Showtime

Today marks the real beginning.  All of the voyaging, preparations,  and training were really the prelude for Act I, which begins now.  Fuel, stores, deck, cabins, charts, forecasts, pilots, guides are all in order.  Rosehearty, at anchor under a cloudless sky in Arctic Bay, gleams in the rarefied air.  The sea is a polished slate.  We hold our breaths and urge the conditions to remain the same.  

There is an energy in the yachting industry where weeks of preparations are brought in to sharp focus on to a single point in time. Everything that comes before, crystallizes the moment the boss and his guests step on board. And if you are superyacht crew, you want to get that moment right -- any oversight that detracts from the instant of arrival can dilute if not destroy all of the preparations that have come before. And so as I write this blog, there is checking and double checking going on in all departments to be sure that every single one of the parts add up to the perfect whole. The work underway in these last few hours is visible -- ice and weather reports being dissected by the bridge team; main engines, generators, sailing systems, and all hotel equipment under final scrutiny by the engineers; tenders being fueled and checked over by the deck crew; cabins, salon and cockpits being dusted and polished by the interior squad; ingredients in the galley being measured, sliced, peeled, grated by the chef. What is not as visible but entirely palpable is the immense pride that accompanies every action. I have felt this in varying degrees on every yacht I have worked aboard, but here on the good ship Rosehearty, the pulse is strong.