Teacher Aboard Blog

Date: Tuesday, January 27, 1998 

Position: Latitude: 12:41N, Longitude 136:40W,

Distance Traveled: 3,544 miles 

Conditions: Water Temp: 76F\24C; Barometric Pressure: 1013 mb; Wind Direction: NE; Wind Speed: 11Knot/ Beaufort 4; Skies: clear and cumulus clouds 

Entered By: Teacher Aboard Leslie Bridgett 

Hi Guys, 

Same ole, same ole – fair winds and a following sea. It’s a tough life but somebody has to live it! The trade winds are incredible. We have been sailing with a northeast breeze of 8 to 18 knots for the last three weeks. As Captain Jan warned the crew before he left for a rest at home, “You folks are going to forget how to tack (change the sails from side to side) before I get back.” The skies are bright blue occasionally dotted with puffs of cumulus clouds. As we get farther from land, the swells are growing to seven feet. 

As they slide under the ship’s aft starboard quarter (back right), the deck rises and falls as the waves roll away from the hull sounding like the ocean surf. You often read in history books about sailors using the trade winds to carry them across the oceans of the world. Each day as I stand on deck, I am reminded that centuries later the trade winds are still dictating the course of ships. 

ANDY JACKSON – Cook Extraordinaire 

If ever there was a Forrest Gump of the intellectual world, it is Andy Jackson. As he works his magic in the galley with crew members passing through from time to time, Andy redefines the world as we know it. Just listen: “So Andy, are you on fire?” asks Dan Nelson walking through the main cabin to look in the bilges as part of the hourly boat check. “No,” replies Andy, “but every once and awhile when I catch on fire, I ask myself, ‘Where is that boat check guy? I’d kinda like to report this.” Or when Andy glanced into a crew member’s cereal bowl, “Ah, fruit loops,” he noticed. “I was a big fan of vegetable loops, but they never caught on.” Or after serving the crew a trucker’s breakfast of eggs, homefries, sausage, gravy, and biscuits, he announces,” I’m looking forward to the truck stops in China — Chow Mien and gravy, now there’s a meal. 

And if I get lost I will just show them my card. “Hi, I’m Andy. If found, return to the Pride of Baltimore II” Or during our fish cake dinner when he caught a crew member taking two slices of bread, “Remember what Cap’n Jan said, ‘No unauthorized sandwiches!'” And so it goes – one wisecrack on the heels of the other giving new meaning to ordinary life. 

For the record, Andy is a fabulous cook. After all my mental preparation for canned soup and sea biscuits, Andy serves homemade pie, breads, and linguini with a mushroom white sauce. As he says to the crew, “Ah ha, you may see hamburgers, but I see shepherd’s pie!” Nothing is plain and simple. The green beans have almonds, the pork roast has chutney, and the French toast has a touch of nutmeg with a sour cream sauce. Somehow I never feel we’re using enough cutlery for these meals. It obvious that Andy has catered to the whims of more serious passengers who are accustomed to peach melba and baked Alaska. Indeed, he has spent three summer preparing meals for thirty passengers for six-day cruises on a windjammer (sailboat) out of Camden, Maine. His Maine schooner has a wood stove. In Andy’s words, “Fire and ice, this is my workspace!”. 

I am still amazed that he can whip up these creations in a galley that constantly rolls from side to side. Making lasagna is hard enough, never mind trying to do it when standing upright without doing your own little two-step is a challenge. Now, not all Andy’s meals have been met with great enthusiasm – oatmeal comes to mind. This crew isn’t at an age when fiber in their life is a big concern. Being the great observer that he is, Andy states for the record, “You know, I only make this stuff so I can throw it over the side.”

Later that morning I saw Andy climbing into the rig. “Don’t jump, Andy! We’ll eat the oatmeal!” He wasn’t listening. He was on his way to sit near the top of the mast. On his return, he commented on all the leather chafe on the rig, stating flatly, “It’s a Leather World up there.” 

Which is not to be confused with the Silicon World – the name he gave the navigation station. Seeing the ship’s computer running full throttle, he says, “Oh yes, I see the chips are up.” 

So when looking for Andy, you may need to look in a variety of places – on the foredeck playing his harmonica to Sinker’s guitar, hanging under the bowsprit reaching down to touch the dolphins, or standing on the aft decks to a catch glimpse of the sunset, sunrise, or full moon. You are also likely to find him reading since he’s an avid reader. He digests everything from seafaring novels to comics featuring the hero Supreme. 

When Sinker announced the Great Lure Contest, Andy was the first to submit his entry. It was a pink sponge octopus-like creation with thumbtack eyes and foil decorations. Not taking this entry as a serious contender, the crew affectionately named it the “Pink Pleasure Pod.” 

On day four of the Fish Off, Andy’s lure landed a 52″ mahi mahi. No doubt it was a fish with a sense of humor. 

As I sit here typing, the witty remarks are dropping faster than I can type them up. As one crew member returns her pancake to Andy pointing to a portion that’s a little wet for her taste, he says, “Oh Mommie, my pancake isn’t done.’ You know a real sailor would eat that thing.” I think we will need to revisit Andy when we do a piece featuring comic lines at sea. Meanwhile, should you find yourself basking in the heat of the tropical Pacific sun, be careful. As Andy pointed out on one of his journeys on deck for air, “Oh yes, it’s a roast-a-matic day!” 

Riding the swells, 

Leslie Bridgett