Monday 27th January 2020 – day 30
This little story about life ashore and aboard SV Tenacious. It begins with yesterday –
because I am an octogenarian and not very quick on the uptake.
Yesterday saw us at anchored in the bay at Portsmouth, Dominica. As such it is a free day. Go ashore and do your own thing, take a guided trip to either the waterfall in the rain forest or try the Indian River excursion.
“Free day” may be somewhat of a misnomer as bosun’s mates, of which there are far too many, are always around to allocate maintenance tasks if you sit too long in one place, so, all the voyage crew went ashore!
My choice of tour was taken up by six others and we were taken ashore by Cobra (a local touring outfit) in a small motor boat where we met 47 year old Alinton who was to be our driver and guide up into the rain forest and onward by foot to the waterfall. This was by a boulder strewn path covered with exposed tree roots until, after a sharp decent a river was reached. Stumbling along, but guided by Alinton in a safe and secure manner, we had the need to cross the river on foot to reach the waterfall.
It was awe inspiring. Around 20metres in height it rushed down in the shape of a “grey mare’s tail” cascading showers of water across the bodies of our group who had the courage to change into swimming mode and take the “plunge”. We were careful not to disturb the alligators which appeared to be asleep but the iguanos just ran away!
Our walk to the minibus was a reverse of our arrival. Alinton gave a commentary about the foliage and fruit to be seen as we motored along. Back at the main road we passed through Portsmouth, heading north then east,
until reaching a seaside stop for a pre-arranged lunch which was well served with a choice of fruit juices. After which we motored to the chocolate making business in a “bush” like environment. There were samples to be
tasted from a variety of about a dozen different flavoured chocolate. My favourite was ginger.
Then to Red Rock which was accessed by a narrow tree root-striven downward path to a huge series of semi-circular mounds of red hard clay-like substance that overlooked the beach. The mounds were bare but surrounded by
local shrubbery.
Our way back to Portsmouth was the same as our outward journey. Previously, Alinton commented on features that we passed but now he was on a mission to get us back on Tenacious before it got dark. The evidence was obvious,
without commentary, of some of the damage wreaked by the recent hurricane.
He discharged his responsibilities with alacrity. We all experienced a “white knuckle” ride as if his pants were on fire.
Sitting next to him in the front seat he commented as he drove in his bare feet that he was a “good driver”. I shakily nodded my head in agreement!
The other guided tour on the Indian River is reported to have been extraordinary and atmospheric. Iguanas were seen but no snakes. Swimming occurred. The area was a location for “Pirates in the Caribbean”.
Those enjoying a run ashore became engrossed in a Carnival both in name and by activity.
But, maybe the best was yet to come.
On board, a BBQ was held followed by a Cocktail party managed by our German contingent which arranged and operated a bar with the help of a very generous American (at least with me!). Music was non-stop in the Reggie vein with some very unusual and eclectic “dancing”!
Amen
Friday 24th January 2020 – day 27 on our voyage to Antigua
When we left Bequia we sailed off the dockside without the use of the engines. What a sight, everyone watching the ship’s crew working as one to set sails, this put into practice everything we’ve learnt so far.
Tenacious is currently sailing to our next stopover, Dominica, and we have now passed St Lucia and can see the mountains of Martinique ahead.
Everyone has recovered from the excitement of seeing Sperm Whales yesterday. Some of the crew that were stood on the foredeck reported that they could hear whale songs. What an honour.
Today’s smoko was another special occasion as it’s Gordon’s birthday so cookie treated us with a delicious chocolate cake which was messy to eat! This was followed by a talk from the third mate on buoy-age and the purpose
of buoys.
Preparations are well under way for the Caribbean party we will be enjoying when we are at anchor tomorrow night, A BBQ and open bar are the rumour.
We’ve just seen two pilot whales in the sparkling blue sea so life is good.
Bye bye for now from all on FS (FUN STUFF) watch! x
Thursday 23rd January 2020 – day 26
Bequia
Two days ago, we arrived at this paradise in the Caribbean. We made it, we have crossed the Atlantic Ocean!
