Had a wonderful soak at a rustic hot springs and now we're off to Canada steering a course of 254, 1,300 miles!
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Monday, June 26, 2017
Day 19 Pingeyri
Yesterday we made our way out of the unsettled fjord we had anchored in and proceeded to Pingeyri, a town of 230 souls nestled on the shore of beautiful fjord, part of the western fjords along the north portion of the west coast of Iceland.
This begins the south bound part of our voyage and will be our last port of call until we reach Canada. The sailing yesterday was in glorious sunshine, which has continued today. We were told by a local that there have been 3 sunny days in June as far.
We started the day with a bus tour to a magnificent 300 meter high waterfall. The bus took us out of the fjord valley and over a pass to the adjoining fjord valley to the south, where the waterfall is at the head of that fjord. The trip brought into focus how this part of Iceland and, for that matter, most of the Icelandic coast is likely a series of mountainous fingers separated by long, deep flooded valleys. The mountains are very steep, made of soft volcanic stone and gravel and quite prone to avalanches in the winter and rock falls in the spring and summer months. The roads are narrow and twisty and look like pieces of string that were tossed down randomly across the barron or grass covered black slopes with the occasional white patch of snow.
Our tour guide told us several very interesting things including how important elves , yes elves , are in Iceland. For example, when building a road there is an elf consultant, paid for by the government, who's job it is to advise the road builders if they are going to build the road in a place that is important to the elves. If there is a conflict the course of the road is changed to go around that place. This, we were told, is why one occasionally will see odd turns in an otherwise fairly straight road.
Tonight, we are hosting a BBQ for the entire town and have opened the ship for tours.
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Day 16 Part Two
Nellie is rock'n and roll'n, heeling 30 degrees or more alternately from port to starboard with the occasional crash of pans and cookware from the gallery as they swing through their pendulum like arc with the movement of the ship.
If this wasn't obvious you could tell the sea conditions by the poor turn out at dinner and the Cookie's offer of seconds including the vanilla ice cream that is desert. Regrettably, there is no sorbet.
The Captain was just on the horn to announce that we are sailing along at 8 to 9 knots under winds of 35 to 40 knots and, if these conditions continue, we will be able to change course 12 hours, having reached the most northerly point of the voyage at the northwest tip of Iceland.
The bad news here for me is that we are on watch again from midnight to 4 am and that will be a cold wind.
Having finished my double serving of vegetable and rice stir fry I'm tucked into my berth with the lee board in place, literally a piece of wood now placed along the outside of my berth to prevent me from rolling out of it.
Time for a nap before watch.
Day 16 Leaving Akureyri and Whales
We left Akureyri this morning a bit late.
As you may recall, we had a very challenging arrival with gale force winds that were trying to push us onto the quayside, a very narrow harbor entrance and the harbor itself being a bit tight. The harbor is layed out with motorized fishing trawlers in mind that have bow and stern thrusters that can move either the bow or stern sideways.
Lacking these and sporting a 25 ft long bow sprint that projects forward of the actual front of the hull (stem) like a spear, maneuvering Nellie in close quarters is tricky. Add to that all of the masts, yardarms and furled sail (windage) in a 40 knot blow; well there's a lot to think about. To help, Nellie deploys its rubber boat with an outboard motor to push the bow or stern perpendicularly to achieve tight maneuvers. This typically works very well.
Coming into the harbor I was assigned to the fordeck to help with the docking lines (muscle), so I had a intimate view of what was happening.
Nellie's bow wouldn't move in the right direction, locked by the balance opposing forces of the wind versus the boat. For a few precarious and tense minutes it wasn't clear who was going to win. If the wind had won, she would have gone careening across the harbor and, as an emergency tactic, we would have had to drop our starboard anchor, leaving us (at best) stuck in the middle of the harbor and embarrassingly in need of a tow. Not what a captain want to have on his record! Fortunately, the boat won and our arrival went well.
