Sunday 11th July 2010 GG4 Aft Starboard watch
Was very enthusiastically woken up for breakfast by Elizabeth’s watch (Forward Starboard)! Managed to get a shower before breakfast which was very nice although the water was very slow draining!!We had eggy bread, mushrooms, bacon and sausage which went down really well with everyone. Val went off to the Captain’s briefing meeting and came back to tell us we weren’t sailing today otherwise we wouldn’t make it to Amsterdam, so we had happy hour and it was our turn to do the heads, which wasn’t as bad as some thought. Once the heads and the general tidying of the lower deck was finished we all started on the brasses in the bar and they are all nice and really shiny!!
The murders are still ongoing with the deaths of Dave the engineer, Julie, Zara, Ratchet, Rachel, and Christina all before lunch. A group went aloft to do a harbour stow ready for getting to Amsterdam.
Our watch had an early lunch of Broccoli and stilton soup with a Cornish pasty and Cookie’s fresh bread nom nom! Started watch at 12.30pm just as we were approaching Eindhoven. Once through the breakwaters we entered the lock and were ready at harbour stations to put on the mooring lines while waiting to get the all clear to proceed up the canal in the blazing sunshine with very little wind so probably a good thing as we have to motor.
Kiri took over the helm about half way down the canal from Zara. The Dutch don’t have a fear about the possibility of a large ship heading straight for them as they appeared to enjoy playing chicken with us no matter how big or small they were.
Once we reach the outskirts of Amsterdam everywhere you looked there was orange and more boats doing silly things like going straight across in front of us. I (Kiri) managed to avoid them all and to steer “Nellie” into her berth with the help of Captain Claire and Rachel the engineer who was controlling the engines.
Now in the berth it’s my turn to be on mess duty and to set tables ready for tea before everyone goes off into Amsterdam to watch the world cup final or just to have a look around ready for tomorrow. Tea was roast beef or pork for those who didn’t eat beef, veggie burger for Jenny, roast potatoes, green beans, sprouts, yorkies and gravy which was absolutely delicious. It was followed by fresh fruit salad made by Sarah and the other two girls on mess earlier. Once tea was over and all the dishes were cleaned we split into 3 groups and headed into Amsterdam for a wander or to watch the world cup final. Come on Spain!!
Hurray Spain won 1-0. Despite losing there were fireworks going off as we walked back to “Nellie”. A few people raided the fridg before bedtime. Night