Not only have we crossed this big ocean, but we have done it almost completely
under sail. There’s only few occasions where the conditions are right to achieve this. First time this has been possible after 7 ocean crossings, said our experienced BM, Ted.
After we congratulated ourselves for such achievement, we anchored at Bequia’s bay and we went ashore by RIB, with our skilful pilot Matt, who got us all wet, in case we didn’t have enough sea water during the last 3 weeks.
After dropping us in the middle of the town, some people run to get fresh fruit while others fresh drinks. Everyone was happy to step on firm land again. Celebrations went on during the day and night, with drinks, good
food, beach walks, rum punch and some dancing late at night.
The second day was similar. Some headed to the beach, others to a turtle sanctuary and others chilled in a bar. We all kept enjoying the delicacies that this island had to offer us. At night most of us enjoyed a nice dinner
with live music. Some came back to the boat for a harbour watch and an early night in, while few of us were politely asked to leave, four hours after first ordering “the last one”.
After a couple of days indulging ourselves with Bequia’s cuisine and rum, it is time to say goodbye to this beautiful island and its people. Thankfully we had an easy morning preparing to leave the jetty. We set the sails while drifting away from the mooring, a manoeuvre seldom performed which our skilful captain and efficient crew executed gracefully.
Shortly after midday, when Sean’s watch took over, Damien spotted a big whale blowing in front of us, a few degrees port. Everyone on deck got massively excited. The excitement grew even bigger when we saw a second one
lazily dipping up and down in the water. The excitement turns into a bit of panic when one of the big creatures decided to pass right in front of us. Officer Matt ran to the bow and started shouting instructions to Second
Officer Rowan who would repeat these to Fernando, who was slightly in shock at the helm. After the emergency evasive manoeuvre luckily, the whale decided to move her tail and get out of our way, just as Matt was seeing her
passing under his feet, at the bowsprit. Finally, one of the them said “goodbye”, raising her tail on the air and diving into the depths of the Caribbean Sea.
Monday 20th January 2020 – day 23 aboard Tenacious
Twenty days at sea – sailing all the time – and this morning we passed Barbados, some 20 miles to the North…….so little more than a smudge on the horizon. But the prospect of reaching the island of Bequia, our first destination in the Caribbean, is encouraging a buzz of expectation around the ship.
Around 1300 on our afternoon watch Tenacious crossed the 60th meridian and the log showed 3033nm from Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Many hands had been betting on the log reading and the winner (a cash prize + a donation to JST) will be announced later.
The bird thought to be a tern which we spotted the other day turned out be a Tropic bird, identified when several more appeared circling the ship, eyeing us up for potential food. We’ve also seen a pair of Boobies, and admired their swift dives into the sea after fleeing fish. (AD)
As we are getting ever closer to our first Caribbean island we have handed the royals so we don’t arrive too early. Everyone is so well entrenched in the sailing routine that we are all looking forward to experiencing something different on land, many are looking forward to a well-deserved ice-cold beer or two (or seven).
In order, for the ship to look its best for arrival, we all took part in a very energetic happy hour……..water water everywhere. Tenacious is now looking sparkling clean. (KH)
Sunday 19th January 2020 – day 22 aboard Tenacious
Well the cribbage games are endless
And the smellier people are friendless
People dance in the rain, like you do…
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar,
And the engineers deal with the poo.
She sails like a Mirror or a Laser
Everyone is happy, even Frazer,
But supplies are getting low, now the yoghurts finished too
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar,
And the engineers deal with the poo.
The flying fish are flying
The phosphorescence shining
But the sea water heads wont glow in the dark
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar,
And the engineers deal with the poo.
The stories are still being told
But some are getting old
The varnish on the rail is fresh again
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar
And the engineers deal with the poo.
There’s brown boobies in the air
On deck at least one white pair
Sure, you can be like that when you’re away
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar,
And the engineers deal with the poo.