Apparently, this did not escape the eye of the harbor master for, when our rubber boat bow thruster was struggling this morning to align Nellie's bow with the harbor mouth a tugboat magically appeared to provide a courtesy push to our bow and thereby assured our uneventful departure. When I looked up the harbor master was standing on the end of the quay, taking a photo and waving. Very nice!
We motored back north up the 30 fjord and back on to the open ocean on the north coast of Iceland, set our sails and are now sailing for the western fjords at about 8 knots. A very good pace. All of the sail handling fell on my watch so, with the rest of the crew we pulled and hoisted and trimmed sail in 40 degree weather with about 25 knots of wind. Upon completion we returned to our job of steering, lookout and log keeping while the rest of the crew rested.
They say that hard work is its own reward, but we got a big bonus by sighting whales 4 times. 3 were just spouts,, but the first one broke the surface just next to the ship as it spouted a then dove. Lucky for me, as it all happened right in front of me!
The consensus is that it was either a humpback or right whale. It had a small dorsal fin and dark skin.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Thar She Blows!
As we're motoring up the 30 mile long fjord a pilot whale began spouting and porpoising along our starboard side.
Weighing Anchor
The anchor chain (cable) is measured in shackles, which are 27 meters long. The scope of the anchor cable is payed out at a ratio or scope of (in this case) 3 to 1 based on the depth of the water, the ability of the ground to hold the anchor and the strength of the wind. In this case, about the length of a football field.
To sail off the anchor the Captain has to arrange the setting of the sails so that the ship is moving forward and away from the direction of the land.
Today, this required a combination of sails drawing wind and sails backed to the wind so that the ship rotated and moved forward correctly. You can imagine all of the hoisting and heaving that takes on a vessel with only a winch to raise the anchor.
Meanwhile, the anchor winch is busy pulling up the anchor cable. The cable is fed by gravity down a 6 inch pipe to the anchor chain locker where it piles up.
On Nellie, the locker is located in the bow, under the foc'sle. In this case the starboard side where the men sleep.
The deck hatches are removed and a large iron hook about 3 ft long, which is attached to a line is used to "flake out" or arrange the chain in neat even rows so that when we next drop anchor it will run free without jambing. You can imagine the damage that a suddenly jambed anchor chain would make as the enormous anchor is let go.
To achieve a proper flaking the iron hook is placed at the top of the pile by someone, who is laying on the deck reaching into the hold, hooking the link at the top of the pile and then 4 of us pulling the chain to the aft end of the hold while a 5th person guides the direction of the chain to achieve a proper flaking. The hooking and guiding is done by bosun mates, part of the permanent crew, while the pulling is done by we members of the voyage crew. There is a mirrored arrangement on the port side for the port anchor.
All went smoothly and we are now sailing to the mainland and then up a 30 mile long fjord to make port a Akureyri, Iceland's second city where we will spend 2 nights before proceeding to the western fjords.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Monday, June 19, 2017
Re: The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
Thanks UJ will check it out when I can. Happy Father's day
On Jun 19, 2017 3:50 PM, wrote:
You go girl! Delighted to hear this. Very proud of you. I broke a nail today too!On Jun 19, 2017 4:00 AM, "Sarah Gordon" <sarah.gordon7@gmail.com> wrote:Happy Father's Day to the best dad and uncle! :)Dad - you'd be proud...I was doing some aggressive sailing on a 50 footer today. I even ruined mymanicure to trim the jib. Saw a huge wale tail and seals. So while far apart, I'm channeling you today :).On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 7:16 PM John Van Zanten <john.b.vanzanten@gmail.com> wrote:Loving your pics and blog. Did you get to ask the Faroe Islanders about their "why" of pilot whale killing?On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
Re: The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
You go girl! Delighted to hear this. Very proud of you. I broke a nail today too!
