Race 9 - Day 24
Crew Diary - Race 9 Day 24: Qingdao to Seattle
16 April
Hello there,
Yes, me again I'm afraid... stepping into the breach for a fellow crew member who just isn't feeling any inspiration for their blog duties some reason. I don't know – perhaps it's a girl/boy thing, but the ladies on this GREAT Britain boat always have something to talk about!
So, rather than let the moment pass – and have a blank space against Day 24, I thought I would witter on a little bit about one of my Watch's today, hopefully to give you a little flavour of what we get up to. I think I have mentioned before about the Groundhog Day phenomenon we experience and how the days/watch’s have a tendency to all blur into one; I have also said that there are good/better Watch's and bad/low Watch's. Today was a GREAT Watch for me (Sunday Funday) and it unfolded as follows.
Up on deck at 8pm UTC (which is actually just after dawn out here) after a late lunch of tomato and cheese pasta. Lunchtime falls during my 8-hour Off Watch period and I am usually snoozing when it is served. Feeling slightly more chipper, because we had gybed just before I put my head down which meant my bunk was on the low side, yes! Being able to finally lower my mattress to a much less punishing angle equals a more comfortable and flatter level – hence better sleep. I still won't do up my sleeping bag fully though, however tight I do up my lee-cloth as I still sleep in fear that during some unforeseen boat manoeuvre, I will end up tipping out and end up cocooned like on the floor with a broken nose!
Anyway, I digress – after lunch, up the companionway steps and onto deck to be met by the off-coming White Watch who go through the usual handover of which lines are on which winches, etc. The Safety Harness is handed over, aka: the 'Pants of Power' (and the lexicon lately further developed by Max to also be known as the 'Briefs of Belief' or the 'Pantyhose of Daily Woes') and for once, I think – it's calm'ish and quiet – I'll do my bit and put them on. The chances of them being needed I thought are pretty slim. Now, someone on each Watch always wears these 'Pants' - it's a Safety thing as much as anything. Those assigned, will be the first stop call as a Rescue Swimmer, or perhaps if any maintenance services are required. And on we continue, Satan's Sail (our flighty Code 2) is flying... not hugely well it has to be said and sure enough, within 5 minutes – she has hour glassed magnificently (told you she was evil). We had a bit of a pop at trying to unravel the wrap but to no avail – the Code 2 was going to have to come down. Much to the mirth of the White Watch of course, 'we literally left that with you for 5 minutes' (yes, yes...).
So up the Blue Watch jump, ready to go – get the Code 2 down as quickly as possible. There is initial talk of hoisting the Yankee 1 in its place; until our A1 Watch Leader Stefan suggests that actually, why don't we replace her with the Code 1 instead? The weather conditions are right... lowering winds; no need to do anything with the Anti-Wrap net and oh, we can also gybe the boat beforehand so that we are heading in a better direction towards Seattle. Yes – sometimes, these happen for a reason, huh? And off we set, a well-oiled team machine now taking pride in the preparations and delivery of our evolutions. The Code 2 is dropped; lightweight spinnaker lines run through, a safe/smooth gybe completed and the Code 1 successfully hoisted, all in under 30 minutes... *boom!* and in your faces, White Watch!! Not to be too smug, but we felt pretty good about that. Of course, we then sit back for a moment and ponder the 'now what?' - still reflecting on how incredible it seems to think that just three days or so ago, we were surfing down high rollers of the Mighty Pacific and now we are back to sailing and trimming in much more regular conditions.
Skipper Dave always has a plan though and doesn't like to see any idle hands (not that there were any, of course) and makes the suggestion that as conditions are fairly calm, now would be a good time to go up the mast and retrieve the Starboard Staysail Halyard that went 'rogue' on the initial hoisting effort of the Storm Sail a few days ago; i.e., it got detached and whizzed up to the top. Good idea, we all agree and look around for the crew member in the Pants of Power. Ahhhhh, that would be me then... eek! Not going to lie, my initial reaction was to find a reason to take them off and pass them on – but then I paused and reflected on it. Why not stretch myself and push my comfort levels? After everything else I have been through on this adventure so far, I am learning that you get much more out of this the more you put in – even/especially if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing! I also implicitly trust and believe in my fellow Crew who get me harnessed up with all the ropes and safety gear; who are on the grinders winching me up and those on the deck watching me swing about and join in with the wincing as I clatter against the mast on the way up. Nearly 100 feet up... (sorry Mum!); quite the height and feeling like quite the pendulum by the time I reached the top spreader which is where the halyard was located. This was far removed from my previous experience up the mast on a moored boat in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, some 18 months ago during training!
Anyway, I did it – I am glad I did and proud that I did it, I could have wimped out and no-one would have judged me but I pushed myself that extra percent and gave it a go to do my bit. Of course, it was nothing all that special really in the day-to-day scheme of things and once I've clambered out of my hoisting lines, etc. to re-join the rest of the Watch, they have already moved onto their next tasks and mid-discussion on the question of 'What would a good Sunday look like for you in 'real' life?'... Oh well, inside I was giving myself a pat on the back! And, before long – that's it, our 4-hour Watch is done and we are below deck from midnight, in time for supper.
On reflection, that's not much of a tale really – just another Watch passing onboard GREAT Britain – but I wanted to mention it. A small insight as to some of what we get up to, plus how far I have come in confidence and ability – which is all down to the supportive and collaborative mentality on this boat. Yes, it has got us through a Phenomenal Storm recently (has that been mentioned, maybe?!) but it also gets us through the day-to-day running of this boat, keeping her ticking over on all fronts and keeping us altogether.
Okay, I am done – thank you for reading (if you got this far, hah!) and as ever, always a huge thanks for the wonderful emails and support from our GREAT Britain family, friends and mega-supporters who keep our spirits lifted on a daily basis. For those of you coming to find us in Seattle, we are hustling along and counting down until we see you!
Much love, BEANIE xx
“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” - Hugh Laurie