We look for scattered squalls
And we try and rinse our smalls
Maybe this will do for one more day…
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar
And the engineers deal with the poo.
The young fellows flirt
In their cleanest dirty shirt
And the old people sigh and remember
And the young people play soft guitar in the bar
And the engineers deal with the poo.
Saturday 18th January 2020 – day 21 aboard Tenacious
Not a ton to report for this particular blog.
We saw our first ship in at least a week yesterday. Not incredibly exciting, but what is exciting is our proximity to the Caribbean islands. We’re closing in on our destination with just a few days left to go before making land. We hope to visit a couple islands before stopping for good in Antigua.
Overall, our trip so far has gone swimmingly. No major hiccups and steady wind has put us within reach of the Caribbean with time to spare. Everyone has gotten along well and learned a lot, although I think we’re all quite ready for some land under our feet. That’s about it, till next time.
Fergus Hinely – Tenacious Crew Member.
Friday 17th January 2020 – day 20 aboard Tenacious
The tale of the shy little whale.
Once upon a time there was a little whale. He lived in the Atlantic and everyday he would swim around looking for krill and new cool things to play with.
One day when he was floating around he heard a strange humming in the water. It seemed to have a pattern to it and he decided to follow it. After a little while he came across a very oddly shaped fish. It seemed to sit on top of the water, and from a distance the little whale could see that this strange fish was black on the bottom and then had three very thin fins pointing out the top with white side fins on the side.
The little whale was intrigued but as he was of very shy character he stayed in the water and slowly swam closer to the strange floating fish. The humming sound seem to be coming from it and as he got closer he began to see little shrimp like things scuttling over the back of the fish, with only two legs and very colourful skins. He stopped about half a mile away and decided to follow this floating fish a little longer.
For the rest of the day the little whale watched these little shrimp things wander over its back, climb up the masts of the fins and then when night fell he was able to make out the occasional bouts of laughter and brief catches of the songs that the younger shrimp things were singing.
The little whale swam by the strange floating fish through the whole night, hypnotised by the twinkly circular scales on the side of the floating fish and the occasional sighting of the little shrimps still wandering over its back.
As the sun came up over the eastern horizon and a new dawn began to break the little whale watched as more of these little shrimps began to appear on the back of the floating fish making lots of noise and splashing water over themselves in a funny washing dance. Suddenly they were all pointing towards the shy little whale and fearful of being caught, the little whale dived deep down into the sea and fled all the way home to its Mother, Father and siblings
He told them of his adventure and the strange floating fish. His parents laughed at him and explained to him that this was in fact a ship with people living on it, sailing across the ocean to reach the land at the edge of their home.
Feeling very relieved, and a little stupid for feeling scared of these funny people things, the little whale drifted to sleep listening to his father’s stories of these ships and their travels.
The End.
A Short Story written on behalf of Forward Port watch for the blog by Emily Cantwell-Kelly.
Thursday 16th January 2020 – day 19 aboard Tenacious
Fifteen days out and another three (or more!) before we’ll sight land.
After yesterday’s eggcitement today the murder game continues in which even some of the warier crew members are being ‘bumped off’ one by one. The Cribbage competition is underway too and yesterday afternoon’s talk by Luis
concerning his search for peace of mind and a fulfilling life was quite fascinating.
The Royals are handed each evening and set each morning so the voyage crew are becoming quite proficient (if not expert) at least at those two sails. Tenacious proceeds at around 6 knots and, as the wind has eased, the motion
is almost designed to rock us pleasantly to sleep after each long and full day.
A bit of excitement this afternoon as we passed US survey ship Ronald H. Brown. She’s engaged in recovering a sea buoy and, with a mile and a half of gear out, we needed to give her a wide berth. All hands were called to wear
ship (i.e. alter course by putting the wind on the other side) but then Captain Simon realised that we could pass safely ‘green to green,’ (without having to alter course too much), which we have done.
