Novice notes
Pemandia
Peter Fabricius
Mon 25 Jul 2016 11:23
We, the more tender-bellied members of the trio, have had the ideal progression from calm seas to more bouncy ones. The owner has remained remarkably calm as we knock doors off their hinges, over tighten sheets, heave-to without trying and otherwise do our best to lengthen to journey home.
We have been doing three hour watches which gives us plenty of time for sleep, except Peter who appears from his pit to slacken sheets, unhove-to, etc.. At night, it has been a wonder to stand alone and watch the moon rise over an empty sea, to see the stars and the Milky Way stand out as clear as clear. What a lot of things move across the night sky.
It is an empty part of the ocean and so the appearance of any flotsam causes excitement. We alter course to get a closer look at something pink; is it a lost fender or maybe a stray fishing net float? A frisson of excitement at the possibility of a line being attached to it which could foul something sticking out. These small pleasures were as nothing compared with the appearance of a real ship during the afternoon and then yet another after midnight.
Yesterday was a cracking day, Gromitt, and we bounced along at a fine pace. During my watch after midnight the wind veered and fluked all over the place and I did my first solitary night tack. Not the smartest ever performed on Pemandia but we did eventually point the other way. Today we have settled on a starboard tack and are making steady progress in the direction of Iceland or Greenland which I am told is a necessary prerequisite to going home.
Malcolm
Sent from Yacht Pemandia