2018 NYC to Derry Londonderry Episode 3

Our 4th of July celebration…on a British boat!  Tossing tea bags over the side with NasDuck Statue of Liberty.  They also served Hot Dogs!

To continue this amazing saga you must meet some more of our watch…and those from other the other watch, Vincent, who keeps trying to get into the pictures at watch changeover.  We have a father/son team who are great to watch how they work together, play together and just basically compliment each other in their work on board.  Richard (Dad) and Mike (Son).

Working together on the pedestal grinders to keep the kite flying effectively.

Teamwork between Trimmer and Helmsman.

Working on staying the course together.  Being the second on the helm for helping stay on course.  Or as we have learned being ready to grab the other wheel should the one in current use decide to come off again.

Now, a few words about our Skipper, Rob.  He is great as he leads by example (ALWAYS clipped on!!!), works beside us to help us continue refining our moves, and is the best role model as he also makes sure we understand that we need to brush our teeth!

What a guy!

Another added attraction with this crew is extra reflector tape on some of the foulies so we can see what is going on in the dark.

Also a quick note here about “red sky at night sailors’ delight, red sky in the morning sailors take warning”.  We are headed east so that means the sun is rising.  Is it red or pink?  Since we had very little wind that day it was deemed pink!

Though life was slow up on deck, our mascot Nasduck has become Chief chef down in the galley.  No work on the food goes unsupervised either by him or Dave (our victualler and fractured shoulder guy).

Chef Nasduck in Charge

Dave is trying to be incognito in that left hand corner.  He did in fact make Alison and my day of Mother duty quite successful.  Yea Dave!

When we have the staysail up along with the windseeker or kite and cannot see the leading edge, JW or one of us is on the front and calls trim.  Why do we call him JW….because we also have JC and JE onboard.

Which can lead to a crick in one’s neck!  Not JW, looking up to call trim.

Sometimes we get a great view when we can sit or steer from the lowside.

Wind seeker and staysail in harmony!  Check the tell tales… The pieces of red that stream so nicely back (on all but the middle windseeker).  Oh well!

It’s always hard to get someone to want to sit and enjoy trimming the kite or windseeker so we have this cool pink beanbag chair that entices crew to volunteer as they then have a nice comfy spot on deck!

King Richard has the throne and Sir Pete is anxiously awaiting his turn!

Since the pink throne was gone and the wind was light I had to try a new way and hope that no sudden gust struck!

Pete guarding me.

Now just some fun pictures of the crew…

Me with my award winning Picture for my dermatologist!

Afraid some of the lip cream wore off.  For several days my watch (people, not clock) were worried that I forgot to rinse after brushing my teeth!  Silly people!  My new name is Little Blue Riding Hood.

Our watch leader, Phil….mysterious sometimes… I think a Darth Vader or bandito complex?

But he cleans up pretty good.

Can you tell Kathi is a California girl?  Maybe a movie star? Model? Hmmm.

Mike and Kathi.

Richard and Phil

Andy, Mike Phil and Richard.  Looks a bit cold!

Mike, Vinnie (sneaking in from other watch), Richard and Andy.  Think they want to be a singing act?

Luca (Greenings buddy and father of a 3 day old baby!) and Vinnie.

Us girls and Vinnie.  Like I said…Vinnie loves to be in the pictures!  And he is a great sailor to add.

Oh yes, something about the boat.

Some great wind… and some not so great wind where our main job was to watch for fishing buoys.

During some of these times we just enjoyed life!  Why not?

I am helping weigh down the boat from the high side… do I not look HEAVY!

and now playing hiding go seek ….ok now, maybe a bit silly but not as silly as: and guess who!

Yes that is me… you can tell by the hood!

Always fun when they bring down the kite and trying to straighten it out again.

And, there is a new way to wooly the kite without the wool….. Snaps.  Everyone likes them and at the beginning I bet they were awesome. But now the straps are sometimes tangled and tied in knots from flying in the breeze, etc.  But well done, this is what a kite looks like before going back to its bag.

How neat is that?

Since we are on the kite subject here Kathi and I await a strong young man to help put the kite in the bag.

Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your hair!

Linda, there is no lion in here to scare!

OK, Kathi is going ape!

Why is Linda hiding?

Because Big foot Phil is going to shove the windseeker out the hatch above her.  You would be scared too.

But, during the light air lots of work was done as we waited for the wind to fill.  Phil and Sophia Flip Flopped the chafing on several of the halyards.