The flying fish, prevalent for the past two weeks, are less noticeable now, but a seabird, probably a tern, was spotted this morning. The pleasure of seeing our tall masts, with nine full square sails, arcing to and fro across the sky as they drive the ship forward, continues. Particularly spectacular at dawn and dusk when the sun or moon (full a few days back, now waning but still bright and clear) light up the fluffy cumulus clouds beyond the far horizon.
We have a fantastic cook on board and mealtimes are the highlight of every day, well done Ian!!!
Bye for now, best wishes from forward starboard watch x
Wednesday 15th January 2020 – day 18 aboard Tenacious
Today we had an egg-citing time with a competition between the four watches and volunteer crew to throw an egg from the forward mast platform as far as possible aft without the egg breaking. We also had to make entertaining presentations in fancy dress. All protective egg vessels had to be made from rubbish and be environmentally friendly in case it fell overboard. The rules were very strict.
All teams made a lot effort and got right into the spirit of the event even though there was a short preparation time.
The presentations varied from a playlet based on “Game of Thrones” and the golden dragon egg. Next a well-written and acted script to prove the world is egg shaped and not spherical, with all the technical mumbo jumbo to go with it. We had a lecture on how to prepare breakfast for the captain with the egg between two pieces of Marmited toast. Finally, a humorous poem and detailed calculations from a team dressed as chickens.
The throwers ascended the mast, watched by all and stood on the platform with their projectiles at the ready. Assessments were made of the aft wind and ship motion. Each thrower had a different technique. Four teams threw their projectile as far as possible. One team just dropped their paper bag of Rice Krispies hoping for an intact egg rather than distance.
The ending up points were marked in chalk with a cross.
All spent projectiles were recovered and the grand dismantling of the vessels was closely watched by all. First egg broken, second broken, the tension mounted, are any eggs going to survive. The third egg was intact, the forth broken and the final egg intact. Points were awarded by the judge and a winner announced. All in all, an eggcellent event with plenty of laughs after hard work.
Now on watch with dolphins on the port side, hot sun, 17 knots wind behind us. What could be better.
Monday 13th January 2020 – day 16 aboard Tenacious
The Atlantic.
Flashes of white foam
Amidst ubiquitous blue,
Sparkles in sunlight.
Today we reached 2000 nautical miles! The sun is shining down on Tenacious as we steadily make our way through the aquamarine blue water and spirits are high as we have made our way onto the chart including the Caribbean Islands.
After a very restful Sunday, many of the crew are back to work on the maintenance all over the boat.
The Cribbage tournament officially started yesterday morning and that evening the lower mess was full of the sounds of shuffling cards and opponents carefully counting through the patterns and combinations “…fifteen for two, fifteen for 4…”.
The stars last night were a sight to behold. With the moon rising late and the clear sky that we had, we were able to truly appreciate the magnitude of the universe and the realisation of just how small we are perched on the edge of the Earth underneath the glow of the planet Venus and the Milky Way.
All crew happy, well in the routine of the boat and enjoying the adventure.
The Cribbage Board
Hearts, spades, clubs, diamonds
Patterns and combinations
Picking through the board
Sunday 12th January 2020 – day 15 aboard Tenacious
Today is 12 January, but for everyone on Tenacious it is day 15 of our Atlantic adventure.
We have adapted to ships time and because we are running a 24-7 hour operation we are not really thinking of time like someone on land does. We are more concerned about the times of meals, sail setting and what time we are next due on watch.
Today was one of the voyage crews’ birthday (Fraser). To celebrate, we all enjoyed a fantastic chocolate cake. Other voyage crew made him some bunting out of old navigational chart paper and put up pictures of the birthday boy all over the ship.
Over the next few days we will all become “eggsperts” in aerodynamics because a game of egg drop challenge has begun. Each watch must come up with an innovatively designed vessel to transport the egg from the first platform on the foremast to the deck without breaking it.
