We on the Tenacious have been blessed and cursed by the gods in equal measure. Blessed by the most remarkable beauty known to man. On the evening of the 26th was the most extraordinary red sunset. Half of the sky was a deep red that you only really see in paintings, and the other half was sky blue. Truly remarkable. Then on our watch (06.00 – 08.00), the stars! OH, the stars! I’m doing an undergraduate degree in Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics basically to look at the stars. I am in love with them. The sky was clear of much cloud cover, so we had an uninhibited view. There were so many of them! I was a lookout (watching for things we could crash into) but most of the time I must admit I was failing in my duty and instead marvelling at the stars, there were so many! The only other time I’ve seen that many stars was when I was trekking through the Andes, but there were different stars down there.
When I was “manning the braces” (holding a piece of rope), I happened to look down at the sea, and it was such a clear shade of blue mixed with jade green, I could not help myself from filling my eyes with the colour of it!
Cursed. We sailed in gale force 9 winds, which means we were sailing at 45 knots of wind, and then a sail got broke. We were heeling at an angle of 25 degrees. So for those with poor balance anyway (me) it was nigh impossible to walk anywhere. Dinner was fun though. I had my dinner in the upper mess (because I was on watch), and since the ship was heeling at a fantastic angle, the food went everywhere. We had pork chops and gravy, leeks and sprouts. First mistake: the gravy. It ran in rivulets down the tables. Second mistake: brussel sprouts. With being spherical and all, they would make repeated bids for freedom off of my plate; (and to be truthful, I was happy to see them go). I was sliding off my seat, so poor Dave (2nd mate) had to act as a book end for me to be able to even attempt to get some grub into me.
I reckon most of the crew got seasick but not me mum! Not me! The last couple of watches have been times of utter wretchedness. When you are just sitting there, enduring the weather and the rolling; you can imagine it’s not terribly pleasant… It also rained (briefly).
I am absolutely covered in bruises, despite not having fallen over (yet). Last count, I have twenty-seven on the front of my legs alone. I have more on my hands, arms and back.
Bella on behalf of Forward Port watch