Leg 5, Race 7 – Day 9, 10th March
March 15, 2010
Leg 5, Race 7 – Day 9, 10th March
Today I lost my sense of humour - big time. I tried to find it but it wasn't in my bunk or in the forepeak, am pretty certain it wasn't in the saloon and I'm damn sure it wasn't in the galley. I know this because that's the torture chamber where I spent 14 wretched hours today!
The conditions on deck are fabulous – some sunshine – a bit of relief from all the rain we've had and good speeds under a poled-out headsail. We are not heeled over very much and the boat isn't slamming but this point of sail is worse for the mothers. The boat heels from port to starboard every 5 or 10 seconds – not lots but just enough to send everything that isn't wedged in a locker or nailed to the worktop, sliding at break neck speed from one side of the galley to the other, spewing whatever contents it may have everywhere and making as much of a nerve-shattering bang and clatter as it possibly can in the process. Tony had drawn the short straw again but at least it meant we slipped into a routine pretty easily. The morning wasn't too bad but as lunch drew nearer and we ran out of hands to do things as both pairs were occupied just trying to hold onto pans and bowls, the incessant scraping noise as things slid across the galley surfaces got to me and I had what we term on Hull & Humber as a “Chrissie” moment. (after Chrissie's mad outburst on Leg 1).
I tried to cheer myself up in the afternoon by making chocolate Rice Krispie cakes using the cereal that wasn't getting consumed, some of our gold dust butter and my 3 bars of secret stash Cadbury's chocolate. It was all going well until I added a slosh of Maple Syrup – in the absence of any Golden syrup I thought it might do as well. However it appears it that the prime difference between the two is that golden Syrup is very good at making things stick together and Maple Syrup does exactly the opposite! So I created Chocolate Rice Krispie 'bits' that I tried to squidge together firmly in paper bun cases in the vain hope that the addition of pressure might make the bits cling together to form a whole! Delia Smith it wasn't but nonetheless at 4 o'clock tea time, the slightly unusual offering was gladly accepted and greedily consumed by all.
After my near disaster with the cakes I went in search of my SOH (sense of humour) in the saloon. I did find that by lying on the cushions with my legs in the air (much to the raised eyebrows of some of the chaps) it did come rushing back to my head – which made me think that maybe it had become lost in my socks but that can't have been the case as on return to the galley it immediately disappeared again!
As if to put a final nail in the coffin of my day of hell just as we were about to serve up supper (Beef Stew), a huge wave hit the boat from the side, we heeled right over and a good proportion of said stew leapt from the pan into the nearby locker. The bit that didn't make it that far either slid down the back of the stove or decorated that side of the galley walls!
On any other day I would have laughed my head off but with my SOH still missing I just gritted my teeth and started the clean-up job before serving what was left of supper!
Today I lost my sense of humour - big time. I tried to find it but it wasn't in my bunk or in the forepeak, am pretty certain it wasn't in the saloon and I'm damn sure it wasn't in the galley. I know this because that's the torture chamber where I spent 14 wretched hours today!
The conditions on deck are fabulous – some sunshine – a bit of relief from all the rain we've had and good speeds under a poled-out headsail. We are not heeled over very much and the boat isn't slamming but this point of sail is worse for the mothers. The boat heels from port to starboard every 5 or 10 seconds – not lots but just enough to send everything that isn't wedged in a locker or nailed to the worktop, sliding at break neck speed from one side of the galley to the other, spewing whatever contents it may have everywhere and making as much of a nerve-shattering bang and clatter as it possibly can in the process. Tony had drawn the short straw again but at least it meant we slipped into a routine pretty easily. The morning wasn't too bad but as lunch drew nearer and we ran out of hands to do things as both pairs were occupied just trying to hold onto pans and bowls, the incessant scraping noise as things slid across the galley surfaces got to me and I had what we term on Hull & Humber as a “Chrissie” moment. (after Chrissie's mad outburst on Leg 1).
I tried to cheer myself up in the afternoon by making chocolate Rice Krispie cakes using the cereal that wasn't getting consumed, some of our gold dust butter and my 3 bars of secret stash Cadbury's chocolate. It was all going well until I added a slosh of Maple Syrup – in the absence of any Golden syrup I thought it might do as well. However it appears it that the prime difference between the two is that golden Syrup is very good at making things stick together and Maple Syrup does exactly the opposite! So I created Chocolate Rice Krispie 'bits' that I tried to squidge together firmly in paper bun cases in the vain hope that the addition of pressure might make the bits cling together to form a whole! Delia Smith it wasn't but nonetheless at 4 o'clock tea time, the slightly unusual offering was gladly accepted and greedily consumed by all.
After my near disaster with the cakes I went in search of my SOH (sense of humour) in the saloon. I did find that by lying on the cushions with my legs in the air (much to the raised eyebrows of some of the chaps) it did come rushing back to my head – which made me think that maybe it had become lost in my socks but that can't have been the case as on return to the galley it immediately disappeared again!
As if to put a final nail in the coffin of my day of hell just as we were about to serve up supper (Beef Stew), a huge wave hit the boat from the side, we heeled right over and a good proportion of said stew leapt from the pan into the nearby locker. The bit that didn't make it that far either slid down the back of the stove or decorated that side of the galley walls!
On any other day I would have laughed my head off but with my SOH still missing I just gritted my teeth and started the clean-up job before serving what was left of supper!
Posted by Della Parsons.
