Two worlds

26 November 2013

Leo Boersen, on Sunday:
“There are two worlds on board of the ‘Oosterschelde’: above deck and below deck.
Above deck: everyone gathers around the small steering cabin in their heavy suits, boots and with their hoods or southwesterner on their heads. It’s quite cold and there is a slight drizzle. There is a strong Northwestern wind force 7 Bft and waves grow to 6 meters or maybe more. A long swell is growing and Frianco estimates a trough between two wavepeaks is the length of the ‘Oosterschelde’. Everyone in the standing watch finds a place and a stance and more or less stays there, unless something needs to be done. The ships motions, mostly roll, are quite predictable from here and everyone manages more or less to maintain their balance without too much circus tricks.
Below deck: it’s warm, and there is obligatory ballet for everyone.
Footwear: personal choice and widely varying.
Choreography: the Southern Pacific, inspired by Charlie Chaplin, Mr. Bean and penguins.
Music: the rolling of the ship accompanied by the clatter of falling cutlery, plates, glass and everything in the kitchen. Accompanied by the occasional yells or swears.
Since Friday’s report the wind has grown stronger and the sea has grown rougher and it is expected to stay that way for a few days. The sails have been adjusted and only the topsail has been set with the staysail and the schooner sail with a double reef. The speed varies around the 8 knots and the estimation is that we only have 1250 nautical miles to go until we reach the Cape -17:00, November 24th. This would mean we will reach Cape Horn in seven or eight days, on the second or third of December. And who knows, maybe after that we will get to calmer waters. This would be nice since yesterday Woody has passed around a hat with the names of everyone on board on pieces of paper. Everyone took one and on the birthday of Saint Nicholas we will be celebrating and exchanging gifts accompanied by simple five-line verses. Some calmer seas would be nice then.
Every now and then some a wave flushes the deck to cause some surprises. Neither me nor my camera spotted a bulk of water in time. And while I can take that, my Nikon was less well adjusted to this treatment. Arie –with whom I share a cabin- also came to tell me during my watch that water came through the hatch in our cabin and had soaked my books. Luckily this wasn’t as bad as he made it out to be but nonetheless the crew has now covered the hatches with canvas.
The dryer can’t be used in these seas so kitchen towels are drying from lines in the salon right next to the screen showing Horatio Hornblower. The pleasant thing about this series is that as long as you know there is another episode, there is no need to worry for mister Hornblowers life.
As we arrived on deck for our watch at midnight it was completely dark. Neither stars nor moon could be seen. It took effort to find the horizon in the dark night. The sound of the sea and wind are all around us and give a certain mysticism to the situation. The ‘Oosterschelde’ is rolling heavily and steering requires concentration and full attention. The rear of the vessel is lifted and when looking forward over the bow you see a mountain of water. It is remarkable how the ship always finds a gracious way to turn out of such a situation. At one moment the vessel seams completely still in the water, almost as if it is moored in a calm bay. But then the next moment everything rushes into motion again and again in endless variations. As Olav said to me a few watches ago in his humourous Amsterdam accent: “They make you pay for this in the Efteling” (Efteling is a Dutch theme park). When after a while the grey around us starts to dissipate and it turns somewhat lighter we see the silhouet of a circling albatros against the horizon. Apparently it has been busy the whole night, as seemingly effortless as the sea itself.
Our position at the moment is 52-53.979 South by 104-05.634 West. There is a lot of water in front of us and a lot of water behind us. On his travels to the famed Southland captain James Cook also crossed the Pacific from New Zealand to Cape Horn, in December 1774. On board of his ‘HMS Resolution’ was the somewhat self-centered botanist Dr. Foster and his son. Foster sr. had enough of the endless unrest racket around him and wrote in his journal: “Omnia pontus erat” (Everything was sea). This last is true for the ‘Oosterschelde’ as well, but I have not yet had enough.”