Dish soap and Bilges

When Jesse woke me up at 8 I was yelling in my head “nooooo!” I had finally settled into a deep sleep, most of the night I had tossed and turned. Breakfast, chores and then work part. As the 12 to 4 we clean the heads and sweep and mop the tween and then on watch we do lunch dishes. We also spent awhile looking for dish soap, and sadly it appears that we are out. For work party we got to climb around in the bilge, it’s gross but for whatever reason I think it’s a lot of fun. Pulled up the bilge pump hoses and checked the filter to see if anything was clogging them, most of them just had some hair. In bosuns we saw a brush floating around and in aft crew a water bottle, we couldn’t reach either of them.

Ate lunch and on to watch, the 12 to 4 is not that bad in the afternoon because everyone else is on work party so you end up having to help here and there. Doing lunch dishes was tricky with no soap because we had spaghetti, orange grease everywhere. Only going to be underway for another 4 to 6 days.

Also we are out of potatoes pasta, the only starch we have left is rice and whole-wheat flour. After living in Asia for 7 years I don’t mind eating rice two or three times a day, Cookie might have to get a few ideas from me of what to make.

Action

It was super cold; I had on two jackets, a scarf and my furry hat with earflaps. The moon was also really bright, light up the whole deck. When we got on watch Maisie said they had seen a submarine, Jesses noted some funny lights coming towards them, Maisie called them on the radio and told us they had a German accent. Once the lights were just off the stern they disappeared completely and were no where to be found on radar, that’s when it hit her that it was a submarine.

Other than that watch was cold and dark, I’m use to having both my watches be gradient, sunset and sunrise.

New Watch 12-4

As I’m writing this I’m trying not to fall out of bed, we’re on a starboard tack so we’re listing that way and my bunk is port outboard, once again wedged in my rabbit hole.

I slept in till noon, kept waking up here and there thinking I’d get out of bed and do something, but no. Got up, ate lunch and then hung out with Katie for once, trid to watch a moving but ended up being too tired for that. Started watch at 4, thinking I’d get off at 6, but we took another hour so B watch would then take two hours of C watch’s new watch so they wouldn’t be stuck with 12 hours of watch today.

At the end of watch we furled the fore topgallant, Mitch and John went up first then Katie and I after them, by the time we got up there they were half done and then didn’t want our help.

I now have C watch’s old watch, the 12 to 4, I don’t think I’ll like it too much. Will be dark the whole time, so the only good thing is lots of stars and then in the afternoon have shortened work party and I would imagine it seems to go faster because everyone else has work party then.

Mitch, Katie and John hanging at the helm on watch.

John.

Forward look out ice cube

Another really hard night to get some sleep, at least this time I had a lot more space in my rabbit hole for me to curl up in. Katie came and bothered me when she got off her watch, but I was kind of awake anyway. Maisie woke me up this morning and said it was cold and rainy and that layering would be a good idea. Suited up with pants, foulie pants, sweatshirt, foulie jacket and foulie boots. It was only a light sprinkle when we got on deck and we were all “where’s the torrential down pour?” We’d had so much water everyone on our last watch that this was nothing. Before C watch departed we set the fore course because the weather was getting better, it’s really hard to climb in foulie gear.

It was getting really windy and while on bow watch I turned into an ice cube, luckily boat check was next to I grabbed another coat and turned into a marshmallow. I was like that kid from ‘A Christmas Story’ who has so many layers he can’t move his arms, but man was I every toasty warm.

The night was pretty cloudy, but got to see the full moon here and there, it was huge and the moon set was amazing. Huge orange ball slowly setting with strips of clouds here and there.

At some point while I was doing a boat check Peter used the chip log and it was not made fast to the boat so some how it just pulled out over their hands. It being too dark to have a Dutchman really work Peter tried to spot a bit of foam on the water and run down the length of the deck with it, usually it was too fast for him and I don’t think all that accurate.

Around 0630 we got a radio from an air craft carrier number 75 asking what our intentions were and telling us where they were and where they planed to go. After they radioed us we looked for them but couldn’t see then for a long time, then they slowly appeared. By the time B watch took the deck there were three ships all together. After breakfast I came back on deck and there was a fourth, we know there has to be a submarine out there with them some where, just hoping it’ll surface near us.

