Diary 10 April 2006
The sailmakers (Philip Rose Taylor & Lars Björk) have been busy at work more or less everyday since joining the ship in Cadiz in November. Between Cadiz and Recife the sails for the two ship's boats were finished as well as small repairs to the ship's sails.In  a squall the boltrope of the spritsail (blindan) came off and a make shift repair was carried out promptly.In Recife the spritsail was completely re-roped together with the jib (klyvaren).
The work was carried out in a warehouse ashore which provided unlimited space aswell as shade!

At sea again en route to Cape Town work commenced on the courses and topsails (undersegel och märssegel) repairing ang re-roping where necessary. Lessons in sewing for the trainees, a project which ends up with the individual making a sailor's bag for himself, have been attended with enthusiasm. Some evenings the lessons are carried out in the gundeck and a few handsome bags have been the result.Future works involve making a new spritsail and recutting the sprit topsail (skuvblindan) which is a little too deep to set properly.

Philip Rose Taylor
Ship's Sailmaker

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Diary 10 April 2006

The Good Ship Götheborg sails on and the sea is working its magic!

We saw whales for the first time on this leg this morning.  Also the countless Albatross and Petrels continue to wheel and glide about us.  We have seen at least four species of Albatross. Our most common companion is the Wandering Albatross. With a wingspan of 3m, these magnificent birds sheer the wave swells with their wingtips, riding the wind efortlessly, rarely flapping.  Occasionally a juvenile Wanderer joins us. Their plumage is dark chocolate brown with a white face which makes them look like a clown, so unlike the crisp black and white of the stately adults.

Also accompanying us are many Storm Petrels.  These tiny birds are about the size of a sparrow.  They dance across the water surface snatching at their prey defying the huge swells and white water all around them.Amazingly we were also joined briefly yesterday by a Barn Swallow!  This is a migrating land bird that was way off course, perhaps it had been blown to sea by the westerlies that also hit us so suddenly in the morning.The fishing lines trailing the stern have not caught any fish yet but unfortunately have caught a couple of birds.  I reeled in a White-chinned Petrel a couple of days ago.  A few of it's wing feathers had become entangled in the line.  

Not surprisingly it was angry and scard and put up quite a fight.  It has a beak like a vice with a big fishing hook on the end.  It took both Björn (frustrated fisherman) and I to untangle it and set it free, and we both have the wounds to prove it!I've been asking people on board what they would be if they could be any animal in the world - lots of people said a dolphin, a few polar bears, lions and falcons, and a kangaroo(the pouch is so handy!).  For me, I would definately choose to be an Albatross.  

To cruise the open oceans, in the ever changing elements, perfectly evolved to survive and thrive!

Rachel Klyve