On Jun 19, 2017 4:00 AM, "Sarah Gordon" <sarah.gordon7@gmail.com> wrote:
Happy Father's Day to the best dad and uncle! :)Dad - you'd be proud...I was doing some aggressive sailing on a 50 footer today. I even ruined mymanicure to trim the jib. Saw a huge wale tail and seals. So while far apart, I'm channeling you today :).On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 7:16 PM John Van Zanten <john.b.vanzanten@gmail.com> wrote:Loving your pics and blog. Did you get to ask the Faroe Islanders about their "why" of pilot whale killing?On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
Day 11 Mess Duty
Mess Duty starts with supper and ends with lunch. It's a lot of cleaning, cleaning and then cleaning. There is also food preparation, serving and then more cleaning.
You will recall that we were sailing along in rolling seas last night and making great progress. Well, today the seas have grown, sometimes as high as 15 ft and they are on the beam (coming from the side). This means that the ship rises and rolls as each wave passes under her. Depending on whether she catches the wave at the bottom, halfway up or at the top the motion of the ship varies. Our greatest heeling angle has been 38 degrees.
Now picture carrying out galley duties on a floor that is moving randomly in two directions at the same time. I've played hockey games that were less exhausting. Not only are we doing this, but we are also going from the main deck or weather deck where the gallery is to the lower deck where the Voyage Crew's mess is, up and down 14 very steep stairs holding on to the railing with one hand and carrying something up or down with the other hand while holding on with the other hand and swinging with the ship's roll. I am now convinced that this is how Popeye got his famous forearms!
Once the dishes, plates, cups, bowels, cooking trays, flatware etc. are soaked in soapy water they are placed in a large plastic tray and put in an Electrolux dishwasher washer, which is on gimbals, for sterilization. The cycle goes quickly and when the dishwasher door is opened a cloud of steam is released adding to the heat and humidity in the galley. We then hand dry them and put them away.
Today is Sunday, so Sunday Dinner (lunch) was chicken, roasted potatoes, a mix of steamed carrots, spinach and cauliflower. Desert was icecream. Vegans had a very tasty nut roast and soy yogurt.
I'm in my bunk now resting up for my next watch, which is 8 to midnight. From what I've heard, the temperature has dropped a bit and the wind is still blowing about 20 to 25 knots.
Day 12 The East Coast of Iceland
First a little housekeeping. I got the date and the voyage day confused. We left London on the 8th of June and today is 19th, it is Day 12.
We are about 7 miles off of the east coast of Iceland. The snow capped mountains we spotted last night from 40 miles away are now off our port as we motor northwest. The wind is against us. The closest Nellie can sail is 60 off the wind.
The temperature at 8:30 am is 5 degrees C. It is cloudy and cold. Last night for my 8 to midnight watch I had long underwear and polyester pants on with 3 layers of tops and foul weather gear on top of that for wind protection and I was warm, but given that we are still in the embrace of the Gulf Stream I can only forecast colder weather as we round the north coast and proceed to the Labrador Current, which runs south from Greenland and carries the icebergs into the North Atlantic.
Day 11 Part Two Land Ho!
The Mate, Steve has just announced (6:45 pm) that we've spotted Iceland some 48 miles distant. Our plan is to sail along its northerneast, north and then west coasts making port at Akureyri, Iceland's second city along the way.
There is talk making a beach landing at a national park on the west coast too.
Meanwhile, the wind has let up a bit, the motion of the ship is much less dramatic and everyone is feeling better. To date thier have only been a few isolated and minor cases of sea sickness.
Day 17 Part 2 (revised Day 10)
Nellie is going like a bat out of hell. We are finally on the open North Atlantic with nothing between us and land, with the exception of Iceland and the Faroe Islands for thousands of miles. Our route up the east side of Britain had really been a coastal voyage.
The sky is clear. We've got strong winds of 20 to 30 knots from the southwest, white caps or, as the British call them, white horses, and rolling waves of 5 to 7 feet.
