Second Mate noted a stretch on the fishing line that we drew behind the boat. The call went out, “Fish on!” Soon a 7’5” swordfish was hauled aboard and became delicious crew meal that evening. On a voyage on October 14, Captain Dan Perrot came on deck, had a good look around and seemed deep in thought. I heard him say, “We have a lurid sky and an oily sea,” but I had no idea what he was talking about. I learned that that description is typical of tropical trouble. A pretty good storm, “Kay” was brewing well to our south. On the night of October 15, we were about 400 nautical miles at sea nearing the cape at the eastern mouth of the Sea of Cortez when weather maps showed a new disturbance in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. We were warned to “Watch out for this one.” About 11:00 p.m. a steady breeze appeared, we put it to good use setting additional sail and made good headway. About midnight, a storm came in with a wallop.The standby watch hit the deck like they were shot from our cannon, and within a few minutes our heading changed to northwest to sail with the wind as the seas and wind steadily increased. I was about to get a memorable lesson from Mother Nature. Suddenly I had a new understanding of what a true storm at sea was about — being pitched about like a cork, listening to orders and working together. I realized that I didn’t know as much about the sea and sailing as I thought I did, such as how not to get flipped out of a bunk, how to use the bathroom at a 45 degree angle, how to prepare food for hungry shipmates without scraping it off the cabin ceiling and how to hold on.
toilet and shower day tank. Not doing so …well, you don’t even want to go there. Fresh water is limited, so you must carefully follow a shower procedure. No more 15-minute hot showers, especially on long sea voyages. In the galley, many rules ensure that everyone is safe, well fed and accommodated. Nobody does anything in the galley without the cook’s permission. Daily life on board is an ongoing process of sharing, and for everyone, the learning curve is endless. The entire crew is divided into “watches.” Each four-hour watch takes on the duties of cleaning, operating and maintaining Pride II . While under sail, there are three watches; in port there are
two. During each watch, a group of six oversees the boat. Everyone takes a turn at the helm, checks the readings in the engine room, monitors conditions in the galley and both bathrooms, and stands watch at the boat’s bow.That rotation goes on day and night.The crew follows safety and emergency procedures, general rules of operation like the 144 lines on board, and the proper way to do things. Adventures are plentiful on a tall ship. I’ve had the great pleasure of sailing on the Pride II on nine occasions. One memora- ble voyage in 1998 was from Los Angeles to San Diego and then south along the Baja Peninsula to Acapulco. One sunny afternoon while I was on watch, our
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