Thursday 23 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Thursday 23 December 2010 בס"ד

Got a 0515 wakeup, out of bed at 0600. Stretched, wrote my log, and read before breakfast. Work today included:

• PRIORITY #1: finish work in the headrig by priming port foretopmst stay sheave, painting buff on primed areas and second coat of penetrol on stem plate, clean up starboard sheave, corroseal, prime, paint buff on primed starboard spots

• paint stone the new sponge hotel and its doors

• TSP and paint buff the focslehead break overhang

• coat of corroseal and primer on propane tank C

• coat of tropical blue on propane tanks A and B

• paint black overlap on certain wire seizings throughout the ship that I put in an itemized list

• paint white the forestay wire seizings

• scrape port forsel sheet block, oil blocks (cancelled when we braced more square and they were outboard of the ship)

• wirebrush and clean exposed metal on capstan (possible now because the tack wasn't belayed to it), and corroseal and prime spots

• wirebrush, corroseal, prime starboard headsl sheet padeyes

• 180 scuff two port flyrail spindles 50/50 and 70/30 varnish

• ospho the rust off the bulwark across from the engineers port watertight door

• sand and penetrol two new deck brush bamboo holders

A bit of sail handling after domestics meant work didn't get started until about 0930. Shawn volunteered to do the propane tanks. Worked until 1700. It was posted in the scuttle that there'd be no ships work tomorrow because it is Xmas eve. Read Sea of Glory until dinner. At dinner, WT gave me a cold beer and a pat on the back, a very nice gesture. After dinner I got to work illustrating some Xmas cards that I'll give to some of my fellow shipmates, as is their custom. Did that for a while, and finished the evening with an introductory explanation of “What Jews Believe” when asked by a shipmate, “Why don't Jews celebrate Xmas?” Then bed.

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Wednesday 22 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0600, went aft for coffee but the 4-8s drank it all. Went upon the quarterdeck, and talked with them for a few minutes. They were going to work on getting the liferaft cases clean, and Nadja and Bracken said there used to be canvas covers for them (interesting). Below, wrote my log, and read before breakfast. Work for today included:

• TSPing the port focslehead ladder and painting the rail surf gray and rungs dory buff

• putting on two coats of primer on the new sponge hotel

• scraping clean and oiling the port foresl tack, clew, and sheet blocks

• wirebrushing, scraping and cleaning the stem plate under the bowsprit, then giving it two coats of corroseal and a coat of penetrol

• wirebrushing and cleaning the spot on the port bowsprit where the foretopmst stay is reaved through a sheave where its turnbuckle is bolted in (cheek block?), then corrosealing and priming them

• two coats 70/30 primer white to the areas of the forestay wireseizings that had been primed yesterday

• 60/40 varnish on the flyrail port spindle

• scraping and wirebrushing another propane tank, then corrosealing it

• assisting harness overhaul

I've been spot treating the inside edge of the paint locker hatch with wirebrush, corroseal, primer x2, and soon white. Also TSPed the bulkhead immediately under the paint locker door. A lot of sail handling today, taking in and resetting kites and royals more than a few times. Finished work by 1630, in anticipation of a workshop on seizings, but then it started raining and the workshop was delayed and then finally cancelled. Dinner in the salon, with a good OHHHHHHHH when Bronwen left her hat on. Read a lot of Sea of Glory, took a shower using my own green scrubby I bought in Bali to remove a solid layer of filth from my body, then bed at 2100.

Tuesday 21 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Tuesday 21 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0515. It's been gradually cooling down now since we caught the trades, making for much more comfort below, and last night it was actually quite chilly! Worked out til 0600, wrote my log, then read until breakfast. Work today included:

• painting the starboard focslehead rail surf gray

• painting the after thwartships focslehead rail surf gray

• painting starboard focslehead ladder buff

• painting another coat of black under coffee station

• painting the canvas of the port quarterdeck strongback pudding white

• TSPing and painting starboard forward bulkhead white

• lashing deck brush holder in

• painting red trim on bulkhead

• painting another coat of tropical blue on the two propane tanks A and B

• grinding down the bolt for the mizzen stay an inch so it didn't chafe the mizzen cap stay, then filing it down and corrosealing it

• sanding down new sponge hotel 80-180

• painting some green trim above the charthouse door

• cleaning, corrosealing, and twice priming chafed spots on wire seizings on the forestay

• scraping the port foresl tack and clew blocks and coating them in block oil

• checking and soogieing the weather pinrail

• assisting in harness overhauling

• overhauling and nipping bunts aloft

• varnishing the spindle on the flyrail 60/40

I got to lay aloft today to overhaul bunts, as WT said I haven't gotten to play in a while. Today was a good day, although it was funny to see how many times people, myself included, would touch the starboard ladder. Luckily no mess was made. After work, I left the paint locker open and prepared paint and other supplies for a 1630 workshop on coatings, sanding, painting, varnishing, etc, done by the Captain. It was a great lesson, and I learned quite a bit, particularly since it was about my dayman job now and I deal with it everyday. Cleaned the one brush the Captain used in his demo of how to cut a line, and then it was dinner time. After dinner, below to read more Glory of the Sea, then played some poker with Davey and Dapper. We tried to teach ourselves Baccarat, since Davey just finished my copy of Casino Royale, and using that book and “Hoyle's Book of Games,” we pretty much got it although the nuances of betting were not well-explained and so after a few hands we gave it up. Read more, edited my Head Herald article for length, then bed.

Monday 20 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Monday 20 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0600, had a coffee, wrote my log, and chilled before breakfast. Work list for today included:

• pull out port aloha veggie locker, scuff backside, paint buff and white

• TSP and paint bulwark behind veggie locker white

• put a coat of primer and two coats of stone on the screws on the batcave hatch

• paint propane tanks A and B tropical blue

• put two coats of corroseal and one coat of penetrol on the underside of the tgallant rail outside the engine room watertight door in the port breezeway

• TSP focslehead rails and paint surf gray

• TSP focslehead portside bitts and paint surf gray

• TSP cowlvent bottom and bulkheads around them and paint white, then paint bottom trim red

• TSP and paint white bamboo deck brush holder

• paint a coat of stone under coffee station

• assist with harness overhauls

• put primer on mizzen and mizzen cap stay bolts on the mainmast

I put a coat of primer on my harness buckles and nearly had an ulcer when about a quart of white paint was spilled on deck by one of my workers. It was cleaned up though, but I've been come quite sensitive to both spilled paint and even the tiniest speckles of paint on deck, so this was just too much. After work, made a new lanyard for my rig knife, as the other one was chafing at the hilt. Dinner, then typed a log, read some Sea of Glory, and watched and episode of KvsS, then passed out.

