Average temp. 3ºC
The morning was spent lanyard making while we waited for the Picton Castle to be refloated and all the necessary security checks made on the work under the waterline. Only one fault found and the Picton was moored up on its dock by 1pm… we then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning absolutely everything on the ship! I have been castigated on a number of occasions for landlubberly comments and have now learnt; “downstairs” is “down below”, “floor” is “deck” (or “sole” depending on the context) and “walls” are “bulkheads”, I really need to practise these things!
At 5.30 we had our official welcome to the boat and the voyage, the captain said a few words and we then each signed the “articles of the voyage”, which is basically an agreement to abide by the rules of the ship. As the captain stated, “everyone needs to live by these rules, the cat, however, seems to be indifferent to them”, we were given a “Picton Castle” cap and a “welcome to the ship” by the captain! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, I’m happy and settled on Zebroid, we are now to move ships, the picton is a different environment, a new bunk, it’s cold and the trip is very much a reality.
Dinner followed immediately on deck (see I’m getting it already ;-)), our first dinner of 240-odd on The Picton Castle!!
Since it was Friday and our last night on Zebroid, it was generally decided that a bit of a party was required and so Fred, Joanna and Georgie disappeared off to the liquor store to invest in some booze whilst everyone else went to the pub to have a quiet drink and “internet”. On returning to the batcave (yes, we actually used the phrase "To the Batcave")we discovered at least 15 people crammed into a space that 6 would find cramped! It quickly became evident that the single crate of beers was not going to be anywhere near enough so a consensus was reached and off we went to the pub again. Since it was quiet down the pub we decided to investigate further afield and en masse wandered off in the direction of “The Knot Bar”. On arrival we all got ID’d,.. I thought I’d have some fun and so gave in my ‘toilet paper’ pink stapled Spanish driving licence,… it took the poor woman a little while to realise what it was and even my offer to remove it from the plastic cover was met with a derisive comment,.. “don’t you have a driving licence?”, “that IS my driving licence” I replied,.. I think at that point she gave up and just asked me what year I was born in, “yep, that’s good enough” she said with a vitriolic look that said “damn weird Europeans!”..
Since not everyone had ID, we decided to return to the pub for the third time that evening,… to find it had closed… the night had ended, at least we had tomorrow and trivia night to look forward to!
Quote of the day: “You always do things the third best way, the second best way is too expensive, and the best way, you thought about once you finished!”
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