Day 24

Just Another Monday Morning!

We are now 8 days out of the Chatham Isles and continue to experience fair winds and great sailing conditions. Our course changed to due East after spending the last couple of days avoiding a pretty deep depression that has now passed to the south of us. We have covered 182 miles in the last 24 hours and continue to fly our fore course and topsail, our main topsail, and 3 fore and aft sails. The ‘Nellie’ is nicely balanced and is running at 8 knots an hour.

Crew wise it’s been quiet domesticated 24 hours. Yesterday being Sunday, it meant no Happy Hour, our shipboard Sunday Service was led by Jenny Wedick, and we had a fabulous Sunday roast pork dinner. In evening the film club watched Python’s ‘The Holy Grail’.

An altogether typical day at sea. Except of course for the murders!

The hit rate as slowed as the number of ‘live’ participants diminishes. But the quality, deviousness, and planning is now as good as any Chandler novel! This is best demonstrated by our very own Captain who has started imitating all the classical behaviour of Jack Nicholas in ‘The Shinning’! He’s managed to ‘kill off’ the ship’s doctor and chief engineer this morning. Ah well, just another Monday morning.

But on a brighter note, today being Monday, our watch is looking forward to its laundry day, the footy results and another watch of whale watching (or not!).

And as for that Monday morning? Well it was a hoot. We were all crammed at our tables waiting to order breakfast. And Tracey (our cook’s assistant) asked who wanted eggs. Dead simple question you would think. But orders came in for full monty, eggs and black pudding, eggs and bacon, just bacon, beans and bacon. “What part of ‘who wants eggs don’t you understand’” cried our despairing Tracey.

Ah well, just another Monday morning.

Fore Port Watch: Sherwood W/L, Gary, Dave , Jenny, Bridget, Barbara, Paul and Mike