Charter Log Continued

Flogging will continue until morale improves ...

The sun shone down from the azure sky and reflected brightly off the bluish-brown water of the harbour as I neared the Sancerre. My crew in tow and my bicorn hat snugly on my head, I felt a sense of joy and eagerness as my eyes fell on a vessel of such grace and beauty as I had ever seen; her mainmast rising high into the cool Autumn air; her shrouds and stays pulled tightly, securing the mizzen and main; her hull sitting as comfortably in the water as an English gentleman in his favourite armchair. She was a true lady, a boat of such grace and beauty, of curves and sweeping lines, the other boats nearby paled in comparison to her greatness.

As my crew and I approached the gate separating us from the Sancerre, the master of the fine vessel, a certain Captain Dan, strode towards us and gave us a kind greeting. I tipped my bicorn in response, not forgetting good naval discipline, as a flogging be a terrible thing to see or experience. He let us through the gate and showed us aboard his ship. As we proceeded below deck I could not help but marvel that Sancerre's interior was just as lovely as her exterior: an oak table rose from the middle of the deck and a compact yet large galley spanned the port side of the cabin. In the bow was Captain Dan's cabin, and behind us, below the quarterdeck were the head and two smaller cabin for his mates. Such fine living quarters in such a small ship I had never before seen.

At last 'twas time to set sail. Upon reaching the entrance to the harbour, having left he docks and other, lesser, ships behind, Captain Dan and I pulled the halyards with great strain to our backs and the jib sail rose forth to catch the wind, a sense of its own destiny almost apparent to us as it sprang into action. The wind caught the mains'l and the jib, a great surge of foam began rushing forth from the bow, and the Sancerre was underway at a good three or four knots. My bicorn hat atop my head, Captain Dan commanding from the quarterdeck, Neptune's realm ahead ready to be conquered, and my gallant crew by my side, I knew that Sancerre was truly the Lady of the Pacific.

Well this might have all sounded like an excerpt from a Patrick O'Brien novel focusing on the nineteenth century British Navy, but alas, 'tis not. It is in fact an account of my graduation present - a trip sailing with Captain Dan of the Sancerre, a sloop-rigged Janneau yacht, out of the Channel Islands Harbor. The Sancerre truly is the Lady of he Pacific, and Captain Dan truly her Lord. A stalwart ex-Navy commander, Captain Dan knows his boat and treats her with the same love and respect that any lady deserves. She is as beautiful as I said she was, and even with the small wind we had that day she still pushed swiftly through the water; her engine never having to be used except in the harbour. Despite my literary familiarity with sailing, I still was unfamiliar with the actual practice of it, a problem Captain Dan quickly put the rest as he literally showed me the ropes. The hardtack he had onboard made for a nice break about halfway through sailing, and the rum he allowed me to bring added to the experience (despite the fact I didn't really like the rum!). The sailing trip was the best present I could have asked for; perfect from start to finish. So give Captain Dan a call and get your own sail aboard the Lady of the Pacific.

– Ian, Able Seaman

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