Chapter 25 - Just lost a whole day

Gammelnok woke to exited chatter from outside his alcove.

The whole off-duty below deck crew was assembled around the mess table. 

"What is this? Who brought this on board?" Questions and suggestions swirled in the air of the mess room. Someone picked up the broken bamboo stick and flicked it across his hand. It made a loud pleasant rhythmic clicking sound.

"I know what this is" exclaimed the crew member. "It is a Rattle-stick. They use it in Andalusia when they have their singsongs. And that, pointing at the covered jar with a stick poking out is a Zambomba. Remember Gammelnok mentioned Andalusia when we first tried to talk to him after he was rescued after the storm in England? Remember our talk last night about him resembling the Klabautermann? I bet he has something to do with this."

Gammelnok emerges from behind the curtain and looks at the crowd. He now masters their language reasonably well and haltingly starts ranting.

"I did not ask to be here. You brought me on board and kept me hidden. I was well on the way to my retirement place by the garden pond in England when you hauled me down here. Now you take me on a journey around the world with no means of escape. What do you want from me? I have nothing to give and nothing to contribute. It makes me mad to hear you saying I am not pulling my weight."

Exhausted from this long outburst, Gammelnok sinks to the floor and hides his head in his hands.

One of the women picks up the Zambomba and starts rubbing the stick. The other woman flicks the Rattle-stick across her palm. It does not take long for the boatswain to pick up his guitar and before long a merry singsong is on its way. They pull Gammelnok to his feet and then dump him on the mess table. With his clogs making further rhythmic noises on the table top, the party is spontaneously on the way. 

After a while, they all collapse in laughter watching the little man in clogs dancing away.

Gammelnok has now after all pulled his weight and the air has been cleared.

Now onwards towards New Zealand.

When travelling westward around the world clocks must be set back by one hour for every 15° of longitude crossed, or in the case of this vessel, half an hour every night. It creates a lot of confusion at the time of watch change over if a crew member has forgotten this rule. 

Crossing the International Date Line just before reaching New Zealand, the date is advanced by 24 hours. Bad news if tomorrow is your birthday and tomorrow suddenly is the day after tomorrow. You missed it. Far better to travel eastwards. Then you could have two birthdays in a row or on the same day as the clock is set back by 24 hours.

Having crossed the Date Line on a Monday afternoon, in a blink of an eye, it is suddenly Tuesday afternoon.

The ship is on course for Auckland on the North Island and is expected to dock at dawn the following day.

Gammelnok has been instructed to stay well hidden, as the New Zealand Customs and Immigration officers are renowned for their thoroughness. They can find any contraband or illegals no matter how well hidden and stories abound of people being expelled and told never to return.