Welcome Aboard! •
Welkom Aan Boord! •
¡Bienvenido Abordo!
Well, it’s that time of the year again – and we’re still little nearer than we were last Christmas to our Southern Ocean goal. As you can no doubt imagine, we spend a lot of time dreaming of the journey ahead. The admiral’s latest painting brings this dream to life; it shows Mollymawk flying along amongst a flock of assorted seabirds, through a sea filled with fish and other animals. No, it isn’t really quite like this, out there on…
Twenty years ago one hardly ever came across a yacht which had livestock aboard, but now seadogs and ship’s cats are a common sight. Sailing chickens are still a rarity, as are toads and snakes, and we have yet to come across a parrot – although we did once meet a chap who had just lost his parrot overboard…
The Ship’s Naturalist is a kind-hearted girl who wouldn’t hurt a fly. She might catch it and feed it to a toad, of course, but she wouldn’t swat one. Nor does she eat dead pigs, cows, rabbits, sheep, or chickens – but she does have a weakness: she loves fish. At the age of four, when asked to make a list of her favourite things, Roxanne wrote, “Fish, Mummy, Chocolate.” Over the course of the past eight years the list…
Well, almost a year has passed since we slipped the boat and slapped on a coat of copper antifouling. So, it’s time we let you know how things are doing down there, under the water. To recap: Before we built Mollymawk we used to own a GRP yacht, and a year or so before we sold her she was painted with Copperbot, the original copper-impregnated epoxy antifouling. This type of antifouling is said to be less damaging to the environment…
Some years ago we found ourselves drifting along under full sail on a night with no moon. We were not going far, and we had hoped to be at anchor before nightfall, but since there was no wind – and since we don’t believe in using the engine except in time of need – a two hour sprint had been transformed into an eight-hour marathon. So there we were lazing along at scarcely half a knot, with our island destination…
If you visit the local tourist office then they’ll tell you that Valle Gran Rey was named after the Big King who once lived in this valley – but we know better. We reckon it was named by a Frenchman who was seriously impressed with the local sealife.
“What does Mollymawk mean?” We’re often asked the question, by people passing by. To us it’s obvious. “Haven’t you noticed that ruddy great bird painted across the transom?” we reply. “You mean the seagull?” ! Worse, some of you have been spelling her name with an h, as if the old girl were a bird of prey… So I guess it’s time we explained.
Last year she raised a couple of seagulls. This year there were no baby gulls to rescue, and so Roxanne has been trying her hand as a chicken farmer.
It’s been a while quite a while since you heard from the Ship’s Naturalist, but that’s not because she hasn’t been writing; it’s because her back-up team haven’t been typing… Herewith, an article which Roxanne penned many moons ago, during our visit to Melilla.
In which the Admiral muses on friendship, world peace, and on the wholesome nature of the drunken sailor.