Sunday 19 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Sunday 19 December 2010 בס"ד

Clocks were retarded to ZD-6 in the night, so I got an extra hour of sleep, even though I still requested my 0500 wakeup as per usual. I woke up at 0600, and plugged in my laptop to charge up so I could type logs through the day. Read some Last Grain Race waiting for breakfast. Clark, Vicky, and Josh were on galley today, and for breakfast they did Cafe Chibley #2, opening the galley at 0730 until 1000 for short order breakfast items. It was a great success, and I ordered fried egg, baked beans, hash brown, and waffles. Later, Clark called me up to have some blueberry breakfast cake, which was the best I'd ever had. Read a bit more, then once my computer was done charging, I got to typing up my logs. I started on 5 November (that's how far behind I am). Did that til 1100, and let my laptop charge one more hour while the generator was still going. Helped the galley team with small errands, like getting a block of frozen cheese from the hold, etc. Lunch was extra-big grilled cheese and onion sandwiches, which were great. Typed until 1430, read a half hour, where I finished the Last Grain Race, and so then I took a nap from 1500 to 1600. At 1600, there was a marlinspike with terrible Xmas music. At first, I remained with some bros in the forepeak listening to Nirvana, then played Bananagrams in the salon with Jan and Adrienne (whose birthday it was) and Astrid. Hung out on the aloha deck, then got my Georgie pants (soft white pants Spratt gave to Georgie who gave them to me) and hung out on the well deck. Dinner was served amidships on the hatch, and it was super cheesy lasagna. I had the veg option, which was spinach instead of beef (no mixing meat + dairy) and it was incredible, although my lactose intolerance was already past its threshold with lunch and I made for a stinky companion. Birthday cake for Adrienne, then after helping clean up, I began to read “Sea of Glory” by Nathaniel Philbrick, the story of the United States Exploratory Expedition, aka the US Ex-Ex. Did a well deck workout with Nadja and Susie after 2000, which included the 6-minute 6 pack like old times. Then chilled on the line locker enjoying the sight of our barque sailing in the moonlight. Then went to bed.

Saturday 18 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Saturday 18 December 2010 בס"ד

Got an 0530 wakeup, but was still DTW til 0715. Breakfast, then work. Today's list:

• grease all freeing port hinges and rudder steering post mechanism

• paint another coat of black under coffee station and also a coat on the after chocks

• corroseal and prime propane tanks A and B

• nip bunts as needed

• assist people in overhauling their harnesses

• scrub forward bulkhead and cowl vent pipe to prep for paint

• wirebrush, corroseal, and prime mizzen stay bolt on the mainmast

• use rust remover chemical solution on some fasteners on the batcave hatch, then corroseal and prime

As today is Saturday, only work from 8-12. At the end during clean up, Siri asked me to mix her 50% varnish, 35% penetrol, 15% 004, so I did. Lunch, then watched 20 minutes of The Hangover in the batcave with Susie, then DTW in my bunk. Woke at 1600, did laundry, and a 1630 workshop on celestial navigation part II, this time in two groups, noon sights for beginners, and star twilight sights for advanced, which I joined the latter. Dinner, then wrote an article on Hanukkah for the head herald, basically explaining what it is and that it's not “Jewish Xmas.” Now writing my log, then gonna read.

Friday 17 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Friday 17 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0545 and laid in with holystoning at 0600 to 0630. Wrote log, read, breakfast. The work list today included:

• going aloft to the maintop and removing roofing cement spooge from the boards

• scraping down the remainder of the aloha deck red waterway and prepping it for paint, then painting it

• wirebrushing and scraping the propane tanks to prep them for corroseal, primer, then white

• painting the black underneath the coffee station

• scrubbing the cup baskets

• scuffing the scuttle doors with 80-180 sandpaper, then varnishing

• sanding the outboardmost port spindle of the flyrail with 180 to prep it for the Mate and Siri

• check and soogie pinrails if needed, which was

• paint the after chocks black over the red overlap from tgallant rail painting

Even though the worklist seems smaller than yesterday, the jobs were somewhat bigger, particularly the aloft work, the propane tanks, and the scuttle doors, so that I didn't experience the lulls I had yesterday, and could always put somebody somewhere. I did encounter my first speed-related issue today, since somebody was taking a ridiculous amount of time to finish scuffing one door, while the other door was progressing right along. I tried a few ways to tell them to hurry up without patronizing them, since we both have the same amount of experience sanding things, and since it's not really a terribly hard job, but they continued at snail pace. I ended up just waiting for them to helm then putting somebody I knew to be super good on it. I also asked Sophie for advice. Anyway, after work, a 1630 workshop on basic celestial navigation, set up as an intro for new people, and a refresher for those familiar. Dinner, then watched two episodes of KvsS, but worked out on the well deck when they put on a movie. Read some, then worked out until I could hardly move, then passed out. Shabbat Shalom.

Thurday 16 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Thursday 16 December 2010 בס"ד

Got an 0500 wakeup, but slept til 0715. Breakfast, then work. Today's work included:

• scrape and prep more aloha deck waterway

• scuff port breezeway head door, charthouse door, and rail in bridgewing with 180, then varnish

• scuff port forwardmost quarterdeck deckbox lid with 80-180, then varnish

• assist people in overhauling their harnesses

• finish tropical bleu overhead spot painting

• relashing oars, tiller, rudder, etc, in Monomoy

• paint red the rail stanchion bottoms in the quarterdeck waterways that were missed

• check and take up on boat lashings

• remove old cowl vent grommet, replace with new

• stone paint on porthole in port breezeway

• second coat of primer under coffee station

• stone touchup on galley diesel box, which turned into TSP box and repaint stone

• paint pudding on starboard strongback between davits

• paint center part of aloha deck waterway red

• oil lift and sheet blocks on the foremast

• paint under coffee station stone

• clean chonchey and soogie pinrails

• clean and TSP starboard forward bulkhead

There were times when all jobs were being done, or already finished, and I still had people to work, so I'd ask WT for the next things on the list, but I'd still get them finished. So in lulls like this, Sophie suggested oiling blocks, and I turned a one-flick-of-the-brush spot painting on the diesel box into a just-give-it-a-fresh-coat job. Also just had people clean things. At one pint I handed someone to the carpenters, where they just put a coat of penetrol on the new coffee station. After work, chilled with Davey talking about road tripping throughout the USA. Dinner, and chilling on the well deck trying to do wrist flick snapping. Read some more, then copied music from Dave to my computer. Bed.

Wednesday 15 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Wednesday 15 December 2010 בס"ד

Got an 0515 wakeup, and got up at 0615 to lay in with holystoning on the focslehead. Wrote my log, then breakfast. Work today included:

• scraping down the starboard third of the aloha deck waterway and painting the cement red

• spot painting tropical blue overheads

• putting a coat of 30% white primer on the airport in the port breezeway

• scuffing the galleyhouse strongbacks and painting them buff

• painting the hardware at the gooseneck of the mizzen boom buff

• tarring the cowl vent grommets

• painting the rest of the quarterdeck waterways red

• painting the tgallant rail on the aloha deck a second coat of red

• putting corroseal on the superstructure behind sponge hotel when it was removed in the spots Bracken was grinding, then priming them

• lashing sponge hotel to the starboard well deck

• overhauling a pile of harness carabiners

• painting the foremast partners signal green

• having aluminum primer available for people who were overhauling their harness buckles

• putting the starboard cowl vent grommet in place

• helping Logan and the riggers relead the outer jib halyard

After work, read more Last Grain Race, and Misquoting Jesus, then had dinner. Ate candy with Dave, then the “RED BULL” incident, then bed.

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Tuesday 14 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0500 to use the head, and saw the glow of another ship abaft our port beam. Went back to sleep until 0700, and as I woke I heard the 4-8s setting royals. Wrote my log, as is my new custom, and had breakfast. Today's work list was:

• put 70/30 primer/white on the airport in the port breezeways

• paint the fantail tgallant rail red from port stanchion to starboard stanchion on the alohadeck

• paint the port waterway on the quarterdeck red

• clean, wash, and paint all accessible parts of the galleyhouse roof stone

• wirebrush and corroseal the bolts on the spanker boom gooseneck

• paint the spanker clew outhaul block shackle black

• spot paint the entire tropical blue overheads of the breezeways, aloha deck, and under the bridge

• spot paint chafed spots of wire seizings on main stay

• access bilge of the hold under the port catwalk by the water tank to remove dropped items

• organize totes in the hold

• tar grommets for the cowl vent pipes

At two separate times, the jar of red paint used by the aloha deck painters was knocked over and spilled, much to my dismay, and created the new jobs of cleanup and damage control. I spent much time mixing and preparing paint. WT sent me into the hold's bilge to recover fallen items. From 1200 to 1300, the on-watch was on standby for sail-handling, since a big squall was closing. It never got us though, and while waiting I cleaned the paint locker door and re-wrote the brush cleaning instructions. At 1600, all hands turned in their harnesses for inspection. Then I cleaned up the paint locker and was done by 1645. Read some Last Grain Race, dinner, and Taia's birthday. More reading, KvsS in the forepeak, more reading, and then bed.

