Wednesday 25 August 2010

Picton Castle alongside at Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands; Wednesday 25 August 2010 בס"ד

Yesterday I was night watch for 0400, but Leonard woke me at about 0415 because he was slacking lines from the rain. By the time I was on deck, it was time to light the stove, so I did that. Slacked some lines, checked some chafe gear, and then was relieved by Meredith. Woke up at 0715, and after we were relieved, I had my laundry sent out with a laundry truck that came by, then went to the internet hub Telecom with Dapper. Paid for two hours of internet and thirty minutes of telephone, and so I uploaded photos and logs and called Karla. It would have been nice to call other people, but half an hour was about $20. Walked around town after that, then went back to the ship. Organized my stuff, and when on deck I saw a couple on the pier checking out the ship and so I gave them a tour (since tours were being given by us during this time). Helped Stein, a new trainee, with lines and tried to help him understand not just where they are, but what they do and why. In this way, I realized I'm actually quite knowledgeable about stuff that a few months ago was completely foreign and overwhelming to me. Typed up some logs, then gave another tour to a man and his young daughter after I ran over to Palace for a burger. After more typing, I went with Dapper to meet up with others at the cinema, and we watched Robin Hood. Then we all went out for a beer at Whatever! Club, only to end up buying each other rounds and rounds until close. Had a good stumbly walk back home to the ship, then passed out.

Woke up today at 0715 for duty, since I'm back on regular 8-12 rotation. Loosed all sails first thing, then I was put on galley duty with Adrienne. The laundry returned and so I grabbed that, put it away, and got to work. Was cleaning breakfast, maing a salad for lunch (Donald was helping for lunch), and setting up while several groups of about 300 kids came aboard and had a field trip. When on the quarterdeck, the skylight would open and I'd see several kids stick their heads in and say hi. The school teachers gave us all sarongs, and I got to learn some Polynesian dance moves from the kids on the hatch, which was awesome. David Brown told the kids to ask me where the beach and gym were, to flex my muscles, and again, the kids get quite a rise out of it for some reason. When they all left, we served lunch, and I catered to the officers and VIPs having a meeting in the Captain's mess while a large load of cargo was delivered. We also then received a fuel truckload of diesel. For dinner, we made stirfry chicken and salad, which was finished quicker than I had hoped, but it was good. Cleaned, and made banana bread with Adrienne for breakfast, but we burnt the outside crust. The bread was fine though. Now did a massive bunk clean, took a shower, and wrote this log. Probably going to type this up now so I'm caught up.