Sunday, December 29, 2024

Jersey to Cardiff: Our First Passage of the Season

 Our first passage with the ship promised to be an easy one -- benign weather and just a couple of days long. Good way to get back into the rhythm of the ship and the job, and to get to know our shipmates a bit better. And most of all, time at sea gives a chance for the contemplation away from the distractions of the internet.

The helm; we still steer the ship from here. The views are great but it means we're out in all weathers. 

A rubber duckie mascot leaving the Jersey festival with us. Rubber duckies became almost a theme on this trip.

Entrance to the harbour guarded by these old fortifications.


The very coolest job I could ever imagine having.

Lines and lines. Another anachronism as the lines of rigging contrast with the contrail of a jet.


"Land's End" is an actual place, not just a US-based clothing company. I'm not singing sea chanteys, I'm living them.


Everybody pulllllll! The mainsail weighs 2 tons and is raised entirely by hand.

View forward from the helm as the crew works the foresail ("trinqueta" in Spanish). The ship has 10 km/6 miles of rope rigging.


At sea, everything is blue ... blue sky and blue ocean, all day long. So those 15 minutes of orange at sunrise and sunset take on an outsize importance.

The edges of the day are magical and peaceful.

Again a huge tidal range, and three locks to pass through before we got to the basin we would be docked at, which had no tide at all thanks to said locks. But we had to time our arrival and departure pretty carefully.

Climbing into the rigging to hang the Welsh courtesy flag.

Crew briefing. Mostly logistics, any special events, and what to expect from our time in the city. 


No comments:

Post a Comment