Beez Neez now Chy Whella - Day 5

Day 5 - Perfect

Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Sat 14 Dec 2013 13:30

30:40.07S

176:23.72E

Day Five En Route to Opua, New Zealand

Friday Afternoon: The happy skipper, listening to ‘toons’. A pleasant afternoon other than a five four loss at backgammon. I wanted revenge over a game of Upword, but was behind with just a few letters left, just as a big wave took the lot into Bears lap, more or less as I was taking the picture above.

During the evening, things settled into a slower pace, with a rogue wave only coming along every hour and a half or so. My two till six saw our speed drop to between three and half and four knots, but, as I was intent on finishing my Patrick O’Brian books, I was very content to be spuddling along. If I’m honest, I am getting a bit fed up with how many times I have to listen to the word “prodigious”, there are, it has to be said many words that can be used in its place for variety, but, I suppose you are not meant to listen or read them back to back.

Sadly, just before six Robert Hardy said “and that is where the writing ends”. Book twenty one ended, unfinished at the authors death. Well. Talk about left dangling. So in the last minutes of my watch I put my own ending together and stored in memory.

Rear Admiral Jack Aubrey did indeed take sixty three of the Surprises over with him to the Suffolk and what a happy crew they all were, meeting up with many previous shipmates. Little Langdon passed his lieutenants exam and served with Jack for many years, eventually becoming his captain.

George Aubrey married his childhood friend Bridget Maturin, she was a contented wife of a sea going member of the Royal Navy and Georges sisters grew to love Bridget and visited often. They had a son Jack (registered as John after his father) and a daughter, Milly.

Stephen Maturin did indeed marry Christine Wood and settled to a semi-retired life at Medenham, where they lived happily with Christine’s brother, Edward. The troublesome suitor and cousin of Admiral Lord Leighton – Army Captain Randolph Miller of Caxley - distinguished himself on arrival in Africa but was gored to death by a rhino that he had failed to bring down on the first shot, during a safari. Stephen spoke often at the Royal Society and spent many a day wandering through the countryside with Christine, gathering, logging and dissecting, as to make them both very content. His deep friendship with his best friend ever as strong, if not stronger.

Preserved Killick remained as crusty as ever but ended his days doing just as he pleased, in a vaguely titled job, never far from his beloved boss. The household silver his pride and joy, with many a lapse in consciousness after partaking of too many sherbets.

As for Jack, he retired, lived out his days at Woolcombe with Sophie. Had the Maturin’s over very often and visited them just as often. He pottered about on his estate, made the odd visit to the House to vote as Lord Aubrey and continued to enjoy looking through his telescope in his observatory, telling Sophie over many a breakfast of ship movements in the harbour. Many old Surprises visited and Jack enjoyed their tales immensely. He gave his daughters away in marriage to honourable young men and thoroughly enjoyed his grandchildren.

Saturday the 14th of December 2013: The skipper shook out the reefs and Beez settled to an average of five knots. I lost five one at backgammon, I’m really getting cross as a wasp, only seventeen days left of the year and the score currently stands at 185 to 184, I really wanted to hold a four or five game buffer, but Beez favours ‘himself’ on his rolls when she leans. I did get a win at Upword, where I’m miles ahead. A loss at Sequence, two behind on the year. Mixed growls and gnashing of teeth. Yes but how many thousands are you ahead in rummikub, by the by, my dear, by the by. I like to win.

The last twenty four hours saw 126.6 miles completed, bringing our total so far to 783.5 miles. The enormous drop in barometric pressure during our stormy time, has been creeping up and now reads a comfortable 1017 millibars. At current speed it looks like we will have to slow down to get in on Tuesday morning. It has just started to spit with rain, but not enough to dampen the high spirits aboard.