Update
Night Owl
Ed Hall
Sun 24 Dec 2006 00:23
Barring Richard the Night Howlers have all gone home now but not before
leaving an impact.
Charlie wrote a poem which you can read below. We have published it not
because it's good but for the same reasons that when a three year old comes
home from school with a daubed mess of a picture which they then claim is an
accurate representation of their house you hang it on the wall with pride
and say it's lovely.
So Charlie............................It's lovely
Night owl and 5 pussycats went to sea
In a high tec racing boat,
Their only fear if fear they had
Was would the damn thing float.
Nigh on 3 thousand miles away
Across the ocean deep
Lay 16 days of spaghetti packs
And very little sleep.
But at the helm was pussy in chief,
Exhausted from finding meals
To feed the craw of the other four
And doing his OFCOM deals.
2-i-c was all agog -
his duties he hadn't ducked
unfortunately by the time they left
he was totally and utterly -- exhausted ( unfortunately I couldn't find a
proper rhyme here)
The other three were all at sea,
Totally virgin pussies.
Never before had they left the shore
And were feeling right proper woossies.
The eldest of the three had lost
the apple of his eye
and by sailing away for a year and a day
was trying to say goodbye.
His watchmate over the nights so cruel
A man with his feet in the earth,
Had scrimped and saved to raise the cash
To purchase the upper berth.
Last but not least of that crew so brave
The aspiring attorney at law -
2-i-c was his F-i-L
and his feet were ever so sore.
So they sailed away for a week and a day
And the sun it was wonderfully bright
Till God looked down -and how he did frown
And blew away their kite.
The wind it blew, the rain it rained
All out of a sky so bright
It only lasted a minute or three
But the pussies were all in a fright.
They cleared away the sail in shreds
And sent it all below
And then sat there in the cockpit bare
To decide which way to go.
14 days of the voyage were gone-
Noah had just beginned---
His ark might have been even more stark
But at least it could sail downwind.
Water was short, their bodies did reek,
They thought they might die of thirst.
There was no power to fill their shower-
But God had done his worst.
Out of the sea like a beckoning tree
St Lucia she did show.
But the winds went light, squalls gave them a fright
Yet none of them went below.
At last the finishing line appeared,
93 had passed before
but the pussies were terribly, terribly proud
to come in ninety four.
The pussies all said it had been a trip
That would make their grandchildren smile
They'd fought their fears, and had won their spurs
To reach that windward Isle.
So glass in hand, they drank on the strand
And retold their fearsome tales
And then at last, the Arc was past
And all that was left were the wales.
Err....thanks Charlie but don't give up the day job.
Next to go was gallant James who had suffered with his feet,
His sores not getting better in the humid heat.
So with scraper ready and red hot knife,
We lanced the buggers and saved his life !
Charlie now look what you have done !
So James departed only to discover that his flight despite all assurances
from the crew to the contrary had not been changed and he had to do a
standby but still managed to get on the big bird.
Next to depart was Shane the engineer who despite an enviable talent for not providing
any scandal what-so-ever dropped a faux pas on his very last day by displaying his lack of
understanding of ye formidable outboard gearbox puzzle i.e. forward and reverse.
Managing some dinghy acrobatics that saw ye poor old rubber duck go airborne almost fosbury
flopping under (or was it over) an anchor chain. he admirably demonstrated how not to do it
by squashing himself under a pontoon and then nearly decapitating
himself on said anchor chain. Surprisingly he survived and later caught the big bird back.
Flush with success our Captain Ed Sparrow spent most of his time in St Lucia rehearsing his
role for Pirates of the Caribbean Three.
The Resurrection of Captain Ed Sparrow from the Abyss of Over Indulgence.
But let it not be said that Captain Ed Sparrow failed in his attempt to educate his crew by
arranging a dynamic island tour to see the sunset at the impressive Piton mountains.
A must do in everyone's life!
The two hour drive was amazing with a four wheel drive vehicle negotiating hairpin corners on two screeching smoking bald tires
and by gosh was it worth it. It may have been dark when we got there but the Night Owl crew are made of sterner stuff plus the cocktails were fantastic so we closed our eyes and pretended
to experience a wonder of the world by drinking Tequila Sunsets. Th?e fact that we kept them down for the drive back was an even greater wonder !
He is soon to be re-united with his beloved Slow Black, Crow Black, Yachting Bobbing Night Owl which is undertaking a re-fit in the
legendary Rodney Bay boat yard. It may look like an abandoned demolition site but rest assured there is plenty of help at hand.
Next intriguing instalment soon !
Twit Twooooooo !