Andy studied the Mariner book.

JW and Pete set up the music speaker.

The last bit of the race was filled with wind holes so we had to just enjoy each moment as you can tell.  Our imaginations ran wild!

At one point we had an art show:

Nasdaq Vs. Sanya

Our rendition as well as Sanya’s of abstract art.  We are the red line and Sanya is the black.  The finish line is the little triangle on top of the purple.  Oh, so close yet so far away.  Who do you think won the show? Or would you vote for either of my two picks designed by shadows on the still water?

You might have to look closely for the subtleties in the work.

Believe it or not we finally finished race 13 (is the number 13 a bad omen?) and Alison drove us in to port.

Is that a look of joy, relief or what?  No matter, we were all happy and ready to celebrate.

I had some references to home and good 15-16 memories with me.  Nice to see familiar surroundings!

Clipper Telemed, my boat/home from 2015-16 race and Dell from back home in Austin where many friends work.  What more is there in life along with my new adventure and friends?

LIFE is GOOD

Probably need to give it up here as you can tell we had a fun time no matter the weather.  Looking forward to seeing Danny and Sue and Paul, my Derry friends from 2016 stop at Derry.

Tomorrow we take off for Liverpool.  Having 6 days to get there (we can’t arrive before the 28th) we will be going west around Ireland for our route.

Enjoy each day!

Clipper Round the World Episode 2

NYC to Derry Londonderry

If you are wondering why my Tenacious Tall Ship adventure is not up, it is because I am still working on sorting out pictures….there are many awesome ones.  So while you wait I will get some of this adventure up.

This one is a Whale of a Tale as you will find out later!

I am on NASDAQ or NASDUCK as we are known.  As the New York boat, we had the privilege of leading the parade out of NY.

Our two Americans, Kathi Lind and me.

It was a long trek out of NY to avoid all the commercial channels.  We motored 24 hours and did some refreshing with a man overboard drill, setting in reefs, taking them out, sail changes, etc. to get us ready for the race.  But some beautiful moments along the way.

Learning about duties on the bow, i.e. hanking on the Yankee, how the bowsprite is set up and how to connect tack lines.  Plus signals from the bow to let all know what needs to happen in the back part of the boat.  Great refresher for me also.

At the start we were the windward boat for the Lemans start.  However, start was postponed as Garmin was late getting there.  BUT, that allowed for lots of play!

It appears that we have earned a gift from another boat due to some strange encounters.  So, during wait time it was time to bring out our mascot!

Yes we have a happy crew!

Then to get serious!  Rob and 1^st Mate Jacob setting up to be in line for the LeMans start.

As we were starting we came across an exciting adventure… Very much fun and yes it was a bit distracting but we did ok!

Whoops!!  An unbelievable sight and really added to the adventure.

Watch leader Phil’s blog about the start:
“The Le Mans start went pretty well for us and we were able to challenge many of the other boats at the start. Half an hour into the race the fleet entered an area of high whale activity. All around the boats we saw tail fins splashing into the water and blow holes popping out of the blue. I was able to see a pod of seven swimming past our bow. It was beautiful and nerve-wracking at the same time. Richard and several others were whale spotting from the foredeck trying to help us avoid these beautiful creatures.

We also had dolphins and whale watching boats to avoid as well making this a very busy spot.”

After a few hours we settled into our watch routine.  Below is our happy watch group.

Left to right is Andy, Richard, Phil, Pete, Skipper Rob, Kathi and me on the helm.  Missing JW, Mike and Sophia.  They are probably doing their watch job.  This setup on boat duties was very different from my RTW (Round the World) adventure in 15-16.  Rather than having the same duty (Bilges, Heads, Nav, Deck/Trim) for 24 hours by yourself, each time we changed our job every watch and had a partner to work with.  This gave us the chance to know the other crew members better and when our partner might be on Mother duty (24 hour job) then we got a new partner and got to work with someone else.  Really loved the system.

One of our NEW ADVENTURES on this trip was going through and inspecting the trash as it had started to smell.  We had a team of sniffers and cleaners.  I think I was lucky as I got to pull it out and hand off to sniffers who then gave to cleaners who then gave back to me to put in appropriate new trash bag.

Yes, I am hiding under my hood!  Such interesting jobs!!

