The First Cold Beer

Date & Time 21-12-2011  0000hrs
Position:- 08* 50’ S  136* 45’ E
Course:- 2307*
Speed:- 4.4 Knots
Wind:- NW 10 Knots (Force 3 Gentle Breeze ) 
Sea State:-  Slight (Up to 3 feet small waves becoming more pronounced with a few white horses)
Weather:- Cloudy (6/8ths and above cloud cover)
Temp 81F
(Wind Sea & Weather are all taken from the Beaufort notation to indicate the given conditions)
Distance to go:- 2162 nautical miles


On the chart about 1/3rd up on the right (East) you will see a small bit of land sticking out Tanjung Vals. 
We will be crossing over the La Cher Bank 60 miles to the west of that and just doing what we can to stay to the north of the potential storm. 
This detour is going to add a couple or three days to the journey length.


http://www.charts.noaa.gov/NGAViewer/73020.shtml


Today’s music is a gorgeous track and if Mrs Bentley is reading, it's to remind you of us dancing to it in YeeHaw shed in the summer. 


I am aware that some readers may find the Hip Hop genre not to their taste but this track is so beautifully put together I think you would find it hard not to want to slowly move your hips to its rather sensuous and hypnotic beat.  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lpo-cN37L0






The First Cold Beer


The vessels I work on are dry as far as alcohol goes. It is a safety issue as much as anything else, although I have found that wherever there is alcohol someone will make a complete turd of themselves on it at some stage. The ramifications of some peoples inability to be around booze without getting publicly, slobberingly, pain in the ar*e drunk have had a knock effect to nearly all ships now.
The only guaranteed way to prevent the above behaviour is to have no alcohol board. If someone is addicted enough to not be able to go a few weeks without it in a controlled situation then they really do need professional help. 


In my early days at sea I was sailing with mainly Brit crews and drinking was as much part of life as eating, sleeping and working. All ships had their own bars and it was the only place where you socialised. 
As the industry changed with “cheap to hire and easy to fire” multi national crews all with different cultural habits, alcohol became an easy target for the safety splurge and slowly but surely more vessels became dry. 


I cant thing of many bad things about it as a result of this prohibition, but if I really scraped the barrel then perhaps not being able to have a glass, or two, of wine with dinner would be about the only negative aspect I could think of.  


There are many plus side including that my kidneys get a rest for at least 6 or 7 moths a year as when I have access to it I do like a good red wine or cold beer and I am of the “there is no such thing as “one” beer or one glass of wine” school of thought. 
In fact if I am only going to be able to have one, then I would rather have none.


Another good point is not having to put up with someone who has had more than enough deciding that you would be a good audience to listen to their garbled warblings of guff. 
Some even think that because you have acknowledged their existence they should then treat you to a rendition their favourite song.


Although not a balladeer when drunk I have been known to “go on a bit” and at times this has been a source of consternation for Mrs B. (possibly an understatement by me)
Although these instances are now rare we have a secret signal for when I need help recognising that I need to shut up, We also have one that is not so secret. 
The secret one is a discreet kick under the table or a pinch just hard enough for it to register that it is time for me to quiten down and let someone else have a go. 
The not so secret one is for Mrs B to say “Bentley you are talking bollox.  Why don’t you be quiet for a while and let someone else have a go”.
I will admit to have occasionally ignored the odd kick and pinch just to hear her say it, so I can then see the looks of shock and respect on peoples faces. 
You can see the blokes thinking “surely he isn’t going to let her speak to him like that” and some of the women thinking “I would like to say that when my fella is being a boorish oaf”, (and some of the men thinking the same about their wives)
If anyone is ever daft enough to try and reproach her by saying “Oh don’t be cruel he isn’t that bad” or something along those lines I will normally leap to her defence and say “No she is right, I am rambling. Ever since she bought be the nobbly stick and walking boots, I just can't stop.”

An unexpected but most pleasurable thing to come from being dry is the reunion. That first cold beer after several weeks without one.


If you have something all the time it becomes expected, normal and part of the routine, therefore less of an experience. There is little or no excitement involved in being able to open a fridge or walk into a bar and have a cold beer anytime you fancy one, but a few weeks without it and it different story.
The delicious anticipation of the first mouthful.


There is no rigmarole of opening it an hour before hand to let it breath, or taking in the bouquet, or pouring carefully into the correct glass and sighting the colour and body, because it doesn’t matter if it is out of a glass, a bottle or a tin, just as long as it is cold and a good brew. 
The second one is often even better as the first is already setting about doing its work and the taste memory has been rekindled, but after that they become much of a muchness. 


The combination of taste and temperature combining in harmony gives truth to the phrase “the amber nectar” and for me being able to enjoy "the first cold beer" after along absence is one of the perks of what I do. 
Love and Peace 
Bentley