Date: 15. November 2021
Author: Paula
Position: On the way on the Atlantic
Geographical Position: 21•17.8‘N , 23•32.9‘W
Etmal: 67NM (3270 NM)
Since there are four Watchleaders but only three watches there is always one Watchleader without a watch. From Dartmouth to La Palma that was me. So what was I doing all the time when I was not watchleading? I worked with the Bosunry Team!
What are Bosuns?
The Bosuns on board of the Pelican are responsible for maintenance, deckwork and sailhandling. If there is a line that needs to be fixed, something has to be oiled, monthly checks on alarms and safety equipment and much more, that‘s what the bosuns do. But they also teach the voyage crew about knots, lines… and lead the sailhandling.
Who are the bosuns?
During our voyage the bosuns change, but when I was in the bosunry team Elie was the Bosun, Connor (senior🙂) was the bosuns Mate and Elisa was the deckhand.
How does a day in the bosunry team look like?
A big advantage when working in the bosunry team is that you can sleep the whole night and don‘t have to wake up for nightwatches. After breakfast, which is at 7am there is a bosunry meeting where we talk about what needs to be done during the day, if there is sailhandling at a specific time and how everyone is feeling (e. g. seasick which is important to know because then climbing is a bad idea and working on deck is better). After the meeting we started working on different tasks. In the beginning Elisa, Elie and Connor taught me different skills like doing splices, whippings, seizings and much more. But I also helped with removing rust with acid, oiling leather and wood, testing alarms, painting etc. A very important thing when working with the bosunry team are the smokos. A smoko is a short break, where you can have a little snack but especially drink a cup of english tea. They say that you can only become a real bosun if you drink tea. Sadly I don‘t really like black tea…
From 12 to 1 there is a lunchbreak and afterwarts the bosunry team keeps on working. In the afternoon there often are seamanshipclasses for the students, where they can learn about knots, sails and much more. The day ends at 5pm. In the evening Elie and John the engineer sometimes play songs on the violine and the guitar, which is one of my faverite things on board. Sometimes the bosunry team is needed during the night for sailhandling.
How was my time in the bosunry team?
I had a great time and learned so many new skills. Also Elie, Elisa and Connor are some of the nicest and coolest people I ever met.
Grüße:
Viele Grüße an Marie, Anna, Chrissi und Michi 🙂