Monday 13 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Monday 13 December 2010 בס"ד

Got a wake up at 0500, but was tired still so slept in til 0645. We were sailing again, with all squares but the royals set Had breakfast, then set up for work. WT said today there was three things to do: put primer on the airport in the port breezeway we'd been working on, scrub the tropical blue overheads of the breezeways all the way around the superstructure, and scrape paint specks off deck. The weather today was uncertain, and had a good likelihood of picking up hard, so we didn't want any projects open that couldn't be instantly stopped if sail-handling was required right away. The first part of the workday, I spent cleaning and organizing the paint locker, and overhauling paint cans, jars, pots, etc. Then after lunch, I laid in with deck scraping. Finished work at 1600, read more Misquoting Jesus, chilled on the aloha deck and chatted with Tiina, had dinner, began reading Eric Newby's “The Last Grain Race,” and then did well deck forearm workout. The weather never got crazier than 5 gusting 6, although the swell coming from the south is big from the weather in the 40s, says the Captain. Finished Dabangg in the forepeak with Davey, Dave, and Dapper, then we ate maple syrup Canada cookies, and I went to bed.

Sunday 12 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Sunday 12 December 2010 בס"ד

Clocks were retarded an hour last night as we set to ZD-7. Got a courtesy wakeup at 0630 from Shawn, who knew I'd still want one even on Sunday (attaboy). Robert didn't want to wake me, insisting I'd want to sleep in. I was feeling much healthier today, and after breakfast I laid in with doing dishes. Then I got to seriously typing my logs, carrying on from the spot I last was, the day we anchored off Aore for our six day stay in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Typed until 1100, then plugged in my computer to recharge for an hour before the generator shut down. Began reading “Misquoting Jesus,” a book the Captain loaned me that deals with the inherent issues of copy errors, mistranslations, and lost originals that specifically applies to the Christian bible. He has told me that the study of Judaeo-Christian history and historicity is a hobby of his, and since I enjoy that stuff too, he loaned me this book. Lunch, then back to typing until my computer died at around 1600. I gave my present to Sinter Klaas AKA Jan, who organized a small Dutch-style grabbag gift exchange. I had picked Odrun, and I made a gift of a beer, some hot chocolate, and fuzzy dice air fresheners I found in Bali. At 1645, he handed out gifts to everybody. I received a packet of pre-made “FRED” labels from Sophie, which was cute. Small spike with the baked good and molled (sp?) wine, and I spoke with the Captain about history. Then the Captain informed all hands it seemed we'd outrun the cyclone, but weather might still get nasty. Dinner, then washed dishes. In the forepeak, watched two episodes of Kenny vs. Spenny, and then started Dabangg with Davey who didn't see it in Fiji. Got a new pillow from the pillow fairy, and left it wrapped in plastic. Bed.

Saturday 11 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Saturday 11 December 2010 בס"ד

This morning's work was continuing to lash things down, particularly in the hold. First we emptied Sea Never Dry of everything but oars and trash, and moved it all. I worked with the 8-12s doing this, balancing the task of putting people on jobs, monitoring progress, and knowing who is where, with being in a ball in the hold lashing and relashing things as snugly as possible. By lunch, (which on Saturday I eat at 1200), the ship was secured for heavy weather. Lunch included sashimi from a Mahi that was caught earlier. After, I rearranged my bunk, put up a map, sharpened my machete and knife, then accidentally passed out until 1615, when we had a wakeup for a quarterdeck muster. The Captain gave us an update on the cyclone, saying the forecast now was that it would for at our current position in about three days. We should still be well ahead of it by then, and if it's too close, we'd fall off to the north. After the discussion, we stowed all square sail, I on the foresl (with a dozen others, a ridiculous amount of people on the yard). We'd already been motor-sailing since the morning, now only fore-and-aft set. Caught a 38lb wahoo before dinner. Discussed corn, it's definitions in English, and chametz on the aloha deck. After dinner, watched the three-part-episode of South Park where they are superheroes. Now writing this log. Repaired my rig sheath, which was starting to come apart, by putting reinforcement stitches in three places, and also added a new belt buckle hole so my rig fits better. Stayed up planning ways to repair and improve 801 Olive.

Friday 10 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Friday 10 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0715. Instead of painting today, the first order of business was WT and I putting roofing cement under the rubber pads that seat the fantail grating benches, then putting them back in place and fastening them. Of course, roofing cement spooged on our white paint, but we both learned that vegetable oil works better than turpentine at removing it. Cleaned off the wrenches and putty knives the same way. The rest of the day was spent lashing and relashing everything Cape Horn-style, as the rumor was we might catch an Indian Ocean cyclone. We took many spars from atop the galleyhouse, and moved them into the hold, put extra lashings on the boats, veggie lockers, deck boxes, fishing chest, racks, and individually lashed each of the propane tanks, relashed the lumber in the starboard breezeway, and tarred the lashings, and getting paint and penetrol ready for plywood hatch cover reinforcements with our call sign EW5P painted on. Everybody heard different things about the weather. At 1630, after all the day work was done, a quarterdeck talk from the Captain put us in the picture. The Captain explained with his diagram that the current forecast was predicting a cyclone in about five days, and that it should be well astern of us, but things can change as weather isn't very predictable until immediately before it happens. He told us about cyclone characteristics, differences and similarities compared with Atlantic hurricanes, the two semi-circles and maneuvering strategies for ships. He had drawn our course, and at the end when nobody had questions and he was about to put it away, I asked a somewhat rhetorical question, “I notice that the course you drew has us stopping somewhere after Reunion and before Cape Town. Are we stopping somewhere new?” And that Captain replied that he would like to, if there is time and circumstances permit, stop at Maputo, Mozambique. This confirmed scuttlebutt that had been lightly floating around since the beginning of the voyage; that we'd try and stop at Madagascar, Mozambique, or as far north as Zanzibar, Tanzania, though the latter was unlikely because of the proximity of pirates. Everybody was excited, but of course, nothing is ever guaranteed, we're bound towards, not to. After dinner, I worked on my Portuguese lessons (now far more likely to be useful if we stop in Mozambique), and hung out on the focslehead before going to bed. Shabbat Shalom.

