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It was a fine day when I woke up, very warm, and everybody was in a good mood.
Our current location is near Kagoshima in southern Japan. You can see the islands, mountains and the main island of Japan not far away. The boat floats in the Osumi Strait...because there is basically no wind...it's another day of kite flying...
I planned to go to the stern of the boat to find a place to put the GoPro, but the skipper grabbed me to help clear the seaweed. The skipper was lying on the stern of the boat, leaning his upper body out of the boat, ready to grab the seaweed. Xiao Wang (Zac) helped press his legs, and I was responsible for holding the bow stick and reaching into the sea to clear the seaweed. Because the boat was moving, the pole was constantly being pushed by the current, and the seaweed was swinging back and forth. It took a while to catch it all. In just ten minutes, we were all so tired that we were breathing heavily and sweating.
I flew the kite for a while and then went to the front deck to pick the seaweed hanging on the spinnaker Code 2 rope. On a windless day, it feels like every little bit of resistance is particularly annoying. Because it is close to the land, everyone takes out their mobile phones to take pictures.
I ate Fritata again at noon, and I ate instant noodles with ham sausage after my watch, because the weather has been calm these past few days, my appetite seemed to be slowly recovering, but I still don’t eat much. On one hand, it may be that I have eaten very little recently and my appetite has become smaller. On the other hand, I dare not eat more because going to the toilet on the boat gives me a headache.
When I woke up, I looked out the portlight near the bed and saw light rain falling outside. The temperature is still very warm, slightly cooler than in the morning. Everyone on the deck was ready to replace the spinnaker and hoist Yankee1 and staysail. I put on my gear and was getting ready to go up, but ended up having to help tie the spinnaker down below. This is one of the things I dislike a lot about being on a boat. Because in a closed space, the eyes are always staring at one place, coupled with the red lights in the cabin, accompanied by the gentle swaying from the sea, it is simply a prelude to seasickness. After I helped arrange the position of the spinnaker, I had to rush up to get some fresh air. I was sitting in the cockpit, watching people in the cabin eating a steaming dinner, and some people continuing to tie the spinnaker. Everyone was discussing something from time to time, and it was filled with the warm feelings of joy and emotions... Everyone sat quietly on the deck, letting the light rain gradually fall and wet their clothes...
It was darker than usual at this hour because of the rain and fog. Gradually we began to see luminous plankton in the water, floating behind as the waves cut by the boat's hull... Suddenly there were several lights swimming in the water, and someone shouted that they were dolphins! Oh my God! It's really amazing, it's really a dolphin! I saw a dolphin about 1.5 metres long under the white light. They swam with the boat from time to time, and their position could be judged by the white beams of light crossing the water and the sound produced by swimming.
We did several tacks. From calm at the beginning to 8 knots of wind, we overtook two yachts in a row. By the time it reached afternoon, we were still 8.2 nautical miles away from Zhuhai in the front. Hopefully there will be good news when the next shift comes around.
Because we had to gradually adjust to the time difference, we only had to get up after three and a half hours of rest. Plus it was two o'clock in the morning. I really didn't want to think about it... The hull of the boat was basically tilted at more than 45 degrees, and the howling of the wind and the roar of the waves could be heard in the cabin. There was a flapping sound, and the sail had to be reefed as soon as we got on the deck before the shift was over. I helped the grind mainsail halyard, and Dean was responsible for grinding mainsail hoisting lock. After this work-out, our brains suddenly refreshed up...
Currently we are still in the sixth position. Gradually the hull is getting flatter and the wind is getting lighter. It didn’t take long for us to put out the mainsail again. We are now upgraded to Yankee and staysail, and suddenly there was an instruction to gybe from behind. Everyone was a little confused, but they still followed it. Just after tying up the foreguy, the wind has become lighter, and now have decided not to gybe again. At this time, the commands "ease outhaul", "ease Yankee", "grind Yankee", "ease staysail", "tack"... were sent one after another. After a while of manoeuvring, there was no improvement, and another command was sent from behind to raise the spinnaker Code 1. Two baskets of ropes were handed out from the cabin. Everyone was a little tired and usually rested while waiting for instructions. Chris silently arranged the ropes properly. Suddenly, the wind came! The dragon boat glides briskly in the water, and you can clearly see the moonlit water in the distance, showing a shining golden colour. It is in sharp contrast with the surrounding water, and it looks like a stage that is lit for a performance...
It felt like tonight was extremely long. I didn’t know how much time passed like this. In the blink of an eye, I saw Zhuhai and Dare To Lead not far away from us. It is getting daylight now, and just when we are thinking that we can finally get off work and have a good sleep, the first mate jumps out from the console and tells us to raise the spinnaker Code 1. Everyone took action slowly. Some were responsible for delivering the sail to the sail locker, some were responsible for furling the staysail on the deck, some were responsible for sweating the spinnaker rigging, and some were responsible for controlling the halyard... everything was in order.
The clock finally ticked for off-watch. I was sitting on the kitchen sofa eating breakfast. I looked up at the sky outside the cabin. A touch of orange came into view, which became the background colour of my dream.
Good morning, Dragon boat, sweet dreams.