Going Where? by Jaione

Going Where?

Additional text stated.

Special Thanks to The Matthew of Bristol Trust Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd, Bristol BS1 4RN www.matthew.co.uk

Going

By Jaione Cerrato

Where?

Going

This is my story. This is your story. This is the history of the world.

Where?

No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.

Isaac Newton

p.106

p.61

p. 11 p.119

Day 1

The harbour is crowded. Bristol is well known for it’s vivid atmosphere but today is full of boats and people, it’s making me feel under pressure and I would say that the crew is sharing those feelings too. It must be around 10 o’clock right now, the sky is clear and the water quite warm. The captain it’s finishing all the little bits and bobs, hopefully we will depart soon.

They filled all my hull early this morning with all kinds of food provisions; every kind of salted and non salted fish, a few chickens and three cows. There was hardly any space for the crew, I am afraid that many of them will sleep very close to each other. The whole situation is overwhelming. I am starting to get a bit nervous. Everyone seemed so excited, but I want to be realistic and not get too excited before starting our journey. Ok, I am really excited it’s just that I don’t want to create all those high expectations, I just want to have fun with it as I have always done in my other journeys.

ON TATI PEC

M ITE

Day 1

ay, By the w

With all those mixed feelings one over thinks and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do things properly. The captain is on board, so there we go. Everyone is on their place, they are all expert sailors anyway except Ed, or Edward, as his father calls him. He must hate it, I can see it on his face. Ed might be around 15 years old, and his father, Charles, is one of the closest sailors to the captain. He decided that this would be a good start for Ed to get into the merchant shipping profession. He is a rather skinny and shy boy compared to all those robust men of our crew. Even the captain looks quite stylish compared to the crew. He is an Italian man.

I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Matthew.

As far as I can tell he seems to know what he wants and seems to have a clear idea of how to manage this situation. Everyone on board admires him, but what can we say, we have just departed from the harbour right now. We can’t look back now, Bristol has disappeared completely from our view, from now on we will look forward, hoping for the best. I am Bristol born and bred, but I have been sailed few times already, so I am not very scared, I think I know what I am doing. I know the Atlantic a little bit I guess. In previous times I have gone down the Atlantic to the Bay of Biscay and back. I know it’s not a big deal, but I’ve got some experience at least. On my way there I had the chance to get to know France a little, bit, they have good wine there, that is what everyone liked mainly. It was a memorable journey I would say. Regrettably I am the only one who remembers what happened there, convenient lapses of memory for the crew most probably. Anyway, even if I haven’t been around that much, I come from a family that has a little bit from everywhere. I think that my family’s background comes from all over the place. It is a mixture of Portuguese, Indian and Arabic, we all have different characteristics as part of our heritage. It’s part of the development of our massive family. Ok, you look a bit surprised, the truth is that my family has been always been in the merchant shipping industry, did I tell you about it already? Well, the thing is that we have earned our reputation along the way, and that is why I am involved in this journey in the first place. If we take for truth what my old uncle Anthony says, then my family has been around sailing constantly since the beginning of the 13th century, or at least our origins come from there. We are the Caravel family, quite a complex one, there are it is just so many of us. To be honest, we are rather small in comparison with others, but we are quite fast, or at least I would like to think so, maybe I’ll have got the chance to test it later. Who cares anyway, two centuries later, here we are on our way to the ocean once again.

Yesterday was quite boring, not the best start really.

Day 2

Not too much to say, I am sure I mentioned this already, we have to keep the expectations down, this crew is over excited and I suspect that animals are a bit scared of them right now, so much hyperactivity around, unbelievable. You must be wonder what are our plans. Well the captain’s plan is to get to the Far East. John, the captain, came across with this idea that there might be a shortcut to get there. As I overheard from conversations in the crew there are two ways to get there right now. One of the routes is going south, all the way down to South Africa through the South Atlantic Ocean and then up through the Indian Ocean. Apparently it is too hot for the crew and there aren’t many chances for them to survive. So the other way is just crossing the Atlantic. My dad said that he was crazy, but I thought that was quite interesting, plus this happened before even though dad would never recognise it. Among humans the main belief is that the world is flat, but we know it’s not. Uncle Greg told me that it is actually round and that Cabot, Captain John, was right. Apparently you can see a curve on the horizon, not a straight line. Plus, when I see a family member coming from far away I see their masts first slowly coming up until I get to see them completely, so I believe is true, but we have to prove it.

a curve line

on the horizon.

Ok, I am at the Bristol Channel right now and yes, I do see

Day 2

It is getting dark now. We have been here since yesterday. The crew starts to blame me, but It is not my fault and they should know it, aren’t they expert sailors? Then deal with it. I am just waiting for the right wind. I think John understands the situation though, he is planning all the journey surrounded by all his instruments. I wonder what is he measuring though, if he doesn’t know the way, how can he plan it? I saw him folding something similar to a map before, I though that was rather strange. Maybe my father is right and he is a convincing crazy man after all. He’s got so many things in there though, he must be really into it. Looks like an Alchemist rather than a merchant. It seems that we will spend another night out here just waiting, I just hope we don’t get any storm or anything like that. I know I shouldn’t, but I am scared of them. I won’t tell to anyone, obviously, but I was lucky enough not to sail under those conditions yet, so I hope it continues like that for a while. There won’t be anything that I can do, but the crew doesn’t look ready for that kind of challenge right now. Specially Ed. He is the only one I feel comfortable with, well, and the animals, I see them as only ones with patience enough to do this journey. I don’t even know the rest of their names yet, they look a bit grumpy and very noisy. See what happens, at least we will enjoy a beautiful night tonight, the weather is warm, it is very peaceful in here, and I can see the shore. And some others like me around here, just here enjoying the soft relaxing rise and fall, I just hope we have a quiet night and the crew doesn’t get too embarrassingly excited like on my other trips to France.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got the wind finally, and it feels good. I started to worry a little bit last night, but yes it happened. Finally.

Day 3

Such a relief.

I didn’t want to start this trip in a bad way already. The truth is that I am quite impatient, I like going fast, well I didn’t wanted to be stuck in here with all those humans and animals, that would be such a frustration. I know it’s just our third day, but I really want to do this journey, go to this ocean where none of my family members have ever been. I mean they all have been to lots of places but when they knew that I was planning this journey they all started to question me, they were really curious, and so am I. So going back home after three days is not what I want at all. But, it’s not going to happen, no way. I have to do this for me, for the crew, not for the animals though because they would be better back, somewhere in a open field, but anyway. I think they are getting quite claustrophobic down here. The smell is a little bit strong now, and the chickens keep making weird noises early in the morning. I heard someone from the crew, Jake, or was it James… I don’t know, the point is that they were meant to collect the chicken’s eggs every morning for breakfast, but apparently they’ve just gone on strike. I think this man, let’s call him J, it’s the one cooking. Apparently they all have different roles. John was very keen on organising everyone’s roles in the crew so there are no misunderstandings. Everyone was quite hungry, but no breakfast was served. J was saying how it will take a few days to have them until the chickens relax. Fair enough. I feel sorry for them, and this is just the start.

Day 3

Back to our journey, I have to say that the wind is helping today, I’ve made quite a long distance today, I said that I was quick. John has been trying to guide me towards the Irish coast. I have never been, so I kind of want to know what it looks like, I don’t think it will be extremely different to England though, and it’s quite close. But it’s ok, sometimes, well most of the time I let the captain guide, so he feels useful and authoritative in front of the crew, you humans like that feeling of being charge. I do understand, really, but we work in a completely different way, basically we have to work with you people all the time, which is a bit exhausting, but we mainly work with the wind and the water. Those two are the ones that we really need to understand. You are a great help, don’t feel so offended. Yes you are important for me and you do try to understand how I work and help me to get to places and stuff, but sometimes you drive me crazy. For me, I have to understand the sea that tries to drag me into it’s rhythm and the wind that gives me the speed I need. I am actually quite lucky to belong to one of the youngest generations of my family as I have got three masts with three beautiful sails. So proud of them. You might not be able to picture me but I must say I am quite pretty.

The crew looks happy today, apparently this is Ireland. This is it. It is actually very close so we are following the coast around South Ireland towards the north. I think these people like land too much. Ed seems happy to be close to it again, poor Ed, but I want to start sailing properly Captain, shame he can’t hear me. Everything would be much easier, but this is a problem that we will never sort out I am afraid.

Anyway, today I am working with the wind which is nice, but it can be quite traitorous sometimes. I can’t really tell, I already told you that I am not such and expert as my cousin La Niña from Galicia. She is one of the pioneers on this kind of trips. She kind of did the same trip that we are planning but departing from the South, from Portugal, about five years ago if I remember well. Uncle Greg told me this story about her fighting the wind. Sometimes is better not listening to him honestly, but it was quite useful and scary at the same time. Let’s face it, she is quite brave. I hope my journey will be a bit easier than hers. He just told me roughly what happened to her so I have decided to ignore him and just... You know, just try not remember any of uncle Greg’s advices.

