Msit No’Kmaq: All My Relations Warrior Update August 9th 2017

Morning Report from the Warriors of Red Road at Sea on the Gulden Leeuw:  August 9th

Good morning! The ocean is still blue. Yesterday was a very interesting day, as we shifted our watch hours for the first time.The switch marked the completion of one third of the trip. The wind slowed down, so it was the first time in a couple days that we could make coffee, stand up straight, and shower.

We learned more about the positions of the ropes on the blocks, and about tacking and jibing from the captain. Last night during one of our night watches the tack broke and Peder had to go aloft to tie a new rope.

Today we are celebrating Jaden’s 18th birthday!

The whole boat, except the captain, started a ship wide game. We have to hand an object to someone at a specific place to eliminate them, and the whole boat has grown suspicious of their friends. Don’t worry, the game is paused when we are on watch so we should still make it to France.

We are all very excited for our laundry day, I’ve only got one more clean pair of undies…

Rosalie and Denzel

 

 

 

 

 

Update on the Trip

POSITION: 49 16 N / 44 19 W

COURSE: NE

DIST TRAVELLED LAST 24H: 109 NM

TOTAL DIST TRAVELLED THIS VOYAGE: 1007 NM

AIR TEMP: 14 C

SEA STATE: small waves

WIND FORCE BEAUFORT: 3

SAILS CARRIED: Flying jib, Outer jib, inner jib, Course, Lower topsail, Upper topsail, Top Gallant, Main stay sail, Main top stay sail, Main sail, Main topsail, Mizzen sail, Mizzen topsail.

From the Professional Crew of the Gulden Leeuw

Anna Gudarowska
Aug 8th 2017

Foggy days on the Atlantic

The past couple of days have been mildly busy. Yesterday a lot of heeling brought back some sea sickness. Most people haven’t slept so well and everybody but the 0800 watch have started to skip breakfast. It was quite cold, with slight drizzle and lots of fog. To make the sorrow complete, the coffee maker decided it didn’t like the heeling either and gave out just before breakfast.

Thankfully the day got a bit bright as the time went on, we even got some sunshine there by the end! Alejandro gave us a presentation about dolphins and whales which we might see along the way. What better way to finish a cold and busy day.

Today the spirits have lifted a lot. We’ve sailed a decent distance in the night. That news, along with beautiful sunshine, greeted us at breakfast – as well as some long-awaited coffee. As the day went on a thick fog came upon us, covering most of the world in milky whiteness. We put up the course sail (all of the other ones are already up). Afterwards I took the trainees who were on watch to the foredeck in order to go over the ropes once again. Although some of the participants still get lost a little bit, with every time we do some Sail Training, more is starting to sink in. Some people are starting to understand the lines and their functions. Others are asking insightful questions about the direction of the wind and trimming. For some answers we have to search together in the trainee booklet or among the more experienced crew, which provides for a nice challenge and keeps me on my toes!

The murder game starts tonight. We distributed little pieces of paper among trainees and crew. Everyone got a name, a place on the Ship and a “murder weapon” which they will use to eliminate their target. One person has to make another hold a sleeping bag next to the bosun’s locker – that’s going to prove interesting for sure. Everybody is excited. Hopefully the game will last for days.

The third of our journey has passed and so we are changing the watch times. On such a long trip everybody gets to try each watch. Only the trainees change times though, which means that “my” watch will now be someone else’s. It will be sad as we’ve grown attached to each other but it will give them the opportunity to gain more varied experience. Of course, it will also be fun to work with different people, and a nice new challenge for all of us.