Xenial - Day 5 - Who's onboard?

The past day has been relatively calm, we are sailing smoothly towards Cape Verde, and passed the less than 200 nm mark to our destination. So I thought I would take some time to introduce you to the crew onboard Xenial.

Ulrik aka Captain Ulrik - He is the head of the sailing committee and quite enjoys changing between genaker, code zero and jib a few times a day. He prefers studying the weather forecast and playing around with excel to steering, so the autopilot is his best friend. You can usually find him engaged in a number of projects above and below deck, and he enjoys when the crew suggests some new ones. He will eat anything, but has a dedicated breakfast cabinet with his muesli nuts and seeds, as well an exclusive supply of grapefruits.

Johan, aka Bobo - He is the perfect complement to the captain, as he loves steering and can do it for hours (and they share the same cabin). He is a senior member of the sailing committee but doesn't seem too keen on the trimming committee. He is usually at the helm while we prepare food and eat, trying to make our meals less bumpy. Bobo has a soft spot for Nescafe, dark chocolate with hazelnuts and carbonara pasta, so we make sure to have plenty of all three onboard.

Gustaf aka Major Hamilton - He holds the highest rank onboard among those who served in the Swedish armed forces, so we treat him with utmost respect (although I am told by those who served in the Navy that they don't care much about the ranks of people outside the Navy). He is a permanent member of the sailing committee but most importantly heads the trimming committee, making numerous adjustments throughout the day. He has shown great resilience by agreeing to sleep in the saloon. He has the second biggest appetite on board (following CJ's) and probably misses a good drink more than anyone else.

Jan aka Janne aka BM - The famous Swedish chef probably doesn't need an introduction! We have heard countless stories of his crossing on the Pacific in 1993, so we are glad that we had to buy provisions for only 4 weeks rather than 21. He procured our onboard mascotte - a fine Pata Negra, which he always brings out at the right time. He has spoiled us with boatmade bread, tuna filling for sandwiches, potato salads and so much more. He does have an aversion for cheese, which I find somewhat suspicious (I am Swiss after all), and his favorite treats are KitKats, Coca Cola and liquorice candy. He is an active and engaged member of both the sailing and trimming committee. He also heads the spotting committee, which tries to match up what we see on the plotter with what we see through the binoculars - with the primary goal of conducting sailing espionage and see if anyone else has a better rigging than ours.

Carl-Johan aka CJ aka Wehtje no 2 - He is the son of Captain Ulrik but luckily this has not gone to his head and he is not on a power trip. Enjoys some steering and is a permanent member of the sailing committee. He helps out the Captain with a number of projects related to excel, satellite systems and so on. His attempt to grow a beard on board is making him look like a hormonal 15 year old - the jury is still out on whether this is better than his 13 year old baby face look. As mentioned he has the largest appetite on board and is also the highest consumer of dark chocolate, so much that we have divided up our supplies to ensure they last the whole crossing.

Mavi - I am the youngest crew member and only woman, which means I get special treatment and take full advantage of it. I am an observing member of the sailing committee and trimming committee, which by the way deliberate only in Swedish. We'll have to see in Grenada if I have learned more about sailing or Swedish. I am being taught a lot from Chef Janne and hope to be promoted to sous-chef by the end of the crossing. I am in charge of provisioning and stashing everything away neatly, and take over the kitchen on our frequent pasta nights. I have a soft spot for CJ and dark chocolate, and luckily he prefers 85% and above while I enjoy 85% and below - hopefully this ensures that we won't have any major fights during the crossing.

Over and out,
Mavi