Day 4

I have decided I should learn the names of these guys. Not that it’s going to be any useful, but I thought it would be a nice gesture from me, as they call me by my name all the time. Well, not really, this grumpy boy keeps calling me a name is not worth saying. This boy is getting on my nerves. Apparently Harry has heard somewhere that he is John’s son, I was shocked. If he is, then I understand why he is part of the crew, because the he is not what I would call skilful, I would say that he has always been a spoilt kid, he definitely needs to learn more from his father. John treats him like the rest of the crew really, I think this is the way John has to teach him that he is not the centre of the world. And probably he didn’t tell the crew he was his son because of that, because Sebastian, that is his name, is rather clumsy, not to say that he is a mess. To be honest this is just a rumour, but it seems the only explanation to understand how this boy ended up on this journey, if not, you humans are crazy.

Location, location, location.

Ireland it’s bigger than what I expected, and beautiful, we keep going to the north. Ok, this is very beautiful, full of amazing cliffs that I don’t want to get close to just in case. I told you already about the wind and how unreliable it can be so I guess you can understand why I don’t want to get too close.

The first Irish bit we saw it was Cork. I don’t really know to be honest, those guys kept saying that it was Cork for sure. I guess I should trust them, as they are meant to be really experienced, but after seeing Ed and specially Sebastian, I don’t know what to think anymore. This happens with every one of you, sometimes I don’t know what to believe anymore. I will just keep my positive thinking, or at least try to, because I rely on the crew and the captain, so I should give them the chance to show me what they’ve really got before judging them. Let’s face it, at this point I have no choice, I have to trust them.

It is just the fourth day and we are still close to land so I am carefully relaxed. The wind seems to behave in our favour and the weather is quite pleasant. Everyone seems to enjoy. They all are taking care of me. They main man working close to me is Tim. He must be around 40 or so, quite old for this kind of journey I would say, but he is so strong. His arms and back are massive, looks like a wardrobe. Besides, he has good references. Days before departing dad told me he has been sailing with our family since he was a kid. So is good that he is the man in charge. He is quite gentle with me and talks to me sometimes, which is quite strange, but I do appreciate it because he always encourages me. He even calls me by my nickname, Matt, I wonder how does he knows about it. He does it when there is no one around. Last night he came and sang a song to me, I didn’t really understand why, I guess he had some wine or something by the time he came to visit me upstairs to check that everything was fine. Sometimes he makes me want to laugh so much. He’s got such a strong accent and such a funny way to talk that even if he is talking about a very serious thing, oh! I just can’t take him seriously. Thank god the rest of the crew copes with it in another way. They all follow their instructions and respect him so much, because I can’t even think what this journey would be like if they took it in the way I do. I have heard John saying to Charles that we are somewhere close to Louisburgh (Charles, Ed’s dad remember? I know, so many names, they confuse me too). Well apparently they were just talking that we are going in the wrong direction, but how can they get it wrong if we can still see the coast? I feel how the sea it’s driving me towards the north east, but we need to get to the west. There’s a need sometimes to think about what we are we doing next. So much thinking, I need some action here, when am I going to sail the Atlantic properly, come on!

Day 5

They made up their mind last night, which is good, but I have some bad news too. We were going to far up to the North, which means that is freezing up here, so we will try to turn around towards the South which means that we are sailing against the wind now, and I am not feeling very positive about it. But again, there is no choice, and I can feel that my lower parts are not responding anymore, so yes... Let’s do this. Others don’t have this ability to sail windward but our family does. We have these kind of arms on our masts called lateens. Don’t tell to others, but this is our little family secret. You know, it’s like the secret family recipe. Basically, these lateen sails are triangular instead of being square which allow us to sail into the wind. Little details make a difference, what can I say, I am just lucky to have a clever family, very experienced in the sailing background.

Day 5

The crew has already arranged everything for me to sail into the wind, and it’s working. I am going quite fast, but I couldn’t have done this without them helping me. I am starting to bounce more and more as we go along. It’s been a long time since I felt so disturbed. The crew seems to be used to this kind of movements. Well, not all of them. Poor Ed is getting a bit sick so Charles just sent him down to my hull with the animals. I honestly don’t think this will help him much, as the animals are starting to get quite nervous. Specially the chickens. They are trying to fly around the hull, which I understand. They might avoid a little bit of the bounce by doing that, but it’s not helping Ed to feel any better. The cows have decided to lie down in order to keep their balance. Charles comes down to check on Ed and they decided to go upstairs again so he can fix his view on something that is still. He keeps looking at the horizon, and it seems to work. I know I bounce a lot, but someone should have told Ed in advance so he could get used to it. I guess he will learn how to cope with it because we still have a long way to go and it seems that it’s not going to get any better. Personally, I would say that this is going quite well, we are all working together and I am getting a good speed now. I feel that this is working out. I am having a good fun now, and is nice to see the captain happy once in a while. Seems like we are going in the right direction. J points out that we can’t see the coast anymore, so that’s good, feels like we are finally getting somewhere deeper in the Atlantic than we were before. The thing is, where exactly? Apparently Captain John is going back to his instruments now to find out in which direction are we going now. Oh! This is exciting! The sea feels warmer now, still cold though, but I am used to it. It has started to rain, which is not surprising for any of us. It always rains up North. I think this is a sign.

We must be still close to the area we left, although I can’t tell for sure, because I don’t really know what the sea will feel like where we are going. I am just hoping that it will get warmer, but not too hot, I don’t want the crew to die of sunstroke. I need them with me because I don’t know exactly how we are getting there, and with this change of direction I am not sure I would be able to get back home. Well, I don’t think they even know, so… Yeah! Lets take this as an experiment. If it goes wrong we might die, not me obviously but I could be sunk for the rest of my life which is not really appealing. But, I will try not to think about those things, I need to focus on the wind right now. And the sea, or ocean, or… I don’t know how to call it anymore. I guess this is the ocean already. To be honest I think we’ve been sailing the ocean for a while now. I am so excited! Once John figures out the route it will be much quicker. At least I would like to think so. He and his tools should make this journey work and I trust him. So far the man looks quite sure of himself, so does the crew, so everything seems to go just fine.

Day 6

I have been bouncing more and more, and Ed seems to be alright now, which I am glad about. We don’t know anything about John yet. He has been locked in my place since yesterday. I kind of check on him every now and then, but I don’t really understand what is he doing, he did’t even sleep so I hope he is close to finding out the route we should take now. The crew is happier than ever, even not knowing what the captain it’s up to. The reason why they are happy is because Tim makes them sing while working. Oh! Funny Tim! The crew calls him the Shantyman, because of these songs;

rior, r a w as a

ey w : Bon Tim , ya! y e h , y : Wa da Crew r an o i r r a :Aw Tim : Crew

er, i r r e t is! o รง n Fra n a Je

Day 6

I am having so much fun listening to their songs, but to be honest Tim does it better than the crew, he is hilarious. I have never heard about these songs, but apparently they are quite popular. They sing while they work. I thought this was a pirate thing, but who knows. Maybe Tim was a pirate at some point in his life and now he is the skipper. Thinking about it his strong way of talking and and his appearance fits quite well with a pirate profile, but this makes me think whether my family has been into piracy too. I don’t know, he is the best anyway.

is ter ich e wa h w th g’s ay, act Gre bout d a to n f cle lly it. I un talk me a c h n’t old im a t i i th i t m o w g w ould of t to h eah, rs a g hin w d on t y yea dr ed and atc aid I e kin enti , bu few this g s m h tt a n i le go a ut ch wh h is ow I but ch a ys a reg abo bit s a ra u da ic n G u y, re ea t n h x fo r, wh ? I k ymo ay m few ncle d yo g m tha enjo o i l n p e u to in o a la o ing zy an ct ire n re arm o cra ries ed to had told ady mak that e to ink out d a b w h e t nd . I c and ot s sto an ing I t sh alre ge is him for m m t ed a ’t i d w I e n a t r th tha if han old gh . I xci ren g e w n ic er an n’t Th lly arm es. O ries did tion g is now d c he t nou vive re e y we okin rea ls w tori theo ip. I ecta thin n’t k s win tly s ot e sur mo the m lo fee zy s cle’s a’s tr t exp he I do , thi aren rs. H ls to even and I a el. cra un Niñ tha ht. T ey. fore app ate ima me far, er, so y ke my out e all e rig ourn y be ell, ot w d an king n so eith n m ab caus ht b her j e da s. W lly h w an ma bee rm rs o be mig out r th time o rea cre ch is have t wa wate he o ab ay, o ome t int r the whi re I e no rm ag sterd ed s e go h fo ght, whe wer t-wa ye nfus y sh oug e ri you they f ho co rne ld en ght b old but ce o t jou t co mi y. I ers, rien e e u b at h urn wat expe th is jo dest the th e col d to th war for

We keep bouncing and bouncing and the water is getting slightly warmer. Sebastian found this bird between my ropes a few hours ago. It was a small swallow. I noticed it a before he found it. It was struggling to fly again, but Sebastian was kind and took care of him, something that I would have never expected. He was very nice to the bird, and made him fly again after giving him some water, so I keep close to the animals. Which, by they way, are getting better and better about my bouncing thing, although I must say that they are getting very stinky too.