Notice the gray line to the right of picture.  This was a beautiful day with a fog line.  However when we entered it…….

the temps dropped about 40 degrees and we had no visibility.  As you can see in the next picture we were not expecting it.  Sophia in shorts and t-shirt.  Interesting is that we had passed the iceberg limit when the temperatures dropped.

Another of our amazing moments was during a night watch.  We were all caught off guard and of course it being night no one had a camera.  Good thing as we couldn’t use a flash aimed at the back anyway due to night vision.

Recaptured from blog:

“We had quite rough conditions last night with 28knots of wind, a seriously steep heel going, lots of splashing and rain, and a heavy helm as we were proudly sailing at 15.5nm/h. At around 2200, Phil suddenly shouts “Andy, I’m losing the helm!”, all of us on deck look at him and say what do you mean you’re losing the helm? Shall we put a reef in?, he then responds: “It’s coming off! Andy F***ing get down on the leeward helm!”.

As Andy raced down to the Port side helm he asks: ‘What do you mean it’s coming off?’ and as he just caught grab of the port side wheel, Phil picks up the Starboard helm wheel above his head and says:“Yep, It’s come off!”. The expression in his face was priceless.

Mike rushed to call Rob back on deck who calmly comes up with a smile saying, “Oh Phil, you were only on there five mins, you know you’ll still have to pay for the wheel if you want to keep it (referring to the UNICEF fundraiser)!” point at which we all burst out laughing.

It took Andy and Phil over an hour to get the helming wheel back on and secured – working in the dark, grateful we have such savvy guys on board to help fix situations like this. Luckily, what could have been quite a disastrous happening was handled really well to keep everyone safe and maintain our speed. We’re now able to tease Phil as he took the phrase, “take my helm” a little too literally when Rob had handed it over to him.”

Vincent, my new Dutch friend even though he is on the other watch.  New nationalities I am getting to sail with are: Dutch, German, French, Chilean, and Scottish.  Scottish is the hardest for me to understand as Alison talks so fast with a beautiful lilting/singing accent.  And of course she is my bunk buddy and Mother Duty partner.

From one of our blogs:

“The mood on the boat has rarely been more relaxed. That might be something to do with proximity to Ireland but also to the goodwill of leggers and established crew alike. We have blended very well.”

Have to say that I agree with the blogger.  Very fun and comfortable boat with everyone getting along well.

Back to Alison.  We have been having a contest of sorts as to how to prepare the bedding form the next watch change.  I suggested we just put one bedroll over the other.  That worked fine until we were on a steep heel and the top one would slide off.  So next I rolled mine out of the way and spread Alison’s out and vice versa.  Then when we heeled the opposite way and we were leaning against the wall of the boat and the cubbies, Alison comes up with flaking her bedroll against the wall and then opening my bedroll up ready to jump in.  Finally we are flat (no wind zone) and have the other’s bedroll to be an extra mattress and then Alison goes all out with:

Am I lucky or not?  Be sure that you have read my Nasdaq Blog that was posted as it also has a great description of Alison.  Or if you have a better term for a Scottish Leprechaun, let me know as I know they are not normally found in Scotland.

Left to right is Pam, Kathi and Alison.  Notice the twinkle in Alison’s eyes!!  She is also referred to as my twin.  Guess that’s because we both have gray hair?

All for now and hopefully more later!

Linda’s blog post on Day 12 of the race to Derry

https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/crew-diary/nasdaq/race-12-day-12-new-york-to-derrylondonderry5

Hello All,

First a big thanks to Skipper Rob and the Nasdaq crew for welcoming two more Greenings crew, myself and Lucas.

Everyone has been very helpful and informative in getting us accustomed to their method of madness. I especially like the way we are paired up on all the duties, Navigation and log, deck and trim, heads, bilges and repeat. Each watch shift you change duties which makes it much more entertaining than doing the same duty for a full day. The one 24 hour duty is Mother Duty which needs a full day’s attention. After Mother duty your partner changes and then you enjoy working with a a new buddy and getting to know them.

Next on my list is a hats off to the race officials for some great modifications/changes to the way the boat is set up. Being a 2015-16 Round the Worlder I really like what I have come to use. The new jackstrap arrangement allowing one to get everywhere tethered is awesome. The new tethers which have some stretch and give in the long one is great for clipping on and off as we move about. I can’t go anywhere without clipping on. Tony, friend from 2015-16, you would be proud of me as I am always checking to count the clips. Only twice have I been able to count three on… The double preventer system is also neat as there is never any preventer line caught under the sails when they are down. Thank you Clipper Race Officials!

