As part of eXXpedition, crews write blogs. It's the best way to keep the avid watchers on land involved and up-to-date with our voyage and research. Each crew contributes to a / several blog(s) in line with the specific subject(s) of their predilection and predisposition.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I humorously choose to write a blog about (not) writing blogs. It had indeed been days without anyone writing a single blog and I found my inspiration in this very fact. Our Mission Leader Sally reminded us daily of our duty, to absolutely no avail. This was my cue, my signal.
A tongue-in-cheek, exuberant and facetious blog ensued which generated many many laughs on board of S.V. TravelEdge when I read it out loud (a practice that everyone submits to for the happiness of the entire crew). The blog was not seriously intended, it was not meant be taken at face value, it needed to be taken with a pinch of salt......
Unfortunately the comedy style did not carry over the seas and oceans and those on land judged my blog unfit for publication! So, for the record, here it is - unaltered, intact and in all its glory. The ultimate verdict remains that of my crew of 13 crazy women who enjoyed it tremendously ....
Why we don’t write blogs
A blog by the Leg 4 crew
Daily blogs are an ideal way for those on land to follow us on our epic scientific journey. We understand that. However, we admit having abysmally failed with this target on Leg 4 and believed that, as well as apologies, some explanations are needed.
So, why don’t we write blogs?
Firstly, and this will sound like a poor excuse coming directly from a 9 to 5 office environment, we are too busy. We have a tight schedule of sailing between Antigua and Aruba via Bonaire, and our skipper Anna has to ensure we arrive safely and in good time to deliver on our commitments on land. The sailing is, of course wind, weather and current dependent, and we also need to slow down the boat in order to perform our science experiments.
This brings us onto reason #2 - the science experiments require literally all of us to be participating in. Between those actively engaged in the sailing of the boat, with the deployment of the various measuring tools (Mantra Trawl and NISKIN machine) onto and into the water, the logging of the measurements and the analysis of the samples collected (the first including pumping water onto the debris, the second pumping water out of it), there is no one spare – all 14 of us are on deck and busy. Even the unlucky few crew who remain a little queasy after 1 week at sea are regularly called upon for help, which is likely to make them feel worse rather than better. All in the name of science and determination to fight plastics in our oceans.
We operate under a system of watches which means that we are functioning at various levels of energy from each other throughout the day ; body clocks are not in sync with each other (and frankly, not in sync within self). We admit in indulging to sleeping 2 or 3 times a day (for a few minutes to a couple of hours) and to therefore wake up 2 or 3 times per day with various effects on our bodies and levels of alertness (both quickly restored with a cup of tea and a biscuit).
We live at a 45-degree angle all the time, either on port or on starboard. Either way, this is not particularly helpful to the writing of blogs. Or to cook or to much at all in all honesty.
Everything takes forever on a boat – to boil a kettle (see #3), to walk from one side of the boat to the next without getting tangled with our tethers, to go to the heads (which involves open and closed pumping whilst holding onto the walls with one hand and one foot), to do the dishes (left foot pump, followed by right foot pump), to get dressed without landing onto another crew’s berth, to open the fridge without last night’s dinner falling on the floor (need to wait for the wave!), to find the bag of rice behind the correct seat cushion etc. And all that in 30+ degrees in the shade and the never ending rolling of the waves.
We keep getting distracted in our endeavour to write blogs by sunsets and sunrises, birds, dolphins, gybes and tacks and the trimming and easing of the yankee, main sail and mizzen sail. And when an unlucky fish lands on deck to its own demise, it is quickly dissected by Liv for further evidence of the plastics issue.
There is no indulgence on boat – no sunbathing, no pampering (at best we have managed 1 shower each thus far), no preparing delicate and intricate meals (from Day 3 all creativity has left the boat and we resort to throwing a few carbs and veg together at great pain for those on cooking watch – see picture!), no time wasted on choosing today’s attire. We do allow ourselves a few breathers though the day with good conversations and laughter.
We opted as a crew to be fully transparent with our followers on land about the challenges we have experienced. We could have blamed it on poor connection, a broken laptop or a lack of wind requiring all of us to use paddles instead, but no, honesty is the best answer. So please accept our apologies ; we have been having an amazing time on board SV TravelEdge and now we promise that more regular blogs will follow shortly. A crew promise!
By Nathalie Moreau
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