Sunday, June 1, 2008

Off the New Jersey Coast (Sunday, June 1, 2008). Our 5:00 wake up call came too soon. By 5;30 all hands were on deck, and though coffee was made, none was poured. New Rule: Never leave the dock without coffee. Corollary: When you do, pandemonium ensues. Proof: (a) dropped a fender while backing out of the slip, (b) heated discussion of whether it was worth retrieving in light of wind and current, (c) coming along fuel dock to allow Jeff to jump off extended anxiety, (d) realization of utter stupidity of Captain and his inability to communicate without coffee left captain morose and dejected.

Oh no, Capt it wasn’t like that….it was WORSE, Way Worse. Noreen proves her Superwoman cape is well deserved as she jumps below to swab up the dumped over pot of full coffee while XO closes thru hulls ; Jeff is cool as a cucumber talking through the ease of retrieval of fender and trying to execute both the commands of Capt Tony and orders of XO Tess then doing all deck hand jobs single-handed and in a chop that Cirque de Soleil would find challenging…not an easy position. We leave AC looking like first day plebes in Annapolis!

The angry glare of the crew was thankfully short lived. Not because they had the goodness of heart to forgive, but because, without coffee or any real chance to wake up, (or breakfast, or shore time to shower or poop, or any other moment of easing into a day) they were tumbled by the Atlantic City Inlet swells and within a mile of reaching the ocean, all retuned to their bunks to recover. Not quite Cappy…we weren’t given orders to remain on deck –and at least one of us was quite busy relinquishing all of the previous night’s dinner thanks to those swells. Stugeron really needs to work faster sometimes! Captain left to contemplate his own inadequacies for the next three hours is an unpleasant sight. Worse, he didn’t have the fortitude to wake anyone to request assistance in raising sail. Motor on with Endurance. Or face mutiny.

As lunchtime approached, Saltines, pretzels, Stugeron, ginger ale and a brave but futile attempt at breakfast, we were finally in near stable health. We had some great sailing and no great worries but for the infestation of ankle-biting flies…Job had no such day as the intrepid four upon Endurance had to suffer. By 3:00 we were de-sensitized to the anomaly of the flies and back again in the groove of good sailing, with flyswatters in hand and socks covering ankles!