We are sailing!

23 November 2013

Jimbo (from New York City):
“Hello to all our families and friends from all of us on the good ship schooner ‘Oosterschelde’.
We are sailing, we are sailing!
Across the wide Pacific Ocean!
Morning, noon, afternoon and night!
It’s beautiful! The ocean is majestic, powerful, fearsome, overpowering, humbling, spectacular! There is great joy in sailing safely on the deep blue!
Only sunrises and sunsets (and dark clouds) take one’s eyes away from the ocean’s everchanging tapestry of waves.
Morning
Force 6-7 Bft. swells 3-4 meters. Skies clearing. Captain’s course is working. We have avoided rougher seas and weather, letting them pass us and then staying behind the low system close enough to follow the wind. “No real sailor wants bad weather when at sea!”. We are more than halfway to Cape Horn and all is well!
Noon
I love rock n’ roll! The swells continue to rock us like baby’s in a cradle. 20-30 degree heeling. It’s all good! Occasionally, a big wave crashes on deck. Hatches are covered to keep water out. Quiet reading, competent crewing, ship’s work, still goes on. Cook is cooking, soup’s on in Job’s kitchen and fresh coffee will soon be brewing. Watches will change today at 8 pm. We will work in new teams, new personalities to blend and sail with. It’s great to have such a variety of intelligent, competent, and accomplished shipmates on board. It is a privilege to share this big sail with them. Lunch at 13:30 has magically become 14:30! We have crossed enough longitude again to make the sun rise and set at the correct time! New watches and new time! No worries, mates!
Afternoon
16:15. Woody gave us a talk about his travels in Africa and more specifically, a slide show of his scuba diving tours (hello Anitra!). We saw pictures from his Mozambique guided tour, including a safari tour in Kruger National Park. Leopards, elephants, rhinos on land; Manta rays, whalesharks and colorful fish and one big lipped Grouper in the sea!
At approximately 17:50 from approx. 52 degrees 12’ South Latitude and approx. 118 degrees 51’ West Longitude, Captain Arian gave a short speech and tossed our ‘message in a bottle’ into the sea! He spoke how nice it would be if someone finds the bottle and we have emails from them by the time we get to the Falkland Islands! It is now 18:45 ship’s time. Dinner is approaching! Hungry mouths for Job our cook to feed! Good chow, mates!
Night
Dinner over; dishes done. New watches coordinated. Winds decreasing. Jana and Arno, cremates, take down the storm jib in the darkness of night! A tough job in daytime let alone on a cold and windy night! Up goes the regular inner jib. This keeps us busy and evening watch is over before we know it! It’s midnight and time to go to sleep.
So, morning, noon and night, we sail! It’s awesome! We are sailors!!!
Love and best wishes to everyone!”