Squalls and preparations
Anastasia
Phil May and Andrea Twigg
Tue 14 Feb 2012 05:43
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00:51.5N 87:20.7W
We are closing in on the Galapagos, with just 170
miles to go now. We had some reasonable winds today, interspersed with
squalls that gave us 26 knots of wind for short periods. Now the wind has
died away and we are having to motor through the night. To make matters
worse, there is a surprisingly strong (2.5 knot) current from
the south which means we are consuming a lot of diesel to make reasonable
headway.
Preparations are under way for the line crossing
ceremony when we hit the equator. The is a tradition where crew
members who have previously crossed the equator hold a court on behalf of king
Neptune and induct newcomers to the ranks of "trusty shellbacks". We
do not have any shellbacks on Anastasia so it falls to me to be king
Neptune's representative in the ceremony. Andrea has some ideas
for the trials that the crew must undertake in order to avoid the king's
displeasure, and we have prepared certificates to present to the crew (assuming
they survive her ordeals).
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