After tying my lee cloth with triple purchase rope to prevent somersaulting out of my bunk in the 45 degree port tack(!) I layed down to rest my bones until my 22.00 watch. The previous watch was busy; it was my turn after the dishes to scrub heads, walls, floors. The watch was over and we had finally hoisted the sails after 24 hours of motoring. I wanted to try Tracy’s helm! I wanted to stand where Tracy Edwards stood!
What a blast, sweet Maiden was in her groove as we miraculously lifted and avoided the rain cloud. Phew! I was lying down, reflecting on my “wow feeling”… because the pink helm was the right height for me! I’ve found one, finally.
As I was lying down, action suddenly was taking place…
- One Maiden battling cooking dinner.
- One slightly flushed Maiden in underwear, bailing into bucket overflowing water from the forward head.
- Another Maiden was being sick outside the hatch on the deck.
The call was for buckets and water!
I took the forward head bucket to throw over board.
The unwell Maiden was sitting in the companionway, so I asked if it was possible that could she throw the bucket contents overboard? Handing me back the empty bucket, she said “That was not enough!”
Poor poppet, she thought I had given her fresh water to clean the deck! Oops!
Meanwhile, the good ship Maiden charges on in a 45 degree angle doing 8 knots in NE direction. Life at sea, eh?
The emotion of the overwhelming farewell is still there. The love, the support, children, men, woman, media, cameras, fluffy mike, questions, action!
I’ll never forget the feeling as Steinlager 2 and Lion NZ sailed on either side of us, escorting, then, farewelling us on our voyage! I had VERY leaky eyes and felt so proud to be working for the NZ Sailing Trust, helming these magic NZ Icons! But that’s not all…
It’s the incredible rewards we get seeing tremendous results from our youth training! If you love your job you never spend a day at work in your life.
The much-travelled gourmet chef is 55 year old Jo Ivory; she has worked on a huge variety of yachts all over the world and is currently a First Mate with the New Zealand Sailing Trust on Sir Peter Blake’s Steinlager 2 – which famously took line honours in all six legs in the 1989-90 Whitbread – and Lion New Zealand alongside which Maiden is moored. Both boats provided an escort when Maiden leaves the Waitemata Harbour.
