¡Adiós Barcelona!, Bonjour Ajaccio

Leaving quay, taking a swim out on the open sea, eating apple pie in the sunshine, follow my day and see what we did first day on this sea leg to Ajaccio.

Hello everyone, and late happy halloween (it’s a big thing here in Spain)! I hope your day is going as good as mine, and this is what I did today.

Today I woke up in Barcelona and ate the last breakfast at quay for three days. After breakfast we left Barcelona and started our voyage to Ajaccio, France. It has been a long stay in Barcelona, and therefore awhile since we last sailed. I longed for the sea, and by standing on deck you could tell it was going to be a beautiful day out in the big blue.

During our morning muster we had the first guard schedule-switch, and my guard, Starboard, changed from 4-8 to 8-12. It’s nice with some change, and I was looking forward to have a somewhat normal sleep schedule compared to previous sea legs. After muster at 08:00 my guard started right away, and today I was working in the galley together with Felix. As my morning guard went by, I made apple pie, talked to Sporre and enjoyed the peaceful morning. Once in a while I looked out of the windows and slowly saw the harbour pass me by, and after a while land was further and further away. I like working in the galley, and today was the first time there at sea in the daytime. After guard we had lunchtime and today we had chicken with pasta and pesto.

By the time we finished lunch Torben, the captain announced that we were going to stop for a swim in the ocean. Although the weather wasn’t the best at the time, almost everybody stood on deck in their swimsuits not long after the happy announcement. The water had a temperature of 19 degrees, which would be warm if I were to take a swim at home, but I must admit that it felt quite cold. Ludde did a cool backflip from a handstand into the water, and it was a good time.

Maybe I would’t have took a swim if it wasn’t for this blog - but I didn’t want to disappoint you readers by not use the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean!

We spent the afternoon in the big messroom, where we studied, talked and relaxed. I was a bit tired of sitting inside, but soon enough the clock was 3 and the apple pie I made was served with vanilla sauce. With a coffeecup in one hand, and the plate in the other - I went outside and felt the sunshine warm up my skin. Right after the fika we had a big meeting with everyone on t/s Gunilla. We practiced the function of our life wests, discussed the growing problems of the stops in the toilets and lastly Torben shared some jokes about U-boats.

Time flies quickly when you have fun, and after an eye blink it was time fo work again. At the start of the watch we walked around like blind bats on deck fo a few minutes before our eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was an especially dark night just because the moon was so small, and when it went down at around 9 pm, it was pitch black. I worked in the galley though, and only peeked outside once in awhile for some fresh air. Something was wrong with the air-conditioning so the inside of Gunilla felt like a sauna. The heat became crucial for me when we started to fry quesadillas in the galley for the nightfika. At least the quesadillas were good!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my day, now I’m about to go to sleep in my beloved bunk, but I’m going to sleep without a cover for sure!

Hulda Svensson, starboard watch