28/07/2009 - Lord Nelson

"200 green bottles hanging on the wall" rings out while we are on watch, with Phillipa now helming with sails - which is very different to steering while using the engines as some of us had already tried. She has easily beaten her record of three minutes at the helm last year.
James (the singer and all-round entertainer of the group) is becoming surprisingly sprightly in the mornings, known for his regular outbreaks of can-can dances and annoyingly catchy songs. And this is despite the short sleep periods and the sea sickness which has hit several of the crew.
However, this early morning good humour is not shared by me and I rely on a freezing cold shower. At least that was my excuse when I couldn't work out how to get hot water. But I'm lucky compared to Emma, who was woken up this morning by Phil's cold hands on her face. I hasten to add that this was all very innocent, as are goings-on in Henry's Villa despite any rumours to the contrary.
Worryingly, James' determination to reach One Green Bottle by the end of the watch was much needed after having to tack, brace and set sails the night before.
All that rope pulling was hard work and unfortunately came just after our watch's regular Haribo fix, causing the sounds of ropes being pulled to be mixed with bursts of laughter with our struggles. The full extent of our sugar-fuelled evening was shown in the morning, when John heard people from the following watch talking about finding a mysterious scattering of jelly babies and milk bottles around the bridge.
Oops!
Well, have to stop writing now, Cookie's rock buns are out of the oven.
Luckily, Andre's doing his usual great work at the helm giving us a chance to raid the galley.
To the next update,
Harriet
(PS, James is on 71 Green Bottles!)