First day on a working gaff schooner, first job to do? You guessed it, polish the brass!
The one thing everyone must do while working aboard a Gaff Schooner. It might be a right of passage, it may merely be functional, or it might ensure that you’ve got the gumption to put in a little sweat equity. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned skipper, a ships master or even have a PhD in Neuroscience (admittedly this holds much less weight amongst the salty type!), the first job you’re handed when visiting a working schooner, involves a filthy blackened rag and a can of Brasso.
Kristy and I are reunited again after extensive traveling on both our parts. I’ve taken leave of the ship refit and she has arrived fresh from wrapping up her life in Canada – via a short visit to family in England. Incredibly, our first few weeks’ back together will be at sea, aboard another schooner! We’ve been invited to spend two weeks acting as first mate and second chef on a vintage 121-foot classic Fife designed Gaff Schooner. That’s kind of a big deal in the super-yacht/tall-ship world. Amazing. And what a ship she is – especially now that I’ve polished up the brass! 
Having spent the morning sorting out more visas, hauling all our gear onto several taxis, sampans and dinghy’s, I was finally bare feet on a raw teak deck again. What a feeling. Sitting at anchor with a fresh breeze blowing. Listening to the sound of the wind in the rigging as it gently whistles along with the lapping waves occasionally slapping the haul. It’s truly one of the most mesmerizing spaces one could be in. That is, until you’re handed that rag and told to get to work! In reality, even this task has it romance, at least for a while. I’m also pretty sure I got the better of the two jobs although quite a bit less interesting. Kristy spent the day in the market, or several of them, buying meat, veg and all sorts of provisions for the next two weeks of voyaging. While shopping is not high on my list of favorite things to do, being in a foreign Asian market can be a load of fun and is always interesting. I’ll leave the details for Kristy to describe.
Along with the pictures we have also been shooting a lot of video and are working towards our first MountOcean release. Stay tuned.
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