Blistered hands and tired eyes

Today was our very first full day using the watch-system that we use at sea. It was interesting to say the least. Apart from having to wake up at half past three and relearn how to put a shirt on because you were so tired, it wasn’t at all that bad. Once fully awake and dressed we did our assignments.

Today I were told to keep watch over my friends to make sure no one drowned or fell out of the rig. During the meantime I checked the sea for dolphi- I mean danger. Like containers in the water or vessels in the distance. During the time I did my job looking for danger, of course, almost everyone else made different sails in the rig and tried to gain some speed. When we had almost every sail set, we achieved the incredible speed of 1,4 knots. Shocking, I know. And the crew thought so as well. So when we all had gone to bed, they decided to remove the sails and go for engine instead.

When I wasn’t keeping an eye on my watchmates or the water, I kept Gunilla from taking us back to Tampa by holding the helm and parrying currents, having the control (isch) over such a massive object made me feel strong and powerful, and was a lot more fun than watching the endless sea.

During my second watch of the day, when 8 hours had passed since last I were part of the workforce. And now all the sails were once more made. So our main objective for the day was to remove every single sail in the rig again, since it no longer blew the right way.

But what do I think of the day? As of right now, my hands have blisters and cuts and I am tired to death. But, I am sitting in a pile of rope watching the moon pass over my head, the sea flowing by on all sides and trying to draw lines between the million stars.

So do I think that all this is worth it?

Hell yes.

Max Morgan, Starbord