At an average of 7 knots Nellie rolls along, heeling well to port and back while she glides down one wave and then is raised up by another. If this holds we expect reach the northeast coast of Iceland in a little over 2 days of sailing from Thorshvan, a distance of approximately 300 nautical miles. We started the day under full sail, but have now reduced sail a bit to allow an easier motion without losing significant speed.
Imagine the energy required to move this 180 ft vessel with 50 people, all of their belongings, food, water and fuel for the engines and generator at this speed with only the wind!
Of course, today would be my turn on mess duty. I would have started a dinner last night but as we were in port, I began with lunch.
First we cleaned the the upper mess, which is on the top or weather deck, wiping down all surfaces including the ceiling. Next we layed out the place settings for the Voyage Crew, then had lunch with the people who were about to go on watch, served the Voyage Crew while the Cook's Assistant, Nate, served the Permanent Crew. Finally, we cleaned up, had some time off (I took a nap as I had also been on Harbor Watch from 4 to 6 am) and repeated the process for dinner. With the movement of the ship it was quite a workout servings the food as the deck tilted first one way and then another in an almost regular rhythm.
I'm now relaxing in the upper mess before watching a video on my tablet and going to sleep. I report for breakfast at 6:45 am.
PS
As I made my way to my bunk the on duty watch is handing the main t'gallant (taking in the second sail from the top on the main mast). We're flying!
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Re: The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
Happy Father's Day to the best dad and uncle! :)
Dad - you'd be proud...I was doing some aggressive sailing on a 50 footer today. I even ruined my
manicure to trim the jib. Saw a huge wale tail and seals. So while far apart, I'm channeling you today :).
On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 7:16 PM John Van Zanten <john.b.vanzanten@gmail.com> wrote:
Loving your pics and blog. Did you get to ask the Faroe Islanders about their "why" of pilot whale killing?On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Re: The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
To elaborate, I was told that the whale hunt is something that happens only once or twice a year an is a tradition that goes back over a thousand years. Everyone (what ever that means) gets a share. Therefore, the festive mood.
When I awoke for harbor watch this morning almost all of the whales had been butchered and a few stragglers were still carting off wheelbarrows heaped with great chucks of red meat leaving the carcass for (I presume) removal and rendering.
I was also informed that the Faroe Islands is experiencing an economic boom due to high demand and market prices for North Atlantic fish. They have plenty of food and prosperity. We saw a significant amount of new construction and remodeling taking place.
On Jun 17, 2017 4:16 AM, "John Van Zanten" <john.b.vanzanten@gmail.com> wrote:
Loving your pics and blog. Did you get to ask the Faroe Islanders about their "why" of pilot whale killing?On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
Day 17 Leaving Thorshvan
Anchor watch from 4 to 6 am.
Foredeck duty at 6:45 to cast off lines after gangway is brought on board.
25 to 30 knot wind. Mist and sun. A rainbow. 14 degrees C.
On to Iceland!
Friday, June 16, 2017
Re: The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
Loving your pics and blog. Did you get to ask the Faroe Islanders about their "why" of pilot whale killing?
On Fri, Jun 16, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:
On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
The Slaughter of the Pilot Whales (sensitive readers beware of the shocking images to follow)
On our bus ride to Kirkjuburuirn we spotted a group of boats spread out in an arc across the mouth of a bay. A woman on the bus explained that we were seeing a pilot whale hunt. The boats were herding the whale to the beach where they would be stranded. The hunters then go shore and cut the whale's throats. She then smiled and said, "free meat tonight".
She also explained the unexpected driver change our bus made an on our ride out, saying that he was going to participate in the hunt.
We were appropriately shocked by this, but it quickly left our thoughts when we arrived at Kirkjuburuirn.
Our return ride brought us back to our berth in the commercial section of the harbor only to discover that we were in the midst of the place were the whale corpses were being landed, inventoried and the butchering was started.
There were rows and rows of dead pilot whales layed out on the pavement with more being pulled out of the water in twos and threes as we stared in horror. Whale blood was all over the ground and soaking into our docking lines. The air smelled of blood and death.
