Mary Doll - Day 9 - Stormy Reflections

The storm continues. Overnight the winds calmed to lows of around 20mph. A high of 59mph was seen on our screen by Caroline - I suspect that it went a lot higher than that. When we get the big gusts, looking at the screens is not always the first thing on my mind.

The storm reminded us of sailing in Scotland, and on St Andrews day too. Letitia magicked up a saltire and some bunting to celebrate the day. You can maybe imagine the scenes as we tried to set them all up while the good ship Mary Doll rolled around in all directions, then tried to get a decent photo on the iPad. After a few failed attempts and a lot of laughs a moment of calm descended for the perfect???? photo (I think we were all keen to agree that it was perfect so that we could move on). Finally, before the bunting was taken down, we broke out the whisky…. I wish.

A decision before Day 9 sunset now has us sailing with both the main and jib sails reduced to the size of large handkerchiefs. A wise decision that put crew safety and comfort first. We toddled along gently when wind speeds were at their lowest, and at manageable 10-15mph speeds for the big gusts, under control at all times. Also still getting thrown around the boat (especially downstairs) at all times.

We have now had too many days like this, so everyone was hunkered down for most of today. Even the dolphins and whales were keeping their distance. Flying fish are still in abundance and some have landed on our deck. The lack of activity and our proximity to the half way point has left plenty of time for reflections. My mind has been drawn to the madness, teamwork and beauty of it all.

I’ll start with the madness.

There is a kind of madness in seeing investment and risk management professionals commit to such a high cost and risk venture. It also seems a bit mad for Lewis, a young 25 y.o. party animal to give up 3 weeks of his meagre holiday allowance to spend it all in a confined space with four retirees and no alcohol.

For Caroline and I to put our lives in the hands of these mad people without any consideration of the risks now seems completely mad…. although the decision to do so did come in the middle of a Covid Lockdown. The conversation went something like this….
- Letitia to Caroline “Do you want to”
- Caroline to Letitia “Yes” (before the question was finished)
- Caroline to Bobby “Do you want to”
- Bobby to Caroline “Yes” (before the question was finished… to be fair, I do have a track record for saying yes to Caroline, going back much further than Covid).

So here was all are, in the middle of a storm, in the middle of the Atlantic, halfway.

There are also small signs of madness creeping into the journey. Caroline lifted her head from writing her own blog this morning to ask “What day did we move the pole around from Port to Starboard”? “Yesterday” I say. “Yesterday, Sunday?” She asks. “Yes, yesterday, Sunday” I reply. Then she asks “That’s what I thought, but why did I write in my blog that we did it on Saturday”?…. There are so many answers to that, but nowhere to run or hide.

Complete clarity, unity and teamwork kicks in though when the serious stuff starts. Up to the fore deck in a storm… no problem, we all have each other’s backs. Bumps and grazes (My head from a low bar, Derek’s toe from a deck fitting and Letitia’s calf from a harness eyelet…. there is immediate concern, compassion and support from the full crew, ensuring best patient care. Dinners are all prepared to an excellent standard and dishes washed and dried promptly.

When we begin to relax another type of madness begins - in one of the remotest places on the planet it can be very difficult to find any tranquility.

This is mainly down to the nee-McCarthy sisters who like nothing better than a game of nonsense tennis. Back and forth the rallies go, usually reminiscing about their childhood years, getting louder and more descriptive… until a perfect lob finishes the rally in a non-score draw as the sisters double up in laughter.

Lavvy-Heid is the latest perfect lob, from a 1980’s yellow pages advert, apparently.

Derek and I both give each other a look that confirms that we both know that they’re mad.

I have found that standing at the helm is the best place to tune into the nature all around us. There is an immediate physical warm up - feet gripping against the boat’s movement, weight shifting from leg to leg with the rolls, upper body finding fine tuning gestures. The core connecting it all, constantly alert and engaged. Nature then seeps in. Movements become instinctive, harmonious WITH the wind and wave changes, ‘feeling’ structure in the randomness of them.

The vastness of the sky inspires the mind - The horizon is clear in all directions during the daytime and the cosmos in the darkest of an evening sky.

Amongst all this - Lewis, the 25 year old, has become the all round star.

He talks nonsense with the nee-McCarthy sisters, absorbs sailing know how from Derek and knows instinctively when to give me space and when to engage. I can see a natural intelligence in this fine young man and we are assured that he is picking up a fine technical understanding of sailing. On the side, he catches fish, cooks, cleans, always smiles and grows life skills every day without complaint.

Beyond all this is the shared beauty in the hopes and dreams of the crew.

It is Derek and Letitia’s first boat. Fresh from a refit, they only began sailing her in August. They have since night sailed solo for the first time, trained a new crew, and finished ‘snagging’ repairs. They are now giving their shining new yacht the toughest of tests and getting to know and understand her in the process. They dream of arriving in St Lucia, and moving more and more towards relaxing and enjoying their time with her - exploring the Caribbean, the Americas, Galapagos and onwards to the Pacific. Proving that their investment was an astute one and not madness after all. Living the dream.

Caroline, Lewis and I will return to the UK inspired and grateful for the experience. Integrating the findings into our own dreams for the future.

But first, we need to get through this storm and get to St Lucia. Rum Punches will be served up by the event organisers on the pontoon at Rodney Bay. As we hunker down today on our good ship Mary Doll, I can feel that simple thought becoming our combined, dominant and very beautiful dream.

Bobby