Life on board

3 September 2014

We awoke at 3:55am for our 4am shift. The night was warm and the air and waters crystal clear but barely a breeze. Not good for sailing but perfect for stargazing. Loosing count of how many shooting stars streaked across the Milky Way. As we motored ahead, we were pouring over the captain’s star charts and discovered new constellations. The faint smell of burning from oilrig fires, which lit up the sky and seemed to set the clouds on fire above them.
After sunrise we began raising the staysail, the mainsail and the schooner. After we had raised the mizzen and the inner jib we helped to prepare breakfast. The rest of the crew awoke, mouths watering to the smell of bacon and coffee. Together we enjoyed a hearty meal to sign us off our shift.
Not wanting to sleep just yet, most of our watch stayed up to enjoy a blazing hot day. We sunbathed, joked and gossiped with each other, danced the twist, played backgammon, took photos and sketched the boat. The boat became a playground, climbing the schooner mast and gazing out over the horizon, clambering out to the tip of the bow sprit like a figurehead facing the sea ahead, bouncing over the waves below.
The captain shared his knowledge of knots with the team. As he told the story of the snake in the pond, a large piece of tangled rope floated close by the starboard side. The captain decided we should swing around and pick it up to prevent it from fouling another vessel’s propeller or becoming flotsam forever. Pulling a swift about turn we hauled it in on the port side to dispose of it on our arrival in London.
In the evening we hoisted the main top gaff sail, which was a first for this voyage. Back on the night shift and listening to old folk blues under full sail and a half moon glistening across the calm North Sea waters as we silently slip towards the Thames.