Steph Edwards ist neu an Bord der Phoenizia - hier ist sein erster Report!
Es geht um Wind, Sonne und Hitze,
um Duschen, Schokolade und - mal wieder - um Fisch
Position Report 96
Date: 25th January 2010
Location: 26.28.4South and 034.37.9 East
Message:
Phoenicia blog written by new crew member Steph Edwards:
Since we left Beira it has been interesting to watch how the crew members and their habits change from port to sea, and the experience quickly becomes an exercise in getting along and adapting to new circumstances, particularly as the watch system kicks in and the ship takes us far away from our usual daily comforts. With 11 of us we currently operate a two watch system (0200-0800, 0800-1200, 1200-1600, 1600-2000, 2000-0200). The two watches consist of: Sulhan, Aziz, Yuri, Vera and Atsuko; and Dirman, Niklas, Alice, Daniel and Steph. It's pretty hot so in reality most of the daytime becomes an operation in seeking shade, and like lying beasts we revolve around the ship with the sun, occasionally being forced to seek solace in our bunks below deck despite this being the sweatiest place to reside. And so the setting of the sun in the late afternoon signals shower time and the queue begins, and you can expect a loud tutting from Yuri's direction if he is kept waiting too long. Showers bring their own set of peculiarities, especially for the girls - modesty, an overhanging toilet, a rolling ship, an audience and possible lurking cameras make for an interesting experience.
With only one brief downpour so far the iPods have been out in force and Dirman can often be spotted disco dancing his way around the deck as the on-duty watch turn up the funk, Sulhan usually shaking his head in bewilderment. Then we are blessed with several hours of pleasant temperature to relax before dinner, and if it's a Saturday or a Wednesday then this is accompanied by some drinks and chocolate of happy hour, which is always well received. It's incredible to see the effect that rationed chocolate has on a group of people living largely (now we're into the second week) off rice and noodles. Things quieten down after dinner as half the crew are off to bed to catch some zzzz before the late watch, but the night time brings its own pleasure of helming a quiet ship under sail in the moonlight. Unless you are on watch with Aziz, who likes to talk all the way through his watch (a journalist by trade he enjoys a good debate), or Yuri when he brings out his recorder, or Alice who will get the party started if she is awake. Occasionally the aroma of fish head soup wafts through the boards as the nocturnal Sulhan heats himself up a midnight snack. Atsuko, who used to work for Apple, may well now be regretting bringing her iPhone, as a clear night means we reach straight for the star spotting app and she has to play Tech Support most of the night as we continually fail to get it to work.
The cooking and cleaning rota ('mother watch', as we know it) takes one person from each watch per day and sometimes turns up some interesting partnerships. I seem to be ingraining the habit of afternoon tea in the rest of the crew - there is often baking, bread or popcorn to keep us going until dinner. Pudding is also on the rise. Yuri is the resident bread baker and has kindly shared his secrets with the rest of us so we have a regular supply of fresh bread on board, although we once discovered accidentally that frying flour does not work well for this purpose. Vera is an excellent producer of sweets and confectionary, I've discovered a fairly boat-proof banana muffin recipe, and Daniel is the experimental 'let's throw stuff in a pan' cook whose attempts always miraculously taste great. Niklas reliably turns out a good 'Swedish potato surprise' at most mealtimes, Aziz continually threatens us with boiled water but actually does great things with noodles. Alice, who has trouble sleeping during the day, has been known to cook for 14 hours solid whilst on mother watch, producing a vast array of dishes and a lot of washing up for her poor partner Sulhan! So far on this leg we have had one catch of the day - a tasty tuna - and with this Atsuko actually managed to convert several of the crew to fish head soup, which is no mean feat as several have been spotted running away from the Indonesian version. And Daniel has been converted to Marmite. Philip is exempt from mother watch except in emergencies but you can expect a raised eyebrow if you cook something not to his liking.
It's now our tenth day at sea on this leg and all bets are on as to when we will arrive, with the winner(s) receiving ice cream from the losers, although there will inevitably be some disagreement over how the days been counted and how much ice cream was specified! Currently it looks like Dirman and Daniel are the ones most likely to enjoy high blood sugar levels and tooth decay in Richard's Bay.
Steph
PS We have just covered some 97 miles over the last 24 hours and are now some 200 miles from Richards Bay.
97 Meilen in 24 Stunden, wenn der Wind konstant bleibt, könnten sie übermorgen in den Hafen von Richards Bay einlaufen.
Gruß
Birgitt