Juxtapositioned against this were families in a festive mood, children rolling around and over the whale corpse while the corpses were having numbers cut into their skin and rectangular openings being cut into their bellies with their guts spilling on to the ground.
We stopped counting at 200 whales. An entire whale community.
Kirkjuburuirn
I spent the day with Sherwood, Stephanie, Byerl and Liz visiting Kirkjuburuirn the site of the original settlement site here in the Faroe Islands. We took a free wheelchair accessible bus there and had a wonderful time. As you can see from the photos, it is a peaceful and tranquil place.
Group Support
So, there are 3 vegans in the Voyage Crew, 2 (including me) on my watch. The Port Forward watch.
Sherwood, our Watch Leader, is a delightful man, a retired General Practioner, who is strong as a bull and gentle as a lamb. He is very keen on making sure that everyone gets the opportunity to participate in every experience and that we all support each other. He does this through his actions as much as his words. He is aboard with his wife Stephanie who is an anesthesiologist.
So, last night, when we had shore leave, Sherwood made sure that our two wheelchair crew mates were included and, of course, when Sarah, my watch mate vegan and I said we were going to go to the island's Chinese restaurant, it became a group outing.
Our trek took us up hills, around the old Harbor and along a coastal road (about a total of a mile) to Restaurant Seven where we had very well prepared meals with bottles of Faroe Island beer.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Thorshvan, Faroe Islands
We made our first landfall today and are docked in the harbor in Thorshvan, the capital and only major city.
Our arrival was cloaked in fog, but it cleared as we approached the harbor mouth. Customs consisted of a conversation between the Captain and the Harbor Master.
So far, I've had a short reconnaissance walk into the old part of town. It looks very similar to Iceland with hills rising right up from the water, small shops and restaurants.
More to come!
Land Ho!
We made landfall this morning at the Faroe Islands at about 7:30 this morning after a relatively quick sail up the east coast of Great Britain.
We had good winds powering us and reasonable seas with few sail changes until yesterday when, trying to time our arrival for morning, we had plenty of exercise putting up and taking down sails to adjust our speed for a timely arrival.
Now, we are motoring up the main fjord and then to our berth at the capital Thorshvan.
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Day 6 at Sea
We're between the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands on a NW course to the Faroe Islands. We've come over 600 nautical miles and hope to make port in 2 days depending on the tides and the winds.
Today was the First Mate's 55 birthday and Cookie baked a cake which was presented to Steve Hicks at the main mast just before dinner as we all sang happy birthday.
Steve is quite a character and also an inspiring leader.
Bulletin: we briefly saw a dolphin break water right along the starboard side, just where I was standing. All I saw was its fin, but it quickly drew a crowd of would be dolphin spotters.
Having a great time and making many new friends!
Sending this off before I lose the connection.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
More about today
Its Day 5,unday and we are getting into the routine of watch rotations. Last night my watch had the 8 pm to 12:30 am watch which allowed us to witness a wonderful full moon rising from the stern. It was hugh and blood red. This was followed 2 hours later by a wonderful sunset with a pallet of mauve running to pink clouds just above the horizon and a red orange sun filling an open slot just between the sea and the clouds. Red sky at night, sailor's delight has provided to be correct as we now have mostly blue skies, fair southeast winds and fairly smooth season. Nellie is rolling along at about 7 knots under sail.
Earlier this morning we took part in a funeral service for the father of a well loved and strong supporter of JTS by heaving to just off Scarborough while a boat came out to spread his ashes.
Following that, as it is Sunday, the Captain, held an optional service on the fordeck.
Now its off to lunch and then a 4 hour watch.
Up the mast and on to the yardarm
We are under power heading for our anchorage. Given the relatively clam conditions the Mate ordered the crew to receive climbing instruction and to loosen the lower course of sails.
