is in the
beautiful Engiadina valley and the house we are staying in is 400 years old!
When I got up this morning my bags were waiting outside my room having been delivered from Zurich Post Express by the efficient Zurich Airport Lost and Found :-)
Today Francois and Ursula took me around the town and out to a couple of beautiful little villages up on
the sides of the valley. We also went to two castles one in ruins the other, Tarasp, which has been restored
and had a look around. You can see a few of the pictures on a Google Web Album here.
Tomorrow we are going to go up to the high alpine, weather permitting, should be nice. The valleys here
look very much like valleys in BC but there are houses on the mountain sides in many places and some
villages are perched way up high. The tall Larch trees are all turning colour much like the ones in our
mountains although the colour is more orange than yellow (they look rather like pine beetle killed pines to
me).
It’s hard to imagine that just 3 days from now I will finally be aboard ship getting ready to begin my sailing
trip.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Hiccups on the route
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
So…
I’m posting this from the Terminal in Toronto where I now have to wait for another 3 hours to go to
Frankfurt because Air Canada cancelled my connecting flight to Zurich!
Hmmm… I thought it was going too smoothly.
At least the checkin agents in Calary didn’t try to send my bags off on that non existent flight. They were
waiting on the domestic carosel just as if it was planned that way. Odd thing is that they assured me they
would be checked all the way to Zurich. Blessings for small miracles I guess.
Next post will hopefully be from Switzerland on the weekend.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in Packing and Preps | No Comments »
So…
I’m posting this from the Terminal in Toronto where I now have to wait for another 3 hours to go to
Frankfurt because Air Canada cancelled my connecting flight to Zurich!
Hmmm… I thought it was going too smoothly.
At least the checkin agents in Calary didn’t try to send my bags off on that non existent flight. They were
waiting on the domestic carosel just as if it was planned that way. Odd thing is that they assured me they
would be checked all the way to Zurich. Blessings for small miracles I guess.
Next post will hopefully be from Switzerland on the weekend.
Thanks for reading
KJ
Posted in Packing and Preps | No Comments »
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)