Thursday 9 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Thursday 9 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up in the night when lower topsls were set. I could feel the change in the wind. Back to sleep until 0530, when Shawn and Liam gave me my courtesy wakeup (I request early wakeups if possible) and a heads up that we'll be loosing all sail shortly. Got my harness on, and at 0615, loosed all sail. I got the main tgallant. Then set all sail. Finished trimming at 0655, now writing in log before breakfast. Jobs today included:

• scuff the faintail grating benches and apply a coat and a hotcoat of varnish

• give another coat of white to the fantail

• paint Captain's mess airport stone

• spot paint forward bulkhead white

• paint forward chocks and port cathead black

• de-gunkify putty knife covered in roofing cement

• paint more of port waterway on quarterdeck

• begin to organize paint locker

• wirebrush and corroseal/aluminum prime the airport forward of the engineer's ladder

• clean the soot off the quarterdeck

• clean the Monomoy

• clean the navigational and communications equipment atop monkey island and the stack

• clean behind the aloha deck veggie lockers

I personally saw to the putty knife, and I taught Astrid some things while we cleaned behind the veggie lockers and the nav/com equipment. Throughout the day, it was cool and windy, but drizzle squall stopped us a few times because of the varnish job. Luckily, they passed quickly. The only real rain squall was at 1615, when we started packing up. Finished at 1645, and hydrated for an entire hour before dinner. Niko's bday, then I practiced knots near the head because I had terrible gut and I didn't want to be far. Cool enough for the forepeak tonight, and caught some Da Ali G Show before bed.

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Wednesday 8 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0500 and moved back to the line locker. At 0600, laid in with holystoning, which was only fifteen minutes long before they did deckwash. The sea is glass calm, not a breath of wind. Wrote my log, saw some dolphins. Breakfast. Still didn't feel very well at all in the gut. Laid in with most jobs today. Jobs included:

• remove fantail grating benches

• label rubber pads for benches and overhauling

• overhaul bolts, nuts, and washers for benches

• scuff benches with successively finer sandpaper

• penetrol and varnish benches with hot coatings

• clean up fantail with water, TSP, 004

• paint entire fantail white from tgallant rail to waterway with overlap

• clean and paint port quarterdeck waterway

Other tasks today included:

• lay in with riggers taking down mainsl and fore royal for overhauling

• lay in with sailmakers storing old sails in the sole

• lay in with sail handling with fore-and-aft sails

I didn't personally do any varnish or quarterdeck waterway work, otherwise, I was here and there doing it all. Finished painting the fantail with six other people at 1630. Had to superfast clean the brushes so I could catch the power shower. After dinner, studied português lessons with Sophie, and spoke with Vicky about my illness. I haven't peed in 48 hours, I have terrible stomach pain, liquid stool, gas, and bloating. She thinks it may be giadia, and gave me some meds to take at meals. She also gave me hydration salts and told me to keep drinking lots of water, bedcuase not peeing is bad for the kidneys. Drank 64oz of water, then tried sleeping on the line locker. After a while, I relocated to atop the galleyhouse, trying to stay outboard to weather because the main topmst staysl is set and I don't want to have it collapse on me if it is struck. Bracken's birthday, and last night of Hanukkah.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Tuesday 7 December (a day that will live in infamy) 2010 בס"ד

Woke up early, but went back to sleep until 0715, and was still feeling miserable. Breakfast, then a rundown of jobs with WT. The jobs I assigned people today were:

• paint black overlap on wire seizings on shrouds

• scuff and paint red gunwale trim on the rescue boat

• scuff and paint black trim on the rescue boat

• clean and paint red sections of the quarterdeck waterways

• put primer on Captain's mess airport

• put primer on forward bulwark

• second coat of 30% white primer on fantail [funny story: I had to make a sign indicating the freshly primed area, so I wrote “THE PINK IS WET” and received many comments. Then we caught fish later, getting fish guts all over the new coating, and so not only was the pink wet, but it now smelled like fish]

• linseed oil the wildcats on the windlass

• scrub the entire superstructure down with soapy water

• wirebrush and corroseal part of the port cathead

• decksweep and clean brushes

I had to get a new 5 gallon bucket of white paint out, a new bucket of primer, pour new reds and blacks, mix white primer, etc. At one point around 1300 we anticipated a squall, shut down the works, but then it passed very quickly and we got back to work. We saw a pod of whales and before dinner about 50 or so dolphins feeding on flying fish. At 1600 we took in all fore-and-aft sail and stowed the kites. I stowed the main tgallant staysl with Pania. Finished work by 1645. After dinner, I was feeling better, but tired. Passed out before the capstan, then moved to the line locker, then eventually went below DTW. Seventh night of Hanukkah.

Monday 6 December 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Monday 6 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0545 at the crackadawn, went up on deck, and it started squalling so I laid in with the 4-8s, and helped take in the headsls, brace with the squall winds, and slack gear. Waited til breakfast, then got ready for my first official day as Bosun's Mate. Set up the dropcloth, and learned how to cover up the Panama chocks, and in that process WT taught me about shock loading. He got his list of things to do from the Mate, got out his old lists of projects, and we went around checking out the spots that needed work. Then the call came to set all sail, so I went around sail handling with the 8-12s for a bit. After that, set people up with jobs. Jobs today included:

• Scraping off corrosion, corrosealing, aluminum priming, red oxide priming the starboard Captain's mess airport ring

• TSPing the transom bulwark painted areas after de-munging the grating bench, then mixing 70/30 primer/white and priming the already primed areas

• rustbusting the port cathead, both forward open chocks, and the area of the forward bulkhead outboard of the starboard cowl vent, then wire brushing and corrosealing. NOTE: rustbusting begins no earlier than 1115 and finishes no later than 1300, however, by 1130, the Mate had told WT to avast rustbusting until further notice, so we had the busted areas wirebrushed and corrosealed as they were

• wirebrushing the starboard anchor cable exposed between the wildcat to the hawse, then coating it with linseed oil

• corrosealing the inside of the hawsepipes with a double broomstick-rigged brush

• scrubbing out the waterways on the quarterdeck in sections with soapy water, then fresh water tacking them down and painting them ensign red

• cleaning out the oily grime in Monomoy with bilge cleaner

• fix the exterior light at the forward port corner of the charthouse by the bridge

• clean off the bottom of the skiff with a deckbrush

• scuff up and paint the white gunwale trim on the skiff with Toplac white

• prepare the bamboo deckbrush holder tube for painting

Of those, today we finished the airport inner ring, the TSP and primer job on the transom bulwark, wirebrushing and oiling the starboard anchor cable, corrosealing the hawsepipes, scrubbing out and painting starboard forward waterway, and scrubbing half of port waterway, cleaning oily grime in Monomoy, fixing the light, cleaning the skiff's bottom, painting the skiff's gunwales, and preparing the bamboo brush holder. Throughout the day, we braced many times, and set and took in various fore-and-aft sails. Nadja had me lead a team in setting the main topmst and main tgallantmst staysls. I located, mixed, cut, divided, and distributed all paints and oils used. I cleaned many brushes, and I laid in with jobs a few times when we were short of hands and other jobs were going well. I monitored progress and checked quality of all assigned jobs at different times. I made lists of jobs: past present and future. I learned from WT ways to “motivate” people to do a better job or a faster job without being a bossy dick. These are all things I will be doing everyday and need not write about over and over. It's far too difficult to write down who I put where doing what, so I won't. I very much enjoy the challenges of this new job, and am quickly gaining a new perspective of the ship. All was cleaned up, picked up, put away, and done by 1745, twelve hours since I woke. Had dinner, and still felt nauseous, which I had all day long. I'm definitely still sick, but I'll manage. Not afraid I'll die. Chilled on the well deck and in the forepeak, now bed. Sixth night of Hanukkah.

