10/11/2009
It is moments after speaking to Captain Dan Moreland, and I am reflecting on the conversation we just had,.. no malaria this time thank god (although we haven’t had water for a few days!), so I think I was a little more coherent than before. Surprisingly, the conversation I had prepared for (questions requesting details of situations where I had used teamwork, shown resourcefulness etc.) never surfaced. It turned out to be a chat where I actually did most of the talking. Captain Moreland (who I accidentally called Dan when we were saying goodbye,.. oops) seemed a very experienced and knowledgeable individual who put to rest any qualms and worries I had about the trip; the long periods without landfall, the age differences between the crew, the people jumping ship (in port, not mid-ocean – in case you were wondering). I was particularly pleased when he said that dinghy sailing experience was a positive element, but that yachties tended to create problems as they think they know it all, and sailing in a barque is a very, very different environment to sailing in a typical yacht.
However, he did bring up a key point; when asked if he knew if anyone else was planning on writing a blog or book on their experiences he pointed out that the only other person to do this (Rigel Crocket – “Fair Wind and Plenty of it”) had lost any friends he had made on the voyage through the book. It suddenly dawned on me that he had a point; we were going to be living in each others pockets, experiencing events and emotions in an environment where nothing could be hidden from the other members of the crew. His unsaid recommendation was obvious, if you want to do this, you risk losing any friends you make on the voyage. It was up to me to decide how to manage this... do I continue? Do I give everyone a say in the editing? Do I use pseudonyms? Or do I bin the idea and concentrate on enjoying the trip and getting as much out of it as I can.
It may however be a moot point, they haven’t accepted me yet!! I’ll worry about that when I get the confirmation!
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