Up to the time of writing, we have travelled 1834 nautical miles (almost entirely under sail) and yesterday was our halfway point between the lines of longitude for our departure and arrival points. The ocean appears to be empty of life and we are a small oasis of humanity.
Check back soon for more goings on aboard Tenacious.
Love from Forward
Starboard watch and the rest of the crew who are all fit and well.
Saturday 11th January 2020 – day 14 aboard Tenacious
Position: Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
The murders continue, no-one is safe! During the day some voyagers take to the rigging just like the monkeys and birds that live high in the canopy of the rainforest. They feel safe there. One woman, just retired, was murdered with a straw hat on her head under the bell in the bar at the Lower Mess. In her last moments she looked up and said (in a Scottish accent): “I trusted you, I thought we were friends.” No one noticed to whom she was referring.
The Bosun was overheard complaining to the Chief Engineer he was running out of canvas for body bags. The Engineer replied he was running out of old chain and pieces of iron to weigh them down.
It happens after dark, the sound of a splash and then the canvas passing starboard portholes of the Lower Mess as it sinks slowly down to Davey Jones’ locker. The sound of splash after splash as the ship rolls to starboard. It all takes place by the mainmast while the voyagers are below having dinner.
We in the Aft Port watch wonder why the Captain has not stopped this but we suspect he needed a large crew to get underway and a smaller crew to berth in Antigua, and the murders may be a way of stretching the provisions.
The Bosun, feeling left out, appealed for volunteers for helping with maintenance. The sign-up sheet remained empty until we heard that as soon as the ship slowed in calm conditions in the Caribbean that the bottom would need to be cleaned, which would be achieved by keel-hauling voyage crew who had not signed up for maintenance. Voyage crew were soon climbing over each other to sign up and soon a second page was needed.
The days began to fill with watch duties, mess duty, happy hour and maintenance. The only time to relax was in our bunks. This was to change…
Rowan, the Second Mate, organised a raffle. The closest guess to the log distance at 60 degrees West would win. A rumour soon circulated that the winner would not receive a prize but would be ceremoniously thrown overboard as a gift to Neptune for giving us safe passage to 60 degrees West. Now those amongst us with navigation skills lie awake carrying out complex mental calculations hoping their final figure will not be the closest while the others lie awake terrified their wild guess might be the closest.
As we in Aft Port huddle together we wonder why we are so well fed. Our chef and his galley team turn out the most amazing dishes day after day and, so far, no meal has been repeated or re-appeared on the deck. Then it dawned on us that on arrival in the Caribbean Islands we are to be sold as slaves. We reckon the captain will get a better price for well-fed and fat slaves. We can only hope we are sold to a benevolent sugar plantation owner who likes to gamble and is not very good at cribbage.
To you who find this message in a bottle, spare a thought for the voyage crew of SV Tenacious…
Friday 10th January 2020 – day 13 aboard Tenacious
Everything has been going smoothly on the voyage so far. It seems the wind might be dying down a bit in the near future so we are trying our best to take full advantage of the wind now (meaning a bit more rolling in the boat).
Last night we held a big trivia / quiz party with nearly everyone on the boat. We did five categories of different questions (music, general knowledge, geography, etc.). Bonus points were awarded for best team names and the best costumes. Some came dressed as pirates, others as firefighters. It was good fun and everybody put excellent effort into their costumes. Despite a few discrepancies in the trivia questions, it went quite well.
No exciting wildlife to report on, and except for the dwindling supply of fresh fruit, no complaints.
Fergus Hinely, SV Tenacious crew member
Thursday 9th January 2020 – day 12 on Tenacious
As we venture off to the West, leaving the blustering sand from the Western Sahara behind us, we venture into the heart of the Atlantic. The sun is shining and people are singing and dancing while sanding the bridge handrails. Smiles and lilt all around.
Everyone is not only settling into the rhythm of the waves but with one another too. Every day we are not only learning about sailing but also how unique and beautiful every individual is. Some of the voyage crew have already opened up certain chapters of their life with an organised talk. Each of these is teaching us a new lesson on life and perhaps a way we can approach things. As well as stories on protecting elephants in an Australian circus and leaving school at sixteen to travel to China, this afternoon, Kate will be giving us a talk on sailing blind which we are all very excited for.