When Cory said to set the fore topmast staysail I knew that was my queue to get off the deck so I wouldn’t be sucked into helping.

Sadly that was my last 4 to 8 for awhile, we dog today and don’t have work party.

NP1and HAM Radio

I thought I’d never get to sleep but I guess I just passed out.

We didn’t do a MOB drill today, instead we talked about fire, all the different kinds and what we would do. Bounty use to have a lot of fires when they had a different exhaust system, it use to be cooled with water but then that broke down and they had a lot of smoldering fires in the hull. One time they were having a Coast Guard inspection while they were on fire, since they had already been running the fire hose to try and put it out they just did a deck wash, mopped the tweens and had the cook burn some onions.

For work party I got to fill more checks in the mast with NP1, standing on the crinolines is tricky while trying to avoid NP1ing yourself. John and Katie were set to sewing more of the jib, makes me laugh because Katie hates to sew and needs a lot of help. Grant and Mitch were back at caulking the tweens and Michelle was on baggy wrinkle.

After work party we met at the capstan again, usually doesn’t happen but Robin had something to tell us. Apparently there was a rumor, which had never gotten around to me, that we have Internet accesses, and in a way we do. It’s far slower than even dial up, it’s HAM Radio, so if we really wanted to we could send an email, but anyone could read open it and read it, no way of doing it privately. We’re only going to be offshore for about 2 weeks tops at a time because we’re going to so many parts this summer, but last year it was good to have it because they were doing an Atlantic crossing.

Watch started and it was such a change from the previous one, calm seas, no wind and sunshine. We were practically going no where at all, Grant and I tried throwing Dutchmen but they just went forward past the bow and never got to the stern. At one point one did come to the stern, took about a minute and a half, means we were going way less than 1 knt.

When I was on the helm I held it hard to port for the whole half hour, we were trying to get her to turn to East, but she was more like South and South East.

At the end we struck the spanker and the fore course.

Rain Watch

What an interesting night and morning. First off it was really hard to sleep, we were rolling all over the place. I ended up sleeping-ish in my rabbit hole, curled up next to my junk so that nothing would slide around. Still was hard to sleep, all the extra movement and I guess things were louder and it was really hot.

I kept hoping that my watch wouldn’t come, but I was already awake when Jesse came to wake me up. Suited up in all my foul weather gear and proceeded to stand watch for four hours with it raining most of the time.

About and hour into our watch the wind changes around a lot and we have to brace the yards square, Peter got Dan up to help us and make sure we were doing the right thing. It was incredibly difficult and yet a lot of fun, it’s pitch dark, there’s water going everywhere, the ship is moving beneath you trying to throw you off and on top of that I wear glasses so I really couldn’t see. After stumping around finding the right lines to haul or ease we had to coil down so that later no one else would trip. On the fore deck you really get pitched around so you have to really brace yourself up against he rail to get anything done.

I went to go a boat check because I knew one hadn’t been done for about an hour while we were sorting out that mess. While trying to get to the tank room I slid on a puddle on the deck and almost went flying into the line locker, some how I managed to get on my knees and just ran into the baggy wrinkle we had strung up and the jib that was furled there. Made it over to the tank room hatch on my knees, lifted the hatch and had a great struggle to get down there. Went into the galley and shit was everywhere, I almost got clobbered by the quisenart on my way to the forward tank room.

After Grant spent half an hour pumping bilges he said while he was down there wrenches and all kinds or tools were flying at him. And the animals of the day, a flying fish flopped up on deck, Dan was about to keep it to have Cookie cook it, but threw it back over and there was one small bird. Our pigeons disappeared sometime yesterday; if they were nice they would have told us a storm was coming.

One of the reasons why junk keeps flying around is because we’re not on a particular tack so we keep going from one side to the next.

Finally got stood down and we were all wet and sticky. I was peeling off my clothes and I couldn’t get my boots off and it was hilarious to see people walk back and forth and we were all sliding around, I was laughing so hard, Zach was nice enough to yank my boots off for me. While Grant and I were trying to hand our stuff up we had to sit down on the benches and kept sliding into each other.

