0:00.00S
88:03.31W
Thursday 7th June Crossing the Line
Arnamentia is now in the southern hemisphere! Her crew are Pollywogs no more as Jon
and Carol have now crossed the equator at sea and can be considred as members of
the court of King Neptune!
We
should have had a few more photographic rehearsals as the crucial all zero
display was missed by 17/50ths of a second of Latitude – the sun had come out
and there was too much glare – well that’s the photographer’s excuse! We’ll be better prepared off the
Brazilian coast when going north in two years time.
Evidence that we’ve crossed the Equator
The little green blob under “North
Pacific Ocean” is us at 0º 00.000
We
have been nursing a special bottle of fizz for some while, given to Jon on his
60th by Chris Copeland with strict instructions that it not be opened
until we were in the southern hemisphere.
Neptune was given his share (not too
much because it’s a working day and he’s on duty) along with the
words:
Neptune, Oh God of the Sea,
We salute you!
Here is a drop to
share,
So, please take care
Of Arnamentia
And her two crew
here.
You
can see why Carol read Maths not English Literature at University! (Cringe – Ed)
We had
seen little or nothing of Able Seaman Mumm throughout the voyage. He turned out to be a thoroughly
pleasant chap. Regrettably his
constitution was not up to the abuse to which the tropical climes subjected it
and he passed away shortly after we’d crossed the Equator. He was buried at sea with all
appropriate rites and honours.
However, providence immediately provided the good ship with a replacement
crew member in the shape of a red-footed booby from the Galapagos Islands.
We note in the guide we have that red footed booby nests are made of
twigs and other material and quickly become coated in guano. That would explain why the foredeck is
looking whiter by the minute.
Finally, Congratulations to our ARC crew, Chris & Penny Copeland and
Tim Dumas who have just collected some silverware at the RAYC Seaview Mermaid
Regatta.
