Out from Tenerife
Aboard Europa the watch system has progressed. The early rotations of four hours on and four hours off, punctuated by a temporal stagger to ensure the equitable distribution of the least favourable ‘dog watch’ has been replaced by fixed hours. My own ‘White Watch’ (the three watches named to reflect the Dutch tricolour) is tasked with the hours of 04:00-08:00 and 16:00-20:00.
This turns out to be the perfect combination. In the early hours Europa is at her most serene. Only a skeleton crew remains awake, meaning that the decks are quiet safe for the sounds of wind and waves, the creaking of the rigging and the occasional radio communication in the Deck House.
Since leaving Tenerife our course towards the Cape Verde archipelago has found us sailing towards a waxing moon, backlighting the sails and bathing Europa in an ethereal glow. To stand on the helm, deck gently rolling beneath your feet with the spectacle of sail spread before you is the stuff of dreams.
During the morning watch, we have been able to witness the sun rise to port, then, in the evening, the ochre coloured moon set to starboard, darkening the sky and revealing a magnificent display of constellations, some familiar, many more unrecognised.
All is not reverie and contemplation, however. A wind shift last night required White Watch to reset the orientation of the yards on both the fore and main masts, a manoeuvre known as ‘bracing’. Under the careful instruction of Ginny from the permanent crew, and with the support of the more experienced members of the voyage crew, the task, involving much hauling on various ‘lines’, was satisfactorily accomplished, accompanied by Europa’s improved performance.
In addition to the genuine pleasure of sailing aboard Europa, both of the ‘white watches’ end with the reward of food (either breakfast or dinner) then bed. A perfect trilogy of exercise, food and sleep – what could be finer?