Life on a Ship

If you think life at home is hard, try living on a ship:

0340 – wake up for watch

0400 – watch handover (on-coming)

0555 – watch handover (off-going)

0600 – get dressed for the day, make my bunk, stow my bunk, brush teeth, and take care of personal needs

0620 – galley is woken up

0645 – galley starts preparing breakfast

0720 – breakfast is served

0755 – muster on deck

0800 – colours (flags are risen), daily announcements from all the departments on the ship

0810 – cleaning stations (heads, showers, banjer, deck, etc.)

0900-2000 – 4 hours of classes, 1 hour of sail training, 2 hours of deck work, approximately 1hour of idle hands (if you’re not in class then you’re on deck helping)

1130 – lunch is served

1830 – dinner is served

2000-2200 – homework (usually one to two hours’ worth), club meetings, social time.

2205 – lights out.

2210-0100 – study area is open for students to do more homework as needed.

I’m awake from 3:40am until 10:20 pm every day. In a single day I will usually have about 2-3 hours of homework and 3 hours of deck work (a lot being cleaning). Some idle time will be spent aloft taking in sail and setting sail and more cleaning. Lunch and dinner are served for an hour, but watch often overlaps and a seating’s only half an hour. I will often nap for an hour. Tea has become a best friend on the ship. Any other time that isn’t spent in class, on physicals (helm, standby, look out, safety), or sleeping is then given to socialising, playing board games, writing blogs, club meetings, or just hanging out with friends in the banjer. It’s a tiring lifestyle but I love it and I couldn’t be reward in any better way: travel.