Log Entry No 6 - 18th May 08. (Discoverer)

FROM THE CAPTAINS CABIN

NAV CHECK

Today was the day that the crew had planned to fly home! Despite this set back the crew are getting on with the job in hand of delivering Disco to Antigua as quickly as possible so that they can have a few days well deserved relaxation in the Caribbean. The last few days have been idyllic sailing during the day and the night, a constant wind from the east has provided Disco with the environment to show her capabilities and the crew have handled her well.

All the minor repair jobs are being completed on a daily basis and we are hopeful that the yacht will make landfall sometime on the evening of 20 May 2008. It is expected that we will be secure in Falmouth Harbour by 1200 21 May at the latest ready to prepare the yacht properly for the next crew. It has been an interesting experience so far for one and all; Antigua is tantalising close yet still some 543 miles away, the next 2/3 days may seem like a lifetime!!!!

FROM THE CREW QUARTERS:

This is lee from white watch I m currently undergoing phase 2 training at SEME Bordon, this is the first time that I have ever been on a boat in my life, exempt a ferry to Calais when I was younger. I didn’t know what to expect as I stepped out of the plane into the heat of Rio de Janeiro to meet the yacht. I was somewhat shocked by the cabin size that we will have to live in for the next two to three weeks. The crew have gelled together and I found myself making new friends very quickly. One of the moments that I will always remember, is that as soon as we got onto discoverer, we were all handed a glass of orange juice which at that moment in time was a dream come true, until we tasted it and it was like drinking bath water. The first two days in Rio was spent preparing the yacht for the ocean passage. We had to checked that all the sails were serviceable and all the ropes were of a good standard. We packed the boat with food, fresh meat, milk, eggs and tins galore.

We set sail two days later and what a baptism of fire it was, I hated every moment of it. During the next two days we all suffered with sea sickness in different ways. I found the experience very tiring, continuously vomiting which left you with no energy whatsoever, I felt like curling up in a ball and dying but all those feelings went shortly after. We had been sailing for 4 days when we decided to stop in at Salvador for fuel and to repair a damaged fuel pump. In this time we all had a well deserved shower and enjoyed a meal on dry land, setting off the next day for the Caribbean.

After three weeks of sailing we are now within three days range of Antigua. At first I couldn’t understand why anyone would even want to go sailing but as we come to the end of our leg in the expedition, I realise it is really good fun and am looking forward to completing my competent crew test and maybe doing more sailing within the army in the future. I’m now looking forward to getting back to the UK, to enjoy some well earned leave as the past three weeks have been arduous to say the least.