A normal watch-day in St Martin

As usual, one watch has been on watch all day and the other two watches has had free studies ashore. Today my watch, Starboard, has been on board working with different tasks such as changing blocks, clean under deck, count toilet paper and lubricate leather in the rig. At the same time, Midships and Portside has been ashore and explored the island.

One of my tasks for today was to change blocks in to new ones which another watch had polished and lacquered yesterday. To change a block, you have to separate the rope from the old block and then loose the attachment between the block and the rail, which can be a bit tricky. I also got to count toilet paper to see if it was enough for crossing the Atlantic ocean, and I think we counted to at least 1500 rolls, which is more than enough!

The weather hasn’t been as sunny and warm as the other days. Instead it has been cloudy with some rain and a little bit colder than usual. Our watch didn’t complain though because it’s almost nicer to work in a colder weather so you don’t get as warm and dizzy as you get when it’s warmer. It was also nice to have a cooling weather now when the AC is unfunctional!

There has also been some changes in the crew today. Both our galley slaves/ chefs has changed into new ones, which resulted in the students who was working in the galley made the lunch all on their own today. They made some very tasty hamburgers with fries.

We were done with our tasks for the day at 3 pm, so me including the rest of the labour force had free time on board for the rest of the day. I called home and talked to my family, and so did some of the others too. We also got to swim in the ocean from the ship and use the liane to swing in to the water. As usual, you aren’t allowed to go ashore on your watch-days, but it was nice having some time dedicated for just relaxing too!

Fair winds,

Wilma Olander, Starboard