Sleep

12 August 2017

10 August 2017, update by David Ekstrand:
“Here I am, sitting in the dining hall soon to be on watch from twelve to four. Days and nights have for some time started to blur together. A lot of impressions and emotions have been passing through my head recently. The constant shift in weather and wind and the lack of sleep on top of the topics of interesting lectures and conversations are a few examples. But, at least for me, it seems to be the lack of sleep that really gets to you in the end. Even though you have 16 hours a day not being on watch I still seem to have a hard time getting more than four or five hours of sleep at a time. I assume most of us feel the same way but tonight on the watch from midnight to four I felt for the first time that I was struggling. Now, after a few hours of sleep and reflection, I cannot more than admire the work that the crew is putting in day in and day out. Not only looking after us while steering or trimming the sails they also do a lot of maintenance and put in every effort to make us feel comfortable on board. The spirit among the crew is remarkable and we try to give back as much as possible to show our appreciation.
The very few who have been studying the stars before coming on board are quite excited about both an upcoming meteor shower and a solar eclipse. Unfortunately we have a quite thick layer of clouds covering our view of the sky. Hopefully our luck with the weather will turn so we might see some of the action that may present itself within a few days.
Now it seems that I have missed the first part of my watch and I better head back out on deck so I don’t miss out on any of the fun. From now on I will try my best to enjoy the rest of this voyage as much as possible. Sooner than you know it will all be over and become just a memory that time will tear away bit by bit until only the tiniest pieces are left. One thing is for sure: even though specific memories will fade I will never forget this amazing experience.”