By Peter Kohler, aboard Sea Dragon from Lanzarote, Canaries to Dakar, Senegal.
Two weeks ago I said “Yes” to a friend, a simple three letter word that can unlock so many doors and experiences. A word that has lead to me writing this blog. I’m on Sea Dragon, a 72ft steel chariot. We roll on the backs of a deep blue Atlantic swell in the lazy saharan haze, the gentle breath of the eastern Atlantic keeping me cool in the bright tropical sun. This 3 letter word has introduced me to 7 perfect strangers;
1 Eric, El Cap-e-tan, who has recently discovered English Tabloids in Lanzarote and is now fascinated by them, frequently lecturing us on the pitfalls of Jeremy Corbyn as the next Labour Leader, Drunken bobbies on the beat but fortunately is still unable to decode the football speak on the back pages. We’ve also introduced him to the English concept of a “Cheeky xxx”, e.g. a “Cheeky pint”, he now believes everything is “Cheeky”.
2 Shanley, a ruthless First Mate that even Black Beard would be proud of. Only silent obedience is tolerated when Shanley is on deck.
3 Andy, a deckhand and marine ecologist who tells tall tales of what a “Lazy Jack” is. Perhaps it’s one Sea Dragon’s many sinews controlling its giant white wings. Perhaps an old mythical sea dog who boards boats on lazy days to play with ropes and inspire sailor lethargy. Now I can hear Andy describe to the rest of a crew what a “Tiger Fish” is. Apparently it inhabits the waters off Dakar, Senegal. It possesses the ability to pluck birds out the sky and even has evolved to hop dimensions to hunt its prey… hmm – another internet marine ecologist?
4 Josh, the blonde locked welsh surfer who happens to be righteous chef and an advocate for traditional and sustainably sourced clothing from societies and cultures around the world – tailsclothing.com.
5 Rich, an experienced sailer who has raced around the world, stoic and a laugh at the same time.
6 Rubina, the only complete rookie on board, with no sailing experience at all she said “yes” and here she is, having the journey of her life-time as we all are!
7 Hansjoerg, another experienced sailor but with an amazing passion for filming the treasures of the sea, in particular getting up close with Mako and blue sharks
As a crew dinner is served promptly at 6 and has brought us together in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Cannabilism on a small boat adrift in the Atlantic hundreds of miles from the nearest civilisation probably counts for most as a worst nightmare scenario. But this is exactly what happened on only our third night on Sea Dragon! As the sun set into the African haze setting it ablaze over our western horizon, josh, our welsh greek god like master chef, emerged on deck announcing with a sombre face that we would be having Salami and Human Finger Pasta for dinner. A nervous and half smiling crew asked whose finger(s) it was – expecting a smile to break on Josh’s face. “Rich’s” was his straight lipped answer. Moments later we were all relieved to see Rich emerge from the hatch, but with his ring finger wrapped in a large bandage of electric tape. He had apparently felt pressured to cut the onions that bit faster by our relentless First Mate, Shanely, a muppet loving menace and the demon of the ship, who demanded dinner by 6. So dinner was served at 6 (sharp) together with Rich’s finger and we all (cautiously) ate what was a fantastic Human Finger Salami pasta and all agreed that one of the best we’d ever had. Richard Symonds; a fantastic sailor and delicious condiment.
And this is only day 3 of 9 🙂
-By Peter (who is not entirely British – but is at least not American)