Day 1 - Sun and Fireworks
Rachel
Day 1 and the weather is beautiful, It’s still hard to believe that we will be sailing on the gipsy moth iv for the next week and sailing with the most amazing crew. We are sat in Crete with the most fabulous scenery and clear sea imaginable. Today we went for a tour of the town and gone through a safety check and talk and went to buy some ingredients for dinner at the local vegetable store where they had the most amazing food and spices. Later on we learned how to flake the sails and actually sail the old lady (nickname of the gipsy moth) we practised man over board drills and it was my job to throw the bucket attached to a float and pretend it was a man named Nigel so that we could rescue it in practice The Weather in Crete is unbelievable I love the heat. I am enjoying myself so much and it is only day 1. but we are taking precautions such as sun tan lotion (factor 50) and drinking lots of water so as to not to dehydrate. It is just so amazing to be sleeping and working in the same boat that has been sailed around the world by the Francis Chichister who must be the most amazing man to overcome terminal lung cancer to sail around the world. I know how hard it is to have cancer in its self but to actually achieve something so amazing after this would probably be a dream come true I only hope that I will be able to achieve my own dream. Today has been amazing but there is still the next few days to have an absolutely once in a life time experience.
Larvell
Today is day 1 and the weather is looking good, I woke up at 9am Crete time or 7am your time. The boat gipsy moth IV looks good for its age, the sea water is very clear and me, Fran and Rachel want to go swimming in the sea later on. The temperature is about 25ºC, which is very hot, the mountains in the distance look very nice with tree on them, at 1pm we all had lunch, we had sandwiches with different meets and fish. Earlier we went to the local town which was nice the local people were kind and helpful. Later on we sailing on Gipsy moth IV, we took the sails out and let the wind blow us, as we was getting to know the boat we try some activities, first we did a rescue where we attached a bucket to a fender and through it off the boat then we had to sail round and rescue it with a special hook, we sail back to the docks, us four went to buy food and other stuff whilst Frank was cooking Spag bol, we then all ate and then we all got ready to go out to a special event the event is a bit like bomb fire night, we got back around 12pm Crete time so 10pm UK time, when we arrived back we all had a cuppa and got ready for bed. Overall today has been a fulfilled day.
Frances
It’s just day one and already having a great time, the weather is gorgeous and there’s such beautiful scenery. The seas bright blue, the hills are bright green and I’m sat here in the boiling sun writing this. Me, Rachel and Lavell are desperate to go swimming but we need to check the water temperature to make sure it’s not to cold. The crew are great and defiantly making sure we get lots of exercise, (washing up!). So far it’s great and it’s only just begun.
Frank
The last time I was on Gipsy Moth IV was the 7th September 2005, when I was one of the crew that took her back to Greenwich for her re-dedication It was great to be onboard then and even better to be back onboard in Crete.
After a long day of travelling John met us at the airport and an hour later we were onboard, the first night on any boat is strange and this was no exception so I got the chance this morning to have a look around the boat while the crew slept!
We have been finding our feet this morning, shopping and working out what goes where John has had to attend a reception with the Mayor at lunchtime but we are hoping to get a shake down cruise this afternoon.
The crew have all settled in well, it is great to see them finding their feet.
I would just like to say a huge hello to the Gipsy Moth Team that I had the greatest pleasure to work with from September 2004 to October 2005 (you know who you are) – I wish you could all be onboard with us now – it is amazing to think that just 30 months ago Gipsy Moth IV was rotting in Greenwich and now she is on the final few legs of her global voyage .
Mark
It's good to be back..... the last time I had the pleasure of sailing onboard Gipsy Moth IV was in Sydney, Australia last summer. Then it was a little hectic with all the celebrations and media interest - this time is much more relaxed ! The weather is good and the crew are a great bunch. The Easter celebrations were something else... a marching band, candle lit prosession and fireworks - what brilliant way to finish the first day !
Photo Credit © Mark Lamble
Previous Page | Next Page
|