Sailing

9 March 2015

Update of Monday March 9, by Sieb:
“Already 24 hours the Old Lady behaves as she has to: under sail. In this case: outer jib, course, topsails en schoonersail. This morning also the mainsail and the maingafftopsail are set. Now she looks really fine and she is sailing her course with a slow and sleepy movement in the Azores highpressure area. Wind SE, force 4 to 5 Bft, course 60 degrees NE, 5 to 6 knots in a straightaway course towards Brest. In a calm sea every movement from port to starboard takes about 8 seconds. The weather outside feels cold and wet. We feel that we passed 40 degrees North. On board the noise of the motor is killed and is replaced by a smoothing silence. The rhythm of living is determined by the watches, steering the Lady and handling the lines. My watch is from 0:00 until 4:00 and from 12:00 until 16:00. This is the greatest offence to our sleeping rhythm and so to our sense of humour. After dinner at 20:00 we go to sleep, while being rudely awaked at 23:45. After 4:00, the end of the watch, we try to sleep until breakfast at 7:30. So the watch divides our regular nightsleep. This night however the good humour of our watch was saved by a splendid shining moon, that suns’ mirror, lighting a silvery sea, as in the fairy tale of Sinbad the sailorman.”