We had a lot to do this morning before we could actually leave the dock. First we had to talk about how to leave because we only had one engine working, it was decided that we were going to sail off the dock, not done a lot. We had to haul in the anchor, put the other two on buoys and haul the line to the dock. The starboard bow anchor brought up on the windless was flaked by Grant and I hosed off the chain as it came in to remove some mud and gunk. The starboard aft anchor line was dropped down to Katie, Brooke and Kat in the small boat, as we were starting to ease the line Kat was all “this is a shit show.” It was hard because they are trying to hold on to a line that has an anchor at the end and then tie buoys on to it. The other brow was brought in, Katie took off the dock lines and we hauled them in and coiled them. Katie came over in the small boat and we brought that up as well.
We didn’t leave the dock until we saw trident marine showing up, that was our whole point for getting off the dock, they were coming to fix out dolphins while the put in the rest of the ones for the Lynx, which will be here Wednesday.
Before we left the dock we went aloft and shook out the fore topsail so when we first went out that was set and we could have the wind behind us and actually sail off the dock. Some how I managed to be stuck on the helm, that was fun. Peter was there showing me a few things because I would not really have had much of an idea of where we were going.
After we were of Lake Worth we decided to set the fore topgallant, I was stuck on the helm so I couldn’t go aloft when the rest of them did, but I got a chance later. We also hauled on the braces so we could actually have the wind working for us. Also at some point we set the spanker.
We were out for awhile before some people started feeling sea sick. Brooke and Kat just felt sick while Peter actually was sick, he was down in the engine room fiddling with the engine so he felt a lot of the rolls.
Cliff was a really big help today, he knows so much and we all liked the way he teaches.
I was on duty today so I did a bit more running around and tried to get some dishes done, but wanted to be up on deck. At one point when I was heading back into the galley during a boat check a bowl came flying out of the rack and almost attacked me. We also did boat checks every half hour, checking all compartments as usual.
So at one point we were just sailing along and didn’t have anything in particular to do, so we decided to chuck the nasty 2-year-old expired mayo, ranch dressing and salsa over the side. Gross, but really fun, it made people want to be sick all over again.
Finally we started to head back in. Hauled up on the topgallant, went aloft to furl it quickly and that was interesting. You can feel every inch of the boat moving below you, wind is blowing at your back yet from all over, the shrouds are giggling and jerking all over the place. It was really hard to hold on and at times your feet would be kicked out from under you. So you finally get to the yard, get yourself on the footrope, clipped in and then hold on for dear life while this giant piece of canvas is flapping all over your head. Then we furled the topsail in a very messy fashion, but at least got it secure so that it won’t be ripped to shreds or make us go in the wrong direction. Brooke and I were furl buddies, we worked well together and knew what each other needed when.
Then we some how got to the dock and had to get our dock lines ready. Move them to the right location, feed them through the stanchions, around anything in the way and back up the cap rail. Then we set out heaving lines and coiled them and waited. It took a few tries to get us close enough to where we were confident that we could make it.
Set anchor lines, added more dock lines, attached shore power and coiled the lines.
We also received some mail! I got a birthday card from the family, Ashley sent me a watch, so perfect because I don’t have one and was always bothering people of what time it was. And I got a necklace that my mom ordered for me, it’s a Dutch painting of a ship on a tile.
I found Katie digging through some bags of clothing, Sveta said she could go through them to find some warmer things, we all ended up going through them, I got a sweater, a jacket, a wind breaker and a t-shirt.
Sveta called me a sweetheart and asked if I thought I’d made a good ship mate, I said I would because I was kind of quiet and I was tidy, she said I was good because of all the treats I bake.
A really long day, but learned so much and I’m still on duty so I have to sleep on the tween. I even found a cut on my knee and I don’t remember getting it at all and my abs really hurt, I used my whole core when pulling on the lines.
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