Tenacious is filled with inspiration, confidence and warmth … not to mention great food from the chef Ian and his assistant Esme. Not only are voyage crew working on ‘mess’ duty but we are starting to help the Bosun with the maintenance of the ship. While evening entertainment is nothing short of belly laughs and attempting the splits to pick up a cardboard box off the floor. Tonight, the Youth Leaders will be hosting a general knowledge quiz for everyone.
Each day we learn that working together is what makes things move forward. You might have entirely different opinions on subjects with people but it is even more important to work through this and become a team.
For anyone ever feeling scared of taking the leap to venture into unknown waters (or land) just know the hardest part might be moving forward, going through the sharp turns and waves but it will be the making of you. You will learn far more about yourself that going back upstream.
Take the jump and don’t look back.
Wednesday 8th January 2020
Heading west (at last!)
Caribbean here we come!
Hi all, forward starboard watch doing the honours of updating you on the goings on aboard Tenacious.
Flash news briefing! A game of murder has commenced on board. So far 16 people have been ruthlessly murdered in cold blood with a variety of strange weapons (latest was with an electric iron on the bridge). Kates killing was spectacularly done, however, she did commit suicide afterwards. She killed Susanna, one of the Bosun’s mates, with a biscuit but by a twist of fate Susanna was tasked with killing Kate. As the next victim job passes to the murderer, Kate had to kill herself!
One way to tell that the ship is travelling to warmer climates is the sightings of shoals of flying fish that skim effortlessly above the waves. We have only found one dead flying fish on the deck but expect a lot more.
When we were on our last 0400 to 0800 AM watch we experienced the best sunrise yet. The sky was a brilliant orange/red, almost purple colour. Following a comment from watch-leader, Nige, that it would be nice to see a pod of dolphins, they turned up 30 seconds later and treated us to a display again.
Hope we are making you wish you were sailing with us, you never know, you just might join Tenacious on a voyage in the future.
We look forward to updating you soon. Best wishes from all of us in Forward Starboard watch.
Tuesday 7th January 2020 – day 9 aboard Tenacious
Today was a day for scheming. On our 9th day at sea, friendships and romantic relationships have begun to blossom and strengthen, pranks and “murders” have begun to take place, paranoia has set in and trust has been destroyed.
People are dropping like flies, yet romance still manages to be the high gossip among the crew. Everyone has their own conspiracies but in certain cases there is an undeniable spark between the voyagers. Some couples can be spotted for extended periods of time “teaching” in the chart room or swinging their legs off the first platform on the main mast, laughing so hard that it can be heard by the flying fish.
While love was as high in the air as Robin’s British flag, it was a time of sorrow for all those who have fallen during these treacherous times. RIP fellow voyagers, you will be missed. However, for those who remain a potential target, watch your backs, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer… are your friends even your friends…can anyone be trusted?
Aside from Assassins, don’t you worry, there are plenty of other schemes developing behind the scenes, just to keep everyone on their toes.
Until next time, Future Assassin Champions.
P.S. Matt’s message for his mum: “Hi mum! Love you!”
Monday 6th January 2020
We awoke this morning to fair wind and some sunshine, similar, to yesterday.
All the watches have gone smoothly and so far, no problems have arisen. A
pod of dolphins surrounded the ship at about one o’clock and gave everyone
on board a good show.
As we pass close by Cape Verde, we seem to have more wildlife sightings. Several birds were spotted and at least one Orca whale came close to the ship yesterday. Everyone is in good spirits, but sea sickness did claim its first victim today. Otherwise, everything is normal.
Our heading is 220 degrees to the southwest, and we will soon be getting into the meat of the voyage. Currently at a brisk 9 knots, it feels like we’re making good time.
Fergus – Tenacious crew member
Sunday 5th January 2020: A Day of Apparent Rest.
