A Day in the Life of a Messman at Sea

Date: 4th November 2023
Position: Bristol Channel, 31 nautical miles west of Hartland Point
Nautical Position: 51° 02.6’ N, 005° 20.3’ W
Etmal: 127.1 nautical miles
Ship: Pelican of London

Preparing Breakfast

Liane:

At 06:40, all three of today’s messmen (Philipp, Karoline and I) were awakened by the duty watch. We had to report to the cook at 07:00 and first ate some toast ourselves. Then we started preparing breakfast for everyone else. You could choose between porridge or toasted bread that the new cook baked this morning (very delicious). Everyone told us what they wanted and we served it to them directly from the galley (kitchen) because the ship was moving too much to actually set the tables. Not everyone was able to eat something, though, because of seasickness, so it wasn’t that stressful for us. After everyone was done eating, we started washing up, which was a bit harder (one plate sadly didn’t survive). Now we can rest until it’s time for lunch.

Seasickness

Karoline:

Most of us are seasick at the moment. There is nearly nobody who hasn’t thrown up yet. The galley and the toilets are the worst places to stay while being seasick. Yesterday I felt very well, but after being in the galley today in the morning, I’m now also feeling bad. But a good thing is that messmen don’t have to be on watch, so we are lying around in the mess now with some other seasick people and the teachers who are also seasick.

Lunch and Dinner

Liane:

At lunchtime, the cook told us messmen to get some sleep because we all weren’t feeling well. Most people didn’t eat lunch anyway, so we weren’t needed. In the afternoon, we started washing up and preparing for dinner. I grated some cheese and Karoline prepared the salad while Philipp was cleaning. At 18:00, dinner was served for everyone and we could eat too. Luckily, Connor (Engineer) and Jacob (Bosun’s Mate) are helping with washing up, so the galley will close soon and we’ll go to bed.

Highlight of the Day

Karoline:

The highlight of the day was definitely that we saw dolphins! They followed us for a very long time and everyone was happy to see them. It was a big group and there was also a mother with a baby dolphin. We all agree that dolphins are the best medicine for seasickness. Another highlight of today was that we finally set some sails, the Foregaff and the Trysail.

Liane: Ganz liebe Grüße an meine ganze Familie, Erik, ich vermisse dich voll, wehe du vermisst mich nicht. An alle anderen: hab euch ganz doll lieb <3

Karoline: An meine Familie und an die Schüpbsen, ich hab euch alle ganz dolle lieb und vermisse euch!

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