So, after a
Immersion suits
We had our second and last planned emergency drill this morning. About 10 am the alarm went off and we all made haste to our muster stations, in my case forward port, and began pulling on our red neoprene suits to be used in the event that we needed to abandon ship in cold waters. These attractive head to toe one piece costumes have a large waterproof zipper that runs from the crotch to the nose, are about a 1/4 inch thick and very bulky. They have rubber gloves like you would find in the kitchen permanently attached and sealed at the wrist.
Yesterday we had spent about an hour trying them on. My original issue was a Large that almost fit, but the wrist opening was so tight I couldn't get my hands into the gloves. Fortunately, an XL was found that fit better, but had been in storage for so long and never used that that the zipper was practically immovable. It took all of my strength to get it moving and I was afraid that I would tear the suit. However, after exercising it for 10 minutes or so it began to free up.
Once we all had our suits and life jackets on the Mate, Steve Hicks inspected everyone, including Liz our wheelchaired crew member and we were all passed as ready for a real abandon ship situation.
What a relief to get those bulky hot things off, but even better to know that we wouldn't die or exposure should the worst occur!
Happy Hour
What a misnomer, but a perfect example of British humor. There are no drinks and its 2 hours long.
Each morning the entire crew spends 2 hours cleaning the ship. We swab the decks, polish the brass, hoover the lower deck, scrape and paint and attend to general maintenance tasks that the Engineer, Marco, and his assistant don't do.
The Captain, Richard wants to be sure that Nellie is gleaming when we reach Quebec City. Since most voyages on Nellie only last a week or less this is the time to put 40 new hands to work.
 |
| Happy Hour (cleaning) |
Explanation
Fred's father was a long time Norfolk fisherman and Fred a bosun and contributor to JST. We happened to be sailing by at the right time.
Friday, June 9, 2017
Sailing — Day Two
I was assigned to anchor watch, so it was up at 4 am. The good news is that I saw a full moon set as the sun was rising. Next it was breakfast.
The Voyage Crew (not the permanent crew) is divided up into 4 watches of about 10. My Watch Leader, Sherwin, is a retired GP and is aboard with his wife Stephanie, who is also a retired doctor and a Watch Leader. They have sailed with JTS many times and have a boat of their own.
My watch, Port Forward, has 7 crew members. Every day each watch contributes a person for mess duty and today was my turn, so I missed our weighing anchor and the setting of the sails, but did get a short turn at the helm of this 180 ft ship!
We're now sailing up the east coast of England, about 5 miles off shore, which is why I have a cellular connection.
There are several disabled people on board, a blind man, a woman in a wheelchair, a woman with a prosthetic foot (she was up in the rigging with us yesterday) and two other people with mobility problems.
The crew is very friendly. There are 5 people here from Quebec too.
The weather forecast is calling for high winds tomorrow, but right now its clear with a full moon rising and a gentle motion. No sea sickness yet.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Re: Shoving Off
Ann covered my sentiments exactly...please enjoy yourself and don't die. you must be so excited this is finally happening! :)
On Thu, Jun 8, 2017 at 10:08 AM, Jonathan Gordon wrote:
Nellie is now receiving joining crew. I was invited to join a day early as I was in London already.Tuesday night I arrived from Iceland and spent the night on a Dutch built barge courtesy of Joe Gridley. The barge is docked in the Thames and is about 55 years old.I made my way to the Docklands off of Canary Warf to join the ship and found myself hovering and swabbing the foc'sle deck, the compartment at bow were the joining crew is quartered.Last night was my first night sleeping aboard. Breakfast was at 8. Promptly following Simon the Cookie and I set off to buy some last minute provisions.Because of the ebb tide, we will be shoving off at 3 pm, picking up the pilot and making our way down river to an anchorage where we will anchor overnight and receive our training; fire drills, ship's rules and meeting our watch mates.There are 4 watches of about 10 each lead by a watch leader.The next day we set sail along the east coast for the Faeroe Islands, about a week's sail. We will continue for about 2 weeks on to Iceland where, I am told, we will put in on the north coast.Leaving Iceland we will sail towards Greenland and the Canada so that we stay above the Gulf stream, which flows the opposite way from our course.