I guess that after all I can say that

Talking about my cousin Niña, I caught J and Cameron talking about her today. See, I am learning the names! Well, they were gossiping about the captain when I heard that they named cousin earlier today. I wouldn’t trust those guys and their gossips, but it kind of made sense what they were saying. Obviously I doubt that anyone know what the truth is. Ok, I will tell you before you think I am gossiping too. You know my cousin’s captain, Christopher, I mean Captain Columbus as they called him. He is from Genova, same as John. So, guess what? They know each other. They were talking for ages about this book that Columbus supposedly gave to our captain. They said this book contains a record of his exploration voyages, and the directions he took on them. After hearing this I couldn’t help myself to have a look at John’s papers and instruments, but it was such a mess that I honestly couldn’t see any farther than a big mess. I decided to check on him for a bit, but he kept measuring and using his instruments so I couldn’t be bothered. In case they are right, I am kind of glad because that means he actually has a clue of where are we are going. To be honest the man, I mean John, it’s a mystery. All kinds of comments can be heard about him and his life in Spain and Portugal, but I told you already that I am not here to judge, so we should let him work.

am learning something

new every day

Day 7

This is what I call a great start.

I have been sailing-swimming with a pod of dolphins. I have never felt so alive, I can’t wait to tell all my friends about it. I am used to doing it with other fish, but dolphins? Never! It was amazing. They kind of crushed onto my keel a couple of times, but you must remember that I move a lot. So at the beginning I thought something was attacking me, but I couldn’t see properly. I was taking it easy, because it’s not like they were hurting me so much, I would say that they were trying to play with me in a way that I have never seen before. They were just jumping all around me. I was a bit scared because I didn’t wanted to hurt them, but they started to follow me and we were just following the current. It was truly memorable.

Another nice thing happened today as well, the crew washed their clothes and they cleaned me too. I feel so fresh! After a week I was starting to think that humans are rather dirty. But no, Tim organised all the cleaning teams to do everything quickly so we could enjoy a fresh day. The animals are the ones that were complaining, because they had no space whatsoever, and the cows were complaining very, very loudly, but it was worth it. I feel like reborn. They also got me to change a few things, we tightened the paratackle on my main yard so I won’t bounce that much. They also made some fancy knots, while singing with Tim. I call them Tim and the orchestra each time they do it. I do enjoy it a lot, but they are just so out of tune that they scared all the birds around.

Day 7

Poor animals, they must think they are surrounded by beasts. We didn’t know much about John, but he finally got away from his instruments and papers. Sebastian seemed really happy, I still don’t know if they are father and son to be honest, they are not that similar physically you know.

Anyway, he finally figured out where we are and apparently I am being dragged by a big current again. Yes, again! But he said that this one we could follow, apparently he is sure that this one would take us to where we want. I was happy to hear that, because it’s very difficult for me to get away from these bad boys. You see, I can sail into the wind, but I can’t cheat the ocean. You might not know, but the ocean is the strongest thing on earth. That is something you would have learned at the age of 0 if you had been born in my family, believe me. It is our medium, so we know what are we are talking about. The ocean has destroyed so many family members, that the first thing you learn is that you have to take it seriously. There is no way to fight against it. And you have to remember that you can’t trust it either. The ocean is very tricky, especially when the ocean and the wind get in a bad mood at the same time, which happens frequently, then you are in trouble. You humans think you can rearrange everything as yourselves, but no my friend, this is

I just need to

rema i

un the o t r fea

. known

n po siti ve an dn

the power of nature. This is something to be respectful about. You will never ever get with your way when going against the ocean. When it synchronises in that way, then there is nothing we can do. I am sorry, but we all know that this is how it works. I am uncertain about these waters, and I am not sure if the crew knows what are we getting into. Seems like a warm current, but it feels warm and cold at the same time sometimes. I have heard is quite dangerous as both currents donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blend together, instead they create this unstable current that is quite scary to be honest with you. But if the captain says we are good, then I guess we are good. Anyway, my cousin survived to this, so why wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I?

Thinking about it, if we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take any risk in life, it would be extremely boring.

t h i n k

w e

w i l l

b e

i n

t h i s

c u r r e n t

f o r

l o n g

t i m e .

Day 8

Everything is fine, the animals are ok, providing eggs and milk to the crew. They seem more relaxed now. Not much out of the ordinary we are still hanging around seeing dark clouds coming towards us. So far the trip has been an easy task. Until now the weather has allowed us to enjoy our sailing, working together singing with Tim, but it seems like we will have a little storm soon. I would say I am ready for it, but I need the crew to be stronger than in the previous days. I have faced a few storms before, so I am positive that we will make it through. I would say that we still have a few hours until it gets us. Ed seems a little bit scared. The whole crew and the captain had a meeting a few hours ago so Charles and Tim are organising me the best they can. They are doing well so I have nothing to worry about. It’s just that feeling when you know something it’s about to happen, but not knowing when. The crew keeps talking about how hungry they are. You humans rely so much on food, all I can hear today is that the food is not nice, that they want to eat other things, and stuff like that. Specially Thomas, did I even mentioned Thomas before? He is a big man. Just take it in the whole sense of the word, big. And I mean big. Each time he walks around I think I am going to crack, and I am a tough one, but seriously if he jumps I will just break. I am kind of glad he doesn’t have as much as he wants to eat, because oh my days... I don’t mean to be mean, I am supposed to be able to support tones and tones, the problem comes when he gets on my mast, because they are very delicate. They are very strong but you know, still one of my sensitive points. I know I will be fine, but this is my only way to complain so yes, I am taking advantage of it. Talking about me, I wanted to let you know that I am actually doing very well, I am going quite fast. Obviously I am rolling more and more so the animals complain about it sometimes. One of the chickens got very sick. I didn’t even know that they can’t get so sick. I am afraid I can’t do anything to help it, it’s just the way I keep going forward. Not that anyone around here could understand, because they are all land based, so what do they know about unstable surfaces? Nothing! Ok, I don’t know anything about the land and soil and this kind of thing, but I can’t even be bothered with it. They should get used to it once again, because as far as I can imagine this is going to continue like this. Every day my swing is getting more and more intense. I would say it’s fine, but the landers don’t seem to agree with me. This is what I am here for, so I would do my job.

I am actually having a good fun with the waves. Remember yesterday with the dolphins, right? I saw them doing their games and I kind of got it. Instead of letting the waves break on me I have to go the sides of them if I can. That means more bouncing, but it also means a faster pace. I think so anyway, because each time I get a wave breaking on me I kind of go backwards. And I don’t like going backwards, plus it is much more fun to try to get to their sides. I kind of focus so hard on it that I forget about the crew, the animals, all the nonsense gossips and their complaints about my little movements. I am starting to like this Ocean more and more, I feel free in here, with no land or ports around us.

I feel that I control the situation.

Ok, here is the rain. it’s just a meaningless shower, which hopefully will help to the crew’s hygiene. It’s nice and refreshing, trust me these guys kind of need it. I can’t complain about the animals, because in the first place I don’t think that they are here because they want to. Yes the crew pushed them into me, this sounds awful I know, but it wasn’t my decision, I don’t need them, indeed they kind of bother me a lot with all theirs noises. But yes, it’s not their fault and no one could argue with me over this. I understand the crew needs them, so I am making the effort to ignore them and keep my thoughts on the waves and the wind. Everything is ready for the worst, we are just waiting for the storm.

Yes

there has be n a stor e ar and we e still in it.

