The sun crept up early over the Finnish city of Turku, (its Turk-ooh!) and the remnants of the all party night all but gone. The morning was filled with the bustle of preparing to get under way, under the watchful eye of an ever increasing crowd, who turned out in force to watch us leave. After a quick lunch, we were all but ready to leave, but forced to wait until most of the harbour had emptied. Ten to two in the afternoon, we cast off our moorings, and with a loud crowd cheer, we left the clean city of Turku.
As we left the city, hundreds of small spectator boats had camped out to watch the Tall ships leave. However, cheering and waving soon got tedious, so we resorted to a new method of making friends - Tall ships style! A water balloon catapult and a bucket full of water balloons fired from the boat house roof! After pleasing most of Scandinavia, and re-filling most of the Baltic, it was decided that it was time to put our brawn to use to something useful - bracing the yards. Simply put, dragging them around the masts, using a lot of rope and man power. After a few communications errors and a few sore muscles ("oh, was I meant to undo this before you pulled on it?") we managed to just about get the hang of it. If you're interested, it turns out that to pull slack out of a rope; it probably needs to be undone on the other side.
After a well earned smoko, the crew of Lord Nelson went back to work, manning the bridge, cooking dinner, cleaning the decks, or just spending more money in the ship's bar. Obviously all profits going to a worthy cause...
It's now 19:27, and after another awesome dinner, life on board goes on. The officer of the watch is watching over the novices on the bridge, who are in control of this awesome ship, the chief is watching over the floor mopers, and the Engineers are making a killing selling beers to the rest of us. Me? I'm currently sitting on the bowsprit, (the front most bit) with a laptop, enjoying watching the Finnish Fjords go by. You have to see this to believe it really.
Distance covered since leaving port: 31.7 miles.
Temperature at 19:00: 16 degrees
Wind Speed: Force 4 gusting.
Kiwiguy.