Today has been a day filled with ups and downs, as the title gives you a hint.

I woke up with a good feeling even if I didn’t get much sleep. It got even better at breakfast when pancakes were served, although you only got two. Waking up to those news instantly gets you in a very good mood, especially when you are a pancake lover like me.

According to me, the breakfast is a perfect opportunity to start the day in a good way. It is very easy to succeed with that here, since the breakfast contains many different options, such as yoghurt and two different porridges, freshly baked bread is always served as well. The breakfast is also always ready for those who are going to eat so you don’t have to do much yourself. The “backisar” (the ones who serves you at breakfast and other meals, also helps the chiefs in the kitchen during the day) are always very helpful and do their best to give us what we wish.

For me, the day continued with the 8 – 12 watch, on those hours we did what we usually do, such as practice different boat-related terms and adjusting the sails. It was a fun watch, everyone was in a good mood.

As the watch came to its end, I felt the tiredness coming. I have been struggling with sleep since we got here on the 29 of November. The average sleep for me has been three hours per night, and since I am not able to sleep during the day, that has been my total sleep each day. This has been a problem for me, since lack of sleep affects you very much onboard Gunilla. I have not been able to study as well as I am used to and I am constantly tired. I don’t have the strength to do the things I would like to do, which makes it less fun. I also have a bad habit of not taking care of things right away, which is why I have not been getting help until now. I know that many other students onboard Gunilla often feel that they don’t get enough sleep, because there is almost always somewhere to be or something to do. I guess we will find ways to make it work or eventually we will get used to it.

Anyways, the day ended with some friends in the so-called “hajnät” in Swedish, in English it is translated to “sharknet” which is a place in the very front of the boat. You can see it in the picture I have put in.

Tova, midships watch