Öckerö gymnasium

Adios La Palma!

As we leave a wonderful island for another, with an amazing crew and incredible weather, we can only beg for one more thing, some wind.

The day started like any other day in port. At 7 am everyone pilgrimed to the big mess with heavy steps and tired eyes for breakfast. After the most important meal of the day (well that’s discussable, more and more trainees choose sleep over breakfast as the time passes) we went to main deck for the ceremony at 8 am. Because we were leaving port today and therefor weren’t able to go ashore, many of us went back to sleep when eight bells were stroken and the flags were hoisted. Of course that didn’t include my watch, Starboard, whose watch begun after the ceremony. We stayed on deck and started preparing for leaving port - wear back sheets and tacks, pack down the gangway, cast off and haul home the warps - so we could clear the port and set course for Madeira as soon as possible.

And so we were leaving the Canary Islands and started our last short sea leg. Despite La Palma being an amazing island with lots of great cafes, an amazing nature and the nicest people, we’re really looking forward to Madeira. A sailor thrives best at sea though, and nothing beats the feeling one gets when all sails are set. The wind have unfortunately betrayed us thus far and we haven’t been able to sail much since we left port this morning. The good comes with the bad and instead of setting all sails we stopped the engine and took a swim. One certainly can’t complain. The gally also spoiled us with the delicious dessert gino for our three-a-clock meal (fika).

Because it’s sunday we didn’t have any lessons today, instead we had our weekly boat meeting. The boat meeting is an opportunity for trainees as well as officers to speak their mind on anything that concern the boat. The meetings always start with a big gathering on quarterdeck which is the absolute coziest part. It’s always nice when the whole company is gathered, laying on deck as packed herringes. Then we meet watch wise and send representatives from each watch to discuss the trainees wishes or concerns with the captain. The rest of the day were spent on foredeck. I can’t imagine something that feels better than falling asleep to people singing and playing guitar next to you, hearing the rhythmic ”oh hey, oh hey” from those on watch who sets sails while the sun stands tall kissing us all.

Ebba Axelsson Larsholt

Starboard

Publicerad:

Öckerö seglande gymnasieskola
Björnhuvudsvägen 45
475 31 Öckerö

Telefon: 031-97 62 00
e-post: kommun@ockero.se