Day 9

ok. Well, the and everything is it of p to on is ey The crew am afraid that th got sick again, I d E d an ns st ke ic ch ive. The orm urney if they surv jo is th g in do et ore will regr ng harder and m pecting somethi ex as w I e, sh fin s it’ d better ut y other storm. I’ an e lik s it’ t bu to me violent, ater it’s getting in w d an er ov t no up because it’s the water out, . J it’s getting all ng ci un bo y m of and ropes because are on the mast rs he ot he T e. so should be fin . en sails together a whistle that holding the late the wind, it’s like of d un so e th n of plai a cold wind, full I wish I could ex ming from. It is co is d in w e th th a way at tells me where being dragged in am I e lik el fe I r. te I can’t keep my energy and charac t a big storm but no s ’ It . re fo be lt I feel that I I have never fe More than ever e. tim e th l al up ely y but this position complet very contradictor ds un so it ow ean. I kn e I am in the belong to this oc ade for. It feels lik m am I t ha w e alis n I am enjoying is making me re t the mildest ocea no s it’ if en ev d ying to tell you right place, an but what I am tr , m or st l al sm a is like my the experience. It to describe it, it’s ds or w no ve ha rent. I with the storm. is that it feels diffe s are getting one en te la y m d an e ctur at feeling of safe whole body stru jection. Is like th in e lin , na re ad an lp me or the crew It is just like ing around to he th no is e er th e it us danger just beca tra energy. I know g me with this ex lin fil s ’ It . ht rig s mix of this cold but still feel ed somehow. The at ul im st el fe I t sky with a sounds strange bu sea water in the of l el sm e th d, e the win ely. Watching th and warm air in smelled so intens d ha r ve ne ve a ha in I s making me feel salty aroma that from far away, it’ rm to rs de un th a ppened before to lightning of you this never ha ng lli te am I e. e adventure I way I can’t describ good. It is like th el fe of nd ki I . scared looking for. me but I am not know what I was ’t dn di I gh ou th al was looking for,

The storm seems to be like ceasing now slowly, seems like the critical point is over now, and the sound of the rain and the wind is getting more and more quiet. I would have never expected to feel like this in a storm, everyone was working side by side with me, we forgot about our shapes and forms and got together in a way that was a great surprise. Might be because I am starting to feel a bit dizzy now after all this agitation but I feel relaxed and in peace now.

Indeed, I think everyone does. Even the chickens and Ed I would say. It seems that this storm made us come to a stage of quietness. No one talks, they are all enjoying the last drops as the rain it is stopping to rain now. The waves and the bouncing keeps going on as usual but nothing like it was a moment ago. Every second feels quite profound.

I keep listening to the quiet song of the ocean, wind and rain dropping on us. I think we all are relieved right now, and a bit disorientated. Charles is the first one talking, he is asking the John where about we are now.

John remains in silence, he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even look at him. We are back to the quietness again.

Seems like he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to know, seems like he is not even here. Same for the rest of the crew. Even if it has been a small storm, it felt a bit different to other locations. It felt like a proper summer storm.

Day 10

John woke up early today, and so did the rest of the crew, every single person and animal was so full of energy this morning. John tried to give us a lesson too. I feel like this is becoming a morning routine, the learning bit I mean. To be honest I was still a bit out of place this morning. But John and the crew were extremely hyper. I mean extremely because in 9 days I have never seen them this talkative. Even more coming from John, he hardly talks to anyone apart from Charles and Tim, not even to Sebastian. Yes, I am still thinking about it and so does the crew. I can see it in their behaviour.

We had a clear sky over us so John taught us some techniques to determine the position, now I understand why he is not able to do much at night. He was telling us everything about the solar noon. Ok, he was telling the crew, but I couldn’t miss this master lesson, I wanted to see what this captain is made of. So, he said the easiest times to determine one’s position is when the astronomical bodies pass overhead or reach their highest elevation above the horizon. He is quite poetic so I was a bit dubious about his words, I kind of made my own interpretation. Basically, when the sun is in the highest position in the sky it is at midday. I just couldn’t understand how, but he explained us that this is what he uses as a guide, and he told us lots of things, that I would say no one understood. The conclusion is that the stars, moon, and sun provide reference points necessary to determine one’s position. Everyone looked up like a bunch of idiots trying to understand what he was talking about, and we have been like that since then.

He also mentioned some of his theories about the world being round and that it rotates or something like that.

Day 10

I thought that the crew didn’t know what John was talking about, but the only ignorant ones in there were Ed and myself. Everyone knew about what John was doing during all this time, seems like it is the standard way of navigation. I feel so stupid. Charles explained all about it to Ed later so I kind of joined in, I have to know how they do it. “When not using the stars, sun or moon to determine our location, we navigated by deduction or dead reckoning. This is very commonly used by most of us around Europe, Edward. In dead reckoning, we find our position by measuring the course and distance sailed from some known point. Starting from a known point, then we will measure out the course and distance from that point on a chart, pricking the chart with a pin to mark the new position. Each day’s ending position would be the starting point for the next day’s course-and-distance measurement. For this method to work we need a way to measure the course and to measure the distance sailed. Course is measured by a magnetic compass, which we have been using in Europe since at least 1.183. Distance is determined by time and speed calculation; so we multiply the speed of the vessel by the time travelled to get the distance. We often use a log line.The fundamental flaw in using this log line method to determine distance is that it does not account for the effects of surface currents. The log line method measures the speed of the ship relative to the surface water. It provides no means to estimate how fast the water itself flows. If we are would be carried westward by a strong current, the log line method will not reveal the existence of the current. If we travel steadily on a train along a straight track, we will barely be aware that we are in motion relative to the tracks. This is related to Newton’s First Law of Motion, which states that steady motion in a straight line is “natural” and undetectable without reference to an outside reference object. To determine their direction of travel, Captain Cabot uses the compass. Do you understand now Edward?”

Ed nods, and so do I. I am so thrilled. You know what this means right? This means they can really measure where are we going. Don’t judge me but, I just didn’t know that you humans had such a control and knowledge on this. So I finally get to know why John spends some much time with his instruments. He is trying to track the start and the end of every day. But what happens with the surface of the water? Yes I know, the compass… but there is nothing, absolutely nothing around us. I wonder if he would be able to keep the track after the storm yesterday.

Day 11

Wow! Today is sunny, and feels like a fast tracking day in the North Atlantic. Yes, I am going fast. Each time I am doing better and better. I am so motivated! This is going very well and everyone is very excited about my speed. I would say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the fastest I got since we started. You know what this means though, that my swell has become larger. Oh! I would have never thought I would use that word, I am starting to sound just like my dad. Seems like I am getting very mature with this journey. I should join other explorations if we survive this one. Oh! I am talking crazy stuff, I know we will survive, and everything will be fine. Even if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, we will die like heroes. That is if someone remembers that we came here in the first place!

I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to get to China, I have heard a lot about it, the silk and the spices, amazing cities, colours everywhere, intricate shapes of dragons and other stuff all around. The smell of the spices is the one Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m most looking forward too, once I am full of that, I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to smell my stinky little friends here. I know, it is not their fault. I think I am kind of becoming a bully. This has to stop! It might be part of becoming more mature that you became more judgemental about others, because it kind of makes sense you see. I hope not.

Day 11

Changing the subject, today one of the chickens tried to escape. These chickens are mad! I don’t know where it was trying to go, because as I keep saying there is nothing around that we can see, just water. I say that we can see, because I feel things (I want to think they are fishes) touching me from underneath. This doesn’t happen everywhere, ok? At least not around England, France or the Bay of Biscay, and I am not comfortable with it! Plus I think they move in big groups, so sometimes I feel tickles on my keel, and then I just roll in an uncontrollable way. It’s just for a minute or so, but it is kind of annoying when having humans and animals and lots of other things on board. I focus so hard on keeping the balance all the time, but they just distract me so much with these things. And it happens a few times a day. I am kind of sailing cautiously but fast, and thee fishes get in my way all the time. Ok, maybe I am in their way, but since I am telling the story I do it my way! By the way they managed to get the chicken. J was running around like crazy after the chicken, this is not the one that gets sick all the time, it’s the one of the other ones. It has been the spectacle of the day. We don’t do much apart for sailing, singing and for those guys also drinking, so the chickens spectacle has been a great entertainment on board. I am always sorry for the chickens, but come on, it just can’t go anywhere if it wants to survive. I might be getting really bored sometimes, because it was very funny watching it. I love animals, but chickens are funny. You know when I roll, and bounce and all that stuff that happens constantly. So, the chickens have something, they must be specially designed because even if their body moves, their head keeps still.

The course we are taking is basically sailing off into the sunset. The cloud colour is magnificent. One of the best sunsets ever. Everyone took a break to enjoy it in a rigorous silence interrupted by the water hitting my sides. I think that they are getting more and more sensitive with time. For many of the men in here, I am sure they miss home as I do, but now the Atlantic Ocean is our wife and she is a taught one. Even if it is not completely dark we can see the shape of the moon, looks like we will have a perfect clear sky night.

I am tired now,

I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think anymore,

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even understand how they do it. They must move their neck in order to keep their head in place. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a mystery. But I was thinking, that having that skill this chicken keeps getting sick, he must have a design fault or something, because they are the most competitive sailing animals I have seen so far. Seriously I was amazed. I wish Ed would learn a little bit from the chickens too, because the poor guy is having a bad time. Not always, but I am sure he regrets joining the trip as he has been looking to the horizon for most of the days now.