Sunday 5 December 2010 [INDIAN OCEAN]

Picton Castle at sea (Indian Ocean); Sunday 5 December 2010 בס"ד

All hands 0800, and first thing I did was work with the 4-8s covering and battening down the cargo hatch. Then WT called me to the aloha deck, where he, Sophie, and I got a “talking to” about the quality of the primer job along the fantail bulwark from the Captain. There were some globs in the coat, drips on the grating bench, neglected spots, etc. Since I'm the BM now it's my job to make sure this doesn't happen. Mixed some primer, and Frankie and I got to priming and trying to clean up the messy spots left for us. Then at about 1000, hands to the windlass, and we weighed anchor and motored out of Benoa Harbor, out to sea again. I had to clean up the paint locker area under the ladder quickly, then once out of harbor we did a fire drill and an MOB drill. Luckily (or maybe not luckily, but intelligently), I had checked the station bills earlier since we've got new people, and learned I was now reassigned to forward extinguisher duty, and I made sure that I knew which onces to grab. Otherwise, I'm still on fender rescue boat for MOB and assist launch ships boats for Abandon Ship. After the drills, I got a team and cleaned out the rescue boat, which was pretty grimey from doing two weeks of skiff runs. Gave it all a good, soapy scrub, hosed it down when deck wash came by, soogied, etc. Loosed and set headsls next, then put a shank lashing on the port anchor. To do that, I needed to dig around the line locker, and in doing so, I discovered several really sloppy coils, which I'd ended up redoing. WT impressed upon me the importance of making sure people close the line locker properly, lest we bust the hinges or take on water, and how I should instruct people to do so. Soon after, we had lunch, then after about half an hour, 12-4 took the deck, and off watches were stood down. I put [people] on the priming job, and when I'd check on it, they had already gotten primer everywhere it shouldn't be and nowhere it should. I tried explaining and instructing, but it's a weird thing to tell your equals what to do in an official way. I have been called Fred only a few times today and “MR. Bosun's Mate” many several. It's as if I went from being one of “us” to one of “them” in an instant, but it will take getting used to I suppose. I'm not the only one who has had this experience today; Shawn and Brad are now Lead Seamen of their watches and Shawn related to me that it was a similar feeling for him. Well, we both don't wanna screw this up, so we'll have to deal with our very minor upgrades in authority quickly and appropriately. “Any man can handle adversity...” sort of idea, even though we're still very low on the food chain. Anyway, back to reality, up and loose all sail, and I went to the foresl and had an interesting jam when the bolt rope was pinched between the furl and the jackstay underneath the stunsl iron, and took some creative fenangling to manage it free with Robert. Back on deck, had new people assigned to the aloha deck after WT examined it and said it need to be perfect. Still getting over telling people to do something instead of just doing it myself. Back and forth for a while, swet the well deck, then lost a primer worker so I just finished it myself. Cleaned up and finished for the day. Did some forearm workouts, pullups, etc, for a bit, and then a quarterdeck muster about the passage plan, then dinner. More workouts after. Taught Abby how to grind coffee, and helped Shawn take up on halyards. While writing this log, the engine fired up and we took in all sail. Now to organize my bunk and bedtime. Fifth night of Hanukkah.

Saturday 4 December 2010

At anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Saturday 4 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at the crack of dawn, spent an hour in the head, headache raging. Met up with the others at 0700, and Chris told me he was ill also. We got a ride back to Benoa, and at the Marina I learned many of us have or have had this illness, and that it shouldn't be more than 48 hours long. The first skiff at 0830 was packed to capacity, so I stayed behind with some others to wait for a delivery of meat. It came in 13 styrofoam boxes, so we loaded it up and told them to hang on while we brought it to the ship, unloaded it, and returned the styrofoam. On the skiff ride, Nadja said to me, “Congrats, BOSUN'S MATE!” and I got a shot of happiness into my system that took away all feelings of illness for a short while. Once aboard, it was pretty chaotic on deck. I went on mizzen boom squad, and helped reave the sheets, shackled in the blocks, and top it once we all had moved it from the breezeway to the quarterdeck. Then I packed up my new seachest with things I don't need to see for a while. I was all over the place, doing job to job, from helping cat the port anchor to lashing down deck to putting padding on cargo to overhauling ratchets to lashing stuff in the hold, etc etc. Had lunch, tried resting some since I felt like shit again, and after break we learned that instead of departing at 1400, we'd wait for the morning tide. Also, Made Alon's wife was going to do a Balinese dance routine for us. After lunch, lashed stuff in the hold, then painted the hatch coaming with a coat of stone. Cleaned up brushes (a big part of my new job), and then did a deck sweep. We watch the dance performance on the hatch by Made's wife, then off watches were stood down. The old 4-8 had the watch today, so I was on duty. The off watches went ashore,a nd we just tidied up deck. Early dinner, galley clean, the shower run #2. Back aboard, stowed my bunk, set up my hammock on the focslehead. Passed out for a bit, then stood 2300 anchor watch. Last skiff in with the Mate aboard, otherwise nothing, except I saw three snakes in the water (weird? I thought we were past snakes?) 4^th night of Hanukkah and bed.

Friday 3 December 2010

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia; Friday 3 December 2010 בס"ד

I woke up feeling like I had a terrible hangover, with a pounding headache, weakness, joint pain, etc. I didn't know why because I hadn't been out drinking at all, so I figured maybe I was terribly dehydrated. Went to the Circle K, got some water and Gatorade, and had a japle and tea for breakfast. I made my way to the marina in Benoa by 1030, because I was going to meet Sophie there to plan a trip to Ubud to do yoga (yeah, yoga). She told me our sea chests were already aboard the ship, and then we got Swiss Chris and Susie (who I hadn't seen since Lunenburg) to come with us. Even though I had planned on doing yoga (yeah, yoga), after I had lunch in Ubud I still felt very shitty, so I got a room at a small bungalow place for $6. Took a quick nap, then went to a restaurant to use the internet. Chatted with Aweezy, uploaded some videos, then went back to the hotel to drop off my stuff. To my surprise, there were two Dutch women on my patio having tea. The one was like, “Is zere a problem?” and I replied, “Yeah this is my room,” and she was said, “HA! Zat is impossiblugh!” and so I was like, “Well, no, not really, I have the key here and I left the toilet paper on the table,” and she was astonished and said, “BUT I OWN ZIS LODGING!” And so once she realized that her staff made an error and she failed at being pompous, she gave me an upgraded room for the same price. I went to meet the others at Bendi's for dinner and we chilled there for a short while, Then I went back to my hotel and rested. Then all of a sudden I got the fever chills, cold sweats, and super foul runs. I was shivering and feeling like death, so obviously I hadn't been dehydrated and I was sick. So I went to bed shivering under my blankets, unsure if I'd survive the night. Bum bum bummmmm..... to be continued! Shabbat Shalom and 3^rd night of Hanukkah!

Thursday 2 December 2010

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia; Thursday 2 December 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0600 and made breakfast with Odrun. Cleaned dishes and got ready to go ashore. Dapper, Sophie, and I caught a cab to Kuta to meet Robert, Joani, and Tiina at a restaurant. Grabbed a bit to eat, then the six of us went to a sea chest shop. After checking out their stock, I was put in charge of making “good business,” aka haggle negotiations. I got a nice chest with both brass and mother of pearl inlays, and Dapper and Sophie went in on the set of 5 progressively smaller chests. We arranged delivery of our chests to the ship, and then we split up, with Dapper, Robert, and I going together, and the ladies going their own way. We went to the mall, because my camera finally broke and I needed a new one (what would I do without action photos?), and they wanted stuff too. I got a camera and a universal power adapter, and an iced coffee. Then we went back to the room and relaxed for a bit. At 1700, we made our way to the Bungy Tower in Seminyak where Dapper had an appointment. A few other shipmates met us there, and we sat by the pool as Dapper did his first two jumps which plunged him into a swimming pool headfirst (to test his weight), then Robert did a normal jump, and then Dapper went for his third and final jump, ON FIRE, which was XTREME according to the nearby ridiculous Australians who had “Get Air or Die Trying” tattooed on their backs. Dapper, of course, was like, yeah whatever just jumped on fire let's go, which actually makes him extreme, and we then all went back to Kuta, where I broke off and used the internet until about midnight, then went to bed. Second night of Hanukkah!

