Day 39 – Strong Headwinds

Hi Everyone,Welcome to day 39 of our voyage. Since departing Tenerife we have continued to battle strong N/NE winds and that has continued today and it’s as if the ‘weather gods’ want to throw one last challenge at the Crew of Passage 2 prior to their arrival in Cadiz just to remind them who is still the boss. Tomorrow we hand the Ship back over to the Youth Crew for another Command period so that they can again test their skills at running the Ship. This time it will be slightly different because it will be run over a 48hr period and they have had to elect all new people to all of the key positions. I am sure that it will be a challenging 48hr activity but I have faith in the ability of all of this Crew to do an extremely good job.  Tonight Julie volunteered her services to write the Captains Log so please enjoy her take on today’s activities and the voyage.  Until tomorrow, take careYours AyeCaptain Gav  Captain’s Log – 26 Mar 15Day 39 –The days on the ship have become blurry once again, merging into one another while rediscovering the comfort we once had with our original watches, catching up on sleep, and readjusting our bodies to the great swells of the North Atlantic. Last night marked a great relief in our struggles of falling out of bed, or for some being rammed into the wall, after a delightful tack by the Blueys. After an eventful struggle in furling the jib yesterday morning, we took on the task of furling the jib again last night. This instilled some fear in the Blue Watch to undertake this task alone, but of course we were reassured by Jodie to be “not scared of the jib”. Reassured as we were, the furling line was caught again. I think some of us are still a bit threatened by the flogging forces of a half-furled jib.  It’s hard to pinpoint the happenings of each day when there is hardly a sense of time on the ship. For me, Day 39 doesn’t mean much; I forget if the recent defeat in 500 (an absurdly addictive card game) was yesterday or just this afternoon, or if the intriguing talks of our near future plans was just this morning, or if it is just literally a short sleep away until we begin our challenging 48 hours of Command Day (where the ship is left completely to us World Voyagers to take charge of). While it seems we don’t have much time left until reaching Cadiz, I’m sure each and everyone of the World Voyagers are ready to give it their all for this Command Day, recalling that we had a blast in our previous 24-hour Command Day. I can’t wait to see how we take on this challenge, where fatigue management is ever more crucial during this 48 hour period.  This last leg of our voyage really marks a period of reflection and contemplation for all of us – of the highlights of the trip and what we’ve taken and still are taking away from it. It’s hard to put your finger on what has been the highlight of the voyage; it’s easy to say that everything’s been great, but one thing that I know that will resonate with me beyond time are the intimate relationships formed, the great family we have become. It’s a bittersweet thought when you think about the parting of such a close bond, but rather, I look forward to the time when we meet up again and see how we’ve embodied the visions we had of ourselves, or whether these would’ve changed with time. Knowing that change is inevitable, I feel that we would still look at each other, talk, breathe, and laugh the same way as we do now.Julie