Lost in the dschungel of ropes
If you are used to sail with yachts and dinghies on lakes, then you have it relatively easy: two to three sails and as many sheets and yards. Here on Bark Europa it is completely different! 30 sails, over 300 lines of ca 8500m fastened from top to bottom, from port to starboard and from aft to forward. Pure chaos for a layman, but for the professionals all clearly and logically sorted.
As one of the older people on board, I am still in the group of laymen and look at the progress of the young in awe. Sheets, halyards, downhauls, clew-, bunt- and tacklines are only a few of the words that belong to the daily vocabulary on board. Afterall, I am now almost at the right location with the sailing manoeuvres, even if not at the right line…
Teamwork is dreamwork and sailing manoeuvres are teamwork! Without the help of modern equipment and only with lines and blocks, 20 crewmembers are fast at work to trim the sails for a new course or change them according to new wind requirements. Then we still adapt a little there, loosen a little here, until everything is perfectly in line with each other. Once the sails are set in the right angle, we are carrying on again…
After 2 days on St. Helena we are back at sea, course 290 to 320. The wind blows weakly and perpendicularly from behind and Bark Europa does 5 knots in speed. For the next few days, weather predictions are not announcing big changes, sadly!