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The perfect storm
By Rodrigo, deckhand. 3 April. Well, here we are, after
a quick weekend where almost all the crew of the Rainbow
Warrior had some time to get off the ship and walk for more
than ten meters in a straight line. This time we were on
the popular island of Mallorca in Palma. We got the chance
to attend to personal needs like buying supplies and making
phone calls, which is always important.
But anyway, Tuesday arrived, as did our departure time.
All crew were together at that point, sharing our experiences
from the weekend and preparing the boat to leave. In my
case I was driving a van all day through Mallorca to buy
provisions for the ship and trying to drop off our recycling.
I went out with Marko the cook and two women from Mallorca
who are crew members of the Greenpeace vessel Zorba.
At 17:00 hours we left Mallorca amidst a lot of wind and
rain. There was a big storm in the Canary islands and it
was coming our direction…
I slept so that I was rested enough for my regular night
watch from 12:00 to 04:00am with Dmitri. It seemed like
everything was normal, but we didn't have any idea of what
was waiting for us.
Around 01:30, there was a target on the radar, a fast boat
coming in our direction, but we couldn't see it with our
eyes. I went onto the foredeck often, fighting the rain
and the motion of the boat (wind was not a problem, not
yet…) to look for the ship, but nothing was there.
We could see it on the radar coming closer every minute
but we saw nothing outside. 'Maybe it is the rain,' Dmitri
told me. Maybe that was why we couldn't see it. Peter appeared
and all three of us were looking for it - we saw nothing.
The weird thing happened when by the time we should have
seen it in any weather conditions, it just disappeared from
the radar without any logical explanation. Neither Dmitri
nor Pete could explain it.
Pete left the bridge to sleep a little before his watch
time (4 to 8), but it wouldn't last for too long.
Soon the wind started to increase. Our sails were almost
half open except for the jib and the mizzen (the first and
last one), which were completely open. The mizzen started
to flap so I went to tighten it a little bit, and then Dmitri
asked me to bring it in all the way because it was getting
very rough. So I did, and I did it very slowly because the
sail kept flapping so much that I was afraid of ripping
it.
We brought it in all the way and Dima helped me with the
ropes, but we didn't realise while we were outside that
the wind speed was increasing, this time to over 40 knots
(it is about 25 meters per second; in other words, really
really fast).
So Pete was on the bridge again, yelling at us to bring
down the other sails because the ship was assuming a diagonal
position, making it very difficult for us to move on the
deck. The bouncing of the ship on the sea - up and down
- was longer each second and the movement was more extreme.
I was bringing the foresail inside and I could see in front
of me how the side of the ship was already at sea level.
Then suddenly a huge wave - maybe the largest wave I have
ever seen in my life (I'm from a town without an ocean,
okay?) - came from behind me and crossed over the Warrior
from one side to another. Yes, I saw something like this
in the movie The Perfect Storm, but this was really happening.
Sorry Clooney, but you lost your place in the wild sea stories
- mine is real!
Wow! My scream of surprise was silenced due to the wind
and the water flowing everywhere. Then I brought in the
jib with Dima's help and we got to the bridge again. Nobody
talked. Everything was okay at that point, so Pete went
back to his cabin and Dima told me that this was a rough
night for sailing - it was a surprisingly assertive statement
coming from Dima!
I made my rounds and changed into some dry clothes. When
I got back to the bridge, Pete was there again. The ocean
was becoming even more troublesome and Pete asked us to
check all the ropes on deck to be sure they were okay. So
we did, and by the time we reached the foredeck again it
had taken me a lot of time to coil the ropes. I realised
how excited I was with the experience I was having - I felt
so alive, the ship moving like crazy from one side to another,
the waves jumping inside, the water everywhere, the complete
mastery of the water over us... And in this wet, windy,
wild spiritual moment I looked to the side and saw my dear
mate Dima shivering in his short pants without shoes and
just a t-shirt, and he screamed to me, 'Come in, I'm cold!!'
Oh, sorry man. We went back to the bridge, went back for
another change of clothes and a cup of coffee, and continued
with our normal night of work.
Soon it was 4:00am, the end of our watch, so we said until
tomorrow, Dima; 'til tomorrow, Rodriga (like he calls me),
it's time to rest, a dry rest.
Good night.
Rodrigo
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