Po sit ion 54 :5 .28 4° W N; ind 11 °0 Sp Sp 3.7 ee ee d: d: W Co E 5 SE -7 ur .0 se 2 Se :3 2k kn aS 30 ot no ta s ° Vi ts te sib : m i l ity Se o d :s aT er un at em Te ny e m p. p : .: 1 12 Sa °C ils 0° C Se ro t: llin fu g ll s an ail d ; bi llo wi ng n

Hello again. How are you?

Day 12

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t answer because you would look like and idiot, just like I do talking to you!

I have decided I am not talking to you about my day today, because I don’t really know if you care anymore, and I have no clue about where we are really. As simple as that. Are you still there? Anyway J and another guy, whose name I can’t remember (Ross? Rob? Joe? Damn it!). I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that we they are 19 men (18 plus the skipper). And no offence but some of them are too similar to each other, I would say that humans and some kinds of animals, they all look the same. In my kind we are all different with different colours and characteristics. We even have our names on our back so it’s easier for you people to differentiate us. And I already told you that we all look very different. So how I am supposed to do it with you humans, that you all wear almost the same clothes, and have about two or three different hair colours, just two or three, ok? Not an easy task. And you don’t even call each other by your names, you just shout to each other; Oy! What is that?

Day 12

Well you know J already anyway, so I really like him more now just because he is the news guy. Not so much news but gossips, which is a great entertainment for my imagination right now. So, you want to know what they were talking about, right? I knew it! That is why I am telling you, not that I care about it or anything like that you see. The point is that this guy, whose name I can’t remember, let’s call him Rory, ok? So Rory told J that he saw this ‘famous’ book Christopher Columbus gave to our captain. The things is that apparently this time is for real. He said he had the chance to have a look to it, and that all the co-ordinates are written down there. He was saying that he also saw maps of lands that are not known, made by Columbus itself. The truth is that he is a very good cartographer indeed so that bit it’s quite believable. I don’t know this Rory that much so I don’t know what to think about him. He is quiet, and he has something I don’t like. Ok, you already know that I am not one the best ones to explain myself, but it’s like he’s hiding something. The way he looks and the way he behaves, it doesn’t say anything good to me. The thing is that he thinks that Cabot stole Columbus’s book. ‘This must cost a fortune in the black market’. Those were his own words. I am starting to think that I have very strange people around here, which is making me a bit uncomfortable. So far in a few days I have heard that Columbus gave his book to John, now that he stole it. I don’t understand. And that is not everything, he was telling J everything about the captain’s past in Spain. We knew that John has been around quite a lot, mainly Spain and Portugal. They are pretty much the pioneers in this exploring age as they like to call it. Remember my cousin, right? So there we go. Anyway, Rory was saying all those bad things about Cabot, that he committed a fraud in Spain and things like that. Ok, I will explain it better. So captain John was meant to build a harbour in Valencia, so they could improve the trading between Italy and Spain, mainly the south, because Barcelona was already very attached to Italy anyway. So he said the captain left Valencia without finishing the harbour and leaving a big debt there. That was the reason why he tried to move to Portugal. In between he met Columbus, and they talked to each other about these discoveries. After that, John went to Portugal to try to sell them the idea of this journey, and since he didn’t succeed he moved to England with the same plan. Ok, I am telling this in a nice way because it is our captain, but Rory… he was very very rude, he was calling him shameless traitor and saying that he was a fraud, that he wasn’t even an experienced sailor, but just someone who wants to get rich with the other’s work.

We don’t ask anyone about their past in here, we just ask about their future.

J was completely out of place, he gave him an ver exceptional look, so I don’t think he believes Rory. Although he didn’t say a word, he was listening to everything carefully. I could see there was something in the story that did not match with other information that he has. I refuse to believe it, our captain is a good man, he might have his past, but has someone asked him for what is his version? Plus why does he have to give any explanation to anyone. This Rory is messing up all the situation. I don’t like him at all. He has better things to do, so he’d better keep working and stop talking bad about our captain. I wish J would have said something in his defence.

Day 13

I am over this Rory thing already, and Tim has sent him to clean the animals, well done Tim! I think he suspects something. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want any conspirators.

Yes I am still angry. Just give me a minute and I will tell you a little bit about today.

Day 13

Ok, so? Where were we? Yes, today, we keep going. Today… It’s been actually very very good. Another unusual day in the North Atlantic, although don’t know anymore if we are going to the south or the North or what. The only thing I can feel is that I am still in this current, and that I am going pretty fast too. I do think we are going a bit to the south to be honest, but I do trust my captain, not like others, so I am just going to tell you about my sailing experience today. Which was awesome! Today I have been sailing with whales, like a proper pod of whales. Can you believe it? Sailing with dolphins is one thing, because they are cute and they can’t hurt me, but whales? They were 5 or 6 or 7 times my size. They were very very big. So impressive. I was paralysed for a bit, it was like sailing with giants. It was so amazing though. What would you do if you were swimming with someone that is that big? I was quite lucky that they weren’t next to me for that long because I didn’t know what to do, I even held my breath just in case. They were beautiful though, black and white, very elegant. You must be thinking how do you know they were whales and not other species? Well, yes I am new here but the crew knows a lot about this sea. I am realising more and more that we are not the first ones sailing this ocean. They keep talking about those people from I don’t know where, somewhere close, between France and Spain, and how they have been hunting whales for a long time. Why? Why would anyone want to hunt this extraordinary animals? I don’t understand you people, but this is not new. This people from somewhere there and the Viking and these barbarians, used to go all the way up to Greenland to hunt whales apparently. Apart from eating them they would do all kinds of things with these animals, they hunted them basically because of the meat and the oil, but also made other things like hair brushes out of their ‘teeth’ and who knows what else. Tim was actually giving a whole speech to the crew about the use of whales, which I wanted to avoid listening to, but it is not like I can leave them here and go somewhere else, is it? After his speech, which I was glad not to understand completely the crew was chatting about how nice it would be to hunt one, to eat something different once in a while. Excuse me? Have these guys seen the size of the whales, are we gone

You people and your corrupted minds are playing with me too much, from now on I don’t want to know anything about anyone on board. I am going to stop listening to all the useless comments you make about your man-made cruel world. From now on I would just take care of the animals, and probably Ed. And Tim. And John. But no one else. Ok, maybe J too. I trust J.

After a while I couldn’t stop thinking about the size of the whales, and the size of a human. Yes I know, it’s ridiculous, but they actually said that other boats are able to do it, and that this has been done for a few centuries now. Linking one thing with the other made me think that we are not going anywhere new. Yes it’s new for me and for the crew, and the captain obviously, but if others have been there… I thought I would sail an Ocean that none has sailed before. I know that the whole point is to get to the Far East and prove that the world is round, but we already know that, my cousin proved it a few years ago. So is this really a trading thing? There is nothing else than money in their thinking? I thought we were here to break the boundaries and explore and test all those ideas. I have been so naive. So, so naive, they just want the money. Maybe this strange guy was right.

completely mental to what the **** is wrong with you human kind? First things first, those whales were about 6 times bigger than me. Second, I am not taking part in any hunting whatsoever, even if they die of hunger. And third, do they seriously think they can beat a whale? Ah! This crew is hilarious! Such an imagination.

It might be the current too that I feel very disorientated there is a weird cold drift coming at the same time a warm one comes at the same time in different levels of the ocean.

Day 14

John was checking everything today, and yes we’re on the wrong track again. I wonder if there is any right track, because if this continues like that for any longer, who knows what could happen to me. He said to Charles and Tim that we should follow this current anyway, which I didn’t understand at the beginning. Later on, they were all talking about it and it kind of made sense. This current we are on, is supposed to be like a big circle, so they said that basically all we have to do is stick to it and see where it takes us. But we have to be cautious and be able to leave it by the time we are on the east side of it. So my understanding of the whole thing is that we are on the east still and waiting to be dragged to the west. John is meant to make whatever he does with his utensils to let us know when we should leave this current. Fair enough. So my task is… follow the current. Not very exciting, but should be fined. I don’t really like this current, well it’s not that I like much lately.

s my p

gone?

ere h W

itivis

Must be this current, or maybe my hormones. Yes, I am a female, and you should now that already. Despite my name and being surrounded by male humans, the only female companion in here are the animals, that might be the reason why I take them more in consideration than the rest of the crew. Don’t take me wrong but you should know that gender issues unite in this kind of situations.