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Picton Castle at anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Wednesday 1 December 2010 בס"ד

Slept in til the change of the watch at 0900, then got put on galley duty with Odrun. We began preparing lunch, and took out some frozen tuna to defrost for dinner. Lunch went well, and we spent most of our time cooking dinner. At one point, Bracken had offered to cut up the tuna for us, so when he did, I took over serving a footrope stirrup with Brad. Dinner was a big hit, and after we cleaned up, we helped unload the skiff which had lots of stuff in it for provisioning. Went ashore with shower group #2, then returned to the ship with a boatload of provisioning. I was the bow bunny on the 2100 and 2300 skiff runs. Slung up my hammock along the starboard galley house strongbacks, hanging over the fore tgallant yard which was resting on the sawhorses. Happy first night of Hanukkah. Bed.

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Picton Castle at anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Tuesday 30 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up, had a japfle breakfast at the hotel with Dave and Alex, let Dapper know he was the man, then Dave, Alex, and I went to Tubes and met Sophie using the internet. I got online and found out great news about Brookelynn. Then we went to the Galleria Mall, because there was an Apple Store there and a hardware store too. Once inside, I bought some metal files and a headlamp, a 5kg round weight for my forearm device, and I managed to get a mini keyboard, which I desperately needed to replace the massive one that I could hardly fit in my bag that I had bought in Fiji. I got a haircut, then once everybody was done, we went back to Kuta beach and I had some good ol' fashioned beach narcolepsy. At 1615, I woke up and split off to go back to the ship. I got a cabby that just said “Yes” a lot, and after 10 minutes of giving him the benefit of the doubt, I told him he was going the absolute wrong way, and I need to get to BENOA, not SEMINYAK, and so he said, “Yes!” He stopped to drop me off at a hotel in Seminyak a few minutes later, and I'm like BENOA BENOA BENOA and so he got his phone out and kept saying, “yes” and put me on with an English speaker, to whom I explained my predicament. Then we wetn to Beona and I picked up my big load of laundry and had dinner before grabbing the 1800 shower skiff in. Once aboard, put my stuff away and made a new forearm guy with my weight. Slung up my hammock and bed.

Monday 29 November 2010

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia; Monday 29 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up early again, and had breakfast at the wifi place. Dapper and Sophie met up with me too, and we chilled there for a while using internet. I got some Skype calls in with the fam and the Jo. Then at noon, we got our taxi guy from yesterday (Nyoman) to take us to the Marina in Benoa so we could catch Ducky and take him to the airport. We got there in time and the Indonesian air force was sending out several fighter jets from the airport area, which we told DB was in honor of his departure. I dropped off my gear and my stuff with the skiff for the ship, and I called up three blue taxis (which are metered) and one was for the Captain going to Ubud, and the other two were for DB and his entourage to the airport. We arrived and met more people who'd come to say goodbye. Had a celebratory Bintang round, and finally parted with Ducky, but not before he set off the metal detector and had a good scare much to our delight. Then Dave, Alex, and Pania and I went to Kuta beach and walked our way up to a Spanish beachside restaurant called La Plancha in Double 6. We met Alex's friend Erin there, and then Sophie and Dapper came shortly later. We had dinner, and Alex and Sophie left and the rest of us went to Seminyak to a sports bar. Had some drinks and chilled out a bit, but then [person] stood up too quickly and fainted, so once they came to and we figured they were well, we just went back to the hotel and chilled. I used my hands to communicate a lot, according to Erin. After a while went to bed.

Sunday 28 November 2010

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia; Sunday 28 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0730, walked over to Dapper's hotel at 0800, and told him to meet me at 0930 by the park. Went and had breakfast and used the internet, and was able to get in touch with Joe Gruber, who I haven't spoken with in months. Met up with Dapper, and we got a transport man to take us to the volcano at the north end of the island. On the way, we stopped at the Goa Gajah, or “Elephant Cave,” a Balinese Hindu temple carved into a cave with very intricate stonework. There were some tourists there taking photos of the little Hindu kids dressed up in their white robes, and the kids were sticking their tongues out and giving the finger, the rock on, and the shocker. It was pretty funny, but goes to show the cultural influences that reach out to little kids in a holy temple. Inside the cave, to the left was a shrine for Vishnu and on the right were the three spiritual stones (reference Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Outside was a recently excavated spritual bath fountain, and past that outside of the wall was the spot where a huge Buddha had fallen during the 1917 earthquake. We made friends with Ayu, a woman who sold water, and she gave us a detailed history of it all. We left with our transport man, and drove for awhile up and up and up til we were finally at the rim of the volcano's crater. We were taken to an all-you-can-eat buffet on the ridge with a spectacular patio view in open air sticking out over the ledge. After we ate, we decided to return towards Ubud, but first stop in Mas, a woodcarving village near Ubud. We went around sea chest hunting, from shop to shop, but we only found one and it wasn't very nice. We returned to Ubud, and went to the local handicraft market, where we made “good business” and got some goodies on the cheap. Then I found an artist to draw for me, and there I remained for a few hours. After, went to that same restaurant/bar as last night, and met up with many more people. More rounds of Brem Arak, then to the hookah bar, where we had to leave after [person] broke a hookah by tripping on the hose (...amateurs). Back to the room, and bed.

Saturday 27 November 2010

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia; Saturday 27 November 2010 בס"ד

Stood 0400 anchor watch with Astrid and taught her how to light the stove. Nothing of note, just that and a review of anchor watch protocol. Back to bed. Woke up at 0715, had breakfast, did 0800 domestics and then packed my bag for shore. Got to Bali Marina, and got together with 9 other people and piled into a taxi van that Nadja had arranged to go to Ubud, a “cultural” town more north. I was wedged in the very back with Nadja, Logan, and Michael Stevens. The ride was about an hour, and at the major intersections when we'd come to the light, we'd be swarmed with street peddlers trying to sell newspapers. They had papers from many countries, and could pull them out on demand. Yo got a Norwegian newspaper. When we got to Ubud, we all got out and went our separate ways. I walked up and down Monkey Forest Road (one of the main streets), and found a print shop to print out a picture I wanted. Then I found a small restaurant with free wifi and got lunch and went online. I tried calling the States on Skype but it was very early in the morning there and I only got one answer from a sleeper. Dapper came online, and he turned out to be in Ubud too, so I told him to meet up with me. When he did, we went and checked out the place. I got a small hotel room down one of the alleys for 110000rp for the night. Explored some more, went to a shisha lounge and had dinner and hookah. We were there a while, and when we were done we went on a search for somebody to draw for me, with no luck. The town was rapidly getting darker and quieter, but then we saw Logan, Katelinn, and Michael Stevens at a second-story restaurant/bar looking down on the street. We went up, hung out drinking a few rounds of brem arak (an acquired taste for sure), then I went back to my hotel at midnight and went to bed.

