As the crew settled in to its routine at sea, Salt Lines made sure its intrepid adventurers got to try on all their wet weather gear, as the sandy shores of the Gold Coast loomed far-far away in the horizon. Antonia finished her book about ‘Ugly Love’ and passed it on to Jenna who made sure she napped after reading every single paragraph, for that is the true way to read a book at sea. Alistair whipped out his tibetan monk pajamas in true sailing tradition. I could not compete with his purple pants as both of my pajamas had been left as a tribute to Fiji. Does true peace of mind and enlightenment come from the right pair of soft-pants? Probably, yes.

Adam shared adventures of being lost in translation whilst visiting the forbidden outer lands of mainland China. Elsewhere, Trevor was deep in America’s Cup controversies, when Jenna went out of her way to explain the intricacies of designing a giant aquarium when taking care of hammerhead sharks (Note to self: Always hire a marine biologist as a consultant before adopting a pet shark). The clouds managed to spoil Travis’s attempts at sextant fun as the bashful sun had no interest at being leered at by human eyes. Elissa tried her best to avoid all conspiracy theories before being sucked into alien-pyramid-architecture possibilities.  

High standards of food were the order of each day as Salt Line’s lavish spice collection was put to great use. It was my first time seeing a sailing yacht gallery stocked with white sesame seeds and mustard seeds. Oh, how I miss the food of my land! Jason managed to fix the dodgy fresh water pump pressure issue as a water toy inflating device was jury-rigged to a cause well beyond its wildest dreams. The night brought with it gusts beyond thirty knots as I decided to play DJ for watch ‘B’. ‘Playing DJ’ for someone basically means forcing people to listen to your favourite music without providing an avenue for escape. Sun Tzu himself would’ve been proud of my precociousness.

The autopilot decided to take a break from the monotony of its thankless existence, as the crew flexed its helmsmanship muscles and rode the waves of the high seas, like a cowboy discovering the pleasures of talking with the wind on a truly gifted stallion. Salt Lines was one such rare gem that handled the violence of crashing waves with the symphony of grace harnessed within its sails. I truly have been gifted to have finally sailed this glorious beast on the open seas. The spirit of Antarctica still dwells within this marvellous ketch.

- Arjun Thimmaya, Chief Mate, Salt Lines