Back to the current. The warmer one comes to me from the south west pushing me with a great strength. While the cold one comes from the northern east, but also from the west, so those two cold current come from the north, and even if it’s spring or summer or whatever it is now, I think might be June already. Well, the currents from the north are very cold, while the strong one coming from the south west it’s warm but not hot. Don’t think that they mix together, not at all. Instead they both come from different directions making me shake more and more, and the deeper I get in this current bigger is the contras of temperature. It’s like water and oil, they can live together but there is no way that they blend in one to make my life easier.

It is getting quite tough. I know we will get over it at some point but I wonder when. It also seems like this is just the start. I know we haven’t been sailing for a long time now, just a couple of weeks but no one seems to understand what is really happening down here. They just care about the wind and the waves, which is ok, but I can’t feel my keel sometimes and that makes it hard for me to do my best performance and get over this as fast as I can. On the other hand the crew is right to start worrying about the waves and the wind. Even if the temperature is not that low it feels much colder in here. I think that they were not ready for this and some of the crew members keep sneezing and wearing all the cloths they can find. Which are not many. As usual my bouncing keeps going day and night, but they are ok about it now. I realised that the sick chicken doesn’t eat that much anymore, it seems that it has activated a survival thing to avoid the sickness, so now it’s more or less quiet. John is the only one that is doing well, which reaffirms my family’s theory about him being a expert sailor. I still have faith on him and I hope all this will be worth it when we get to the Far East. In the meanwhile I would keep imagining how nice will be to get there, and try to enjoy the warm bits as long as I can.

Day 15

It is

worst

and Today we had an official meeting, even the animals have been alerted about it.

getting

Day 1

The current is getting more and more pronounced, which is making it much stronger. John asked Charles to prepare the younger lads for the worst. Which means, showing them all the jobs to take care of me because, I have a little leak. It’s not a big deal, I didn’t realise about it but I was injured during the night. A big wave crushed on me coming from the top. So they are rearranging everything so I can continue properly. It is very small, but a leak could mean the end of all of us. So all the measures have to be taken, and even more now that we are in this current for few days already. Dad and uncle Greg told me about lots of others that never got back and how careful I have to be. Being a explorer it’s not as easy at it seems, it is quite hard indeed. st be y m nd on her a e ey on ed ot en out ealis tly th m e n ab sb Ir he ha ries hen pare eat t ing e o v p r i t w t rn l . s ea this t sad nal. A . We y mo ast s m y l i r g l l i l a e ab g a ain su ev le b e s rob erin a litt s th , as u ater y m sea t p u , b ets m w d m ean wen I live em got ing ea rem just s giv buck the roun r, I m rew mes s s a c eti ne the ing ll, I eir ive dy ate he nd orn , we the o in th as g g rea lty w me t Som a m m ? n e in ti d n sa cea this r aga s wer y ha Tho rythi was the efore o t ve t it . By it b the ally the Bu eve ow ve far. m n the c hat usu ting e tha ises tice o l w so I no no so et the lly sed er ean nces saw ctua wat let us was g reali loud n’t I m l e I did he and and eri one k. A ma sea exp no e lea s nor the d’t as ater ange How . r w . l ho ut th it wa neve cou the w is str cked s trip i o e e t ab ugh l wh ay h rank all th s sho r th o l o d a f d g th y we . To ws oin . I w ady ver e can he co was d leak ly re e t if h e of she w the plet o n m O er, s ey sa t co t o wa n th m n w Ia o Anyway I am glad they are all here helping d nk i h t me out, working together. Tim has started to sing a new song. I think he is just making it up as he sings. They all look quite alright about the leak, and they plan to repair it in few minutes.

101

gs on ’s s im ga f T thin ch u e eo on hol ve s nd ed s w ha ow a bit eed thi on’t n u ta st n out I d every nd i it, yo I ju k ab and e I fi a b s ink , tal ew to m ich was ime I th be he cr alks ly, wh ho omet they zy. w S w, may r w t im t late ne ne cra t e. s, o ike e, jus u kno ell T too nly o ly on selve a bit can’t el l b o o g n m w I I fe may As y ion, f the s the he o them goin y, so hy t d it. be epl cat to wa n w of ot r to an le b muni e res Tim is n e o ight an’t r reaso ind h ht litt c he om lm e n Ik , I t i l s om d t a c n, an houg ut no talk We a ack, e ma , but eve m ent b y m t i y h the rd, I zy. B f the clue. hem s is t craz e bel com t it’s a i t o hi am aus nse tha wi we lk , cr ow t kno ud. N n’t ta ver. T hat I , bec onse see kn ’ o e t n you ile t d h on out l s I ca atso No a w s an d as i Id h w n nk nt n ee. ip thi e poi icate ou s mes i goss at. A y , i Th mun you, met tion retre o ma com to ks nce r k l tal info l sile I ta to g. evi the ed ne h all in a f thin e t wi l lik ind o e I fe my k t no

, an ery s v basti d i od Se an is h mo ially tops s ’ dt s c m Ti , spe one eede rk. . ts o ow ne In bel eryo men that ad w y, not r v e o l h t , e k a s e mi oo w m e m in he le fro e littl to th eryon as fa bit t t i v g s ty le it m mp ig sm in the tartin ting e e the a litt a b kind e s e k g ia am nd t a b like ta am prec dy ta ge on be I ythin ha to ge ems le. I p a y r n t ve e p rt a alre tra ma es do to anag tely. S f peo d sta so I the s . Or ow. E d la m ee an so kn ce en e it st n so he a lot thing ood erien e ev serv don’t u j y m xp ey ayb t de , I us ged ice Th tagio chan the n ge m nse e k, m t no leak n e h e con o has bout cha y int est. O mig t, th o l r n d a l t h e a e e w ises der an urr l ar r t th m c rea in o eing e, bu n hi this el ak s is b e on ard o fore . w g e i h Th stran eally aid b ht no s g r e i th ing , as I e r e m I b sitive nces n e se nflu i of

I am off now. The water it’s pushing me more and more intensely, so I am going to try to control my bouncing for a bit, see if they understand my new way to communicate, my way to thank them for today. And luckily tomorrow will be a better day.

Day 16

I am back full of energy and ready for action as usual, forget about yesterday, the day before, and all those previous days. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new day today. Here we are in the middle of nowhere, five chickens, three cows, nineteen men and I.

The sky has never been darker and the sea itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s getting pretty violent. You know what that means right?

The sky Thehas sky The The never The has sky The sky The never sky been has The sky has The has sky never sky darker been has never sky The never has has The never been The darker has never sky been and The never been sky The never sky darker been has The the darker sky been and has darker been has sky never sea sky darker been has never the and darker never has it’ darker and has never sand sea been darker the never been and never the been it’ and the sea sand darker been the sea darker been and sea it’ the darker been the ssea it’darker it’ the ssea and darker ssea it’ darker and sand sea it’the it’ sand the sit’ and the sea sand the sea sea it’ the the ssea it’it’ ssea ssea it’sit’it’ ss getting getting pretty getting getting pretty getting violent. getting getting pretty getting violent. pretty pretty getting pretty violent. pretty getting violent. pretty violent. getting pretty getting violent. getting violent. violent. getting pretty getting violent. pretty pretty pretty violent. pretty violent. pretty violent. violent. violent. violent. You know You know You what You You know You what that know You know You know means what You that know what know what know You means what that right? You what that You what that know means You what that know means right? You know that means You that know means what that know right? means what know means what right? right? means what that right? what that what that right? right? means that means right? that means that means right? means means right? right? right? right? right?

nothing

folding1

folding2

What happened?

117

The feeling of the water has changed slightly. I must have been trapped in the storm for a long time. The last thing I remember is Ed holding tightly the ropes.

I was rolling uncontrollably. I can’t describe it, and what is worst is that I don’t remember much. As I said I have a few flashbacks where the crew was trying to control the situation. The waves were crashing strongly on us, and the darkness throughout the whole time was predominant. The violent sound of the wind and the agitation of the ocean is what I remember most. I don’t know if the storm ended a few days ago, maybe today, I just don’t remember. The images of the beginning of the storm are still with me but I wonder how we made it through. I remember my thoughts, my biggest fear was being knocked over. We were on the edge. I think I am still in shock. I hope to recover my memory. I am glad that we are here, I am glad that everyone is here but I feel that I lost control. I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to the crew. It’s going to take me time to recover from this. My keel is the only bit that is untouched, the rest of my body feels painful and delicate. I am cold. I wonder where we are. I can’t see anything around us, I can’t see anything but the crew walking around. The crew seems alright. The truth is that they seem relieved. The captain looks concerned. I guess it will be hard for him to locate us now. Sebastian is the one that encourages him to go back and try to find out where we are. But I think it’s going to be impossible. We haven’t been able to track our way since the beginning of the storm.

After yesterday I am starting to remember more and more things about what happened during the storm.

