November 14, 2012 – November 22, 2012
I was pretty glad I tried going aloft at night while in
Tenerife so I would know what to expect. On departure day from the island we
changed watch times again, meaning my watch is now on the 10pm-12pm. It’s
usually one of the better watches because you get a night of uninterrupted
sleep. Our first night on the 10-12 was a challenging one though. We ended up
setting sails, which is awesome, meaning I got to go aloft at night. It is
actually surprisingly bright up there, though not as bright as it was in port
of course. We unfurled four sails, and then had to set them. One watch cannot
set them alone though; you need more people. This meant that we had to wait
until the watch changeover at midnight to do it, and my watch ended up having
to stay until 1:15 am finishing it. Needless to say we were absolutely
exhausted by the end of it. I couldn’t even tell port from starboard by the
time we finally got to bed!
As tough as that was though, it is all worth it for the
incredible feeling of being under sail, the power of the wind pushing us
forward to our destination. We turned the motor off and sailed almost the
entire way to Dakar.
During the sail we all had to do a line test in order to
be granted shore leave once we reached Senegal. For the test, an AB would ask
you five different lines and you had to find them on the ship and point them
out. There are a lot of lines, but once you get it figured out you realize that
there’s a sort of system so it isn’t as hard as you think. I passed my test
earlier on in the sail, so during night watch those of us who had done the test
already took more physical positions (safety, helm, standby and lookout) so
that the others could practice their lines with Jason, the AB on our watch, on
deck. One night I had three physicals, which usually makes for a long watch,
but it was a gorgeous night! I was helming when we suddenly startled by a loud
splash. There were dolphins swimming in phosphorescents! I couldn’t go and look
though since I had to steer the ship. Then, half an hour later when I had
switched to standby, the dolphins came back again! I peered over the side of
this ship as best as I could from my place at the helm because I again,
disappointingly, couldn’t leave my place for long. Next I went to lookout. The
stars were so bright and clear, and I even saw some shooting stars! As I was up
there on the bow of the ship, I peered over the side and saw the dolphins,
glowing, swimming along with the ship! At one point there were five on one side
and they stayed with me for the entire time I was on lookout. So though
sometimes night watch is hard, like the night we had to stay a afterwards for a
long time, incredible nights like that one remind me why I want to do it and
why I am here on Class Afloat.
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| Sunset |
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| With Jason, the AB on my watch |
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| Sailing! |
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