Day Three - Copenhagen

Blog Day 3 by white watch – mother today

Day 3 started with the overnight sail, completing the final part of the sail from Aarhus to Copenhagen.

Sailing down the Sound between Denmark and Sweden was dramatic, we passed Hamlet’s famous Helsinor castle at 5am, and then sailed past windfarms and the Oresund Bridge. More importantly we sailed past the Tuborg brewery.

White watch (voted best by a recent survey, conducted by mother watch) woke early to cook up a storm in the galley, therefore leaving Mother Nature with nothing to throw at us on deck. This resulted in the engine being heavily used. Lunch came in the form of tuna salad sandwiches, during which the ‘tuna line’ was constructed, a clever ploy to keep all those allergic (Ben W) to the chickens of the sea from passing. After extensive testing, this was nullified by the successful deployment of shoes. Arriving in the pretty Danish port of Dragor (close to Copenhagen airport) to complete the final chapter in the bid to collect the extra ballast (luggage) kindly returned by Norwegian airlines, after quiiiiiiiiite the hiaaaaaatus.

Meanwhile, the remaining crew were finding themselves propositioned by Harry (see quote of the day, below). Also enjoyed was the local supermarket, though in a desperate attempt to save the best cakes of the trip (to date) resident detective Tintin (Ross) found himself trapped in a glass cage of emotion, though managed to escape through determination alone. Oli became the master of the local dialect (albeit the wrong one), with a German couple wanting to refuel.

 After leaving port, spinnaker practice ensued, with white watch once again showing why Sir Ben Ainslie regularly phones for advice. Each watch practiced using the spinnaker snuffers, rigging the pole, and trimming the kites. We then packed all the kites away ready for use during the race. Also during spinnaker practice, white watch’s Rona II cake (Patent Pending) was revealed, to cheers by all those around. The training finished with a Man overboard drill, kindly aided by Tubby the Fender, who was rescued in a record time of four minutes. Andy is willing to put the crew through its paces again (he still thinks swimming is going to happen).

Dan’s repetition of Shakespearian sonnets, during a rather lovely sunset, solidified our knowledge of his pangs for his long lost Georgia (actual feelings TBC). A seal also showed his face, revealing that there is other wildlife other than swarms of midges in the Baltic. Ross’s dilemma of depleting stocks of hair product (only three litres remaining), and receding hairline (we all know it’s there, Ross), as well as the presumed loss of Snowy (we’ve seen the film, they’re inseparable). Dinner of the day was roast Lamb, with white watch finishing off their first Mother Watch with another exemplary meal. Sides consisted of roasted potatoes, homemade Yorkshire puddings, carrots, and cauliflower cheese. (Andy and George maintain that nobody actually likes the latter – we think otherwise). This was followed by rice pudding, the highlight of which was the conversion of a potential Made in Chelsea candidate (Oli) to the joys of a working man’s dessert.

As we anchored just off the Swedish coast, by the lovely headland of Falsterbo, an anchor watch was announced to the whoops and cheers of the crew, (or groans of annoyance, open to interpretation). Music was kindly provided from the shore by the literal Swedish House Mafia.

Quote of the Day, provided by Harry:

“…so can we all go in the shower at the same time? … ;)”