Date: 21.12.2022
Author: Franzi M.
Position: Antigua
Nautical Position: 17°00ˋ8 N / 061°46ˋ3 W
Etmal: 5419 NM
Ship: Pelican of London

Today is the 21st of December 2022. There are still nine days left in the year, but there are only three left until Christmas Eve. Well, we are a British boat, so we celebrate British Christmas too. Then, Christmas is for us, the crew, in four days in the morning of December 25th. After such a beautiful day yesterday we are all in the Christmas mood so much more. I really like that.
I woke up in exactly the same good mood this morning…despite the overwhelming tiredness that the 00:00-02:00 watch but admittedly also the late bedtime did to me. Perhaps, the good mood was also due to the musical wake-up call of the last watch of the night. The hardstyle version of Pippi Langstrumpf motivated almost everyone to get up.

A Complete Change of Permanent Crew

There was a complete permanent crew change today. Unfortunately, our new cook, Robert, was late and since Abbie is already enjoying her Christmas vacation in Antigua, the galley team was left to their own to prepare breakfast. But no one would have noticed, because the crew made so smooth. I certainly didn’t. Everybody realized the crew change at the Crew Company Meeting. There was Axel, whom we already know from our first week on the Amsterdam to Dartmouth leg. He also knows us, I just think let’s say a bit ‚greener‘. This is certainly not just the case for the Captain, but also for Gonzo, the 2nd Mate. I remember everyone talking about his ‚miracle pills for seasickness‘, which eventually turned out to be just plain Kwells. If I remember correctly, Gonzo’s hair is just a little shorter now. So is Bosun Connor’s. He’s also been with us for a long time and is at least as cool as Janice. The Bosun’s Mate is back again too. All I can say is that the new 1st Mate Ali makes a very nice first impression. We don’t know her yet. A lot will certainly change now, but I’m very excited and looking forward to it.

Sand, Sun, Snacks

After the meeting, heads and showers for the fore-, mess room sweep for the mizzen- and deck sweep for the main-watch, we started planning the Costa Rica expedition. Since the crew WiFi was immediately overloaded, we were allowed to go ashore early in the morning and thus had the whole day off. First we used the time as planned for planning, in my case also for writing postcards, and then off we went. We girls had made it our mission to go to a certain store that sold super cute bikinis and clothes, with a more than sweet lady from Antigua. Funnily, she told us she finds it amazing to go swimming in December because the water is so cold here at that time. She found it understandable when we told her that we came from Germany, where there might be snow at the moment. After having bought clothes and snacks for lunch from the supermarket, we went to the beach. For us from Germany it was so hot in the blazing sun that we looked for a place in the shadow under trees to have lunch there. I can proudly say that it consisted of chips, banana bread and soft drinks. With full stomachs we all ran into the sea to cool off. In the crystal clear water people dived, swam and dunked. Sure we were in the water for an hour and a half. We still spent the rest of the afternoon in the sand, with bright sunshine and delicious snacks.

Antigua Evenings

At some point, however, the evening approached, so we decided to explore Nelson’s Dockyard. After all, it’s written on the Spankersail. A cute little string of streets, all the lights decorated like Santa would have trouble finding them. What could be nicer to look at! Unfortunately, all the restaurants were occupied, so we made our way back to our harbor. There we briefly met a few of our boys playing basketball and ate pizza afterwards because we wanted to feel just as sporty. So quickly it was almost nine again and we went back to the ship. A truly beautiful day!

Greetings to home and a nice pre-Christmas time to all our loved ones at home in the snow!

P.S.: Thea – Ich grüße meine beste Freundin Roxi, die die letzten Grüße nicht gefunden hat, weshalb ich sie noch einmal grüßen.
Elizabeth: Liebe Grüße an meine Familie. Alles Beste an Amelie.
Lara: Liebe Grüße an meine gesamte Familie. Ich hab euch lieb!