Cassini blog - dhoby
day
This morning's big
team event was to wash the laundry. There had previously been a small team
activity with a gybe carried out in the dark (0600) during a watch change (4
instead of 6 involved) safely carried out and well controlled (FOST staff
please note). The small team
involved felt quite pleased with themselves about it.
But back to the
laundry. There comes a time in any enclosed space in a tropical environment when
at least one of the 6 people present will run out of wearable underwear (note -
wearable does not necessarily mean clean!). That is a good time for everyone to
turn to and wash anything that might, until that point, have been sitting
festering in a pillow case in the corner of the cabin.
So, soon after
breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast - thank you Ronan - followed by banana - the
green ones we bought in Cape Verde are just ripening nicely) the production
process was set up in the cockpit. The engine was run to heat the hot water,
bucket number one contained the soapy stuff, with buckets two and three
containing clean water for rinsing off. One person to each bucket with the
others rigging washing lines on the foredeck and we all set to scrubbing,
rinsing and hanging out. There was a shuffling of responsibilities partway
through, with Durks being 'promoted' from rinsing to washing duties when, prior
to refreshing his rinse water, he emptied his bucket over the stern with an item
of someone's clothing still contained therein. Whatever it is the fish now have
to play with appeared to be turquoise lacy pants, so the candidate list for the
previous owner is short! The practical effect of Durks' promotion was that it
moved his bucket further away from the stern.
It was disheartening
for the ex-RN chaps to discover that there was no iron to be found onboard.
Though that probably explains the lack of Chinese laundryman too. And there
wasn't an ounce of starch in sight - what is the world coming to?
After two and a bit
hours, which included (as the watermaker was in use anyway) everyone having a
shower, the work was done, and then we spent a while looking like a vagabond
boat with laundry drying in the sunshine and the breeze. For information, and
without wishing to generate any form of envy or animosity among our UK
readership, the temperature here today is 31 degrees C.
While the engine was
running we took the opportunity to make more water, charge the batteries, prep
some meals and make up a little of the ground down the track that the light and
variable overnight wind had caused us to lose out on. Navs has had a good look
at the weather forecasts and there are good winds ahead - at some
point!
STOP PRESS:
2nd fish caught!! Not as big as the first - not even one meal for 6
people never mind two, and anyway we are having Bean Chilli tonight. This one
was a young Dorado (we think). Incidentally, there is lots of opportunity for
Vegetarian Fishing. We've done a lot of that - big tug on the line - reel starts
running out - lots of excitement only for the 'catch' to be a big cluster of
seaweed. Now that may go down well in certain restaurants but the patrons of
this vessel have an expectation that most of their protein is derived from more
active sources.
FURTHER STOP PRESS:
Durks is on a roll! 3rd fish. Good size Mahi-Mahi rejigging the
catering plan now underway.