To the galley for breakfast we went, it was going to be a hot breakfast but the stove was all wet from the rain and apparently that never makes it work well. So cereal it was, but wait there were no spoons because apparently all the silverware decided to attack John and he was getting coffee this morning. I attempted to have milk with my cereal, but even as I was pouring it I knew it wasn’t a great idea. We listed to one side and the milk just stopped pouring itself, so yoghurt on the cereal it was, I sea stowed my cereal so I could actually eat it.

When Brooke came into eat we kept laughing at each other and everything around us because it’s really funny how things work while listing back and forth. Grant had his bowl of cereal and kept moving his hands like a gimbaled table just to eat it, at one point he stopped paying attention and milk slopped out. Zach and Jesse both ate hard boiled eggs, but they couldn’t just set the egg down to put pepper on it cause it would roll away, so they had to have some assistance there was well. So Brooke and I are there laughing practically in tears because it’s so funny and we’re over tired.

Breakfast some what accomplished I wanted to crash and get some sleep, but oh no I was not to have that quite yet. I thought my stuff was pretty well sea stowed, and it was, not much had moved around, just some things got a little damp because of the rain and the 12 foot waves crashing on to the hull. So I spent a good hour putting things back together and reorganizing so hopefully this won’t happen again. Now if only I could get some sleep, curl up in my rabbit hole and not be flung out of my bed.

NP1ing Aloft

I like getting up a little before lunch because then I can mingle a bit with who ever has the deck, checked on the birds and talked to Zach this morning.

Another successful day, had a MOB drill, this time it was different because the weather was worse and the waves splashing a lot more. Then Robin talked about the fourth kind of emergency situation that no one expects, a micro burst, a small storm coming from out of no where and hitting you, we have to be able to put sail away super fast. We talked about how its not only about putting sail away but turning so the wind is aback.

The weather has gotten a lot heavier and we’re listing to port a whole lot, at times it’s like running up hill on the tweens. So we put away the fore and main topgallant that were set this morning. John and Katie took down the jib because it was bent on upside down and Dan told me I had an interesting NP1 job, how interesting could NP1ign get? Well very interesting, I went aloft to the main top and NP1ed the mast, I didn’t finish because it started to rain but there is more below the top, I’ll have to stand on the crinolines.

Watch went by super fast today, after everyone ate it was decided to put away the foretopsail. It wasn’t too bad, as soon as you get on the yard you just swim for sail, grab as much as you can and hold it so it doesn’t whack someone. The yard kept jerking which made it that much more fun, the braces were a little slack. Dan later said that on Niagra her yards don’t have yokes so the whole yard moves from side to side.

I felt like the rest of the watch consisted of me running the chip log and plotting on the charts and then bilges, boat check and dishes. And now it’s starting to rain, I hope it quits in 8 hours so I don’t have to be in the rain too much.

Julio and Me.

Jesse at the helm.

and Brooke.

Peter and his amazing hair.

Plotting

Watch seemed really busy because I kept taking Dutchman readings and plotting points on the chart.

To find out where you are you have to know how many knots you’re going. To take a Dutchman you throw something over like cardboard and time it from bow to stern or use a chip log. Multiply the seconds by 3 and line up a few things on a dial to find the knots. Then you have to do some other calculations based on what direction you’ve been steering for the past hour, each compass point corresponds with a number. True Virgins Make Dull Company or Time Variation Magnetic Deviation Compass.

There was also a pigeon found on B watch and on C watch Masie named it Julio. At the end of our watch another pigeon arrived and we named it Me, Julio and Me. We also kept an eye out for a tower that we knew me might be close enough to see, when we spotted it more readings were taken, visually, radar and celestial.

Breaking the fore topgallant mast

Did yet another drill for MOB, this time there was more of a focus on B watch and what they would have to do with the weather conditions we currently had. Deciding on what to brace where and what lines to put slack in and such.

After that we ran through another drill of parade tacking, smoothly moving all the sails to one side or the other. I understand bracing the yards and that on some you have to cast the gear so nothing pops and I understand how to move a staysail. The head rig I don’t get as much, and since we did everything all at once it was more confusing, also both courses were set and they have sheet and tacks that are in odd places that I don’t fully understand yet.

