Average temp. 5ºC
Cherie hard at work
Rust-busting shackles
Fred getting lashed (in the non-english sense of the word!)
I am slowly getting into a routine, things no longer seem out of the ordinary or alien. We are worked pretty hard, Breakfast is at 07.30, (although I’m normally up by 06.30 – bunkmate’s snoring permitting), muster is at 8, and we are then sent directly to work until 12 when lunch is called (by the very catchy “ringy Ding” shouts which echo through both ships, the shipyard and the warehouse!), muster is then at 12.45 at which time we are sent to work until 4 when training begins,… this then continues until 5 and dinner is at 6 (again announced by the increasingly irritating “ringy Ding” calls across all ships! Everyone has normally eaten by 6.02 as we are all ravenous, and we then settle into our routine of “lanyard making” followed by IT based tasks such as emailing (pre-connection) and texting, with a brief visit to the “Bankers”, the local pub for a pint before bed at 10 at the very latest! Most people are so exhausted they barely make it to the lanyard part of the evening! With the exception of Chibley who comes and goes from Brad and Jo’s bunks at her leisure, everyone is normally out for the count till the next morning!
I am getting used to wearing my “rig” belt which is my ship knife and Marlinspike (a large metal spike that comes in handy for pretty much everything from opening knots to hammering in nails!), both very useful tools on a boat, but they do have the unfortunate side effect of making me feel like I am wearing a holster and as every male knows, a holster is a very difficult fashion accessory to wear without pretending it contains a magnum .45 and the urge to whip out the marlinspike à la Clint Eastwood is very difficult to suppress, I am sure I’ll get used to it though!
My new carharts (worktrousers - thanks to Brad for those!) are no longer looking so pristine. I have managed to decorate them with red paint, corroseal, tar and various other substances of unknown origins and although not yet as run-in as the professional crew’s they are beginning to obtain a personality all of their own.
Every Wednesday there is a barbecue.. however since it began to rain, the barbecue was held inside “factory Nº. 2” on the other side of the dory shed. Donald outdid himself again and they even managed to get a cake for Lauren who had her birthday today!
The captain came and presented himself again and explained a little about the state of the Picton Castle and his hopes for the next few weeks. A very personable guy who knows everything you could possibly care to ask about ships and sailing.
Arrrrrrgh! Imagining the Magnum .45 is rubbish, you should imagine the Magnum .44 (the most powerful imaginary handgun in the world (also imagine Jeremy Clarkson saying that)). Looking forward to seeing pictures of you swinging through the rigging with a Cutlass between your teeth!
Lucky you left when you did as the UK is now a total no-fly zone... That's the second time in 6 months that Iceland has blown up and buggered the UK!
Enjoy, when you get back you had better be fluent in Pirate...