Not Your Typical Days

This week has been full of work and very tiring.  Sativan arrived on Monday night, very nice and very funny guy.  He is Brazilian, has a degree in psychology, practiced eco-psychology (which I am eager to learn more about), and now is a yoga instructor who has been travelling through India for the past 10 months.  The rest of the crew arrives next week, I believe two women, not sure where they are from (I was wrong about Laser, he is a Belgian).  This week has brought us sunshine with occasional showers, so we have been very productive.  We have cleaned out the storage in the dive locker (in the stern hold), we have removed the 36 ft, solid wood boom, and replaced it with the mizzen rig, and crossed off about 1/3 of the items on the 2 and half page list.  My list, however, keeps getting longer.  There are many little jobs for the ‘chippey’ to do!

Out of the Ordinary Experiences:

On Monday I made myself a PB&J (chunky with cherry jam) during an afternoon break.  This might not seem to strange, but I have not eaten peanut butter since my early childhood…it was actually quite good.  Monday night was our first night that the sky wasn’t completely overcast, and I had my first glimpse at the colors of a sunset.  The rest of the week has been similar, haven’t had the opportunity to catch the actual sun setting, just the pink glow on the clouds of the horizon.  Tuesday, spent a brief period of time outside and got a nice tank top burn, enjoyed the pool for the first time (rather cold, but the water falls feel amazing!), and showered with a gecko.  Dinner rotation had me signed up for Wednesday, so I prepared bangers and mash for the first time in my culinary career.  Thursday morning was probably the best.  On my way back from brushing my teeth, I spotted a bright orange seahorse clinging to some coral on one of the docks.  It was beautiful, and my first WILD seahorse sighting.  This was followed by a rather leisurely morning consisting of cutting foam for mattresses and acting as the bon voyage party for Michel and Simon on L’attitude.  It was a great way to start the New Year, year of the Golden Rabbit!  The past few nights, the stars have been out, and it has been very peaceful sitting on deck in the cool sea breezes swaying with the tides aboard Mir.   

Last night we watched a few slide shows on all the work the crew put into Mir during the 9 months it was in Malta.  It was a huge transformation, seeing her completely empty on the inside with a huge hole in her stern, to the reconstruction and raising of the two masts, and finally the voyage to Singapore.  I learned that Mir was built in 1910 as well as some of her history with previous owners.  All the steel located above the water line is the original steel from 1910!  She is VERY old!  We then watched a 5 minute video on Biosphere 2, an incredible project, and learned how a company bought them out, had them arrested and tried to destroy all of their efforts for financial gains.  There are some great documentaries out there on the project.

Today, I found out that I had a meeting set up with one of my dad’s associates to discuss one of his projects with a potential investor, as well as introduce them to Gaie, Laser, Mir, and the Biosphere Foundation.  I knew I was set up to make some introductions on behalf of my father, but now, tonight, I have to prepare for an oral presentation on a very extensive project looking for funding in the hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars, but no pressure.  The man is supposed to be very nice and VERY talkative.  After lunch and a tour of the ship, he has offered to take us into town to show us the TRUE Chinese New Year Celebration.

I am still planning on enjoying the SUNNY weekend off to take in the Chinese gardens, the bird park, and the botanical gardens.  Carol has also asked me to take her sailing on a smaller boat, since she hasn’t been on anything shorter than 83 ft.  I am definitely excited to experience what Singapore has to offer!!