We started off this hallowed day of peace with an agonizing attempt to brace the main sails just after midnight with the change of watches. We had a little trouble as some of the braces caught on the rest of the rigging and nearly pulled off the arms of the off-going watch. With some good teamwork we managed to untangle the braces and eventually square the main sails and the off-going watch were allowed to go to bed.
After a lovely few hours of sleep we were gently serenaded awake by a fine example of elevator music and Sean’s lyrical Irish accent asking us to wake for Breakfast. For breakfast we were treated with Coco pops much to the delight of the crew. After breakfast the bosun mates introduced the game Assassins and has now made all onboard extremely paranoid of taking anything from anyone for fear of being ‘murdered’.
At morning smoko, we celebrated Joan’s first day of retirement from 35 years of working as a nurse and midwife with some divine chocolate cake made by the King of the Galley, Ian. We then had a questionable sighting of killer whales, which is still up for much debate.
As the winds have changed slightly we are now out of the Sahara dust shower of the day before and it remains a mild 20C.
We spent the rest of the morning climbing up the mast and then gingerly shuffling along the lower topsail yards, with varying degrees of fear in the voyage crew. Once down it was time for lunch and we had a delicious seafood style buffet with shrimps, salmon, charcuterie and various salads.
This afternoon has been very relaxed, occasionally checking the tuna lines streaming out the stern of the boat and doing a variety of squats, push- ups and some rather unbalanced lunges around the deck. To the great disappointment of many, Jim was the first victim to die in the Assassins game, being murdered by Nige only 2 hours after the game began.
Later today we are looking forward to a weather talk from Rowan and hopefully another enthusiastic game of Shout out or Articulate.
This apparent day or rest has not been so restful, but has been full of laughter and good fun.
Written by the fantastically fearless forward port watch.
Saturday 4th January 2020: Forward stbd log
We are heading for warmer climates, the sun is shining, and we are currently on the 12:30-4PM duty. Up until now nothing much has happened out on the water, but today a pod of very playful Atlantic spotted dolphins have been
breaching and belly flopping!
One of our watch members Kate who is visually impaired even heard their splashes.
We are moving at a reasonable speed of 5kts under sails and today at “happy hour” we had to clean some Sahara sand off the ship which is being carried over on the easterly wind.
Last night during our watch the moon was so high and bright it was leaving streaks on the surface of the water. Even Kate could sense the moon light refracting off the crests of the waves. Big happy smiles from forward stbd watch. Stay tuned for more updates from the Tenacious’ Atlantic adventure.
Thursday 2nd January 2020: blog from crew member Fergus Hinely
I joined Tenacious on 29th December 2019. The ship was docked in Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, behind the aquarium. The short stay in Las Palmas was mostly pleasant, but we did encounter some trouble with the pilot service. We were due to leave for Santa Cruz Tenerife at two o’clock in the afternoon on the 30th, and we got underway later than planned.
Our first night on the sea went smoothly, but was completely engine powered. After some morning training we cruised into Tenerife and were able to go ashore on New year’s eve. The bell was rung by the youngest of our 49 crew members, to mark the start of the new year.
The next day had a late start, and a delay in the pilot service as well as unfavourable winds kept us from embarking until around six in the evening. We are now entering our second day at sea with a heading of 215 degrees to the southwest, chasing after the trade winds that will move us across the Atlantic.
The crew is just getting into the rythymn of ship life and beginning to warm up to each other. We’ll have plenty of time for that in the coming weeks I’m sure. We’ve got several jibs and five square sails set and a killer ocean view. The ship is a bit rolly-polly, but no sea sickness….yet.
The food has been fantastic so far, but our fruit won’t be lasting too much longer. Regardless, I have faith that our cook will do just fine with what he’s got. Plenty of tea and biscuits have been keeping the crew happy and well caffeinated. That seems a good summary of the journey so far. We will continue to send updates of our experiences and condition of life aboard the ship.
Fergus of the S.V. tenacious
