Pacific Odyssey - Leg 7

The wind switched slightly overnight and strengthened; we are now
heading into it.  The motion has increased; there is still a list to
starboard, with a deeper roll in that direction every now and then, plus a
forward plunging as the ship plows her bow into the wind and waves coming
from ahead of us.  A few of the trainees are back on seasickness medication
but in general, they are doing well; we have been pretty fortunate with the
weather and the motion.  As I sit here typing the log I am wearing my down
coat, a MEC fleece jacket, a sweater and a t-shirt; Skipper beside me is
also wearing his down coat.  The air has turned extremely cold and everyone
is layering up; the long underwear is out.  We have sealed up the ship, all
the washboards are in (the horizontal boards that close up the forward part
of the hatch), and the hatch covers have been pulled over to meet them.  For
the watch on duty, it is cold; for the watch officer it is even colder as he
or she stays on deck for 4 hours.  There are endless pots of tea, hot
chocolate, and coffee being made and brought on deck to keep crew and
trainees warm.  Spirits are up and we keep each other good company; passing
the time chatting and laughing.  One thing I miss about the warmer weather
is the life that happens on deck; when it´s warm we are all together, when
it´s cold, we tend to stay in our areas below, not mingling quite as much.
The after cabin stove is on strike, due to our port tack; the tank is
situated so that fuel flow to the tank is more difficult and thus keeping
the stove lit is finicky.  We are over halfway distance-wise; I feel that in
a few days we will begin to feel the days passing too quickly.  The next 2
or 3 days may be somewhat bumpy and uncomfortable as we have strong
headwinds, but hopefully after that we will have some good sailing.  Our
speed has slowed down and water is coming over the bow regularly as the ship
plunges down into the waves.  Moving from the foredeck to the stern is a
risk one takes; if one´s timing is bad, or luck is against you, you may get
sprayed with water.  Except for a small area in the stern, the decks are
wet, but despite the cold and the motion the mood on the ship is positive
and the days pass quickly; we always have enough to do.  The Writer´s Guild
met again this morning; we looked at similes and metaphors, trying to create
some clever ones.  The ´no shirt contest´ has come to a close with Raven the
winner.  This morning after an hour of watch, Chris E. decided he´d had
enough of the cold.  When he was asked ´how it felt´ he responded ´warm´ and
put his shirt on backwards, unaccustomed to wearing one.  There was a small
ceremony on deck congratulating Raven and allowing him a few words to the
public.  It ended with him and Chris shaking hands.  Interviewers and film
crew were on hand to record the event i.e. Jose and Christina.  Elske, Noah,
Antony and Jacob continue to work on their lures, but so far the finished
ones haven´t brought in fish.  Adrienne has begun cutting the leather and
preparing the stitching holes for a pair of moccasins.  Sarah B. taught a
seniors lesson this afternoon.  Arwen made chocolate chip cookies for
tonight, delicious.  We heard from Chris E. in fore watch today that when he
was in elementary school he was chosen to be photographed for the front
cover of a children´s book.  I happened to have the book on board and we
passed it around; a celebrity on the Grace.  It is late and I´m feeling
somewhat queasy, good-night, Bonice.