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.