Sea and Tea

‘I think we may be in a submarine,’ shouted our skipper, as the water surged along the coamings and into the cockpit. ‘It doesn’t often do that!’ His right ear was almost touching the water as he held onto the wheel and the Kon Tiki heeled in the strong gusty winds. Meanwhile, two of the crew were desperately struggling to climb up the vertical wall of the decking in an attempt to put a bit more weight on the windward side. I had wedged myself into a corner trying to sort out a mayhem of wet, tangled ropes before it was time to tack again, and everything would slide to vertical on the opposite side.

It was a day of tangled ropes starting with trying to put a head sail pole up with the boat bouncing and failing miserably. Then the furler jammed as we tried to reef, and the sheets and sail were wind-whipped around the forestay. Later, one of the sheets became detached and flailed itself tightly to the other sheet. This was all very noisy and stressful of course, but not without its lighter moments as when S had handed up four mugs of steaming tea on a sea-tray just as the skipper decided on a major manoeuvre. Trying to hold this level against the ship rolling and dodge ends of rope, feet and winch handles seemed a doomed mission but as we came up for air at the end of the turn there was the refreshment, largely un-spilled and still hot.

Otherwise, it was a great sail, very exhilarating and in glorious sunshine and we did not come last in the race!  

Returning to the quay all is calm after the race.