Sailing to Bermuda May 7-13,09
We arrived in Bermuda this morning about 9:30am.
This is a continuous post so read down for the latest.
Thursday May 7,09
Have galley today so actually got to sleep in a couple of hours extra.
We are sailing North under courses, topsails and t’gallants. The wind last night was a stiff Force 5 with gusts to Force 6. This morning the wind has settled down to a steady Force 5. There is a 5-6′ swell coming in from the North East which makes for a lot of rocking and rolling. The Sun is out and the ses are a bright blue again.
We have the man ropes rigged along the main deck which makes going fore and aft a lot easier. Carrying stuff from the galley is still a challenge though 
It’s nice to be back in the Atlantic again. Sailing in the Caribbean is fun with all the sail handling required but there is nothing like the steady running of the ship in the wide ocean to get the blood stirring.
When we up anchored yesterday it was odd to think that it was the second last time that we would have to do that. Potentially it could be the last time as rumour has it we will try to go alongside in Bermuda.
Hmmm… These last two passages will be filled with “last time for this or that” stuff. It is still odd to be looking at the end of this trip in less than three weeks.
We will be having a ships concert on Sunday, everyone is supposed to do something. I have one really bad idea as an emergency fall back in case nothing better comes along but otherwise I’m stumped. I hate “talent show” like stuff.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Friday May 8,09
Had a good night watch.
I had first helm and last lookout. Steering was good as the wind has slackened and steadied to a good Force 4. Near the end of the watch we set the royals and flying jib.
I’m still amazed at how the colours of the ocean change at dawn and dusk. The range of colours from black through grey and polished steel to brilliant blue over the course of an hour is very cool to see. That is one of the reasons I like lookout on 4-8 as it is almost always during dusk or dawn.
We are now due East of Florida and there is lots of Sargasso weed streaming by on the surface of the sea. There is still a big swell running but the ships motion is not so pronounced as it was. Still lots of flesh toned patches in evidence on many of the crew
As we came on for afternoon watch we had a workshop on making a sea bag. Unlike the ditty bag project I think I will actually work on this one. Our watch was otherwise uneventful. We have all sails set except the gaff topsail and are steering North by East.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Saturday May 9,09
Had a good night watch under clear skies and a brilliant full moon.
We have set the gaff topsail so we are now sailing with all sails set! We are making a good 5 knots. The skies are mostly clear with some high puffy clouds. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer going North so we are officially out of the tropics. The temperatures are dropping and it is now quite chilly on deck at night without a jacket.
Two weeks today we arrive in Lunenberg. Hmmm…
More later…
Spent the day working on my sea bag. It was a beautiful day bright sunshine, brilliant blue water and steady Force 4 breeze. To top it off I was invited to eat with the Captain along with Nickola, Job, WT and Meg. We had a very nice dinner and talked about classic rock music.
While I was on lookout today I spotted a couple of Man ‘O War jelly fish. They actually seem to be sailing, they are moving across the wind which was quite surprising to me.
Tomorrow is Sunday and we will be having our Ship’s Concert in the afternoon. My watch is planning a skit of some sort so I may not have to use my fall back plan
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Sunday May 10,09
Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mothers out there
Our night watch was pretty relaxed the winds are now a steady Easterly Force 3 and we are still sailing north under all sails at about 2 1/2 knots.
Ben has written a short skit for us to perform at the concert. I have two lines each of one sentence so shouldn’t be a problem
It is Sunday so Donald has the day off, as a change the galley crew decided to do a Breakfast Cafe called “Chibblies”. They posted a short menu outside the galley and cooked breakfast to order for everyone! It was awesome, the best breakfast I’ve had on the trip.
I had 4 eggs over hard, bacon, hashbrowns, two big pancakes and coffee. Yummmmy!
They were also cooking omelettes with cheese, mushrooms, tomato and ham.
It’s now 9:30 and they are still cooking more breakfast for anyone who wants seconds.
I think I’m going to have nap actually.
More later…
Had a brief snooze then took my proto sea bag up on to the hatch and worked on it in the Sun. It’s coming along pretty well.
The concert was great there were six “acts” including our poor attempt at a skit It was very entertaining all in all.
We are still three days from Bermuda and the winds have been dropping so that we are now ghosting along at about 2 knots. Apparently there is a big Gale blowing North of Bermuda which will hopefully have moved off by the time we get there.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Monday May 11,09
We are now motoring North. We took in all sail at the end of our watch this morning as we were only sailing at just over 1 knot.
During our night watch there was just enough wind to keep the sails full, they were really beautiful in the moonlight and the changing light of the dawn. Knowing that we are nearing the end of the trip gives every dawn and dusk a new poignancy.
I never get tired of watching the sails. You’d think that after 6 months and thousands of miles of sailing that they would loose their appeal but that is not the case.
Now we are motoring and will keep doing so for the next two days until we reach Bermuda. Word below decks is that we will stay for 3 days then head out for Lunenberg on the last leg of the trip.
More later…
Just after noon we stopped and had a swim call!
It was flat calm, no wind at all and the water was an intense blue. I jumped in from the rail and felt like I was falling up into the sky. The water was cooler than the Caribbean but not cold by any stretch. As we were swimming a bit of a swell came up and it looked like big blue crystal mountains looming up and passing under us. Fabulous.
Got the last grommet done on my sea bag and we had a workshop on attaching the bottom so I’m ready to keep rolling over the next couple of days.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Tuesday May 12,09
Night watch was pretty busy. I had first lookout which meant tht I got to watch the sky change from black with a bright 3/4 moon aft to full liht with the Sun climbing up from the edge of the world.
We are still motoring NNE but we have set our lower topsails and fore topmast staysail a the wind has picked up from the West as we crossed through the high pressure area. We should arrive in Bermuda tomorrow sometime.
More later…
We set all sails this afternoon and sailed until nearly 8:00pm when we took in and stowed them again. This was an interesting exercise in the dark to be sure. In some ways working aloft in the dark is easier because you can’t see how far up you are. On the otherhand you cant see what you are trying to hang onto either.
We are back motoring and the Captain expects us to arrive in Bermuda in the morning.
I completed my sea bag this afternoon after a a marathon 3 hour stitching session. It came out pretty good actually and will be a useful carry all for all the stuff for my little dinghy.
Thanks for reading.
KJ
Wed May 13,09
We motored into St Georges Bermuda this morning about 9:30am.
I’ve gone ashore as we the day off.
More later…