#windeward bound

[keep-the-adventure-going]

On the T’Gallant

19-02-2020

While we were out on day sail today, I was ordered up the shrouds to cast loose the t’gallant. Usually, we cast loose before we sail, and today we did, but only the upper and lower topsails. The wind changed, and it meant that we should use the t’gallant so up I went and take off the timber hitches and gasket coil the lines. Our main mast is 25 metres high, so once you’re up there, you feel on top of the world. Unfortunately, the shrouds become only one step wide, as opposed to four when you first climb on from deck, so you’ve got to be a lot more careful and be very precise about where you put your feet.

[le-petit-coeur]

First Night

Brooke Street Pier, Hobart January 4th, 2020

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Sunset On My First Night

04-01-2020

I was so lucky to have a beautiful sunset on my first night! My 6am flight from Melbourne to Hobart had me very tired by the time bedtime came around. We spent the day cleaning and doing maintenance, so my muscle were also very tired from a physical first day.

[keep-the-adventure-going]

Rotary Evening

14-01-2020

Tonight we had the Rotary Clubs from all around Hobart come and have their first meetings for the year onboard. We had to dress up in our nice uniform and serve some platters of food. It was a really nice way to give back to the Rotary Clubs as they are big supporters of the Windeward Bound Trust and we wouldn’t be here without them. Thanks Rotary!

[keep-the-adventure-going]

Cooking Aboard

12-01-2020

We are extremely well fed on board. The picture above is me trying to make pancakes as a special treat for everybody on board. Making them circular on a rocking ship is a bit hard, though. If you are the duty person on a particular day, you are in charge of getting everything out for lunch, cooking dinner and doing the dishes for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is left up the individual. We add everything we need for our dinners to the shopping list and anything else, like yoghurt for breakfast etc.. 

Usually, my meals are: 

Breakfast

Three pieces of toast with Nutella, peanut butter and jam

A bowl of yoghurt

A piece of fruit (sometimes)

A cup of good ol’ tea

Lunch

Cheese toastie

Salad

Dinner

Whatever the duty person cooks

[keep-the-adventure-going]

Scrubbing the Decks

24-01-2020

The one question I get asked when people find out I work on a tall ship is “you must really enjoy scrubbing the decks then?”. I always then smile and meekly say "we actually need to scrub the decks every day to keep the timber healthy”. As part of our morning clean every day, we alternate between simply rinsing the decks with salt water or doing a scrub with salt water to ensure that there isn't any debris or dirt on the deck and to treat the timber with salt to prevent it from rotting. It is always a much better job if you have someone fun to do it with!

[keep-the-adventure-going]

Time Aboard Rhona

16-01-2020

The SV Rhona H is another tall ship that docks near us in Hobart. They are much small than the Windeward Bound and fore and aft rigged instead of square-rigged. One of our casual volunteers also volunteers on Rhona and he said I could come for a twilight sail on my day off if I wanted. It was a great time out on the Derwent River and the sailing was a lot different than on Winde.

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Maintenance Day

21-01-2020

Today I was sanding. It is essential to keep the shop in tip-top condition, so we don't need to pull her out the water very often to fix her up. On our days off, Monday and Tuesday, somebody needs to be on duty watch to ensure the ship is ok and usually, they are also given some maintenance tasks to complete. Today I needed to sand the capping rail of its varnish so we can bleach the mould out of it and reseal it with SeaPro and Varnish. In my overalls, I feel like a ghostbuster!