Now a story about Mother Duty. My buddy was this Leprechaun of a Scottish lady named Allison. Short, bright blue eyed and never still. At first I was a bit nervous as she said she didn’t cook and all my friends can tell you I definitely can’t cook. So I started the day by setting up breakfast…getting the cereal out, getting porridge ready to go (thanks to Dave who was my mentor and guide), getting cups and bowls ready, condiments for the toast, bread sliced, drink ingredients down, etc.

Then to wake up my partner for the day. Breakfast was a true Comedy Club. Allison was awesome as she put together all the drinks, asked who wanted what (as we served each person, no free for all on Nasdaq), put together the porridge orders and kept us on schedule.

As she swiftly moved about I was working the bread, butter and whatever part. However, my lack of hearing and ability to understand some of the foreign accents provided some strange moments. Marmalade and Marmite sound the same to me, biscuits and dishes sound the same, etc., etc. So it became an interesting time to see what someone might end up with on their toast. Our watch especially enjoyed the meal. I didn’t think they would ever go off to bed!!! The rest of the day was full of moments of flat water and loving it as we could get lots done and more moments of 45+ degree of angle while trying to open cans, fix food, keep food, cups, etc. from sliding off the counter while constantly washing dishes to try to stay ahead of Allison. A fun time and we even smiled a wee bit when it started pouring down rain outside and we were inside watching as dishes were done.

All for now except one question. I am doing this leg again to officially cross the finish line as I was airlifted off 10 miles from the finish in the 2015-16 race due to a dislocated shoulder that popped back into place while still on the boat. Crew member Dave has been with us for over 2,000 miles with a serious dislocation/possible fracture of shoulder/collar bone. Hmmmm??? The good news is that though I am two years older and slower, I am enjoying my time on Nasdaq, really love the crew and once again experiencing some great people, new cultures and friendships.

Life is good.  Linda

Nature and Sights as We Walked

Many Interesting things to see and do here on the Falkland Islands.  Most require the hire of a tour guide or Land Rover and take anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours to get to.  I have just been enjoying walking and have done quite a bit of that.

Some of the favorites to share.

Pembroke Lighthouse that is no longer working.  Built in 1854 of wood and standing 60 feet tall it was eventually replaced to stand 70 feet tall.  It operated until 1982 when it was put out of operation during the Falklands war with Argentina.  It has been replaced with a solar light beam that actually only stands around 5 feet off the ground.

Interesting on the appearance of rugged rocks and desolation but in this area we came upon a seal.

 

At first look we thought it was dead but then….

He opened his eyes and checked us out.

A little further along we came upon a duck or a goose trying to swim against some kelp in a rough current.

He finally gave up and walked back up the rocks.  Apparently this one either doesn’t fly and or had some sort of injury as it could not take off the ground.

During our wandering this day we were fighting 40 to 60 knot winds and little rainstorms that hit us frequently.  The good news after  walking for around 4 hours, a passing Land Rover asked if we would like a ride.  YEA!

Another day we walked around the Narrows which was probably a good 4 to 5 miles but with no rain and moderate wind.  Saw lots of interesting sights on this journey.

Passed by several ship wrecks.

And then Andy decided to walk out to the Elizabeth since it was low tide and supposedly able to walk to it.

Also discovered some great wildlife.

Took me two days to discover that their feet were different colors.

A few Magellanic Penguins.  Interesting time was when they began swimming they look just like ducks swimming on the water.

A whole bunch of Magellanic Penguins we found further around the narrows.  Word is they stay bunched to keep seals and hawks from getting the babies.

You can see a bunch on this beautiful beach at Gypsy Cove.

Not sure if this is actual or a deterrent to keep us from going down to the beach where the Penguins are.

We came across this happy bunch up by the path.

Saw many holes/burrows like this as we walked.  Some were used by seals and some by penguins.

Look closely and you can see the Magellanic Penguin in this one.

While walking in some areas like this we were careful to not accidentally step in any of the holes.  At one point we had either a seal or penguin talk to us and warn us away from their hole.  We could not see exactly what kind of animal it was because of the tall grass.  Very exciting though for a few moments.

Then we ran into this Goose/Gander that literally came at us and chased off the path that they felt was sacred.  Very scary and we moved really FAST!

Still honking at us!!!

