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Today was probably the BEST day on board so far: it was a day of navigation, reading, showers, music and one very strange experience.
After daily chores in the morning the Captain suggested that we get off the boat, get some exercise and run off the frustration of our delayed departure, so Nadia, Erica, Kent and I went for a jog around the small and foggy Sambro Harbour. I could have run for days. Even though on board you move around a lot, lifting and hauling, there isn’t a lot of space. We saw the sights of the fisherman’s boats, the spaced out houses with their many garden ornaments and the tiny church overlooking the sea. It’s all so small. The whole community, at least twice round has come to visit the Amistad over the past five days. All the locals are really nice; people have been offering supplies, showers and a couple even baked up some homemade muffins, scones and jam for us all. The feel of this place is so different to our time in Newport or when we were in London. Being part of the city folk, I’ve never seen a reaction or place like this. People were just coming on board and talking to us like we were already part of the community. Everyone seems to know everyone. I guess that has its pros and cons but its interesting to see.
One part of the day that cannot be left untold is Lou. Lou, Lou, Lou…where to start? Some of the crew met him on the dock and he invited all of us to his museum. It was just across the harbor from where we were and it consisted of two barns full of 40 years worth of collections of his passion: fishing, boats and sea-life. The general odor of dead things and glue was unique but part of the amazing atmosphere. He had a collection of hundreds of hats on the ceiling, photographs of all his family and his catches and his boats, his actual catches on the wall with amusing titles, old Gibson guitars decorated with mussels and a church made out of shells with a community of found starfish inside. To name everything would take hours but it was definitely a collection, definitely unconventional, even eccentric, but definitely wonderful to see.
When we got back we got a chance to read our books and we all began reading ‘An Introduction to Nautical Science’ and started to practice plotting and navigation. It was something I was looking forward to and it was great to start it.
Music was one very prominent part of the day. In between watches with Nadia on banjo and me on guitar, we experimented with composing and it was a lot of fun. After my hot, steamy and luxury shower at the Coast Guards office, I came back to find Erica and Tim had composed a song: ‘My man and the sea.’ I was totally blown away by it and have repeatedly sung it back to myself since. The lyrics, as guessed from the title, speak of a woman torn by the choice between her man and the sea. I’ve started to find out recently how this has seemed to be part of the recurring themes of the songs I’ve heard to do with the sea and sea life. It reminded me of the poem ‘Don’t make me choose’. However, Erica’s song chose the “rolling oceans” before her man in Missouri. I thought that was great for a girl who had never sailed before and spoke of an instant connection. Anyway I thought both the lyrics and music were really thoughtful and really did inspire me.
Sorry that reflection was so long but it was an immense day, one that cannot be forgotten
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