03:36.943N 048:46.024W - Crossing the Equator South to North
Irene IV - World Adventure
Louis Goor
Tue 28 Feb 2023 19:03
For the past two days we have been treated to an early morning dolphin
display. Yesterday, the dolphins were large and docile, ambling from side
to side at the bow enjoying the tickle of our wake. This morning, they were
small and skittish, with a few very tiny juveniles in tow. They scurried
across our bow, gobbling up, it appeared, the plentiful flying fish that
had found themselves marooned aboard Irene IV during the night, that Louis
flung into their midst.
As I write at 10:43 this morning the cry goes up, “Dolphins!” More
dolphins - big, elegant ones. We saw one of them double dipping, in out, in
out, like a stone skimming and jumping over the surface of a pond. We do
not have a reference for Atlantic dolphins, so we will have to await our
arrival in French Guyana tomorrow, to figure out the 3 types we have
spotted in the last few days.
Each day we are entreated by Louis to guess Irene IV’s milage from 09:00
to 09:00 (the previous 24 hours). Yesterday we had covered 200 nautical
miles since the previous morning and today a whopping 242 nm! We are
fortunate to have a steady wind of 14-20 knots with a following current of
2-3 knots, so, for example, our speedometer currently reads a speed of 8.9
knots, with a speed over the ground of 11.8 knots. The sea state is very
clement, so despite the continuous starboard tack, we are comfortable.
Yesterday was a momentous day for George! The rest of us, Louis, Rob,
Giles, and I, have crossed the equator before. At 06:45, we woke George to
say that the equator was fast approaching. We had just entered a squall so
were moving fast. George and Giles joined Louis and I on deck for the
moment when our Latitude read 00˚00.00N. We moved from the southern
hemisphere (where we have been since crossing the equator last March) into
the northern hemisphere in a flash! George recorded it all on video. Sadly,
with the strength of the current, we could not go for a swim.
For weeks we have been taunting George with a skinhead haircut when he
crossed the equator. Seabird even gave us their hair clippers for the
occasion. We had charged the clippers the day before. George was worried.
Louis was worried about how his mother would take it if all his blond curls
were removed. Needless to say, we, not being fans of hazing, were going to
pretend and then mock cut his hair with our giant yellow toy scissors!
Later in the morning, when all had broken their fast, we set about our now
customary Crossing the Line Ceremony. We had costumes and props, and lines
to recite. We giggled a lot, while delivering lines as King Neptune, Davy
Jones, a doctor, and a barber. After crawling around the hot decks, cutting
himself on a sharp block (oops! his crossing the line scar) George was
covered in cold porridge, forced to eat caviar with hotdogs while drinking
a medicinal bright yellow drink (that is seagull poo, whale ovaries,
dolphin dicks and clam piss) all prescribed by Doctor Rob. Barber Giles
came at George with the whirring clippers and took one tiny curl, before
whipping out his large yellow scissors, to a sigh of relief from George.
King Neptune/Louis finished the humiliation with a thorough soaking with
cold water! As a reward for his agony, George was presented with an ornate
certificate, with due pomp and ceremony, to mark the event. We have it all
captured in photo and video!
We have again been in the company of Seabird all the way on this passage -
always a pleasure. We cannot always see them, but we chat daily at 09:00,
12:00 and 18:00 on the SSB radio. We have been trading quizzes at the 12:00
call and having fun. Black Lion joined us a few days ago and though a
little further away can communicate with us at least once a day.
Today marks the mark halfway to Grenada, almost 1,000 nautical miles
travelled since leaving Fernando de Noronha. We shall celebrate with a
Bakewell tart, a favourite of the whole crew, and a glass of ice-cold
bubbly.