The terrain we went on was always changing and fun to work our way around.  Of course, we could have stayed on the upper path but wanted to get close to the water.

Also ran across some buzzards and birds feeding on fish heads that had been thrown off one of the fishing boats.

And then there was the interesting pattern of clouds to make us wonder what the coming weather might be.

All for now!  Have lots more pictures but not enough internet time to upload then.  Sorry!  Have fun!  Running to boat now and then fingers crossed we sail tomorrow!

 

Tenacious Activities on and off the ship

Just a bit to give you some ideas of what I have been doing. Some on the ship learning new things and some discoveries.

Above is the Seafarers Mission where I have finally been able to get some internet.  Problem is that it is not consistent.  So far today is a good day.  Yesterday and day before a lost cause.  Also interesting is the cost around the island.  This is the most reasonable at 5 pounds per hour.  I have seen it 15 pounds per hour, 10 pounds for 30 minutes, etc.  The sad part is that they all work about the same no matter what you pay.

So here we go.  Have you ever heard of Baggy Winkles?  No matter what you are thinking, on board it means taking pieces of old unusable line/rope and placing it between two small bungee cord lines quite long as you will see, not allowing the bungee cord to twist and bringing the line from under to over the sides equally and then back down in front of the rest, pull tight and slide up to rest that have been done.  And why would we do this??  We then will put it on a shroud to keep the sail from becoming chaffed as it rubs against the shroud/stay.

Preparing lines to be used.  First the strands are pulled apart.

Actually wonder if this is what it feels like to make popcorn strings for Christmas tree.

Liz  (in striped polo) is doing it rather quickly one handed as she has suffered a stroke.  Fran is working hard also.  Andy is watching in amazement.

Actually became quite the party.

Our Baggy Winkle workforce  after we finally ran out of line. Jo, first on the right is the one that spent time helping build Tenacious, then Liz our one handed wonder, Allison, Jon, Carter, Kate our wheelchair riding watch leader, Bridget (watch leader), Lucy and Andy.  We do appear to be celebrating or at a party!

? The Three Stooges or the Three Baggy Wrinkle Ladies?

The Baggy Wrinkles at work up above.  Imagine the sail coming and rubbing against the forestay (it is one of the cables that is holding up the mast).

Above you can see where the immersion suits are stored until needed.  Then they are brought down rather quickly to a pile below where we would hurriedly put them on preferable prior to going into cold water!  The cable on the right is actually lowered during an evacuation and then anyone in a wheelchair would be brought up with that as elevators are not utilized during emergency.  I use it to go quickly down the stairs on way to meals!

Trying on our immersion suits.  This was interesting and I hope that I never get to wear one for real as that means we are in the water hoping for a rescue.

Stylish aren’t I?  Tope right is 3 of my watch.  Michael, Fran (who has done around 30+ years sailing on tall ships) and Charlotte (who is on the Cambridge sailing team and taking a year gap).

Speaking of our watch, above is left to right, Michael, Charolette, Jennifer, Skip (our guide for South Georgia), Jon, Chris our leader (you’ve already seen him) and Fran.  The card on top is not a Bingo card, but our watch card.  Our different watches are the blacked out spots.  The lower card is my info and that I have messman on the 1, 8 days as it revolves around the card.

Above is everyone getting lifejackets on during an evacuation drill.  Incidentally we have been the fastest 2 out of 2 drills!! Yea Starboard Aft watch!

This are our climbing harnesses.  We each have one assigned to us and then we set them up to fit us so we can get them on and off quickly.

Under the watchful eyes of Michael (the navigator) we got to climb up to the first platform on the main mast yesterday.  Almost like climbing a ladder but you can’t use the wooden slats that are parallel to the boat.  One must hold on the the steel cables when climbing.  The orange line that you see is the line that we are attached to.

If you look at the bottom of the white bar (yard it is called) that crosses the mast, you will see a black line going across.  That is what we will be going out and standing on when we release the ties around the sail that is within the aluminum yard.  There is a steel cable for us to attach to while out doing that.  Can’t wait!!!  Ran out of time yesterday to try it.

Today we learned about how the helm works and what we needed to do as lookouts.  Very interesting and there is a device on the compasses outside of Helm area that we use to provide location of where we have seen ships, debris, whales, etc. when notifying the Skipper.

Above is Stu who showed us how all the lines (ropes) work.  How to safely work with them so as not to lose a  thumb or worse.

