Pacific Odyssey - Leg 6

You will never guess what we found . . . a gas station in the middle of
the north Pacific.  The decision was made this morning to stop in at Midway
Island for  refueling and re-provisioning.  The island is a restricted U.S.
Nature Reserve and special permission is required to stop there.  When
Skipper made contact they were very helpful and excited about our visit.
The wind has not gone around to the north as much as Skipper wanted, and the
weather forecasted is for a week of contrary and light winds.  We are being
pushed further and further south onto the chain of islands that runs up from
the main group of Hawaiian Islands.  Skipper has spent some very stressful
days looking for options and praying for a change in the wind.  Last night
he started entertaining the idea of stopping in at Midway.  When the news
was shared with the trainees, most of them were quite excited.  This is an
opportunity to learn about Midway Island, another experience to add to
offshore, and one that fits in nicely with the history of the Pacific during
World War II, that those of us who have been on longer have already learned
so much about.  With fuel, we are hoping to get to Honolulu in 8-10 days
once we leave Midway Island.  We will arrive at Midway at dawn tomorrow; it
is an atoll which means we will pass through an opening in the coral.  We
are motor sailing with the trysail, foresail and jumbo.  The winds are
heading us and the seas are big; the decks have again been wet all day.
Jose is on the 0400-0800 watch and for the past few mornings, after the
decks are clean, has set up the deck hose as a shower for anyone who wants a
good rinse in salt water.  It feels wonderful, unfortunately I am usually
still in bed and have missed it all 3 times.  The sun has shone all day and
we´ve enjoyed sitting in the stern together, though temperatures are still
cold.  This afternoon everyone did a bunk flip and bunk tidy in preparation
for tomorrow.  The day was spent as usual, playing cards, reading, sleeping,
writing, standing watch, sewing, knitting, doing galley help, school,
studying etc.  I´ve heard that the Intermediates are writing their exam on
Friday.   Simon taught Molly how to make an origami boat and Molly helped
Noah with his math.  Tonight Ian was making cookies.  He read 1 cup instead
of 1 tablespoon for the salt but realized something had gone seriously wrong
when he tasted the dough.  Arwen then joined in and helped rescue him and
the cookies; the cookies have turned out well.
Gillian has come up with a brilliant idea where I log in a typical day for
each of the ´positions´ we have on board i.e. trainee, cook, bosun, watch
officer, and Skipper.  Gillian has taken notes on what her day yesterday
looked like, and so I will begin with her.  Tuesday April 15, 2008
    -alarm went off at 0530, staggered out (uphill on this tack) of my
cabin, mumbling good morning to the fore watcher cleaning the head who just
got off the wheel.
    -it wasn´t too rough last night so there were no bags to trip over.
    -light the stove so that it is warm by the time I need to put breakfast
in it; aim to have it in by 0600.
    -I love this time of day, especially when we´re sailing because it is
quiet, everyone is asleep and it feels like I´ve got the boat to myself.
    -generator went on between 0630 and 0700, shattering the silence.  I
turn on the freezer.
    -the first coffee drinkers start to trickle into the galley by 0700 and
the kettle will be constantly on for the next hour.
    -port watch begins to find the hold table for first sitting breakfast;
it´s buried beneath the hold-sleepers bags.
    -we´ve made yogurt yesterday so it´s fresh yogurt with breakfast this
morning, a favorite.
    -short nap during dishes . . . almost forgot to get meat for dinner out
of the freezer to thaw.
    -0930 start making lunch; I have to go under 4 bunks and a seat locker
to find everything I need, two varieties of pasta, regular and dairy free
[getting the ingredients is a big part of the cooks job  as most everything
is stowed under bunks.  Gillian or Katie have to climb to the uppermost
bunks, move the heavy bags and loose junk of whomever the bunk belongs too,
lift the mattress, lift the slats, balance it all on their head and with a
flashlight find what it is they need; it´s a feat; we often see them heads
down, bums up, and digging . . . appreciate your cupboards].
    -people are playing cards in the hold and as I cook, we converse back
and forth.
    -need to cook 5.5kg of pasta, we have some big eaters.
    -casserole is in the oven by 1045, time to marinate the pork for dinner.
    -first sitting at 1120, we run out of ketchup so it´s under another
bunk.
    -another short nap during dishes then up at 1330 to get Kaitlin, my
starboard watch galley help set up; we need to clean the onion seat locker;
they´re starting to go a bit, but have lasted quite well.
    -I grind wheat for the chapattis for dinner while Kaitlin is cleaning.
    -need to clean the stove top from the huge salt spray the other day, so
I can cook the chapattis on the stove top.  Out comes the sandpaper and
grill bricks; that and a bit of oil shines it up.
    -Raven comes down at 1600 as galley help to roll out the 80 chapattis.
Bonice fries them and I run around making the rice and pork, and the sauce.
    -dinner takes a bit longer to cook tonight because we´re on a port tack
and the stove doesn´t get as hot on a port tack.
    -port watch comes in at 1720 for first sitting and as soon as they´ve
been served, fore watch comes below to get their food.  They´re on the
1600-2000 watch so they eat on deck while they steer.
    -starboard eats at 1800 and fore watch comes down for seconds.  Fore
watch is the biggest eating watch at the moment; they probably eat twice
what port watch eats.
    -I hang out in the galley a bit before retreating to my cabin during
dishes to talk to Katie.  I realize I never made it up on deck today.
    -cards in the hold tonight; the ´eatmore´ bars Bonice and Arwen made
yesterday and put in the freezer to harden overnight come out to rave
reviews.
    -I´m not cooking tomorrow so I can stay up a little later for games!  A
Dutch Blitz Marathon is planned.
    -I turn the stove off before I go to bed, good-night.
The cooks work hard; this gives you some idea of how their days look.  It is
a beautiful night; Sarah B. is on watch, Sophie is on the wheel, Will is
with them awaiting his wheel watch.  Everyone else is in the hold or the foc´sle,
most of them playing cards.  Noah just returned from the Dutch Blitz
Tournament that is continuing to the end of the leg; he just loves to play
cards with the trainees.  Gillian has joined Maddie and Steve in keeping
points during the entire tournament.  We are looking forward to tomorrow; it
will be a nice change.  Good night, Bonice.