Europa is sashaying her way northeast, almost flat now as the sea has calmed after 48 hours of steep heel. The sun is shining and glasshouse dolphins have come to check us out. All is peaceful, and many people are painting eggs for tomorrow. From Sweden to Greece, it seems, people paint boiled eggs at this time, but I don’t remember ever doing it as a child. Some lovely patterns are emerging.
The watch system divides the voyage crew into three groups, red, white and blue, who operate in rotating shifts. The rota splits the 24 hours into seven. Six hours from 0800 to 1400 and again from 1400 to 2000. Then three four-hour stints from 2000 to midnight, to 0400 and 0800. This reduces the ‘’jetlag effect’ of four hours on and eight hours off, but some people find it very confusing. I like it, because you see all sorts of different times of day and night. Perhaps I should say I like it less at 2330 and 0330, when getting up.
The permanent crew operate on a mystifying pattern of day and night watches for some, with six hours on/six hours off for others. They know what they are doing but I get taken by surprise regularly.
The whole dance got interrupted by a fire drill this afternoon, which confirmed everyone was still on board and the crew know what to do. Now, apart from the egg painting, we are back to normal, with people sleeping, chatting, climbing the rigging and so on. Me – I’m off to bed.
Happy Easter to you and the crew. Amazing insights and images.