Here he is instructing us on how to line up to pull ropes together: ” 2, 6 Heave” (pull the line altogether), “Ease To” whatever we need to ease to, “Well” (stop) and “Come up” (drop the rope).

Michael demonstrating how to bring in rope neatly so it will uncoil without any problem and then how to properly attach it with a twist.

Then Stu showed us the thought process on moving the sails when on the yards.  Then we got to practice.  One watch eases from the side they would be on and the other watch pulls the yards around to position.  Trick is to keep all the yards moving together.  Notice there are 5 yards in the picture.  It will be quite a feat to do this with sails attached and a bit of wind blowing into them.

Remember the big fat mooring line that I pointed out needed to be fixed in an earlier blog?  Well, here is the new mooring line!  Much prettier in black and white!

Food………oh my.  Roast dinner with bread pudding and you can see how the tables are set.  This is one of two.

Permanent crew working on Mainmast Staysail.  Two permanent crew up on platform, two on deck working to get slider working and one on the top of sail trying to pull it up.

Very calm wind.  Interesting that one can see a hint of a rainbow to left of far left mast and some of the mast reflection in the water.  You have to look closely for both.

This is an actual picture of the reflection of clouds in the water.  Really calm day!!!

All for now!  Have a great day!

Tenacious the Ship

Hopefully the internet and I will remain on good terms and I will be able to show you some of our ship.  It is big and comfortable and the food is good.

A few of the amenities aboard:

Yes, a bar with beer, wine, liquor, water, sodas and chips.  Word is that because it is a sign in for what you take, you don’t get your passport returned until your $$$$ record is clear.

One of the library areas. Lots of books around the boat to keep us entertained.

Andy reading about Celestial Navigation.

Salon where we can hang out during free time. Also where they are storing some of the sails to be mended.  They just came around Cape Horn and had a bit of damage.

If you notice the arced wood, that is all put together and laminated.  Tenacious was built upside down and then rolled over in giant hoops like they do submarines.  One of the ladies on the voyage actually spent her off time from her real job volunteering to help build Tenacious.

Media area.  A place to share pictures!

Every morning we have a time called Smoko which is a break where coffee, tea, etc. are served along with cakes, cookies, etc.  ….not everyone having to smoke!!  Think I might gain a bit of weight on this trip.  If I return looking like a little Humpty Dumpty don’t be surprised!

This is Daz (Darren), our medic, purser, man in charge of housekeeping and most important, our passports.  Hmm, do you think I should trust him?

On February 27th, on our walk back to the boat along the seashore, Andy and I had the pleasure of seeing this beautiful rainbow.  Colors were brilliant and the bands so wide.

Then we had a very scary experience.  As we got closer to the first set of jetties where some men where working on columns below the jetty we saw a big flash of fire like you see on top of oil rigs every once in a while and then we heard some horrible screaming.  We saw one man standing by where the flame shot up but did not see anyone else.

Accident was on the 3^rd one from the left.

Andy took off running toward the security hut and I grabbed his backpack and followed.  The security guard had been in the hut and not heard the screaming, so Andy explained what happened and as he was finishing I arrived in time to see the security man hand the phone to Andy (call to their 911) and begin running to the scene.  Andy did a great job of explaining to the person on the phone where we were and help began arriving in 5 minutes.  I walked over the next day and found that one man (probably the one standing that we saw) was only singed, but two others were burned quite badly and had been airlifted off the island for medical attention.  Originally we had heard there was only one badly hurt but now we know there were 2.  A very sad moment.  Apparently some corrosion mixed with some methane and when they opened the lid the air set the explosion.

Today, the 28th, was an early morning, 4am to 6am Harbor watch.  Discovered that Chris is very willing and wants to share his knowledge.  Yea I am so looking forward to learning from him.

Around 5am Charlotte who is in our watch and above my bunk came up to us in the chart house.  I thought…hmm she is early.  But no, my phone alarm had come alive and had miraculously gone off waking several people.  The bad news was that my alarm on my phone that did not work in Santiago and was turned off and though it was set to go off every morning at 6am did not go off yesterday.   How did this happen?  So moving quickly downstairs I got to my bunk to turn it off. This ended up in a massive search as I had put it away so that I would not come across it.  While in dire and desperate searching mode it goes off again and I hear the groans as I try to sit on it, whatever to get the sound down to no avail.  Am I the most popular person at breakfast…..?

