Do-It-Yourself-Day

14 February 2019

Because everyone on board is participating in the watch system, most people know their way around the ship in a few days. So, it is nice to put that up to a test! Today, we sail from São Nicolau to Boa Vista and we have a ‘Do-It-Yourself day’. This means that the guest crew (to a certain extend) can decide which sails will be hoisted and also hoist the sails themselves.

All by themselves? Well, as much as possible. There is always a professional crewmember close, but he tries to keep silent (what is quite difficult for some). But the crewmember does make sure that the guests and the ship are not damaged. And only if necessary, he gives a hint so they can figure it out from there on out. This morning, we chose the new captain: Daniel. Hereafter, it started to look more like a democracy on board. The big fore square sail was hoisted. And then more and more sails went up. And now we have been sailing for three and a half hours, almost fully rigged and in the right direction.

Most people that step on board for the first time are very impressed by all the lines. But after a week of sailing most of the lines and their purpose are familiar for them. It is great to notice how fast people learn on a ship like this.