Even At Sea -
December
12, 2001
Life has begun to settle into a routine here in the Atlantic. A week
out and about a week to go we have found our daily patterns and roles
aboard
our little ship. And Baggywrinkle has found her own groove, bounding
over the waves, and pushing ahead one nautical mile at a time.
Each
day blends into the next for we are on a watch schedule of three hours
on, six hours off. This means that even the nights are broken up with
watches, but the watches rotate and every third night one lucky soul gets
to sleep from midnight to six in the morn.
But,
each day is also unique. There are constant chores to be done even at
sea. The boat takes a pounding off shore (one person told me that two
weeks at sea is equivalent to 3 seasons of coastal sailing). Looking after
the ever present leaks or fixing the bits that break while underway takes
up part of the day. Deciding what we're going to have for lunch and dinner
becomes a big question. And each day at 3 we have a chat on the Sideband
Radio to Herb, the weather guru, about what to expect that day and the
next in terms of wind and waves.
Often
the days are marked with special events, such as the spotting of a whale.
Two days ago we were sailing along and Sam spotted a fin whale not
60
feet off of our beam. We all jumped up on deck while he continued to
point and yell "Whale, Whale, Whale." It spouted into the
air as we passed by and we could see it's massive shape just below
the deep blue.
It was quite an amazing experience.
Later
that evening we saw what we believed to be the space shuttle shooting
into the sky just after sunset. It was from the right direction of Florida,
but we found by listening to the news (we receive some AM stations even
out here) that the shuttle had launched the day before. Perhaps, it was
a missile or satellite launch. Whatever it was it left beautifully colored
contrails against the dusk sky.
The
next day was demarcated with fresh water showers. No sooner had a squall
been sighted on the horizon than we all stripped off our clothes, grabbed
towels and broke out the soap and shampoo. The rain did arrive, but was
less than we had hoped, and we had to resort to using a little of our
own fresh water to rinse the suds out of our hair.
Hanukkah
began a couple nights ago, and I brought along a little menorah just for
the occasion. After sundown we lit the candles and sitting in the cockpit
opened the present my mother had packed away for us. It is strange to
bring the normal elements of everyday life into this environment. But,
that is what happens as life at a 45 degree slant becomes normal.
Ben
Shaw
|
|
