60 Knots

29 January 2024

60 Knots

It always takes some getting used to when you get back on board after a while. And especially if you do so in a place where it is windless at one moment of the day and two hours later you knock off both anchors in wind gusts of 60 knots.

Because turbulent weather it certainly is, here in street Maggellaan. Fortunately, the weather is also very changeable and usually half a day later it is much calmer. It is cold at night, but when the sun shines, it is also fine on deck. The Darwin leaders on board are engaged in very different projects. Research on different bird species, research on dolphins, research on kelp, etc. By the way, that kelp grows everywhere here. Apparently, it can grow up to 60 centimetres a day and is incredibly strong stuff. If you have a tuft of it in your anchor chain, it takes a lot of effort to cut and pull it loose.  In the fishing port , near here, there are also ships harvesting it as it is said to be an important source of minerals and iodine.

Apart from taking the Darwin leaders to shore and picking them up, we keep ourselves busy with maintenance. In these parts, where the wind is always strong and there is little or no maintenance to be done while underway, the ship visibly needs a little attention. Chores like changing oil, but also pulling over pumps, outboard engines . We grease the rigging and try to tackle the rust spots on the steel or the bald spots on the woodwork with brush and paint.  And because the weather has been nice for the past two days, we have been able to do a lot. Over the next few days, the wind seems to get very strong again and then we won’t be able to work on deck. But we will see!