can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Celebrate - Log Day 6 - Ode to the Watch Commander



Celebrate is at 11 08N 76 15W, winds NE 15-18. We had a rolly night, with winds behind pushing us down seas of 2-4 meters. When a big wave comes up behind us, we surf down - sometimes as much as 14 knots! With the wind and waves, Celebrate's "Otto" (the autopilot) was having trouble coping, so we reduced sail to genoa only. Our new pole arrangement is working great, keeping the sail from flapping around as the boat rolls. The other challenge with a rolly boat is keeping coffee cups, and people, upright! Sleeping can also be a challenge.

Many of the boats in the fleet use a small device called "Watch Commander". The job of Watch Commander is to alert the person on watch every 15 minutes (the timer is adjustable) with a beeping sound. This makes sure the person on watch is awake and reminds him or her to do regular checks inside and outside the boat. If the beeping alarm is not reset, a very loud siren is activated that is intended to wake the off-watch - the assumption being that something has happened to the on-watch person and others need to get involved.

One of our crew wrote "Ode to the Watch Commander" while on watch
Ode to Watch Commander

We sail, we cruise, we slip along
Through the deep blue ocean, and we hear the song
Of the waves, the wind, and our happy ship
Of the outside world, we care not a pip

Then, a loud discord, another song!
It's harsh, it screeches, it seems all wrong!
What is the source of this audible slander?
A small black box, the Watch Commander

A button to reset, a light, a dial to turn
Such a small thing, yet is makes the crew yearn
To rip, to tear, to throw into the lee
And watch with a smile, the light die beneath the sea

Fifteen minutes you have, a mere quarter hour
To push that red button, to stop the sound so sour
And should you forget, a mere press you should leave
Your box-shaped friend has a trick up his sleeve

On deck fixing things, below in the head?
Watch Commander knows, and it'll make you see red
Just when you thought the first sound was bad
Comes an alarm so loud the whole crew will be mad

Clipped in forward, making a repair?
Or below, around your knees, underwear?
The box cares not, for it has in it's head
That it needs to make a sound that will wake the dead!

Now the whole crew is up, and they're throwing life rings!
You are merely below, taking care of things!
You burst from your perch, on your face you fall
From your place on the floor, "I'm okay" you call

The crew returns to their bunks with a grumble
Who'd have thought such a small thing would make you feel humble
A lifeless object, but in all candor
I think I just saw a smile on the face of the Watch Commander!



Previous | Next