C watch went back to their watch and the rest of us moved the topgallant mast from the channel inboard to the deck because we’re going to try and fix it. Robin talked about it for a bit asking if we thought we could fix it, would it be worth it and would it work, and yes it will. The best part of it all was when we actually broke the mast in half, tied the gantline near the royal sheave, hauled away on it a little until it lifted and cracked some more. Then Dan just pushed it over and crack the whole thing in half, it was awesome.

Right before my watch started John stopped some kind of porpoise, they were dolphin sized, really dark and had a rounder nose, there were at least 5 of them. Then after my watch had started and B watch was up on the main course furling they stopped a fin that might have been a shark.

We spotted a few other cool ships during our watch as well, some kind of oil city, was on the horizon, never really figured out what it was, a big cargo ship and lastly a ship doing sonar for the Navy, they radioed us and check our position to make sure we weren’t going to head their way.

We have dinner dishes at night and we never seem to be able to actually finish them during watch, but for the past two days Michelle hasn’t been feeling so well and we let her have bow watch most of the watch.

Dan and John.

John, Dan and Cory.

Dan finally cracking the mast in half.

Robin and Dan talking about mast repair.

Night Furling

Katie decided to come in and bother me when she got off watch at midnight, told me that we’ll be furling on my watch to get practice in the rig at night. Zach came and woke up A watch early so that we could furl with C watch, before he said anything I was really dead to the world. He always calls me Carolyn which is funny cause everyone else calls me Caz.

Went aloft to furl the fore topsail, the moon was big and bright giving us lots of light, we had some trouble with the dog ear but other than that it went well. Watch was uneventful, the tack had already been change, saw two tankers and went from steering SW to NW. I manned the house again for deck wash and slipped three times, once Dan was there to catch me and later I proceeded to get him kind of wet, oops.

A few other things that happened on the two other watches that we heard about, tried to set the main course but when the topsail was bent on a sheet was lead the wrong way. B watch had a cruise ship politely ask to over take them and someone is putting a locking hitch on the pins then they first belay them.

B watch is on deck, C watch has work party and A watch has nap time.

Sail Traning

Another amazing day, got up at about 1030, couldn’t sleep more than that, went on deck, for awhile and hung out with Katie while she was on watch. Had lunch and then on to work party, but it wasn’t our usual thing, we got sail training. We also had another man overboard drill after lunch and I think things went a little smoother.

Went over a lot of the things we had gone over before, but repetition always helps. Shook out the foretop, set, struck and furled. We had some issues with setting it, a leech got caught and only the port side was going up when the halyard was hauled and a footrope was about to get caught but Grant cleared it. Then struck and set the jib, fore staysail and spanker.

And again for the 4 to 8 afternoon watch, everything went smoothly, had dinner on deck, Katie hung around for awhile and then Mitchell came on deck and talked with us while we ate. Michelle felt sick for most of it so Grant and I ended up doing most of the galley things, but that’s no problem.

Haven’t seen any other boats all day, just some flying fish and birds.

Grant and Katie.

Brooke coiling down.

Jesse splicing.

Dawn Watch

The dawn watch was great, pretty calm mostly; it had just been raining awhile so we were told to have our foulies. Ended up not needing them except for the warmth and the boots for deck wash in the morning. It was a calm night, only saw a cruise ship, the wind kept shifting so the helm was a bit all over. Spent most of the night heading NE now heading due North. As we started deck wash a few birds appeared, grey, yellow and turquoise. Got to eat breakfast and now its time for more sleep.

Leaving the Nut

Today had been a long day, so long that it feels like it should be the next day already.

Turn to at 0715, readied the boat leave Peanut Island for the last time. Along with the usual removal of dock lines we also had to pick up heavy D and take the anchor line that were not our anchors and tie them to the dock. I got to go in the small boat with John and deal with the anchor lines; it was great to see Bounty come off the dock instead of watching the dock go away. John and I then went around tot the starboard side, tossed the bow line up to Dan on the fore deck and motor back to midships by the davits. Climbed up and then the small boat was hauled up on the falls. We then moved the whaler forward of the forward house and put the inflatable on the davits.