Friday 26 November 2010

Picton Castle at anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Friday 26 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0410 when it started raining and relocated to the forepeak. 0715 wakeup, breakfast, and domestics in the forward head. Then broke into Green Knight rust removal duty on the topsides, first starting over the rail on the aloha deck, then once the boat came back from a skiff run, we all got in and went around doing the topsides from there. Once done in the boat, I was sent into the headrig to scrub the starboard hawse with Green Knight, so I had a deckbrush on a lanyard. Lunch, then break, then rust busting the shit out of the aloha deck. At about 1600, cleaned up, then helped Jan finish up the fish he made for the fore tgallant yard. Went ashore at 1700 for shower, and talked with the Captain and Made Alon (his tour guide friend) about Bali planning. Back to the ship at 1800, dinner, then galley clean. I really wanted to get a video from aloft in the main royal of airplanes going to land and it looks like they're just feet away from our rigging, but it was too dark. Worked on my log, and kept going on deck every 15 minutes or so soaked in sweat just from sitting in the forepeak. Nadja and I went on the 2100 skiff run, and picked up DB and Chris, the only two people to come aboard at all in the two days of watch. So ends the two days of watch, except for 0400 anchor watch where I'll teach Astrid to light the stove, and morning domestics. Then, four straight days off in a row, the most free time I've had in one block since I joined the ship in Lunenburg in April. Shabbat Shalom.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Picton Castle at anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Thursday 25 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at around 0600, but the clock was wrong and thought it was 0645. Slept a little more, til Sophie knocked at the real 0645, where we had a debate on whose clock was wrong. Caught a cab back to the marina, and it's a good thing I was paying attention because he had passed the road we needed and I called him out on it. Had a breakfast at the marina, and collected my laundry that I had dropped off. We caught the 0830 skiff back to the ship, and started work after muster. I went to cleaning the soot out of the Monomoy with Tammy and Megan, using diesel and bilge cleaner. The Captain, Mates, and high officers were having a meeting upon the quarterdeck, and so after I finished, I just laid into sanding the mizzen boom, which is downrigged along with the fore tgallant yard. Once the meeting ended, Bracken had me work with Michael Stevens (once Bosun of the Picton Castle and the mate of the Victory Chimes) to rig up some blocks in the main shrouds so that we could lower the mizzen boom from the quarterdeck to the main deck and then into the port breezeway. We had some chinese finger stoppers holding snatch blocks up, and rove through two lines to each end of the spar. I was in charge of the after leading line, and we lowered it and got it to the breezeway, then rigged up a tarp “curtain” in case it rained. I got to work sanding and scraping the gray spots out with others. Did that til lunch, then ate and had our one-hour break, half spent writing, half spent napping. Went back to work on the boom, and after a little while we noticed a big squall closing. The wind was picking up quickly, and then there was lightning, thunder, and rain. Then we started dragging anchor, and so we put out some more scope on our starboard rode, and readied the port anchor just in case. The engine was started, and the Captain on the bridge was shouting orders to Bracken on the focslehead. Finally the squall passed and afterwards we went to the windlass and took up the slack in the port anchor rode and then weighed the starboard anchor. Moved back to our spot, and let go with more scope. Afterwards, the Captain mustered us and explained to us what happened and why, though most of us knew. Stowed the spanker, cleaned up deck, and at about 1700 half of us went ashore to the marina to shower (a luxury we were without in harbor since the water is skank, plus it's balls hot). I drank several sodas while I waited. Returned to the ship, dinner in the salon, and cleaned the scullery dishes. Then I did the most thorough extreme bunksplosion, cleaning out my sea chest and my locker beneath my mattress completely, removing the dust and dirt, wiping them down, Lysoling them, and then sprinkling on and wiping in some foot powder (which is a trick I figured out all on my own to remove moisture and make it smell like peppermints, since my locker is pretty much an oversized shoe exposed to the same heat and moisture) before reorganizing everything. I filled my USN seabag with all the clothes I want not to deal with til Lunenburg, and my hats, and plan to drop it off with laundry since it returns cleaned and vacuum-sealed in plastic. Set up my hammock on the port side of the galley house on the strongbacks as far outboard as possible. I went with Nadja on the 2100 skiff run, and nobody was there. I stood anchor watch at 2300, and Nadja was training Astrid and I would train Odrun in the ship's protocols for anchor watch and ship checking. Nadja took Odrun on the 2300 skiff run though, and I taught Astrid how to do a ship check. When Odrun returned, I explained anchor watch, although she's been on other tall ships (one with Siri) before. Then at the end I showed her how to do ship check, then went to bed. Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Americans.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia; Wednesday 24 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up a little late at 0900. Dapper, Sophie and I grabbed some snacks, then caught a cab to Uluwatu. The cabbie was incredibly nice, and his car clean. We drove down to the great temple on the cliffside and checked it out. We all had to wear sarongs over our pants for respect. They told me not to wear my glasses because the monkey's will definitely steal them, but I took my chances since I require them to see. At least I've got a lanyard on them, I thought. Well 100ft down the walk, I was aerially assaulted by a monkey landing on my head and desperately trying to rip my glasses off. Luckily the lanyard confused him enough that I was able to grab hold of his little monkey hands and then hold on to my glasses long enough to have Dapper get an action shot. The temple was really spectacular, and the cliffs were wild. We walked around a while and then met back up with our cabbie who waited for us. Drove back to Kuta, and walked back along the street past all my crazy experiences the night before. Stopped and had a bite to eat, then found a bar/restaurant with free wifi, so I got my computer and headed over. I stayed a while, uploading photos and logs, and downloaded my old Portuguese pronounciation lessons from Ta Falado, an awesome podcast from the University of Texas at Austin so that I could further aid Sophie in her quest to learn Portuguese (Orlando, Michele, Valdo, and Jose, if you ever read this, thanks a lot for the podcasts!). The whole time I was there I ate veggie spring rolls, probably dozens. I was pretty tired and everybody wanted to go out and party but I just couldn't after last night's insanity and my three hours of sleep, so I crashed out at the room and called it a night.

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Kuta, Bali, Indonesia; Tuesday 23 November 2010 בס"ד

Stood anchor watch at 0400, lit the stove, and woke Bracken at 0445 because there was a new, larger arc being made on the chart plotter. He explained that it was because the tide was ebbing, not that we were dragging anchor. Otherwise, nothing of note. Woke up at 0715, breakfasted, and then domestics on the breezeway head. Packed up my stuff (which wasn't much, just my laptop), and took the 0900 skiff run into the Bali Marina. The harbor water is absolutely disgusting, but there are a lot of interesting vessels around. Got to the marina, dropped off my laundry and had a beer, then went walking to the nearest bank to get some local currency. Unfortunately, the ATM was out of service. Dapper was able to exchange some US and Canadian currency he had, and with that a small group of us caught a taxi into Kuta, the alleged Australian surfers' hub that had the two terrorist bombings in the past decade. We found an ATM, and then split up into two groups and said we'd rendezvous for lunch at 1330. So Dapper, Sophie, and I found as little internet cafe. Stayed there for about an hour writing emails, chatted with Jo and Joe, then went walking around. We saw many little Hindu temples and managed to check one out that was under construction and walk around the inside. I bought a cheapo hat since almost all of my shore hats have started to get moldy in storage. Then we reunited with Brad, Yo, and Megan and had lunch at a cafe. I had some Gado-gado, and several peddlers came to our table and tried selling us either CDs or skin lotions or viagra. Then we found the Gora Beach Inn, where others of us had stayed the night before. Dapper and I got a room, which was like $5 or $10 US a night, and then hung out with Logan, Davey, and Alex on their patio. We went on a beer run, and sat around hanging out and an art peddler came by and I bought one of his paintings. We all went out to this reggae bar, and had a lot of 2-for-1 VRBs. There was a live reggae band which was pretty good. Then a group of us went out to Twisted Monkey and had some shakes. I couldn't stop laughing. Dapper's face. The construction site was in 3D! Things are just a little weird. A million miles away. Fast forward. The reality is the monkey is on the pool table, and that's the funny part. Tide or no tide? First impressions with Ben. You couldn't make this stuff up. Went for a quest. The perfect setup – full moon, lightning, dark alleys, hidden temples with gargoyle statues, the gate is not quite locked, dogs howling right on cue! The big man and the little woman were too funny. A walk to the club. Every threshold a new scene. The midgets are playing with fire and the hookers don't even care. Twenty people TRANSPORT TRANSPORT! It all makes sense now. I've been in that seat before: the sandwich seat. Johnny English don't even care 'bout me granpappy from Darwin! It's gotta be 0600, bed.