Re: Shoving Off
Love it! The pictures are terrific. Glad you slept well & that Simon the Cookie is taking good care of you. Be a good mate, and please do not fall overboard! ❤️❤️
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 8, 2017, at 6:39 AM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Nellie is now receiving joining crew. I was invited to join a day early as I was in London already.
>
> Tuesday night I arrived from Iceland and spent the night on a Dutch built barge courtesy of Joe Gridley. The barge is docked in the Thames and is about 55 years old.
>
> I made my way to the Docklands off of Canary Warf to join the ship and found myself hovering and swabbing the foc'sle deck, the compartment at bow were the joining crew is quartered.
>
> Last night was my first night sleeping aboard. Breakfast was at 8. Promptly following Simon the Cookie and I set off to buy some last minute provisions.
>
> Because of the ebb tide, we will be shoving off at 3 pm, picking up the pilot and making our way down river to an anchorage where we will anchor overnight and receive our training; fire drills, ship's rules and meeting our watch mates.
>
> There are 4 watches of about 10 each lead by a watch leader.
>
> The next day we set sail along the east coast for the Faeroe Islands, about a week's sail. We will continue for about 2 weeks on to Iceland where, I am told, we will put in on the north coast.
>
> Leaving Iceland we will sail towards Greenland and the Canada so that we stay above the Gulfstream, which flows the opposite way from our course.
> <20170607_105318.jpg>
> <20170607_134016.jpg>
> <20170607_131158.jpg>
> <20170607_131155.jpg>
> <20170607_125333.jpg>
> <20170607_105454.jpg>
Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 8, 2017, at 6:39 AM, Jonathan Gordon <jon.j.gordon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Nellie is now receiving joining crew. I was invited to join a day early as I was in London already.
>
> Tuesday night I arrived from Iceland and spent the night on a Dutch built barge courtesy of Joe Gridley. The barge is docked in the Thames and is about 55 years old.
>
> I made my way to the Docklands off of Canary Warf to join the ship and found myself hovering and swabbing the foc'sle deck, the compartment at bow were the joining crew is quartered.
>
> Last night was my first night sleeping aboard. Breakfast was at 8. Promptly following Simon the Cookie and I set off to buy some last minute provisions.
>
> Because of the ebb tide, we will be shoving off at 3 pm, picking up the pilot and making our way down river to an anchorage where we will anchor overnight and receive our training; fire drills, ship's rules and meeting our watch mates.
>
> There are 4 watches of about 10 each lead by a watch leader.
>
> The next day we set sail along the east coast for the Faeroe Islands, about a week's sail. We will continue for about 2 weeks on to Iceland where, I am told, we will put in on the north coast.
>
> Leaving Iceland we will sail towards Greenland and the Canada so that we stay above the Gulfstream, which flows the opposite way from our course.
> <20170607_105318.jpg>
> <20170607_134016.jpg>
> <20170607_131158.jpg>
> <20170607_131155.jpg>
> <20170607_125333.jpg>
> <20170607_105454.jpg>
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Lord Nelson Day One - Boarding
 |
| The Lord Nelson |
After spending the night on a 57 year old Dutch barge docked on the Thames, courtesy of my host Joe Gridley, I made my way to the Docklands near Canary Warf and joined the Lord Nelson.
The Nellie will be shoving off tomorrow at 3:00 PM to catch the ebb tide.
The day was spent hovering the foc'sle and swabbing the lower deck. This earned me a tot of beer and the favor of a slightly wider berth in the foc'sle. This means that I had to vacuum and mop the area under the bow of the ship.
Nellie is a beauty. The few people on board (since I was already in London I was invited to join a day early) have been very friendly and Simon (Cookie) is right on top of my vegan diet.
Tomorrow will be my first day at sea!
Our first port of call will be the Faeroe Islands where I will be able to post again.
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