On a bright note though once back up in the Chart house, at watch change I learned even more from Chris.  He is very anxious to pass on his knowledge and so far it has been a great learning experience.  Looking forward to this!

Entering the chart house.  Some of the equipment that we get to see and work with.

This is how we check the air and water temperature.  The tube on the left provides the air temp and the tube on the right provides the sea water temp.  If they are the same I am told that we should be in a bit of a fog.

The view from the helm!  What I am really looking forward to is hearing the talking compass so Ryan and Naomi can be at the helm.  Ryan has also participated in match racing.

Aaaaagh….which line to pull??

The picture on the left shows more lines and up above two of the liferafts.  There are 4 sets of two on board…two Midships and two aft only to be used if the ship is sinking!  The picture on the right has one of the ribs with their two motors that will be used for going ashore and emergencies if needed.

Main mast, gathering spot for our watch in case of emergency and what……………….more lines to choose from.

BIG Mooring lines and BIG WINCHES.

Looks like one seems to need some tender loving care!  Look past the red to the big pile of lines and you will see the frayed area.  The next day it had been switched out!

And if I am bad, I get to walk the plank!

And of course a bit of nature for you.

Beautiful moon over the shipwrecked Elizabeth.

 

Falkland Islands Part 2

If you have been checking the link I provided in the first Falkland post and you have noticed that we are not moving very far, you are correct.

Well, weather really takes a toll here.  Not only was our flight delayed coming in, but the next one from London was also.  Their story is a bit different and sounds like a Texas type issue.  Snow in London is keeping the flight crew from being able to get to the airport they take out of.  Really???  Yep!  Anyway, between the snow and the wind here we are now in a holding pattern waiting for the rest of the crew and the man who can finish fixing our radar unit.  I do agree that we should have the radar working before taking off, so we are all taking advantage of our time here.

When arriving on the boat I was greeted by my watch leader Chris.

He who showed me to my quarters…a real stateroom I feel when I think of my Clipper living area.

The bottom bunk is mine! Along with a bit of space to place my things in.

And I am right across the hall from the head, the loo, the toilet, the restroom or you might call it the Happy Room!

And the !!!!!!!

Can you believe… even with hot water! YEA!

This is our hallway and new friend Lucy is right next door.

A home for foulies and safety clip for my belt.

Steep stairs down to everywhere.

My first day of duty was as messwoman so the following was where I spent my time.

Our domain.  I spent most of my time washing dishes.  Did serve meals and actually cut up an onion!

This is the kingdom of the Chef…. And a place that we are not allowed.  I am sure my good friends are happy to here it is off limits to me.

And below is my favorite messman in our group of 4, Ryan.  He is blind, but he was the one to show me where to put dishes, food, how to serve and all that I needed to know.  You should see him run up the steps also.  Great guy and has been on several voyages.  New friend Andy is over to the left.

All for now as the internet and me have been having some major issues today.  If all does not go forward on the ship and we are still in holding pattern I will try again tomorrow.

2018 Adventure Begins

Have had an interesting journey to Santiago Chile on route to Falkland Islands to begin my journey on Tenacious, Tall Ship built for the Disabled by the UK.  This journey places able bodied alongside disabled to work together to make the journey to South Georgia Island and then to Cape Town.

Flight to Santiago great.  Up early the next morning, 3am to catch shuttle to airport for flight to Mt. Pleasant Airport in the Falklands.  Only 3 flights a week, one form South America and two from the UK.  First in line I am so excited….only to discover flight cancelled due to weather.  OH NO!!!!  however, Latam Airlines takes care of us as it is rescheduled for the next morning.  Myself and a long line of others are moved to Boulevard Suites alongside the Marriott downtown at their expense along with transportation and food vouchers.  Awesome!

The view from my living room.  Also had giant bedroom, bath, kitchen.  Really nice.

Met another Tenacious crew member, Dave, originally a Brit but lived in Bahamas for 52 years.  Has climbed every mountain imaginable (Everest and Matterhorn included), has biked across lower part of US, has sailed on Tenacious before.

Next morning up at 2am to catch shuttle.  Met Michelle, a Brit native that has been a professional sheep shearer all over the world and now runs the meat processing plant in the Falklands.  She was a true angel getting us through an airport I hope that you never have to travel through.  Punta Arenas is an airport you never want to be stuck in.  Very few people speak english; very few people understand what you are trying to ask therefore you are taken many ways the wrong way; you think all is well until you go back downstairs to find something to eat and see your luggage still going around on the carousel and you thought it had been checked through… nope!  So you get it and go check it though to Falklands then back through security and then discover you have to go through another obstacle… customs…of course there is no hint as to what this really is or where customs is so very interesting.  Finally on plane and you fly to the military base in Mt. Pleasant.

