The butter is hard. Even though the Tres Hombres doesn’t have a fridge. That’s not because Belgian butter is inherently harder than Swiss butter. Rather, it seems that a blast of polar cold air has found its way into Blankenberge harbour. At the moment, it’s hard to imagine that the ten-storey tower blocks lining the beach are supposed to offer an attractive holiday destination in the summer.
Tuesday morning in the harbour of Blankenberge. I arrived here on Saturday; the harbour festival ran until Sunday afternoon. The new trainees arrived on Sunday evening. Captain Arthur doesn’t intend to set sail until Thursday. By then, the wind direction will be right, and probably the strength too. In the English Channel, the wind is westerly; it’s coming from the direction we need to head. In principle, it is possible to tack against the wind. After all, in 2020 we crossed almost half the Atlantic against an easterly wind when we were returning from the Caribbean. But even then we anchored in the Bay of Douarnenez to wait for more favourable winds for the English Channel: there is heavy traffic of large cargo ships and ferries. So, with a ship without an engine, you want to get through as directly as possible. What’s more, the cargo hold is currently empty. Then the waves whipped up by the stiff wind slow the boat down so much that we would make little headway, meaning we would cover little distance against the wind.
The new trainees are currently practising setting and striking the sails. They’re being bombarded with a lot of information in a short space of time. Yesterday during the climbing training, two of them opted out. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to climb the mast. We’re not a training ship where a stopwatch is used to time how quickly someone climbs.
Here, people are meant to gain new experiences – of the sea, of the craft, and – that is up to each and every one – of themselves. So here I am, having an experience with myself, with my impatience to finally feel the rocking hull beneath me and the sails above me.
Tuesday afternoon: At lunch, the wind nearly blew the salad leaves off my plate. Horizontal rain. This is the sort of weather Arthur wants to spare us from. Once you’re out at sea, you can just ride it out. Seasickness included. But if you’re still in the harbour, you’d rather postpone the departure. Despite the impatience. Working on the ship’s maintenance helps pass the time. And since you can see at the end what you’ve done: satisfaction.
Finally some sunshine on Wednesday!