Having awoken
to light winds but not the sound of an engine, Captain Jon felt such relief that
he decided, he needed a day off and to entirely relinquish command.
Unsure upon
what criteria to choose a replacement Captain, he followed the usual protocol
and asked the first person he came across.
This had the dual advantage of pitting age against experience; with
minimal confusion to the crew, with Caption John replacing Captain
Jon.
Having an
unruly crew to manage, I promptly checked the weather, which for the first time
gave a favourable predication, and went to bed.
Mr Romecke
once relieved of command, seemed to discover a new lease on life, his line
regularly singing, landed the biggest Mahi Mahi of the trip. He cooked a second breakfast of Wahoo
and a full flavoured chorizo pasta for lunch. So elated with his efforts in the
galley, he decided to douse himself in diesel whilst refilling the diesel
tanks. This was assumed by all as a
rouse to strip off and soap himself up at the back of the boat. It should be
noted for future crew that this is a common occurrence.
Mr Kemp having
mastered the arts of sail repair, dodger repair and clearing the heads,
commented that perhaps it was an oversight not to have prepared more vegetarian
meals. With blockages throughout
the boat, and with wind in our sails, the washing up sink stopped draining. 2 hours later, the ever dexterous Mr
Kemp, was able to fix the already perfectly functioning 1 way valve which had
closed on the port tack.
Just on night
fall, a distressed Mr Romecke was found desperately sorting through cupboards.
After calming the newly appointed cabin boy down, we discovered he was in search
of white wine. To great despair it
appears our supplies have been exhausted.
As Captain, I
decided an immediate review of starting provisions needed to be obtained. It was hence revealed for an estimated
journey of 18 days we had brought 18 bottles of white wine, 36 bottles of red
and 240 cans of beer.
With this new
information at hand, and in the event we entirely ran out of wine, I decided to
review the abandon ship protocol.
The crew in full understanding of the seriousness of our situation listed
off our individual roles and essential items to grab.
Captain John –
Em medical kit, radio, GPS
Mr Romecke –
ships papers, sat phone
Mr Cassan –
EPIRB, deploy life raft painter
Mr Kemp –
Water, Flares, Em Grab Bag
Mr O’Grady –
The remaining 5kg of cheese, half round of stilton
To infinity
and beyond