Sick, sick, sick (a perspective from the first mate)

First mate log entry 4 -  2-April-2014

  

From the moment I stepped off the train in La Rochelle something was off.  I’m not sure if it was the lack of sleep the week before or an allergic reaction to the French milk in my latte, but my stomach virus turned flu took any spring out of my step for days.  What I needed was a vacation in bed for a week perhaps more.  A vacation from my now extended vacation.  But that didn’t fit well with our busy schedule of work on the boat.  Not only was I not physically well but my uselessness extended beyond the fatigue.  My lack of preparation for this trip has conspicuously started to frustrate the skipper.  Not only was I doing everything wrong, I couldn’t even ask for help from the locals.  My French goes about as far as ordering a café au lait. I was sick of feeling out of control and just annoyed in being ordered to do things I just don’t like to do.  I mean who enjoys scrubbing the deck or making lists of things to fix on the boat, or filling up jerry cans of diesel.  Typically a person likes to do what their good at.  I just hope one day after all these setbacks my incompetence will give way to competence, self-doubt to fulfillment, stress to relaxation (back to my idea of a little glass of champagne on the boat..see previous log entry). 

My little breakthrough moment finally came when I managed to get the long range wifi network on our boat up and running.  I was already homesick missing my family so the facetime I spent with my parents and sister over the internet was comforting.   My husband and I got our anchor in the boat which was a rather large 40kg box to tick….but ticked it was.  And finally I could start eating again without feeling sick.  Things were moving in the right direction until the tides turned (literally).  Our boat became stuck on dry land!

1  Marking the anchor chain

2 Anchor on its bridle

3 Rogna anchor