Ocean College Sommertörn II

Author: Bethan
Position: Ostsee

The last four days have gone by very quickly and it is already day 7.

Once we left Sønderburg we had already prepared the ship and put the sails up ready to sail to our next destination. Although the sun has been out most of the time we have been on water, the wind has not been very strong, which means that it is difficult to travel long distances.

That evening we docked in Marstal in Denmark where we had the opportunity to enjoy good ice cream while appreciating the nice sun set. On Day 4 we visited the Marstal museum about the history and different types of ships which gave us a good insight of the variety of them.

In the afternoon we set sail towards Bagenkop where we arrived in the early evening. Sadly again, we did not have much wind but we took advantage of this to cool off in the Danish sea where we also had a test “man over board” to know what to do in the real situation.

Then we proceeded to Bagenkop with help from the engine. There we enjoyed a stunning sunset in the harbour. The next day, we made our way back to Germany, slowly and steady, again due to the lack of wind. We arrived in the north of Germany in Heiligenhafen where we had some free time to move in groups of three before being introduced to shanties.

We learned that shanties are sung by seamen about for example home sickness or wanderlust. We spent a very nice hour singing all type of shanties from upbeat to slow and emotional ones which are now sung constantly while sailing.

On Day 6 we left Heiligenhafen in the afternoon and travelled around the island where we have to change the sail’s direction and make sure not to collide with other boats at sea. Sophie and Kai, who are two crew members, taught us what the different light combinations mean so we know what we are looking at when we are out of daylight hours.

Due to the fact that we were not moving very far, we lowered the anchor and stayed there overnight. This was a great opportunity for us to learn a new routine of how to look after the ship and crew during the night; our previously learned skill about the lights came in handy.

The next day, we had a test fire alarm before preparing the ship for our next destination. It was an overcast day but therefore we had more wind and profited from this.

In the afternoon we did an egg drop challenge from the top of one of the mast but it had to be packaged up in a green colour, have a good name accompanied with an egg joke. The winner won a prize. 

We arrived in Kühlungsborn in the north of Germany around 7pm. There we had some free time to explore this new area. All these things would not be possible without the wonderful crew who help and support us as well as our cook who makes very nutritious food that gives us all the energy we need to function together as a team.