Race 7 - Day 24
Crew Diary - Race 7 Day 24: Whitsundays to Sanya
23 February
At Airlie Beach I accepted the role as Watch Leader for Jack Watch. What was I thinking? Under my charge seven strong and distinct personalities with their own particular character traits. In a tongue in cheek celebration of their differences I'll introduce you to them as breeds of dog.
To commence, I have Alanna and Matthias, athletic and experienced sea dogs. As a pair they share the trait of having just two speeds: overdrive or catatonic. They are the Lurchers and, like Lurchers, once set free they can be hard to bring back to heel.
I have Luise, a herder, a top dog who musters and corrals the pack. She is the Border Collie on Jack Watch: sharp, energetic and experienced this breed needs a strong and authoritative owner.
Jonathan is a Red Setter. A lovely temperament when content. A fine pedigree and very sharp eyed.
There is the English Bull Dog, what every pack needs and here a stalwart of the GREAT team. He is solid, calm and knowledgeable. There's nothing like a good pub quiz for boosting the morale of this dog,: this one has a keen nose for factoids. May I introduce you to Jon.
The Bloodhound is Richard. Quite a contradiction this one. He might appear to be docile and placid, lethargic even, but inside that still exterior his mind is whirring away. The Bloodhound has a mind for the detail and good for lateral thinking us out of another of our cock ups. Great for the one liners too: sit close and catch the softly spoken wit. Generally reluctant to move, he has the endearing trait of responding well to treats.
As an aside amid the dog days of punishing heat the Red Setter spotted the diminutive cap of a Portuguese Man-of-War. Someone asked whether these jelly fish could do harm. 'Give it a hug,' says the Bloodhound, deadpan, 'it will put you out of your misery.'
Finally the delicate and intelligent Minature Poodle that is Tessa. Because of her size she is often overlooked by the larger breeds. This can make her snappy.
This is the mix of my pack and me, the pack leader, the only mongrel among them: my only expertise, to spot the breeds for what they are and organise them into a functioning unit. A traumatic experience I'm bound to tell you, experiencing the snaps and snarls as the only mutt in the midst but this is how it all came togther.
So the Collie goes forward to corral the Lurchers on the bow. The Bloodhound takes the rearguard role to make the final checks. The Minature Poodle harries the Red Setter in the pit and I stand by. The Bull Dog steadies the helm.
Just 50nm from Sanya and I'm a tired old dog but my pedigree team work like a dream.
A big shout out to my kids: Fred, Hope and Luc
Emma