Got to the fuel dock, took awhile to fuel up and while doing that there was plenty else going on like stowing things and lashing other things down. Finally got under way around 1130, had the engines on while we started to loosen sail. We set the jib, fore staysail, fore course, main staysail, main topsail and mizzen staysail. This is the maximum sails that we should set in not so calm weather because we are still a pretty green crew. It took us a few tries to get everything set nicely because we’re new and a few things were not led right and things haven’t been set in awhile.

On our way out of the harbor some boats flowed us, saw a sea turtle, got farther out and Grant said he swore he heard someone say “arr,” waited a minute and the boat came along side us. Called out more piratey stuff, but we just ignored it all.

After lunch we had a long capstan meeting, not only about how things work on the ship and what we will be doing but also about MOB, Man Over Board drills. A few of the things Robin commented on were about trash, everything goes overboard except plastic, we have a slops bucket in the galley for food and things can go over as long as if you were in a small boat and ran it over it wouldn’t bother you. He also said that some of us were here for the money and others not, we all laughed at that because who would do this for the little wages and not love it.

MOB, a very serious matter, we’ll be doing a lot of drills. A watch’s job is to get the small boat in the water and then help B watch. B watch takes charge of the boat, takes over the helm and braces the yards to stop boat. C watch is all about the pointing, their job is to make sure they keep their eye on the person overboard and point with their whole arm.

We finally were stood down and I had about 40 minutes till my watch. We ended up helping do chores that hadn’t gotten done because we’d been so busy.

A watch has the 4 to 8, we started our rotations, helm, bow watch, boat check, repeat. I had a hard time on the helm the first time around, you always follow your heading on the compass and I don’t know all the exact names for the points yet. Bow watch is good, lots of looking around, stopping boats and reporting it back to the mate, also ringing the bell every hour and half hour. Boat check is my favorite spot so far only because it’s so familiar and it goes by the quickest, we are really keeping an eye on things to see if they need to be sea stowed more. We also eat dinner on watch, take a plate up on deck and carry on.

Once my brain settled down from all the excitement my first thoughts were about how much the boat has seem to shrunk. It’s not only because of all the extra things on deck, heavy D, the brows and the whaler but more so mentally. You can’t get off the boat at all, you can’t really ever be alone and I’m use to the idea of land being space, water is empty.

The person who does the first boat check on the last hour of your watch pumps bilges and then at 20 after does wake ups for the next watch. My last station for watch was the bow and I saw about 6 dolphins ridding along side us.

So far I’ve liked the 4 to 8 watch, I’ll get to sleep now, woken up at 0320, have 4 hour watch, eat breakfast, go to sleep, woken up, eat lunch, work party, watch, repeat. As Dan said it’s like eating two meals at once because you get to sleep in between.

I have a lot more ahead of me, but so far it’s been a really amazing day.

Leaving the Nut

Today had been a long day, so long that it feels like it should be the next day already.

Turn to at 0715, readied the boat leave Peanut Island for the last time. Along with the usual removal of dock lines we also had to pick up heavy D and take the anchor line that were not our anchors and tie them to the dock. I got to go in the small boat with John and deal with the anchor lines; it was great to see Bounty come off the dock instead of watching the dock go away. John and I then went around tot the starboard side, tossed the bow line up to Dan on the fore deck and motor back to midships by the davits. Climbed up and then the small boat was hauled up on the falls. We then moved the whaler forward of the forward house and put the inflatable on the davits.

Got to the fuel dock, took awhile to fuel up and while doing that there was plenty else going on like stowing things and lashing other things down. Finally got under way around 1130, had the engines on while we started to loosen sail. We set the jib, fore staysail, fore course, main staysail, main topsail and mizzen staysail. This is the maximum sails that we should set in not so calm weather because we are still a pretty green crew. It took us a few tries to get everything set nicely because we’re new and a few things were not led right and things haven’t been set in awhile.

On our way out of the harbor some boats flowed us, saw a sea turtle, got farther out and Grant said he swore he heard someone say “arr,” waited a minute and the boat came along side us. Called out more piratey stuff, but we just ignored it all.

