STW23 Blog Wellington to Nelson

Day 1 and 2: For most of the voyage crew it’s all board Nellie and we meet our Watches in Wellington, New Zealand. A slight problem with some fog at the airports, and three voyage crew were kept patiently waiting to arrive into Wellington. Once all were aboard the usual induction began. A few bunks were shuffled, gender was confirmed for some application forms, crappy jokes about the heads flowed from Engineer Marco and Medical Purser Steve, and we proceeded through to evacuation drills. The new crew were excitedly introduced to their harnesses and went for a climb up to the first platform of the main mast. Those who had not yet had a chance to climb were able to witness others conquer their fear of the climb. After the day was over, we sat down for a nice seafood dinner of Salmon, mash and greens. Some were reminded to start taking precautions for sea sickness, and we are about to see how many of the new crew did take precautions, and how many of those it actually worked for. As Watch Leader Amy stated, “The fish are ready for a feed!”

Some of the watches had one last opportunity of going ashore and have some time to get to know each other over some drinks and snacks at the local Dockside Pub. A warning to those who were late comers, a good idea to be quiet up the gangway, because you WILL wake the captain if you aren’t careful, and that’s definitely not what we need. Little Hippopotami were reported tip toeing/wheeling/crashing above deck.

Day 2: We prepare for departure from Wellington, New Zealand. Tasks were assigned to appropriate watches, and voyage crew were asked to volunteer to help Nellie on her way out to sea. Next stop, Picton, New Zealand. We were briefed by Captain Barbara about the conditions ahead for the next few days and the action we would take. We practiced our bracing stations and learned how to coil ropes. We started motoring Nellie out of Wellington, and before we knew it we were sailing into the wind and the waves. There weren’t too many victims of sea sickness… After some time, we set the sails of the foremast and the main mast and were admiring the beauty of the day as the sun was shining through the clouds. We are currently sailing along the coast of Middle Earth where hobbits are prancing amongst the rolling green hills. Actually, there’s a beautiful view of the clouds covering the top of the green mountains and quite pretty to see the renewal able energy wind farms setup in the countryside. The (m)Army watch are currently on the 12.30-16.00 shift and have been acquainted with Helming the ship. Aside from the Helm, watch stations are appointed and rotating. The sun is shining favourable to Starboard through the sails and shading some of the bridge. There are only clouds on the horizon, the clouds above have hidden away and we are enjoying a gentle breeze as we come to the end of our Shift. We are off to a great start for STW23.

The (m)Army watch: Amy, Mark, Di, Cara, Tash, Gill, Brian