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By the time we realised the wind was 30 knots, blowing to 35 knots approximately we were at full sail, and the wind was pushing us over hard. Everything was pretty dark, but there was a little light coming from somewhere at times. Might have been the sun, or the full moon, it is hard to tell as all my memories are blurry and messed up right now. I remember feeling a fast drop of temperature, this could be a sign of the difference between day and night, or just a sign that I was feeling pretty bad. The wind was getting stronger, about 40 knots I would say, and the sea looked much larger than usual. It was like a feeling of being in the infinite. They took my lateens down first, then the main yard. The crew was struggling more and more as the wind was getting stronger. We tried to divert our direction, that was a hard effort, but we manage to do it somehow, so we were sailing downwind which was supposed to make it easier but instead my rolling increased, making the situation harder to control for the crew. I assume that we were rolling about 40 degrees each way at least. I don’t know. There are so many things I can’t remember. It feels like we had no rest, no notion, and no control whatsoever during the whole time. What I do remember very well is the horizon telling us that the worst was still to come. The line wasn’t straight or curved anymore. It even disappeared at some point covered by waves as high as 15 to 30 feet high. It was hard for the crew to hold on and the rolling was increasing gradually. The crew members were as disorientated as I was. They couldn’t hear each other’s orders which created a chaos. The command chain broke completely putting us in danger even more. Everything that the crew was trying to do to control our bouncing and direction took ten times longer than it usually does. While the waves were breaking over the deck, J and the others started to tie themselves to the mast. There were walls of water all around us. After all those coming and going memories I feel quite insecure.

After this experience the crew is feeling weak too. After all they have been eating pretty much the same every day, they are saying that they don’t have enough for dinner today as they have to ration the amount of food. Apparently there is enough but since we don’t really know where we are right now and there are no prospects of landing we all are having thoughts of what could happen and how to make the best of what we’ve got. I have never experienced such a thing before this journey. I think you call it anxiety. Charles told Ed that he should learn to control his anxiety, so he could control his way of facing things and unexpected events and situations of fear. Since I didn’t really know what it was I was paying close attention to their conversations as usual. Ed was scared. I could feel it in his voice, it was shaking. The rest of the crew must be used to it, even Sebastian, but Ed is facing a hard first experience. I guess this is not my case, although it is in a way. It’s just because of the ocean really. It’s just because we are surrounded by nothing, just sea life, which it is really nice but it’s not the same as us. Since we operate on the surface things are a bit more complicated than down there in the deep ocean. I am not saying it is more difficult, I am just saying it is different. I have got no references up here. Nothing, just the words of a few men that look as confused as I do.

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Now it feels like I have been gone for a long time although I have never left. It is such a weird feeling, I wonder what happened to me. Was I unconscious, or just in shock? Did I actually try to do something to avoid the storm or is it something that was meant to happen anyway? It feels like I have just woken up from a bad dream but without remembering waking up. I am just weak and uncoordinated. I just want to know if this happened because I hit something, or maybe because I was hit by the waves strongly. It is confusing, but yes, I that might be it, because I remember feeling hundreds of tons crushing me.

I could call th

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‘The Journey to Nowhere’.

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Let’s face it, this a very nice exploration but it makes me wonder why we are doing this. Again? Yes I know I had this thought before. Is just that we have different ways of seeing it, I mean me and the crew. For me it’s a chance to grow, a chance to learn, explore, a chance to experiment, feeling beyond land, coast and common surroundings. It is just a change to go to another continent where everything is different. I never said it would be easy, but I thought it would be worth doing it. And yes, it’s just that I don’t know where we are going anymore in a practical sense. The reality is that I don’t know if we will be able to get there. I am starting to have doubts about our skills and capability. Maybe the idea of crossing the North Atlantic to get to the other end of the world is too ambitious and our aspirations are putting us in difficult and unnecessary situations. I guess that this is what exploring means in a way, going beyond the familiar things and places, looking farther and looking for new things that will give you another perspective. This moment in history seems to be very relevant, it is known as the Age of Exploration, because of Columbus, Bartholomeu Dias, Vasco Da Gama and others I guess. But since I am here I keep listening to tales and other popular stories related to this ocean and hopefully lands that have been already explored. Remember how we talked about the Vikings. Did we? Apparently they tried to follow the coast line as a navigation method. So J was explaining how they got from Scandinavia to Iceland, then Greenland and so on. By the stories they are telling I would say that is the way to do it,and not like us here. I would say they were very smart indeed, I wonder what would have happened if we had followed that navigation system, which sounds very traditional but secure. I know what we are trying to do is completely different, maybe not that much, but it just makes me think of other possibilities and ways to do this. Although is too late now, and before all this confusion period I was pretty happy with the whole free navigation idea. It truly felt good. I am so confused right now. The point is that others have been here already, that these lands were already explored. Well, anyway I am starting to think that we are not such a thing as explorers. Yes we are exploring and experiencing new things for us, but I wonder if we would change the path of history by finding this new route.

I know the world is not that big and that trade is all that these men have to earn their living. They said that this was meant to be an easy way to go to China, but why China? Can’t they make things by themselves and just live with what they have got? I should just stop thinking like this. To be honest my family has always been in this business too, so it’s not like I am any different from them. All these amazing things from China are the whole reason why we are here. Before, the Silk Road was the way to get there, but nowadays things are a bit more complicated. I don’t know the exact reasons but Charles and Thomas were talking before about the whole situation of that route being closed by the Ottoman Empire in order to boycott trade with the west. ws and for everyone really since it has become a way to share different cultures’ goods and all sorts of stories and legends.

T i m e

i s

g o i n g

s l o w l y

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John is not giving us any directions at the moment, but Charles and he have decided to follow their instinct. That is what I call a great navigation system. I think we will be fine because at the end of the day they have been sailing longer than I have. They keep telling me to go that way then to the other one. They keep checking on the sun, but more the moon really. Since John is not using his compass that much he comes our to look to the sky even more than before. Tim and Charles obviously join him all the time. Even Ed is starting to give me directions. I guess that at this point we all feel like there must be a way to get to the coast. Or maybe they are just hungry. The other members of the crew whose names I haven’t managed to learn yet, keep working with me. Since the storm I have a few cracks in several places. They said it’s alright, so I try not to worry too much and just go back to enjoying my day in the Atlantic Ocean. I might never do it again so I have decided to make the most of it. My main motivation right now is the crew to be honest. The animals are sleepy all day so I had to pay more attention to they crew, and I must say that they keep teaching me things every single day. Their mood is contagious, they are back singing their shanties and we had our second cleaning day. Amazing. I thought this would never happen again, but they proved me wrong. Even the water feels warmer and brighter somehow. Must be my imagination because we continue in the middle of nowhere. I had a thought that we were sailing in circles all the time but, I have been keeping an eye on it, and not really because of the stars you see. I am learning, slowly, but I am. This might seem like me getting excited again about wildlife but I am actually seeing a bird right now. Wait. Is it? I can’t even tell what it is. It is definitely a bird, but I cannot tell which bird it is. If what I remember so far is right, seeing a bird… means that we should be getting close to land then. Ok, I am going to wait. I need to be sure that this is actually real because it could be a mirage. Apparently that happens a lot when you are lost and think that something will happen that much that you can actually see it. Is my consciousness playing with me? No one else seems to see it, so I’d better keep thinking it is a mirage. That might be it, I am so concerned with landing in China that I might be having delusions about it.

Ok I am checking the water now. Just making sure that I am not having hallucinations. It seems a bit clearer, not that dark and not as dense as it felt before. The colour hasn’t changed that much, it’s more my visibility in the water really. I can see little pieces of things on the surface, I don’t really know what it is but is definitely some kind of food or something because I saw a few fish swallowing them before. At the beginning I couldn’t see it so I was concerned about the fish, thinking that they were eating something that doesn’t exist, but it actually does. It is so, so small though that it’s impossible to see it unless you know is there. Ah! That is another thing, I have seen a few fish around that I haven’t seen before. I think that it means that we are moving to other waters, we are out of this huge current now for sure, so that is good. I can’t see the bird anymore, I guess I have to leave the landing idea aside by now. But I am positive that we are moving towards a slightly different water which is very encouraging at this point. I am not sure that the crew has realised it yet. What can I say, I am a natural, after all. No, I am just learning a lot. I wonder what the Far East coast feels like. It might be completely different, like the Mediterranean for instance. Dad told me that is very warm, and nice, and apparently the waters where cousin Niña went were warm too, so I am hoping that the Far East ones will be warm so I can enjoy staying there for a while.

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Sorry I want to make sure that I don’t make a big deal of it, just in case. The truth is that I so want to believe it is real that I could not assimilate that is not. That would drop my motivation to zero.

We had such a nice night looking to the stars, it was amazing.