After lunch we had a long capstan meeting, not only about how things work on the ship and what we will be doing but also about MOB, Man Over Board drills. A few of the things Robin commented on were about trash, everything goes overboard except plastic, we have a slops bucket in the galley for food and things can go over as long as if you were in a small boat and ran it over it wouldn’t bother you. He also said that some of us were here for the money and others not, we all laughed at that because who would do this for the little wages and not love it.

MOB, a very serious matter, we’ll be doing a lot of drills. A watch’s job is to get the small boat in the water and then help B watch. B watch takes charge of the boat, takes over the helm and braces the yards to stop boat. C watch is all about the pointing, their job is to make sure they keep their eye on the person overboard and point with their whole arm.

We finally were stood down and I had about 40 minutes till my watch. We ended up helping do chores that hadn’t gotten done because we’d been so busy.

A watch has the 4 to 8, we started our rotations, helm, bow watch, boat check, repeat. I had a hard time on the helm the first time around, you always follow your heading on the compass and I don’t know all the exact names for the points yet. Bow watch is good, lots of looking around, stopping boats and reporting it back to the mate, also ringing the bell every hour and half hour. Boat check is my favorite spot so far only because it’s so familiar and it goes by the quickest, we are really keeping an eye on things to see if they need to be sea stowed more. We also eat dinner on watch, take a plate up on deck and carry on.

Once my brain settled down from all the excitement my first thoughts were about how much the boat has seem to shrunk. It’s not only because of all the extra things on deck, heavy D, the brows and the whaler but more so mentally. You can’t get off the boat at all, you can’t really ever be alone and I’m use to the idea of land being space, water is empty.

The person who does the first boat check on the last hour of your watch pumps bilges and then at 20 after does wake ups for the next watch. My last station for watch was the bow and I saw about 6 dolphins ridding along side us.

So far I’ve liked the 4 to 8 watch, I’ll get to sleep now, woken up at 0320, have 4 hour watch, eat breakfast, go to sleep, woken up, eat lunch, work party, watch, repeat. As Dan said it’s like eating two meals at once because you get to sleep in between.

I have a lot more ahead of me, but so far it’s been a really amazing day.

Before we leave

A really busy day. It was nice to be aloft the whole day with Brooke, we finally got to finish tensioning the lanyards on the main top and then tightened the main stays on the fore. John, Cory and Jesse were in and out of the rig, everyone else was sea stowing, lashing down cannons, wedging things in corners, putting lanyards on things and such like.

We had a few big tours today of school kids and then a few small ones that tour guides really wanted to let them on, was distracting. Cookie provisioned a whole lot, got some great looking food. Katie made a lot of trips in the small boat today.

Robin also arrived around 1700.

Drill and Main top

We all know everyone’s favorite way to wake up is to a blaring alarm, that’s how we got to start our day. The general alarm went off at about 0645 with Peter yelling down in aft crew, “Abandon ship!” Scrambled out of bed, ran up on deck, shoved ourselves into the gumby emersion suits, threw on a life jacket and went aft to the life rafts to our port or starboard groups. We did the drill in 4 minutes, not bad for everyone having been dead asleep.

Those of us who haven’t done SCTW had to jump in; legs and arms crossed and over the side we went. It was actually a lot of fun, we made a raft and then a chain and swam around the boat, the suits actually keep you really dry, only faces and hair got wet.

In the morning Grant and I finished the forward port pin rail stanchions, got to put really shiny copper tops on them. In the afternoon Katie and I painted all the slats from the main top, it was annoying to get them down and then had to scuff, prime and paint them all. They still need another coat and grit.

There was also another mousing party on the main and mizzen, every shackle has been moused now. Turn buckles got covered and the cross tree on the main got put up. We worked about two hours over, but I’m sure tomorrow will be another long day.

We leave on Thursday!

Grant, Cory and Dan on the main top.

Drying the canvas awning.

Surly Zach.

Last day off

Our last day off in West Palm Beach, went to Paris for the last time and they have us free dessert crepes again. Wandered around and then went to Walgreens to pick up a few last minute things.

