Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“By da way, you guys, we are sailing tomorrow around to da udder side of da island; if you
like you can come and sail wid us, ya?”
“Oh, that would be fantastic; we have never sailed on such a grand boat! What should we
bring?” I asked.
“Seven bells you come, and bring notting; thes es on da Danish government,” he said with
a grin on his lantern-jawed Danish face, “see you's tomorrow.”
Gavin and I needed no second invitation, and we were there on the dot at seven in the morn-
ing. We clambered aboard and were each presented with a mug of hot, sweet coffee and a
big, ginger flavored sea biscuit while the crew made preparations to set sail. The captain
thoughtfully sent one of his young crew back to Déjà vu with our dinghy, explaining that
we would just have to hitch a ride out with some other yacht. “We'll just swim,” I correc-
ted.
There were three strapping, young lads, one of which I suspect was the young villain from
last night, assigned to the hauling up of the big anchor which they executed with the aid of
a large wheel winch. Round and round they walked, and the clattering of the chain cut the
morning silence as it came over the fairlead and down to the hold below. Two large, white
Genoa sails were hauled up the mighty, wooden, spruce masts, and the after mast was left
bare at this stage. The morning breeze filled the Genoas, and they were quickly sheeted in.
With a thrill, we could feel Lady Ellen heel slightly to lee and begin to cut through the wa-
ter. A saucy, streaming bunting slapped happily atop the foremast, the colors of the Danish
flag.
The girl, whose name we heard was Gretchen, smiled at our childlike delight, “Ees so nice
to sail on dis boat, ja?”
The more we saw her the more we fell for her charms. Her yellow blonde hair had been
thickly plaited and she wore no makeup, just a bare T-shirt and baggy, green shorts. We
saw her legs for the first time, and both Gavin and I could hardly drag our eyes away. We
looked at each other secretly and grinned, “lucky old captain” the look said. She was a reg-
ular tomboy as well, working and giggling with the rest of the crew; she was very much
part of the ship, not just the captain's mistress. As it turned out, she was also his fiance.
I stood at the base of the foremast and gazed up to the top. It was a long way up, and I had
a strong desire to climb up to the crow's nest. I approached the captain and asked him if I
might do just that. “Sure, by all means, yus don't fall hey, es a long way down,” he grinned
recklessly.
