Markus would like to thank all members of the crew who made the celebration of his day of birth a fond memory (he will treasure til the end of time-Ed). Especially David Sage who made this voyage possible, making his last few days in the army memorable.

We have entered the channel at last. We past Lizard point at around 11pm last night. We could see its lighthouse 20 miles away, some of the best visibility we’ve had and off the coast of England no less.

Coming in to the channel means we have had to be far more watchful for other ships, such as the odd shaped car carrier which passed 0.8 miles away from us (better than the 0.4 he was supposed to pass by).

James won the sweepstake for what time we would enter the channel, with the correct time of 1500 hrs on Monday. So well done James – a popular victor.

Preparations for SODS opera are well underway and the sounds of music (almost anyway), the tuning of strings and rehearsal of lines can be heard all over the ship. Assuming they can be heard over the radio that is.

Our watch continues to make good use of the lookout position to stern as well as the standard look outs to port and starboard. Members of our watch prone to lying down have continued to prove prolific at finding work on the horizontal.

Lesley gave us a talk on buoys this morning and we even got to play with her toy buoys using them to mark safe passage for a vessel, even identifying the preferred channel.

Customs papers have been signed, performances have been written and decisions are being made. Before we know it we shall reach land and bring the Lord Nelson home from her lengthy voyage around the world.

Aft Port bidding a fond farewell to our friends aboard and abroad. Hope you’re all well and look forward to seeing you on land where the floor doesn’t move and the wind only causes minor diversions. – Richard (Cabin boy), Peter (still in charge, sort of), Chris MT (still sleeping), Markus (Birthday Boy), Kate (still smiling in a malevolent manner), Pam (still disappearing into the galley every now and again), Anne (still knitting), Olwen (still cheery), and JC (still around occasionally).

PS To the black sheep watch – Have you determined how long you are required to remain in quarantine due to being livestock from around the world??

PPS The parrot was tried and hung for treason, the monkey deflated for mutiny, the shark suffocated for theft and the palm tree chopped for kindling, the seagull survived the cull……