Date: 28.12.2020
Author: Aurore
Position: On our way to Costa Rica
Nautical position: 12°36,5 N; 071°09,8 W
Etmal: 143 NM (in total: 6688 NM)

We´ve been on the Pelican since October
And we have already learned lots of new words that we have to remember.

The sailor´s language is not that different from a normal conversation
But can still sometimes require some concentration.

As our ship is called the Pelican of London
You can predict we also took other animals to keep him company on.

So here it is a list of the creatures you could meet while visiting our beautiful vessel.
A swan neck is a curved pipe that comes up on the foc´sle.
 
Lizards are rope guides the bunts go through
And we use them to overhaul some sails, that´s true.
 
Flemish horse is the name given to the little foot rope at the end of a yard.
Ratlines are the foot ropes we use like a ladder to climb up the mast without it being too hard.
 
And ratboards are the wooden bars sometimes coming between ratlines.
These you shouldn’t put your hands on by any means.

On board we also have dogs…
The metal pieces closing the watertight doors.
 
There is also hound, and now you think of a hunting dog but in fact
For us it is actually a bit that stops the shrouds sliding down the mast.
 
Two for the price of one: you get dolphin striker, which I agree is pretty barbaric
So you can also call it a martingale to make it sound more pacific.
 
The cow hitch is a knot as well as the monkey fist.
If you are into painting: a dog-leg is here the perfect brush for our list.
 
The end of the boom is attached to the mast with a metal fitting called gooseneck.
So as you can tell some of them are hidden higher than the deck.

While working with the engineer you could come across a monkey wrench or a mole grip
But as students we haven’t used them since the beginning of our trip.
 
Now you’ve met all of our friends on board
As you can tell, on the Pelican, we never get bored.
 
P.S. :
Comme je ne peux pas simplement vous abandonner sans rimes là,
Mes salutations seront aussi en vers, voilà, voilà.
Je souhaite à toute la famille et aux amis une nouvelle année fantastique
Gros bisous, je pense fort à vous ! Salutations transatlantiques.