Storm and maybe broken fingers

I woke up 01.49 and the boat leaned very much! I basically stood on the wall in my bed.

After a while of no sleep I heard something, something like a larm. Those who know me knows that I have an ear for alarms so I get out of my bed in a half second and screamed that everybody had to wake up. I ran over to room 1 and said the same thing. But when I was on my way back to our room a wave came, and the first thing I could hold on to was the doorframe and at the same time the door came and my hand was still on the frame. I said kind of desperate ”open the door!”. I realised that this hasn’t gone well. But the alarm still rang so I took my sailing trousers, jacket, harness and my life west. On my way up on deck they said ”you cant go out there!” And I was like, are you kidding?! There is an alarm, let me go out! But afterwards I can understand why.

The corridor was full of people, some more scared than others. When I went in the chaos I realised that our safety sektion was on its way to close, but like a hero Ludvig stood and pumped the door so everybody came out of there. Everybody met up in the big dining room, and it was a big mess! All chairs had slipped and all people sat on the same side. Not until then I felt the pain in my hand. Annie gave me a mango from the fridge so I could freeze the pain away, I changed fruit after a while. Albert asked me how I felt and he gave me an Alvedon so the pain could lay down for at least the coming watch. The clock was half past two and we were still in the dining room just waiting. We helped them who were seasick and this together-feeling was really strong this hours the chaos kept going.

When the clock was around 04.00 al in midship came up on deck for watch. The only thing I heard when we opened the door was ”hold on and be belayed!” I never heard that kind of scared voice. When we came up on portside of maindeck everybody laid gather together belayed in everything that could save you if a big wave came.

Basically the first thing the second officer said was that we have to take down a sail, I think it was the big undermars and we had to take home in some ropes. Our watch leader Madelene took me to starboard side to make that fixed, starboard was the side down in the water. Both of us was belayed in a rope over deck. Every time Gunilla dived down in the waves whole starboard side was under water, so did we. If we hadn’t been belayed we had been thrown out in the sea and never seen daylight again. This under water happening repeated at least ten times during the time we took up the sail. Olof (an other watchleader) came and helped us get it really tight.

When we could have a breath we realised that we basically had swam up on deck. And all the ropes had been together in one big tangle and some of them out in the water through a small hole. Both me, Madde and Olof were really wet. And you as said that you being wet by rain, you have no idea how wet we were. I had mostly a litre water in each shoe and change clothes was no idea.

I asked if Maria was awake, she as take care of hurt. Olof answered kind of surprised, is someone hurt? And I said that my hand was. But as a strong person (and an idiot) I said ”we can take it to breakfast”. So the whole watch I was working, as hard as anyone else, climbed in the rig, fixed with ropes and sails. But on the morning, when everything had calmed down I went to Maria, and she said that we should have a X-ray on my fingers when we comes to Ajaccio.

To breakfast we get pancakes and everybody ate as we never had seen food before. Under a watch we always eat some fika but this chaotic watch the fika hasn’t been something to think about so everybody was starving when the clock said 08.00.

After this big breakfast everybody went to bed but this time it doesn’t lead 25-30 degrees like it did before.

Right now when I write this I still got pain in my left hand and I hope nothing is broken. I really want to be in the rig, take home in ropes and be in kitchen, thats what I’m here for.

Jenny Leandersson

Midskepps