At the helm

8 August 2017

George Ayers writes:
“It’s midnight on the dog watch at the helm, navigating by stars and compass bearing. The winds are strong, the sails are full and we’re sailing at almost 9 knots with a heel of almost 20 degrees. Chuckling to myself about what a game of ping pong or billiards on board with a 15-degree list to port would be like (My turn – every ball in the end pocket!)  Getting used to the helm in strong swells and high wind is challenging. Tonight, I could follow a small star just off the starboard topsail. It was a matter of patience and small shifts of the wheel. The mast careered with the motion of the swells and the wind brought her back. The guide star swayed back and forth past the stays to behind the topsail, and hides there for a few moments. I just imagine the midpoint of the arc and head the ship towards it. Check the compass and the rudder angle to a heading of 070. Repeat every few seconds. The helm may look simple but after time it can exhaust your mental alertness. Our watch rotates out at the helm every 30 minutes with a partner braving the cold and weather beside you. It’s comforting to have someone nearby to talk with and keep us alert to any dangerous deviations… 
Coming off watch it’s amusing with a 20-degree heel to port, to see the line-up for breakfast. Walking anywhere takes a modicum of planning ahead. So, it’s steep up hill, to the coffee mate, and then retreat with as much dignity as you can muster back to your chair. Going to the head takes on an entirely new angles-of-dangle and a steadfastness with the roll of the ship. 
Yesterday, off the south-east coast of Newfoundland our course and that of my 350 years past great ancestor aboard the King’s ship ‘L’arc-en-ciel’ crossed for the first time. When I get back, I’ll plot the intersection point. We’ve sailed parallel with course of the Saint Lawrence out of Quebec, but here on the open waters of the high seas the connection with his story feels more intense. 
I planned to come off watch and sleep through breakfast, but my cabin mate Jurgen was pretty insistent and woke me twice. I swear I was so deeply asleep when he roused me out of bed that I never heard the ship’s bell ringing. So, coffee, a piece of bread and a dish of eggs, potatoes and black pieces that are a bit of a mystery and now I’m back to the comfort of bed.”