xenith | Trip Report - Day 2 afternoon

I must have slept for a couple of hours. When I went back up on deck, it was bit different.

We were also heading east, across Storm Bay towards the Tasman Peninsula. Wasn't a lot to do now. Sit around and watch the sparkly sea. Take photos ;) Which is what I was doing when someone, I guess it was Mal our watch leader, asked if I wanted to try going aloft again. Oh, why not. So I shoved my camera into the pocket of my jacket and headed down to the foremast, which is apparently the easier of the two to climb.

The first part, as I said before, isn't too bad, if a little slow ;) I'm about 3/4 of the way up when Mal calls out an albatross sighting, the first and only sighting. Of course it's behind (and below) me.

Now the ladder goes into the mast and that platform thing sticks out. So to get up onto it, you have to lean back, up and over it, then grab onto a supporting wire. With each hand. Then you lift your feet up and put them in the looser lines under the platform. Except there's no room for your knee then. I think at this point its easier to go back down, really.

But no, they insist, I can do it. Bah. How about if I put my hands further up those, hang on, they're chains. You know how hard chains are to hold onto? Although, when I do and lift myself up, ah, it becomes easier to get my feet into position. At least, it would be if I could see what they were doing. A bit of tentative poking in the right place and, aha, they're in. Now I just straighten up and, with a bit of a hand for the girl already up there, it's just a matter of hauling yourself over the edge.

Not a bad view from up here.

Of course, then you have to get down. Which means somehow I have to turn around and get my feet back into position. Hmm, tricky. Stand up, they say, stand up and turn around. Stand up? But, but... oh, that works. I can just lower my feet down and somewhere under there I'm sure are the.. aha things to put my feet into. Then it's just a matter of climbing back down, and the up when I forgot to unclip the safety harness before it's out of reach, and I'm back on deck. Safe. Ha.

OK that was fun but enough for now.

Not much else to do now, other than watch the coast get closer. You can just see Wedge Island there

OK I guess there are other things to do.

Well, what else do you do in the middle of the sea on a sunny day? :) I did think about the book down in my bag. So I went down and grabbed it, then settled in the bow for a bit of read. Which was not a good idea (the further from the middle, the more the ship moves). In fact, a very bad idea. I abandoned it after a page but still felt queasy. Even after I went and sat in a better position, just the sight of the book was enough to make me sick :(

So much for lunch.

I did manage to read a bit later, sitting on top of the aft cabin, but thought better of it.

Slowly, the coast gets closer.

There's Wedge Island going past

Just past there is the bay where we're going to anchor tonight.

The ship is under full sail going in and attracts a bit of attention, even out here.

Once we're in, the sails have to go up again. There's Wedge Bay & White Beach in the background. Creative Names :)