day 120: back to sicily
Jamie here: today we passed by Niue about 40 miles away , we couldn’t see it but that’s the sort of geographical realm we are in. A few weeks ago, in fakarava some Swiss merchants disguised as Swiss children sold me Naomi and Ellen some beautiful coral necklaces. One day not two weeks ago I went for a swim and lost my precious necklace. Today Wendy did so well on my watch that I came storming down below, leaving the deck unattended.I found a shell with a hole in it, found some waxed string and constructed a new necklace. A necklace forged out of Mithral and monksbain. As I donned it, I heard gasps behind me. As I turned around to see what the fuss was about I was confronted with my three companions with mouths open in horror. They howled, JAMIE WHERE DID YOU GO! they shook in surprise, he disappeared they murmured. I gazed down , looking at where my body had once been. It was gone! But I felt normal. Yes, I was invisible. The necklace I constructed was imbued with magical powers, just like the one ring which was forged before the time of man, in the age of the elf when the sun was still young. I silently ate all the pizza which was made for pizza night while the crew watched it slowly disappear. I’m unsure when I will take off the necklace but I have a feeling that there might be a spare 3 hour watch to cover tonight. WOD - synonym. Synonym ; words which mean the same or similar thing but are different words. Used in a sentence: she’s just beautiful, and sweet as synonym.
Miriam: I am almost comatose with a full belly of delicious pizza, about to go down for my pre watch nap. This 12-3 schedule is suiting me so far; I now have an excuse to sleep in all morning and eat all the best snacks in the middle of the night in order to stay awake. The wind dropped to a sedate 10-12 knots for my afternoon shift and that corresponding lack of momentum made the swell, coming in broadside to the boat, rock us in an exaggerated cradle rock that felt so soothing, at least to my nervous system which is less concerned with timely progress than my mind. I basked on the stern and wrote poetry and let Wendy drive, utterly content with life.
A few new bird species were sighted entirely too far away to tell what they were, just that they weren’t the usual suspects. The bioluminescence has returned in sparse bright sparks in our wake. This was another morning of whole flocks of flying fish fleeing our hull in silver streaked brilliance, wing fins blurred in flight; I hope I never cease to feel awed and squeal with delight at the sight of them. The moon, waiting until full dark as just past full moons do, again rose golden and huge through piles of dark clouds, most dramatic and captivating. Last night’s full moon painted some night rainbows in concentric circles through the racing cloud wisps high above. Altogether lovely. I have settled into the timelessness of passage and am grateful to be here with this swift boat and wonderful crew and vast ocean…
Naomi here, I’m surprised no one has mentioned the sponge yet??? It was a massive event, we finally got sick of wiping down the benches with a formerly yellow, brown sponge embedded with slimy chia seeds so we got out a NEW SPONGE from the pack which I believe Sheila bought way back in ‘14…. The kind that expand when they get wet! Megan did the honours as we sat transfixed by the sight of the sponge expanding larger and larger by the second!! We wondered when it would stop, would it never cease to expand? It got to about the size of a dish sponge before seeming to slow its incredible growth. Truly a once in a lifetime event, there’s never a dull moment around here. The sunsets seem to have changed slightly- in French Polynesia they would, there was this wild colour gradient thing that would occur in the whole sky, yellows, greens, pink, violet and deep blue, we began to notice it as we got close to gambier and, it truly was a remarkable thing every night, tonight’s sunset we noticed was similar but didn’t quite involve the whole sky like it did further east. Why? We continue to play the thrilling game of, is it safe to have the hatch open? Todays book was disgrace which was honestly kind of a disgraceful book, and todays meals were last nights leftovers, some pate and crackers, and of course, pizza! A team effort of a meal I would say we are all robin felds tonight.
Kia ora, Megan here. The sponge too was my highlight of the day. It is a shame Jamie missed it, I’m not entirely sure where he got to today. It’s like he disappeared ha ha! But of course that is ridiculous. He’s probably just fallen off the back of the boat.
I had no idea Naomi was hoarding so many new sponges. I have been in the habit of trying to invent new and fun ways of suggesting that we go to some efforts to maintain good sponge hygiene - rinsing them, squeezing them, placing them in their designated area next to the sink. Somehow these suggestions have not captivated some of the crew as much as hiding the sponges in the dark and wet caverns of piled dishes, slick with duck fat and Nutella. Welcome, new sponge. Enjoy your first day on the job, before the horrors that await you are realised.
Bluebird out.