Day 8 – Sunday 16 February.

By Cathleen Hughes.

The first night through the storm was a rough one. Some of the crew members had to spend some time getting their minds into the right place and try to think about positive things. There is a constant battle between the comfort of the cockpit and the saloon. The fresh air from the cockpit is gratefully greeted with open arms but the sight of the waves approaching the boat as well as the sea spray and rain is not always welcomed especially when there is no sun to dry out ones foulies before the next shift. Rory had the first opportunity to do some wave dodging. This technique comes in handy when the odd waves starts crashing over the boat in such a way that the spray dodger provides no protection from the side on approaching waves. The saloon is comfortable because it is warm and mostly dry but the lack of fresh air, the heel of the boat and the damp mattresses are the down sides that we are forced to endure.

The use of the heads is another interesting task. With the loo on the starboard side of the boat, a starboard tack is definitely the least comfortable because the boat heels to the port. This means that using the heads has a very tactful procedure. One must approach the heads face on and undo all necessary buttons and zips before opening the door. Then place your feet in line with your shoulders and bend your knees. As you open the door, gravity will apply pressure and swing the door open towards you, this is where one uses the ready stance to dodge out of the way. The door will remain open by itself and this leaves a clear path to the toilet. Now you must use your Spidey skills to climb the diagonal path upwards. Lean towards the floor and grab the handle on the right hand side. Once you have managed to pull yourself in, close the door and position your feet at the base of the door frame and lower your briefs. Open the cupboard above the toilet to check that the toilet paper is still dry. DO NOT use the soggy toilet paper on the roll holder, it’s just a decoy and won’t be comfortable. The next part is all about timing. Wait for the boat to level out a bit and in one swift movement fling up the toilet seat, spin around and sit down. In order to remain on the toilet, your feet must be propped up on either side of the door frame perpendicular to your body. The left hand is used to hang onto the handle, although awkwardly placed in line with one’s neck, while the right hand is simply used for support on the ridge of the basin. Once your business is done, wiping is all in your own style but however it’s done it must be done quickly and with precision. Once completed, brace yourself on the door frame with your arms, stand up and pull up your briefs with one hand. Now all that is needed to be done is flush. Open the necessary seacocks, pump to flush the bowl then flick the switch and pump to dry the bowl. Don’t lose grip of the pump handle because you will end face first into the toilet seat. Remember to close the seacocks again so the water does not syphon back into the toilet and over flow. Now open the door and fall out of the heads with your arms ready to catch your fall on the opposite cupboard. Button up, zip up and now you can breathe.

For most of the men on the boat, they would prefer to go for a pee off the stern of the boat. This is all very well but as Ashwyn realised today, you must be careful of the fishing hooks lying around. Ashwyn had just left the companion way and headed for the stern when he gave a high pitched squeal and screamed for Doctor Virgil. The crew all thought the worst but Ashwyn’s great acting skills had us all fooled. At a closer examination, it was only the tip of the hook that was stuck sideways in his big toe and it wasn’t even bleeding. Never the less, he received a plaster on his toe and the hook as a memento.

Every day the laptop is used for emails, downloading GRIB files and blog writing. This means that the blog is unfortunately of last concern, especially since it can take up to an hour to connect to the sailor which provides the internet. A blog is written every day without fail, the timing is the only thing that changes. Sometimes the ocean will only allow us to connect in the early hours of the morning our late at night. It is frustrating but when on the ocean we have to take everything with a pinch of salt. We’d like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to Karmen who uploads our blogs every day and even works on the weekends to help keep everyone up to date on what’s happening on the boat.