Friday 28/4/06
Racheal sees it today. I'm all excited about this beautiful blue in the sky. When I tell people they often ask if I am homesick, but that's not it. I have done a lot of travelling and spent many of my adult years away from Perth but I never fail to feel excited when I return home.I get a similar feeling when I am in Colorado, that also feels like home and I'm sure it has something to do with the particular blue of the sky.Today I finished a job I started three days ago. It was a simple job that should take about 30 minutes. All I had to do was attach a curvy piece of wood to a port stay to catch the sheet on the Fock. What's the Fock? That's what I said when I was trying to get to remember all the Swedish names for the sails, lines and yards. The Fock is the large lower sail on the fore mast AKA forecourse.
Three days ago Marie-Louise gave me the instructions on the job she wanted done.It took a while to find the piece of wood in the carpenters shop, that's because it was in the forpick one deck below. I knew where to find the cloth and the tarry string to wrap the stay in but when I looked for a Marlin Spike in the Bosun's box there were none. I've been resisting making my own out of the50 cmnails because I don't want more things dangling from my harness. Nothing for it but to get a lesson on spike making, quite easy, just hand file to your prefered shape. These guys are doing their best to make a sailor out of me. Marie-Louise gave me a knife to use on day three.
There was probably three key things to remember.I had to put some cloth on the stay to prevent wear, where was what I got wrong. I thought I was preventing wear between the wooden piece and stay but it needed to be above the wood to stop the sheet from rubbing. Not only that but I went the more is better route and so the stay looked like a refugee from the catacombs of Eygpt.Then I had to angle it right. I looked at the corresponding piece on the starboard side of the ship and found that it was exactly between the two angles I could choose from. This stay was double backed on itself with a twist. I went conservative and had a lesser angle which on reflection was too shallow to catch wind let alone two heavy ropes 20 cms in circumferance.As for the seizing, what I lacked in tightness I made up for in volume and a variety of knots. I had Reef knots, Granny knots and probably Aunt Mary knots.When I stepped back from the job I thought......Looks like I've got myself a project. I know that can be done better.Each time I passed it the next day I'd eyeball the eyesore. I was on post so I passed it often. The four people on post have four positions to fill for one hour throughout the watch. Fire round, Look out, 2nd helm and 1st helm.That night we had a class at the red light on seizing! I got all the hints on how to make it right. Now I knew I was going to redeem myself in the morning.Except in the morning the wooden piece was gone!During the previous evening watch we had the flood lights on for the first time so that work could continue in the rigging. We were doing a steady 5 knots with a following swell. It felt like we were standing still. I think we are so used to going 8-9 knots with a side swell that in these perfect conditions the boat rides like a limo. It felt like a party.Not only the wooden bit was gone but also the double stranded stay. Obviously the stay had been tensioned and shortened. Even if my wooden piece had stayed in place it would now be1.5 meterslower down the side of the boat and no longer a resonable place to put the sheet.
Things are looking up! this time it will be easy to get the correct angle. I place a small amount of cloth in the right spot and tie it on neatly. Then I do a neat, tight seizing with a decent finishing not. This task has only taken 45 minutes today. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. Marie-Louise suggests I put the lazy sheet on it. I know that it's time for a cup of tea before I get into that little exercise.After getting permission to release the sheet I climb overboard and walk along the channel. The channels are small platforms like fins fore and aft that the shrouds are anchored to. Then I climb back up to where the sheet is currently toggled and start feeding the line through to get some slack. A double twist on the line causes enough tension so that it is all I can do to move it. I look above me and see the wooden piece yet another meter higher. There is no way I'm going to be able to lift this by myself so I call up to Jesper to help. It seems he gets called away on another project so Oscar takes over. Oscar turn 18 about the time he joined the boat but it is easy to think he is older. He's amongst the strongest of the guys on our watch and we have some muscle. I can only help raise the rope to half a meter below the wooden piece so Oscar heaves it the rest of the way on his own, very impressive. I'm glad I've asked for help on this.And she holds! Yippee.
Jenny17
Sailmaker's Report. 28 April 2006
Work proceeds as usual with roping Stor Märs using weather side of main deck as the bulwarks there afford a nice lee. During cold and damp weather which causes the rope as well as canvas to become very hard, the going is difficult and slow. When the weather is wet, less work is undertaken below decks such as the crew's bag making and a few sundry jobs of covering and suchlike. Otherwise sails in general seem to be holding up quite well.
Hope to finish Stor Märs before arriving at Fremantle.
P.Rose-Taylor.
S`mkr.
