The lines that secured us to the berth were now off and we soon got our sea legs settling with a squall that took us out from the harbour in no time. An armada of sailboats launched from INWTC Goa had come to bid us farewell . They had been trying their best to catch up with us but with us heading swiftly to the west and the weather that approached, it looked like they were forced to return soon. Cdr SP Singh, Officer-in-Charge INWTC Goa sent us a message later that said " As we returned back, it got completely dark with rain and storm but we took courage from you and continued and finally reached back by the evening". We were amazed to see their gesture and it has undoubtedly been a memorable farewell.
We quickly got into the sea routine after devouring the pre cooked meals that came from Mandovi. Good we didnt have to start cooking from Day 1 onwards or else we would have lost out on the precious sleep time that we all had been craving for! The watches were soon allocated and the crew peacefully rolled into the day's doings.
Yesterday however turned out to be a nil breeze day. This caused us to cross the infamous Grandie Island in 26 hours, breaking our previous record of the slowest crossing in 12 hrs. Perhaps this was it wanted to hold us back for more time before letting us go for the big voyage. The only way to sail across this windlessness would perhaps be to sail closer to the coast taking advantage of the land and sea breeze. The night was cloudy and we were greeted with great opportunity of having a fresh water shower at 3 in the morning, a great releif indeed, from the scorching heat of the day.
We also did a bit of Shramdan (Cleanship) this morning and juggled with the onboard items to equalise weights on both sides of the boat. It now feels much cleaner and settled than the day we set off. Payal prepared a yum curry for lunch alongwith Raita and Rice which was devoured in no time.
Our Godfather Admiral Awati has sent us a poem boosting our spirits for the voyage. Heres a copy of it.
5 comments:
Amul has honoured you all with their characteristic advert in today's newspapers! Wish you all the best!
Glad to know you could catch up on the much needed rest even as you managed some cleaning up. Is each of individually assigned cooking duties? Can't wait to see what the Skipper cooks up!
yes cooking has been allocated to respective watches. Skipper is a cooker when no one is cooking:D
Happy sailing!
हमारी कीर्ति-पताका को विश्व के हर कोने में फहराने के इस महान ध्येय में आप सभी सफलता प्राप्त करेंगे,ऐसा मुझे पूर्ण विश्वास है। पुनश्च, एक सुखद और रोमांचकारी विश्व परिक्रमा के लिए हार्दिक मंगलकामनाएँ।
शं नो वरूणः, जय हिन्द!
(डॉ० दिनेश शर्मा)
एक्स-पी.ओ.आर.(टेल)
देहरादून
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