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After you puke the first time, everything improves.
This morning, we left Aberdeen Bay and began our trip to Dakar. After an early breakfast, we all turned to and raised the anchor. Those of you who know my music would have recognized the chanty Cape Cod Girls. “We’re bound for Dakar-oh!”
After motoring for a couple hours, the transition from mill-pond smooth harbor to less-mill-pond-smooth ocean took its toll and I made a dash for the lee rail. Surely, it was the mushroom omelet I had for breakfast and not seasickness. Right?
In the late morning, we set the mainsail, foresail and jib, but continued to motor as we were headed right into the wind. Our watch (the starboard one, consisting of Alvah, Samuel, Sia and me) was dismissed after lunch and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. When we were awakened for dinner, the motors were off and the ship was sailing along full and by, a nice change from the noise and smell of the diesels.
We’re supposed to be sailing due West, but the wind won’t quite allow it, so we’re actually making a course of about 240 degrees. The plan is to run about 200 miles offshore to avoid the pirates (yes, pirates.) and then to turn north and make our run to Senegal before turning East again.
We’re now on a two-watch rotation, which means that we’re all working 12 hours a day, which is kind of confusing as it puts us on a two-day rotation where each day we work rotating shifts of opposite hours.
7:00-1:00
1:00-7:00
7:00-11:00
11:00-3:00
3:00-7:00
This rotation keeps us working alternate watches so that, over a two-day period, everyone is up for all of the watches. I guess it is fair that nobody gets stuck with the midnight watch every time, but it also means that nobody’s body adjusts to a regular 24 hour day, since the rhythm is a 48 hour cycle.
Unfortunately, for Sia, the seasickness has been continuing all day, with regular runs to the rail. She’s in a bad way, but was at least chipper enough (barely) to want to take a trick at the helm at the end of tonight’s watch.
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