Pictures to be updated in April.

What I saw…don’t take a picture on military base as you might have your camera confiscated.   This is a very desolate looking set of Islands.  Many sheep passed as you go through from airport to Stanley the town.  Some sheared and others waiting.  Saw  some Galloway cows…look them up.  Interesting with solid white, black , white bands around their bodies.  saw a white/ brown/ white one also!

Malvena Hotel here very nice and great food.

I walked a few miles to discover the boat:  Is it this one?

or this one?

Pretty intimidating.

My home starting in one hour (now you know why blogs getting shorter) for the next 6 weeks.

getting pictures to transfer is a task within itself.

Now, what’s happening before I have to go,

1. I am fundraising for Jubilee Sailing Trust to help raise funds to keep getting disabled on this boat and Lord Nelson.  The Jubilee Sailing Trust has been changing lives since 1978. In that year it became a registered charity through the extraordinary vision of a dedicated group of people working against the odds to make their dream a reality. Back then the idea of integrating physically disabled with non-disabled people on a tall ship was a unique concept, and yet the JST still remains to this day the only organization of its kind in the world. The JST is a world leader in social inclusion, bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to sail as a unified crew on-board two purpose built tall ships – Lord Nelson and Tenacious.https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/linda-s-sailing-adventure-on-talll-ship-tenacious is the link to go to my donation page.  Yes I added one  too many ls on tall, but you have to also to get there.
2. Every once in a while a blog will be sent out from the ship. To access it go to:
3. http://jst.org.uk/ .  Click on Sailing Adventures, then under Tall Ships click on Tenacious.
4. To see where we are, http://jst.org.uk/track-our-ships/ is the link.

I have met two more crew, both fun and interesting, Lucy (originally from Scotland and now working in New Zealand) and Andy (originally from Australia and has worked all over the world and now retired and going to be  boater!)

So far this looks like another amazing adventure and I will help make it so.

I have borrowed the below Pictures and words from Jubilee Sailing Trust to give you an idea of what could be in my future days:

They also have a compass that talks so if we have a blind crew member they can steer probably better than me!

“Focusing on what people can do rather than what they cannot really does change lives.”

Well, out until April !  Thank you for reading this and if you donate, it may end up in pounds rather than dollars so the exchange rate is a little different.  i.e. you will be paying more possibly.

Out for now, enjoy each day and make a difference. A smile for someone you don’t know can do that!

2017 Israel Trip

A wonderful trip with Verda Herrington to visit one of her ex students Nuri and a chance to learn about the Jewish and Arab cultures and history.  AMAZING!

Start of trip to Jerusalem.

More to come in April when I am back to speedy internet.

2017 Orcas Island Adventure

A giant Thank you to Fisher and Pam for sharing their place on Orcas Island for a wonderful time out.

What would you do if you get to wake up to this scene?

Due to running short of time you will have to wait until April to find out!! but it was awesome!

Okay, I know it is past April, but here is the rest of my Orcas adventure story!

Meet our morning hello committee…. Ralph and his friends would come by and say HI!

View the other way from the house on a foggy day!

We spent a day hiking and discovered the perfect time to visit the islands was in September.  Views were spectacular!  Mt. Rainer on a clear day….hum, wasn’t there a song “On a Clear Day”?  Unbelievable!

And then there were more great views of the Islands.

Walking along the lake it was fun to see how many shades of color we could find in the water as well as the different views of streams along the way.

 

Then a day on a Orca whale watching expedition which included Momma Orca and little one, Bald Eagles and Seals safe on the rocks from the Orcas!

This view you must look closely up on top of the rocks in front of the trees to see the Bald Eagle.

A view of what Mother Nature can do with water banging against the rocks over time.

Can you see the mask in this one?

And of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without a little sun reflection on the water.

And then there was the day of wandering and exploring about town and country.

Above is my kind of treehouse!  The one I always wanted to build.

Riding the Ferry Boat was a fun and interesting way to travel.  The guys that work them have it all down to a T…packing the cars on, and unloading at the docks.

And so that ends my time on Orcas Island.  A beautiful, quiet and restful place in the middle of nature.