Day 3 - November 25th
I am doing yet another night shift. It's really cloudy, there are no waves, there is no wind and most annoyingly there's no stars. I would usually keep busy by star gazing and making wishes on the hundreds of shooting stars I would normally see. The only light is that of the phosphforescence all around the boat as it is new moon, although I probably couldn't see it if there was because of the clouds.
Its now about four in the morning, I've been on watch since one am, the sea is like a mill pond only flatter and out of no where comes the sound of a blow-hole and a splash on the starboard side of the boat but by the time I've got the torch it's gone. Was it my first whale?
The night slowly becomes day and the magnificent sun slowly rises over the equator. I am reading my book minding my own business, almost at the end of my watch, when I hear it again except for this time I don't need a torch. The sound grabs my attention just in time to see my first two pilot whales ever. The magnificent mammals rise gracefully to the surface of the water, grab their breath and leave as quickly as they arrive.
After all the commotion and excitement on deck its time to grab forty winks and as soon as my head touches the pillow I am out like a shot but within an hour I am a wake again, its just too hot to sleep. The wind is the perfect strength and direction to put up the spinnaker. Time for me to face my biggest fear on a boat. My stereotype of a spinnaker hasn't budged, it first goes up twisted then we discovered its rigged wrong. After an hour of fighting with the spinnaker we finally get it up with out losing any one over the side or breaking any part of the boat, just find that it's slowed us down. After 16 years I finally realise that sailing is entirely based on luck not skill and that you don't learn to sail you learn how to get lucky more often.
After a afternoon nap I decide it's about time to do some course work and by the time I've done about 3 hours its 5 o'clock and the sun is starting to set. I am talking to Oscar on the SSB radio and he is complaining he hasn't seen anything and we've seen lots when another pod of dolphins arrive except this time the number is shocking. "DOLPHINS!" the pod is full of over 150 dolphins all jumping around the boat, swimming at us from every direction. I am truly amazed by the sight and the camera is straight out! I could watch these for hours, I thought to my self and I did as most of them stay with the boat for more than an hour. Most of the dolphins have left by the time the sun has set and the few that are left are still playing in the bow waves.
It's about 6:30 and its my turn to cook dinner for the crew, I cook a bacon and sausage pasta bake that goes down a treat. After eating my dinner I wash up and decide I should get forty winks before my next night shift that tonight starts at 3am
Author Sam, chilli crew mate - age 16.