There is a very large star, the Pole Star that we use as reference,

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you must know this already from other days.

The thing is that we were trying to link them together to make shapes. It was very entertaining. The lads here were having an ingenious time talking about superstitions and mermaids. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know that things like whistling on board bring bad luck, maybe that is another reason for why they sign so much. Harry said that whistling into the wind will â&#x20AC;&#x153;whistle up a stormâ&#x20AC;?. Well, maybe someone was doing it constantly because we had the worst storm ever. No seriously, they had scores of superstitions for good and for bad luck. The good ones were things like being welcomed by dolphins, and a red sunset, and the bad luck ones were things such as changing the name of the boat, and sailing on Thursdays and Fridays.

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I was hoping that they would talk about any signs of land during the night but there was no way anyone realised. When everything was quiet I tried to enjoy the silence and examine our surroundings. I know there isn’t much to examine, but for me there is more than enough between the sea and the sky. It was very inspiring when talking about the Pole Star, so I decided it was time to look down now. All I could think about was the sea temperature. Since last sunset the waves are very mild so I could also listen beyond I usually do. I could hear movement in the depths constantly, and then I saw a whale again. I started to remember how was it when we departed. It seems that it was ages ago but I reckon it hasn’t been that long. I wish I had seen a dolphin though, just for good luck. I have kept examining during the day. It has been quite sunny so far but I can see a few clouds all together, not far from were we are. Not very dark ones, so I am fine with it. I was observing them for a while until I noticed that I wasn’t rolling as I usually do. Since last night my swing has decreased, not completely obviously, but it has indeed. I could also feel in in the crew’s and animals’ mood, they were very relaxed. I see how things are changing but I want to focus on the sound now. Everyone is pretty quiet so it’s the best opportunity. I wonder if we all are observing because I have never seen them so quiet. Back to the sound, I can hear the usual sound of the waves splashing on me but I am trying to hear birds somehow. It is not really working, I was hoping I could hear them since I thought I saw that one yesterday, but no. I should keep checking on it every now and then though. The temperature in general must be around 13 degrees which is alright even if it is almost summer. Our position is still uncertain but John was sure that we are going in the right direction based on the position of the stars. Unfortunately my examinations haven’t led me to anything. Well I didn’t find out anything new but I have been checking around and I am positive that I saw a big bank of fish today that I haven’t seen before. I was too far anyway so I am thinking tonight I might take that direction, regardless of the crew because they will be too tired probably so I can take the chance to complete my observations by getting closer. I just need to wait a little bit to turn more that way when they are distracted with their night talks.

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Fortunately we are admiring a beautiful red sky sunset right now, which, according to the sailors, means that we will enjoy a clear sky day tomorrow.

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I went towards the fish and it was the best I have done since we started this journey. Ed witnessed everything. He was up really early today. The clearer water was a great help to see the large fish bank, absolutely astonishing. Relatively big greyish fish with little dots and a line that stylises their bodies all swimming together in the same direction. Basically I got so close to them that it was impossible not to see it. When Ed saw it he couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe it. He was pretty clever so instead of bothering everyone else he decided to catch one and cook it. He gave a taste to everyone on board. Their faces transformed instantly, I could see how delighted they were. Not just because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d been worrying about food lately but because they recognised the fish, it is cod. Ed continued fishing for a while with Charles. They were using line and hook to do it, while the rest of the crew was eating uncontrollably.

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By the time John came up we had a festival on board where everyone was enjoying the food. John wasn’t very happy about it. He was very serious. Suddenly he started to swear and call the crew everything but nice things. First he said this was not survival behaviour, and that they should all control themselves. He quickly turned to Ed and told him next time he should contact him straight away. I think the captain is a bit nervous and wants to show that he is the man in charge. He spent the next hour looking at the horizon. He was checking the clouds I told you about yesterday. I realised that he was actually examining every element in detail. He was asking silence of everyone, but the crew was really enjoying the food, so that was hard to achieve, until our captain shouted “Shut up”. There was a big echo. I reckon that he could have been heard from England. We continued going in the same direction following the cod banks, because it turned out that there was more than one, and they were different, so maybe it is not cod but another species. I am going to follow my instincts because now we have something. Well maybe not, but J said that this fish banks mean that we are close to land. Since we can’t talk on board anymore because of the captain’s orders, we are all ears, I mean that we are trying to examine every sound carefully. Tim is the one who looks sure of being close to land and so we are because he just pointed out that he has seen it. He is on the top of the mast shouting like an old crazy man; “LAND”. The crew has revolutionised, everyone is trying to go up to see if he is right, but John is the one to get there first, and his instructions to Charles are very clear. The wind is blowing, so by the time we realise it we will be there. I am feeling relieved, happy and a bit confused because, following the theories that I have been learning recently, we should have seen birds around. How strange is that. I am keeping my eye on it all the time and nothing. Wait! There it is. It is a bird! now we are talking! We definitely are in the right place. This must be China!I can’t believe we have done it. Months of crossing mountains and deserts to get there, and we will do it by sailing for a few weeks. This is unbelievable. The captain must be so proud of himself. Certainly Sebastian is, I think he is a little explorer too.

We are getting closer and closer. Everything looks very green from this distance, and the water is getting milder. I think I will enjoy these waters for a while, although they are not as hot as I expected. C’est la vie. I can’t wait to land. I have heard so much about China during the journey that I am so impatient to get there. I think it’s time for me to move faster. Did you know that people in the Far East look different to the western ones. And apparently they are very polite, and they do amazing intricate things, but what I am rally looking forward to is the aroma of the spices. I have seen them before but just in small quantities so the smell of having large quantities on board is going to be amazing.

The landing process has started, J, Thomas, Harry and Sebastian are the ones getting to land first. I will wait by the shore. But to be honest there is nothing around but trees, looks like a huge forest. We were meant to be in a popular trading point.

Wait a second, we are not in China. It is impossible that this is China. Are we in the middle of nowhere again? I can’t see any other humans but the crew.

Where are we?

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Ok this is it. Here we are landing, not yet, but almost there. I was expecting to see a port somewhere around but I can’t. Well since everything is so different around here maybe the ports are different, or even a little bit more inland, like the one in Bristol. That would make sense. I think we will land anywhere really.

The real voyage of discovey consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust

Cabotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first landfall is still unknown, because of the lack of evidence. By

www.thematthew.co.uk

The Matthew of Bristol Trust

Back in England, Cabot was made an admiral, rewarded with £10 and a patent was written for a new voyage. Later, a pension of £20 a year was granted him. The next year, 1498, he departed again, with 5 ships this time. One ship arrived in an Irish port after a storm. The rest of the expedition, and John Cabot, were never heard from again.

John Cabot was a Venetian merchant with an adventurous (and entrepreneurial) streak. The location of Cabot’s first landfall is still unknown, because of lack of evidence. Many experts think it was on Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, but others look for it in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Labrador, or Maine. Cape Bonavista, however, is the location recognised by the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom as being Cabot’s official landing. His men may have been the first Europeans on either American continent since the Vikings: Christopher Columbus did not find the mainland until his third voyage, in 1498, and letters referring to a voyage by Amerigo Vespucci in 1497 are generally believed to have been forgeries or fabrications.

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Cabot is remembered in Bristol by the Cabot Tower, a 30-metre tall red sandstone tower of 1897 (the 400th anniversary of the landing) on Brandon Hill near the city centre, by a replica of the Matthew built in the city and by a statue of the explorer on the harbourside. There is also a Cabot Tower in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

John’s son Sebastian Cabot later made a voyage to North America, looking for the Northwest Passage (1508), and one to repeat Magellan’s voyage around the world, which ended up looking for silver along the Río de la Plata (1525-8). In 1498-1500 a few Portuguese travellers, Miguel and Gaspar Corte-Real being the most famous participants, visited Greenland, Labrador and Newfoundland. In 1501-1505 an English syndicate, consisting of 3 Azoreans and 2 English traders, made voyages to Newfoundland. From 1504, if not before, Breton, Basque, Portuguese and English fishermen crossed the ocean to catch fish on the Newfoundland banks.

When all the details fit in perfectly, something is probably wrong with the story. Charles Baxter

Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction

E A L

FIC TIO N

This story

Apendix

p.16 – 17

p.20 – 21

History of the Caravel

Why this Route?

p.32 – 33

p.36 – 37

Sebastian Cabot

Sail Shapes

p.44 – 45

p.52 – 53

Shanty

North Atlantic Drift

p.64 – 65

p.68 – 69

Noises of the Ocean

Navigation

p.82 – 83

p.88 – 89

John Cabot

Geographocal Knowledge at the Time

p.130 – 131

p.140 – 141

Age of Exploration

Finding Land at Sea

ing

We st