Laundry Day aboard Mercury Rising

Mercury-rising
Sat 3 Dec 2005 19:07
 Festooned
 
The constant round of formal dinners has taken its toll on the crisp white uniforms of Mercury Rising's officers and men; so it was all hands on deck for a thorough cleaning. All the kedgeree and sun-dried tomato stains have been removed and as it was such a perfect drying day the decks and rigging were festooned.
 
 
Duvet covers hung out to dry
 
Regular readers of this log will know that you could find no more dedicated or professional crew than that on board Mercury Rising. However recent experiences have shown that some shipmates have minor gaps in their otherwise impressive cv's. Therefore extra classes on helming were laid on today. (Apparently helming is a bit
like steering but there are no pedals).
Basic rules appear to be:
*Fast is good
*Going in the right direction is good
But you don't get any points for going fast in the wrong direction it
seems.
Shame because we were all getting quite good at that.
And apparemtly when given a "course to be steered" you have to keep the boat pointing in that direction for quite a long time.
 
Then a competition was held to see which shipmate made the best helmsman. This was won quite easily by the Hydrovane self-steering equipment, which also turned out to be the best cook and the most attractive personality.
 
Finally, we have been asked to publish a recipe book featuring the highlights of the on-board dining experiences here on Mercury Rising. 
So the Mercury Rising cook book reads like this:
First heat some extra virgin olive oil in a good quality, large frying pan.
Take a handful of garlic cloves, chop and add to the oil.
Fry until golden brown.
Then take a tin of something else from the stores, pour it in and serve.