Prologue : Thursday 20th June - Tuesday 25th June
Preparation and Provisioning
We planned several days preparing and provisioning Womble, and to give the crew the opportunity
to familiarise themselves with life on board. We prepared a list of tasks in advance, and
assigned a priority and time estimate to each task; timing worked out pretty well, and we
departed on schedule, having accomplished the following (and more) :
- Clean stove burners
- Clean diesel tank & refuel
- Pump out holding tank
- Connect holding tank drain to through-hull (improvised manual deck pump-out instead -
more on this later...).
- Fit windvane
- Fix nav. lights (label switches correctly).
- Repair stbd. spinnaker track (needed for fairlead for preventer)
- Modify raw-water intake for bilge alternate.
- Replace galley lamp.
- Sterilise & fill fresh-water tanks.
- Clean & oil cabin wood surfaces
- Change engine oil.
- Refill alcohol tank.
- Seal stbd water tank inspection ports.
- Assemble two double elasticated tethers.
- Sew & fit webbing jack lines.
- Provisioning & stowing.
- Make up & fit pilot berth lee cloth.
- Replace main halyard.
- Replace lost mainsail batten.
- General review & repair - sails, standing and running rigging, electronics, electrics,
plumbing, tools & spares.
We had a few frustrations as well; primarily, the saga of the whisker pole dragged on and on
and on - "It will be here tomorrow!". Eventually we visited the chandlery one last time
from an adjacent dock as we were motoring up river at the start of the trip - it had indeed
actually arrived this time, but had the wrong bloody fitting. It was useless to us, and the
frustration of the wasted time and effort took some time to dispel.
Watch Schedule
Watches are scheduled to allow off-watch time during the day, with staggered 3-hour watches
overnight (2000 hrs. to 0600 hrs.); each night watch overlaps 1 hr. at start and end,
leaving just 1 hour stand-alone. This seems a good compromise between adequate cover and
daylight time off-watch. The watch schedule for four people covers a four-day cycle;
here is the scheddule for Days 1 through 4 (at which point Day 5 follows the Day 1 pattern,
and so on) :
| Day |
|
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Hours |
| Tony |
Neil |
Gregg |
Stef |
0-3 |
10-14 |
22-01 |
| Neil |
Gregg |
Stef |
Tony |
2-5 |
14-18 |
|
| Gregg |
Stef |
Tony |
Neil |
4-7 |
18-22 |
|
| Stef |
Tony |
Neil |
Gregg |
6-10 |
20-23 |
|
A few examples to show how this table is interpreted :
-
On Day 1 Tony is on watch from midnight to 0300 hours, from 1000 to 1400 hrs.,
and from 2200 to 0100 hrs. the next day (runs into Day 2).
-
On Day 2, Gregg is on watch from 0200 to 0500 hrs., and from 1400 to 1800 hrs.
-
On Day 6, Stef is on watch from 0400 to 0700 hrs., and from 1800 to 2200 hrs.
How To Read The Log
The following pages present the ship's log, along with some relevant pictures and
commentary; the following notes might help clarify the log entries :
- Time
- Time of day of log entry, in 24-hour clock format (hhmm).
- Boat Hdng
- Estimated magnetic boat heading, from the binnacle compass; note that heading can be
very different from course.
- Boat Spd
- Boat speed as indicated by the log wheel, therefore speed through the water; actual
speed over ground can be very different.
- Helm
- The helmsman at the time of the log entry; sometimes this is also the person making
the log entry.
- Sky
- A brief description of the sky's appearance; usually rather subjective.
- Wind Dir.
- Estimated apparent wind direction; the apparent wind is the sum of the real wind and
the effect of the boat's movement.
- Wind Spd
- Estimated apparent wind speed.
- Baro.
- Barometric pressure, in inches of mercury (in. Hg).
- Position Lat.(N)
- Latitude North in degrees and minutes.
- Position Long.(W)
- Longitude West in degrees and minutes.
- Remarks
- Free-form observations from the watch.
In addition, note that the log has been transcribed verbatim, thus reflecting the idiosyncracies
and characters of the individual crew; original errors and inconsistencies are a fair
reflection of the situation and state of mind at the time of the entry.
