Monday 10 May 2010

Picton Castle at Anchor in Lunenburg Harbor; Monday 10 May 2010 בס"ד

Today started as usual with 0715 wakeups and breakfast. At 0800, we began to draw a crowd at the dock and at 0900 we were ready to disembark. The Mayor bode us farewell and we cast off our mooring lines and began to make way under some engine power but also on a starboard tack with lower topsls and the headsls set. Once underway, I went aloft to loose the foresl, which was a bit trickier since we were on a tack. We were making good speed when all of a sudden I observed that we weren't making any more headyway. Before lunch we had an all-hands muster where we learned that in a very unusual turn of events, both of our two radar systems malfunctioned for unknown reasons. If just one had, we would have continued, or if we were far offshore we would have continued to a near port for repair. But since we were just out of harbor, we turned right around. We can't pull back to the wharf since customs and immigration had cleared us out of Canada already, so we set to anchor in harbor. Once there, a radar technician would be brought to the ship via smallboat. But since we were at sea, we broke into sea watches and after lunch the 12-4 took to deck. I worked on a mousing aloft and three on deck. Then time was taken to learn lines for a while. When we arrived to our anchorage, we were told to up and stwo all sail to prevent windage. I returned to the starboard foresl and stowed. While I was there, WT told me to put a whipping on the clew gasket to shorten it (for it was too long), and so I prepared sailmaker equipment and fixed my sewing palm to a lanyard, then did my first whipping aloft. Right after that the 4-8 took the watch. I sewed my workhat in the batcave, read some Hornblower, then had dinner. After dinner I joined a game of Smut Scrabble in the forepeak. We had another muster where Rebecca told us we'd have anchor watch tonight. My watch is at 0300. One of our radars is fixed and our goal is to weigh anchor at 0800. Just read more Hornblower in the salon (the chapter, “The Man Who Felt Queer,” was quite visual and nerve-wracking given my newfound appreciation of aloft work). Now going to bed for a few hours when I'll get my 0245 wakeup.