day 122 - tonys sunglasses tan line
Jamie here, as much as the 3-6 shift is shunted, it is great on sunny hot days like today where I can soak up the afternoon rays without being too hot, like the poor souls before me. This morning I finished at dawn, Megan took over from me. I was feeling pretty good, pretty energised. I have been disgruntled and actually disgusted recently at the dampness of my bed sheet. This morning I took action. I left Megan to it up top and went down to my palatial room. Took off my sheet and Megan couldn’t believe her eyes whence upon I returned to the upper reaches of bluebird clutching my blackened sheet. Yes I had done the harrowing 3-6 watch and here I was doing laundry like a hero of old (Megan here, Jamie disappeared into his bedroom and then almost immediately returned clutching a sodden bedsheet - I assumed what anyone would have, that this hero had wet the bed). I washed it in a bucket of soapy sea water and set it out to dry. Bed time after that, smiling a little as I drifted into an uneasy sleep. Naomi baked a lemon cake which is my favourite and although not as lemony as previous editions a delight non the less. Then we spent quite a few minutes going through old Crum family photos on the iPad. Megan made a truly delicious dinner cheers Word of the day day dayyyy: Orchestrate. Orchestrate - to plan, guide and undertake something. Probably originated from conducting an orchestra. Used in a senny: Killer whale 1: hey I’m thinking about asking Denny to the gay bar tonight, think he’d be keen? Killer whale 2: nah I’m pretty sure that orchestrate.
Miriam here, I’m starting to get used to the 12-3 shift. I got fantastic sleep beforehand last night before drifting through a liminal watch with the moon bright overhead. I am a massage therapist when not sailing and thus have lots of atmospheric dreamy music on my phone which really enhances the otherworldly floating through the night feeling I get sometimes when hand steering with lighter winds and gentle swell and no islands or other obstructions for many more miles, swaying with Bluebird and soaking in the vast quiet beauty of the night. I thought I’d get another 4 hours or so of sleep after but no! Some monster of the deep took a nibble of our lure and the whizzzzz of the line woke Naomi to jump out of bed and hit the ground running to reel them in. Which, as she sleeps in the bunk above me, startled me awake (I may have yelped). The fish got away but I was grateful to have a moment with the gentle clear light of morning, a faint rainbow in the east. Alas, no more sleep was had. We did catch a flying fish, or rather they jumped on board in the night and desiccated on deck. Their pectoral fins are incredibly long; no wonder they fly so well.
The 12-3 day watch was a scorcher requiring multiple re wettings of my shade shirt and all the sun protection. I then sought the shade on the foredeck and rediscovered, now that the seas are gentle enough and my balance has improved enough, how nice it is to move and stretch and write and meditate out there. Unobstructed views of the endless undulating sea, just the thing for contemplations and daydreams. The rest of the crew has been very kind in not heckling my experimental nautical dance explorations and I am a much happier person for a little movement everyday. Fantastic how restraint inspires creativity, huh?
Naomi here, It’s interesting how consistent the ocean seems on this passage- the swells change somewhat in size direction and orderliness, the wind for the most part has been around 15 or 20 knots so maybe the steadiness of the weather accounts for it. The passage from nz to gambier it felt like every day we were in a wildly new place, as different as if you were out tramping and one day you were on the ridge and the next day the valley floor. The ocean would be different colours, the sea state was always wildly different, the sunsets and maybe even the sunrises were different altho I cannot confirm that. Now we just have that weird and actually very relaxing Groundhog Day feel to every day, we look at the navionics charts and drop a pin every day at noon to track our progress, slowly we are eating away at the miles but to look at the ocean it seems fairly similar to when we left Bora Bora. Tonight however a new challenge! We will cross the Tongan islands by my calculations sometime tomorrow, in the wee small hours we will gybe over so as to not hit ha’apai group and this way we are on a good angle to cross near Disney reef. It is quite nice and easy to get used to only having to watch out for other boats (of which we have seen 1 since leaving bora bora), all you have to do is keep the boat moving and try stay headed in the right direction- all of a sudden having obstacles like islands and reefs in the way it adds a whole new dimension. Todays menu was last nights leftovers, adventure bread with fishy mayonnaise, and a potatoey shakshuka. I began reading jonathon strange and mr. norrell book which I have in fact read before but long enough ago so that it seems familiar without knowing exactly what’s going to happen. Tomorrows goal is another bucket bath as I am very greasy and grimy. . Kia ora, Megan here. Jamie’s zeal for laundry actually inspired me to air my linens as well, on our first properly sunny day since the we began our descent into the swamp. We’ve clawed back a lot of ground and today I dare say the hatches were open the entire day without incident. I spent last night clinging to my damp duvet/makeshift body pillow and thinking there had to be a better way. Tonight, I surround myself with a freshly aired duvet and sheet set. They retain the stubborn hint of moisture that honestly I may feel discomfited without; a little wet is the new dry. Never raising your arms is the new deodorant.
Tonight I made shakshuka if shakshuka’s only requirements is eggs in a tomato based slurry. I highly recommend the alterations, though, and am really making progress as an intuitive cook. For bluebird’s shakshuka: Pan fry an onion, garlic, herbs de provence, chorizo, and zucchini/squash/whatever was dehydrated in that bag in your cupboard. Add a can of whole tomatoes that you chopped by sticking a pair of scissors in the can and slicing vigorously, and cook down. Add cubed cheese, something like emmanthaler, which you don’t know how to spell because you’ve been calling it edmontons this whole time. Crack as many eggs as you have left, you thought it was 4 but its actually 2, into the dish. Chicken out of putting the pan in the oven to cook the eggs because negotiating with the oven on passage is too scary, just wait until eggs are set. Serve on a bed of roasted potatoes. Bone apple tea.
Pō mārie! Bluebird out.