Eat, sleep, work and then repeat

My day today started at 4.00 am underneath a sky full of stars, still drowsy from last nights sleep, staring out at the dark ocean surrounding us.

One thing I’ve learned after sailing on Gunilla for a couple of days is that you can pretty much fall asleep anytime and anywhere on this boat. As soon as I sit or lay down somewhere my I can feel my eyelids growing heavier by the minute, and before I know it I’m asleep. It doesn’t matter if I’m inside on a comfortable couch or outside on the windy deck.

Today I stood post which mostly consists of staring out at the sea. That isn’t something I can real complain about. It is usually pretty easy, except for the staying awake part. The post I had in the machine room was especially hard. Pretty much all you have to do is sit there and make sure the room doesn’t flood. The machines in the room are very loud I find it almost impossible to stay awake for longer than five minutes. Although I try to fight the feeling of sleepiness I often find myself resting my eyes for a little bit too long.

Sleeping is a big part of life out at sea and simplifying life while sailing with Gunilla is pretty simple, eat, sleep, work and then repeat. After my 04.00 - 08.00 guard I ate breakfast and then got some sleep before I studied. And then my day ends the same way it started, gazing out at the seemingly never ending ocean, eyes heavy with sleep and the stars shining above us.

Sara Tengberg SA2023