Monday 22 November 2010 [BALI]

Picton Castle at anchor, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia; Monday 22 November 2010 בס"ד

The clocks were retarded to ZD-8, so we stood an extra twenty minutes of watch. There was distant lightning at muster, and we were still sailing along. At 0415 we took in royals and tgallants and so began the three hour non-stop sail-handling watch. The distant squalls were not so distant anymore, and so we ran aloft to stow the sails. I was up at the main royal stowing when the weather overtook us. I heard the call PUT THE BUNT GASKET ON IT AND LAY DOWN ON DECK NOW right before FLASH CRACK BOOM lightning that was practically right next to me, and so I got that bunt gasket on and got my ass the fuck back down on deck. The wind was blowing a good 5-6 now and it was pissing down rain real hard. I was scheduled for second helm, and each time I went to relieve Yo, another order was called HANDS TO THE FORE BRACES! TAKE IN THE MAIN TOPMAST STAYSL! Or she was told to change course, and so I couldn't take it while she was executing the change. Of course, we were motoring now, and there was a constant slacking of the gear, but it had to be done smartly since the sails weren't stowed but they were struck, and we couldn't just cast it off without letting the sail set itself. Finally I was on helm for only half an hour. We saw a pod of dolphins jumping in single file formation booking it at top speed, which was interesting. I was sent to lookout as the double, and I sighted the island Pulau Penida through a slight break in the terrible visibility. Lombok would have been visible off the starboard quarter, or maybe abaft the beam depending on our course changes, but it didn't matter because visibility was crap. Who knew if there were small fishing boats around that we wouldn't see until they were under our bow? That's why we had double lookouts. Nadja told us to pay closer attention when we missed a large ship off the port quarter, but I was starboard lookout and that was one of my blind spots. I had to get a clean dry bandana from below to wipe my glasses with, since they were constantly bombarded with rain and therefore made seeing in the terrible visibility that much harder. Another reason why I should get laser surgery: lookout in foul weather. All in all, we braced sharp on port, starboard, and port again, at least those three times and maybe I'm forgetting another. It was a crazy watch, the most action I've ever had in a single four hour watch, but it was great fun and I'm glad we didn't call up daymen or other watches to help out because we were a pretty tight group and got it done well. Of course, at our muster, the weather fizzled out and though breakfast was below, when we were done the sun was shining again. I passed out until 1130, with all hands on deck. We were coming into the very congested Bali harbor, and our first glimpes of this island were of this one town that looked like a wild ridiculous party. People were flying around on speedboats going on big airborne inflatable rafts and others were paragliding or doing little bananaboat stuff, hundreds of small craft dodging each other, some dragging waterskiers or wakeboarders, some mock tall ship restaurant-looking boat, Navy warships, fishing boats, even some wrecks sticking out of the water, etc. It was pretty disgusting that people were swimming in the water which was filled with garbage and probably the shit from all the boats' tanks, but the atmosphere seemed like a big escapist party. Anyway we dropped anchor, and then a pilot boat came over and told us we had to move to where they told us, so I was down in the chain locker teaching Taia to flake chain as we heaved up and got ready to relocate. So the ship moves to where they wanted, and we drop the hook again. Up and stow all sail, and I stowed the fore royal and main tgallant staysl super sexy harbor style. Then some fishing boat anchored swings danger close to us as we're eating lunch, and so we weigh anchor again, and this time I was in the chain locker with Brad. I don't know why I end up in the chain locker so much, as I rather prefer the workout of the windlass. We relocated to a better spot, dropped anchor, then shortly afterwards I went down in the chain locker again as we reduced our scope. New people had now come aboard, and we had our goodbye/welcome ceremony. After, we were going to lower the boat, and I was standing by in the starboard breezeway with fenders when we heard FENDERS AFT TO THE ALOHA DECK and we rushed back to see another fishing boat swinging danger close to us, and so we fended it off and even pushed it away. So, for the fourth time in about three hours, I went to the chain locker, this time with Davey, and we flaked chain as we weighed anchor. We finally moved to a spot that WE thought was good, and dropped the hook. 4-8 had the deck, and so I was sent aloft on the mizzen to wipe and clean it with oil rags and bilge cleaner. We did a decksweep, and then it was mail call! I got a package full of gifts from Jo for me and the forepeak, which included a 5lb bag of Haribo Happy Cola! That didn't last long. I also got a paper model kit of the Bounty from Vassos who mailed it to me from Australia. Had dinner, cleaned the galley, and hung out. Did a skiff run at 2100 with Nadja, and picked up Clark and Odrun (a new deckhand). Came back, and wrote my log, now bed before I have anchor watch at 0400.

Sunday 21 November 2010

Picton Castle at sea; Sunday 21 November 2010 בס"ד

Woke up at 0330 very exhausted, which made no sense since I went to bed early. I had first helm, dammit, and steered NW*W [Note: I'm going to type it that way from now on]. Some ships were visible while steering. After helm, I went immediately to the coffee station and literally had eight cups of coffee, which had minimal effect, dammit. There was distant lightning on our weather side, so we were waiting for the word if we would set sail or not at sunrise. Also we didn't want to arrive in Bali today, and wanted to curtail our speed of advance. Squalls were everywhere on our weather side and closing, but we set fore-and-aft sails anyway and began a deckwash once it looked like they'd miss us. I went on the galleyhouse and took down the old top boards, then swept and cleaned the galleyhouse roof. Then TAKE IN ALL SAIL!, and the rain started pissing down on us. We altered course to ride the squall, and were watch below at 0830. Had breakfast below, and after the squall had passed we heard the call on deck to UP AND LOOSE COURSES AND TOPSLS. Then a huge crack of thunder rattled the ship. Sails were loosed and set and after breakfast the engine was shut down for the first time in ages. In the salon, I quizzed DB on geography with the big map for a bit, then passed out DTW. Woke up for lunch, and the sun was shining and sails were set. I spoke with Clark (whose birthday it was) about firing torpedoes at ships astern of us, which got us both excited and talking about history and WWII and other things. I made a paper flower from some colored paper Siri had to give to my date for the dance, and made an excellent Poindexter/Urkle outfit and taped my glasses appropriately before taking another nap. Watch at 1600, and since the water was almost totally calm but there was a slight breeze and we were trying to kill some time before Bali, we prepared to go on rides in the rescue boat and ride around the ship with all sails set. Our watch set the remaining sails, and I overhauled the gaff topsl before we set it. I went out on the second boat ride around the Picton Castle, and it was really cool to see her sailing from an outside perspective. I returned after taking photos to take the helm, and in doing so I ended up being in the photos of subsequent boat rides steering the ship, which made for excellent action photos to steal. After all the boat rides, the dance party got started. I got all dressed up in my nerd outfit, and enjoyed the dance while we constantly swapped people on and off helm and lookout. I had good fun in character, and after watch and the dance, I passed out for the remainder of the evening.