This week has been busy, we have been crossing many things
off our list, and tasks are becoming more manageable, thanks to incoming
sponsorships and all 8 members of our crew.
I have been compiling my own list; every task requiring wood
work, tools, and electrical work has been added to my list. Monday I spent the majority of the day
working with Danny, he is very experienced in the areas that I have been
working and has proven to be very helpful.
Not only does he know how to operate a screw gun and a hand saw, but he
has been teaching me tricks and providing me with company and a fresh eye on
several of my tasks. He has a great
personality, very humorous, and tons of stories. I have learned a great deal about his
experiences and some of the adventures he has encountered in his life. Danny is a father of 5, he has 1 grandchild,
he has spent the majority of his life in Australia
(and is currently a resident) working for pharmaceutical companies and
airlines, his wife lives in Jakarta
Tuesday, the captain’s life was put in my hands. We were removing the cable backstays from the
front mast, and I was in charge of the old, spotty winch. I had never been part of a rigging crew,
neither had Danny, so we were carefully directed by Laser, who I hoisted 80 ft
off of the ship’s deck, and Gaie, who was our eyes and ears on the deck. It is a very physical activity to make sure
that the winch is moving smoothly, to be sure that Laser is being raised and
lowered at a safe speed, and to obey every command at a split second. The rigging crew is faced with many
challenges, unsafe conditions (like when the stay broke in pirate waters on
their sail from Malta
On Wednesday, I decided to complete a few tasks that had
been on my list for a while, along with some new, related jobs. The big three tasks that I decided to
complete, all faced me with opposition.
I installed a central light in the foxhole, only to discover that the
light did not work, I broke two screws attaching the overboard system in the
only place is could be attached and still function, and I numerous peg mounts
split while I was trying to make a new book shelf ship-shape. I found myself trying to get involved with
ANY other project simply to escape my failing efforts. It was my first frustrating day. I ended the day after clean up had begun, but
I was determined to finish at least one task properly; I installed the
overboard system inside the life ring!
This morning I started where I had left off by installing
the book shelf peg. As soon as I got it
tacked into place, the piece broke…but it still serves it purpose, so moving on
finally. The big event of the day was
when 6 months of food arrived and had to be stored appropriately. The truck arrived at 4 pm, three pallets were
unloaded and delivered to the ship (a bit over 7 thousand dollars worth of
food), and we formed a chain gang to quickly move the food out of the intense
heat of the afternoon. After our entire
galley had been filled with boxes, we had to quickly unpack all of the meat and
fresh fruits and vegetables. I was told
to get the hand saw so I could saw through some of the large tenderloins (one
was 4 ft long and the other was 3 ft) and the 9 lb salamis. All of the meat and butter was packaged and
frozen, and the fresh produce was sorted and organized. Half of the galley is still full of neatly
stacked boxes full of canned vegetables, fruits, coconut milk, packages of
pasta, containers of milk, sacks of rice, beans, sugar, and flower, boxes of
spices, crates of sauces and ground coffee; so much food, but it will last a
crew of 6 to 12 over 6 months!
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