Elisa's Journey - Cape Breton Island Crosses the Equator!

A first for everybody on board – crossing the Equator under sail! My watch was on duty at the time, and we voted to have our two Leggers, Morgan and David H, share the helm while crossing the line. It took a bit of coordination, but they managed to keep the boat going on a relatively straight course.

Several of our male crew members decided to also cross the gender line, appearing on deck with skirts and leotards. Within minutes, we went from our usual watch routine to a full blown party. We put one of our most responsible crew, David R, on the helm and turned up some music, starting with Bobby’s Clipper Song. The Cape Breton rhythms seem to be growing on the crew, with lots of toe tapping going on.

Hande, our crew from Turkey, came up with a skirt that jingles as she dances. I’ve been given the honour of taking the skirt around the world and wearing it at our next equator crossing. It is much shorter than I would have worn at age 19, but anything goes at the Equator! The deal is for me to return it to her in Turkey one day, where I will receive my very own short jingle skirt.

Luke showed up in a pink leotard and fairy skirt – complete with swim goggles. Phil wore a towel that somehow managed to stay intact with two clothes pegs holding it in place. Morgan somehow squeezed a tiny pink sweater over his biceps without ripping the seams.

All the while, the Cape Breton Island Clipper still managed to pull out some miles from Australia!
Her port light could be seen off our starboard side, estimating a distance within five miles. I wondered what kind of celebration they were having…

After all the excitement, I ended up sleeping an hour into my next watch! Apparently people tried to wake me up, but to no avail. Perhaps I’m not as young as I used to be – out cold after 2 hours of partying! I’ll have to work on that before our big arrival in Cape Breton next June.