Dogwatch

From 02:00 to 05:00 we had dense fog. I could hardly see Worm, just the stern light reflecting off her bow. I was very glad to have the radar reflector in the rigging and the AIS.

I decided that the AIS was now a full crew member and should have a name. So now we have George and Mildred.

I was very sleepy and the watch felt shorter than it should have, so I must have dozed off several times. I never saw an AIS target, but I knew Mildred would have woken me if I had needed it.

One noise had been bugging me, especially when off watch. The aft starboard shroud was so loose that its shackles rattled when the port shrouds were tight. With George doing the steering and Mildred on look out and visibility at 2 metres I thought I may as well fix it.

I should have had a life jacket on any way and this was a good reminder, so I got it and a strop and clipped on and retied the dead eyes – not tight as that would be too tight on the other tack, but not floppy. The noise stopped.

Alison came on watch at 05:00. We were 27 nm north of the Nividic lighthouse at the entrance to Lampoul on Ouessant. Things were going well.