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WE are coming to that point in the voyage when almost everyone, often with the exception of captains, is starting to think about the landfall, the home coming, the future. Just for the record, captains find themselves developing an even keener focus on the weather, the ship, safety and details – as they are faced with two sharp realities: one, landfalls require a level of attention that far exceeds what one has been used to in the open ocean – things like fog, weather, shipping traffic, a new country with all it’s rules and regulations (that can sneak up on you when you least expect it – Halifax!), coastlines and being in a place where the bottom is less that a thousand feet beneath the keel…., and just as all of this is starting, your crew is thinking about what? Showers, ice cream, their next adventure, home, a good night’s sleep…..
So – the entries the students are posting today – run the gambit. From Saphra’s eternal cry for England – and her commentary that we should be motoring all the way there – where she thinks the unlimited fuel is – I dunno… To Seth’s call for everyone to take action – we are staring to hear the honesty, the camaraderie, the sinews and connections to what this voyage may mean for each of the students and the staff. Some students have told us about the environmental work they want to become more active in… Others some social causes – battered women, AIDS, children of war…. Each of the sudents is now writing a letter to their future selves – giving themselves some time to reflect on what all they have learned here might mean fro them in the future…. Each has come to me with a quandary – how can I keep this alive in my life at home… then each has also shared moments of inspiration and conviction. Then there is hair – nails, bathing……. We live in a rather bi-polar world…..
As far as our progress – a topic that might be misconstrued reading some of the student entries today…. After three amazing days sail out of the Azores – we found ourselves almost becalmed. If we had been two weeks earlier in the trip – we would have had to conserve our fuel – for emergencies, for landfalls, for heavy weather avoidance. But now that we have passed into the less than a thousand miles to go phase of the trip – we can begin to use the fuel a bit more generously. So yesterday – we found ourselves sailing at less than 2 knots – and despite Saphra’s commentary on plankton, we took 5 whole minutes and deployed a phytoplankton net which NOAA had been generous enough to donate, in return for which we provide samples from our route so that they can build a random sample set to track the health of the world’s oceans. Thankfully several of us – Erica to note – are thrilled to be able to do this small task – and it is certainly not like the 5 minutes spent watching the phosphorescence burble around the net is delaying our arrival. I can think of a few slow moments on A-watch that could have helped us gallop along …. Hint hint….
So – after half-motoring, and half sailing through the night and morning – we use one engine when we can get something out of the sails – we thought we had a breeze filling in this afternoon. So the stdeunts – also known as the magnificent seven were tasked with setting the square topsail without staff assistance. It took awhile – but it was accomplished – beautifully. All the while – staff and students have taken advantage of this amazing beautiful weather to sand the cap rails, tension the rig, keep the carpentry projects coming to closure and air out a few things that needed it. Many people believe that you take ship’s into port to do maintenance, which is true for certain things like underwater work most of the time, but the other is true as well – really maintaining a ship begi9ns at sea – when the lines start to chafe and the rig loosens up and the paint starts to peel and the deck and soul boards all take on a sailing shape…. And so we work – day and night…. And speaqking of work – Bengineer has had his hands full ever since we left Faial – from heads that just keep acting up, to fan belts on the engines – another reason for our one engine runs yesterday, to a few moments of alarm when the bilge fills up – only to discoer the water tank is emptying into the bilge – a concern of course – but not like THE concern it could be…. We all breathe a sigh of relief – and go back…. To work…. Fixing the tank….. It is never ending….
But to calm all the nerves – Saphra will be happy now – the sea has calmed down enough now for us to use both engines for awhile and see if that will help get us in a better position to sail for Merry Old England….. At 7.3 knots – we should make some good miles tonight. We cannot however – do this all the way there….. If we did keep motoring we would run out of fuel long before the coast of England – and then we would really have to sail. We do not expect this to continue long though as we are watching some weather to our west – it looks like we will have lots more speed under sail in not too long. What a way to arrive in England…..
And for all of this pining and looking for land – we had the most spectacular sunset – the ship rolling gently in a calm sea – no engines – only the sound of the sails and the breathe of a whale visiting us 20 feet away….. Here’s to the White Cliffs of Dover (and Falmouth for fuel…..)
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