Pacific Odyssey - Leg 6

It has been a glorious day; the sky was blue, we had a following wind,
and the temperatures were so warm we nearly took off our long underwear.
The sunscreen made it out for the first time.  Around 1630 hrs, the air
becomes very cold again, and we begin to bundle up for the night, but the
daytime was lovely and everyone was enjoying being on deck.  There was lots
of sail handling today with sails being raised and lowered several times.
The courses were raised in the morning, then lowered later in the day when
the main was raised due to an alteration in our course.  All trainees were
eager to help and we had a record number of people helping to stow the
trysail and the course sails which is always nice.  The trysail fit
beautifully into its box first time!  Usually it takes several tries when
trainees are new, to fold the trysail so that it slips nicely into the deck
box.  It is fun when there is lots of sail handling; many people are busy
with sails and lines, there is lots of teaching and learning happening and
everyone begins to get an idea of how large ship sailing works.  After the
sails are up, or down, it takes about 20 minutes to straighten out the
decks, coiling ropes, trimming sails, hanging up sail ties etc. We sailed
along quietly for most of the day, the boat rocking gently from side to side
(with the occasional deep roll that sent everything and everyone sprawling),
people sitting comfortably wedged in on deck against the roll, reading,
writing, standing watch etc. . . . it was a great afternoon for everyone.
Watch officers went with their watch around the deck teaching pins and
lines.  In a few days each trainee will be required to know the name and
whereabouts of every line and belaying pin.  This makes sailing easier,
especially in an emergency or if winds are strong and speed is of a
necessity.  Susan, Elske, and Leighsa were interrogated in their watches
today; often interesting and thought-provoking information comes out of
these sessions, which can lead to more conversations later in the trip.
Jordan did work watch with Antony´s watch today; they are sanding and oiling
the port cap rails.  Sophia, Molly, Sarah B., and I are beginning a knitting
project, most likely hats, something we can finish within the time we have
at sea.  Last night during watch I woke up to hear Susan and Becca laughing
hysterically and the rain pelting down on them.  They had stayed dry for
their entire 1hr40min.of watch and were waiting to be relieved by a
helmsperson from Antony´s watch.  For the 30 minutes that it took to awaken
Molly, have her stay awake, and come on deck, the rain poured down on them;
it stopped by the time Molly made it up to take the wheel.  Fortunately Bec
and Susan turned their wet ordeal into a laugh, and by morning, it was just
a very funny story with Molly unaware of being woken up several times.  The
wind has calmed down and we have lowered the main and turned on the engine.
We are now waking up to the sun rising ahead of us and setting behind us,
the opposite of our passage through the South Pacific.  We are looking
forward to a good nights´ sleep and another wonderful and full day tomorrow.
Good-night, Bonice.