More Pirates

Another day filled with pirates. I ended up having to give two tours because it was really busy, so did Peter and Mitch who arrived in the morning. When Jesse brought out the flying jib to bend it on he noticed it wasn’t in great shape, sadly it was put away wet so the canvas rotted, you could easily poke your finger through the fabric. Jesse and Brook then spent some time cutting I it up and keeping all the decent pieces, Jesse convinced Dan to let us keep it for personal projects. I’ve been asked to make a hat and shorts; I think I’ll make myself some kind of fitted top.

We did fire off the cannons again and at the end of the day had to haul the big brass cannon off the ship.

Cory showing Brooke how to balentine.

John, Dan and Jesse lowering the brass cannon.

Jibs and Cannons

A very bright and sunny Saturday, we did a really good cleaning of the deck and the tweens this morning. On the tweens we put the two royal yards back up lashed to the over hang, moved a lot of the trash and other junk that had been there for weeks. We also finally got new crew shirts, that fit! They are a different green from the old ones and say “HMS Bounty 50 years of history” on the front.

We hauled a 500 pound bronze cannon on board and then busted up the main topgallant and topsail. A lot of work was done on the foredeck today because that’s the only space we really had to move about because we had so many tours with the pirate festival going on. I put the last hank on the jib and then we tried setting her, there were a few other things that needed to be re lead, like the sheets and to actually lash her to the stay.

After lunch we finished up rigging the jib and Katie, Grant, Michelle, Peter and Maisie all went below with the cannon guy and learned about charges and made 15 of them. At 2 when Lynx left we fired at her, as well as on the way back in. At the end Michelle, Grant, Katie and I were all made official gunners by Lawrence, the cannon guy, he got the nasty washing swab and dabbed it on our cheeks.

John finishing and eye splice in manila for the bronze cannon.

Michelle, Brooke, Grant and Katie worming the cannons.

John, Dan and Jesse staring at the stanchion.

Dan cutting wood for the main cross tree top.

Lynx approaching.

Michelle, Brooke, Peter and Maisie looking at bucket of wash water.

Maisie in pirate wig and hat.

Climbing out to flake the jib.

Katie, Grant, Michelle and Brooke flaking the jib.

Peter firing off a gun to announce Lynx's approach.

Nigel and Lawrence next to the bronze cannon.

Loading.

About to be swabbed.

hehe Grant's face.

Eew.

Furl Practice and Main Top

Deck wash was a little out of the ordinary today because A watch handled the hose, Grant, Michelle and I. At the end of the wash we closed the hose so no water came out and dragged the charged hose all the way to bosuns, down through the main hatch, through the galley and down the ladder. We also did it all crouched down as if there really was a fire, yay for the A action watch.

This morning we did some practice set and furl of sails. We went over the whole processes, going aloft to un gasket the sail, casting the gear, sheet home and then hauling on the halyard. To strike sail you do about the opposite, ease the halyard, haul on the clew and gear. We did the fore topgallant and topsail, I helped furl both of them.

Ryan left shortly after that, he was here a over a month, really great volunteer, we all really loved him. He’s going to go be bosun on the Denis Sullaven so we should see him in at least the first three ports of the tour this summer.

B watch went and learned a Williamson turn in the small boat.

Brooke, Jesse and I went aloft again to finish off the tightening the shrouds on the top that we has started yesterday, everyone else was in the head rig finishing off putting the jibs up. Jesse is really strong, far to strong in some cases, Brooke and I had a go at tightening and then Jesse came along to check them, then there was a thunk, we looked around, everything seemed okay so he went on to another come along. This time there was an even louder deeper thud, we checked more closely this time, Jesse broke the after most cross tree on the main top.

The rest of the day was spent fixing that, only problem was that there were a lot of tours going on then, we couldn’t shut that down or have them go around so the flying jib was set up under the top as a net to catch anything.

Sadly I wasn’t there to see most of the processes because Brooke, Peter and I had to go for a drug test, everyone loves to pee in a cup. On the way back Cory taught us the Williamson turn in the small boat, it’s a way of turning the boat around in a man over board drill so that you end up coming right at them.

The broken crosstree from the main top came down smoothly at the end of the day, we don’t have the best wood to replace it, but we have something good enough.

Flying jib to catch anything.

Jesse and John on the top.

Lowering the cross tree.

Cory and Dan pulling it down.