Singing us to shore

The days at sea are always a completely different experience from the days in harbour. At sea new days don’t always begin at breakfast, for me they don’t even start at night watch.

As a part of the 4-8 watch this sea leg, a new day begins at lunch after we’ve slept from eight in the morning to twelve. We woke up to a strange sound that grew louder and louder as it travelled down the hallway. It sounded like a mix between a horn and a piano riff. Than suddenly, there was a harsh knock before the door flew open. In the doorframe stood the rondman, holding a flute-like instrument and a keyboard while half singing, half speaking and rhyming. It was a great way to start this new day!

Lunch wasn’t quite as exciting as the wake-up call, we had chicken noodle soup. But even though it was a simple meal, it was warm and filling. After lunch our watch was the first group to have the harbour presentation that Anne-Li had put together very nicely. She told us about the open quay, the best second-hand shops and the shopping centre close to the harbour. The lessons we had afterwards differed from person to person, depending on what each of us felt needed to be done before our arrival to Cherbourg. All countdowns, whether to Cherbourg or to fika, are always highlights of the day. However, the countdown to the three o’clock fika also marks the start of the day watch. It means going outside, feeling the temperatures and analysing the weather. Today, it was warm, almost like a Swedish summer day, and most of us chose to wear shorts and t-shirts. There was a light breeze but exept that, there was almost no wind. The engine was running, and everyone was curious about what this watch would be like since there was no wind and therefore no need to set sails. Someone said, “How about we just unfurl all the sails and then we furl them again for practice?” no one seemed to take the suggestion seriously, until our watchleader spoke: “That’s a great idea!” Throughout the entire watch, we worked with the sails, trying to furl them as neatly as possible so they’d look perfect once we reached shore.

The sun started to set and we all took a brief second to paus and look out over the endless ocean, suddenly someone shouted, “Dolphins!” All heads turned toward a single splash breaking the still surface of the sea. Even though it might have been a tuna or some other large fish, it was still the first sighting of a sea creature on this voyage. After watch, everyone soon went to bed, drifting off into a well-deserved sleep after all the hard work in the rigg. Waking up to go on watch at four in the morning feels like hell at first, but after five days at sea, it starts to feel like routine. Tonight’s night watch was unlike any other. It was our last night watch with our watch leader, Hanna. She had promised us a small concert at the end of the watch, but first we congratulated Nova, whose birthday had just begun. We sang for her during the watch handover, the second time this early morning, after the big surprise her friends had prepared for her in her dorm. We ate French toast for night fika and then we sang together under the stars, accompanied by Hanna’s violin and Lukas guitar playing.

It was a magical day! Lova Isdahl, midship