His work is His rest

Funny to keep writing. The journey is somehow over. Well, the part of the journey that started it. This journey. I'm currently sitting at a desk in a high-rise building in Pointe-à-Pitre. I'm searching the internet for ways to get off this island without flying. It's not that easy. Traffic between the islands is rather unusual.

Back then. Hehe, back then. Well, when we sailed from Horta to Bordeaux, I heard that a deckhand was missing from Bordeaux to Marie-Galante. I contacted Conny and he said, 'Yes, of course.' There were a few complications, so I only became a deckhand from Tenerife, but that suited me quite well.

Wow, not even four months on the ship and I'm already getting paid. That sounded very pleasant. The time it takes for the ship to sail from Bordeaux to Tenerife was like my vacation.

I didn't just spend my so-called vacation pleasantly. In Bordeaux, a large part of the crew got infected with Corona, so I was flat for a week. A nice reality check, being in quarantine after four months, but with water and wind.

'That can't shake a sailor....' Well, it wasn't nice either.

Well then. Working as a paid deckhand. That means my flight to Tenerife was also paid for. And from there things got weird. Back in Tenerife. Like in October. Again, this pier. With the same ship. The same city. The pubs. But not the same people. Not the same sense of departure either. Completely different people. When I moved into the bunk and spent the first few days on the ship, I had flashbacks. Very vivid fragments of memories from the whole time since October. At first, I had trouble finding my place. In the crew and in the position.

Of course, I got used to it. After a quick week of ship repairs, we were about to sail. To my delight, two people from Voyage 8, the tour I participated in, joined us at short notice. It was very pleasant to see familiar faces again.

On my third crossing of the Atlantic. It was logically very different. It was faster, a good week faster than before. And I was in a completely different position. As a deckhand, I only did deckwork during the day. So I'm either in the rig or on the bowsprit repairing, waiting, or greasing stuff. At night watch, I also took turns at the helm.

Now to my watch. I was in the 0-4h Dogwatch again. Of course. But it was okay. I knew it would only last for a maximum of three weeks. Not six. My officer Arian has worked a lot in commercial shipping. But his sailing knowledge was not outstanding.

Pfruu. The captain also put me on watch to teach Arian how to sail and to take command or rather intervene when the wind changes or the swell increases. So I didn't take command, but I had a lot of responsibility all of a sudden.

I got used to that too. I was super nervous at first. By the way, a very close friendship developed during this watch. It's amazing how quickly people find each other. Especially on the water. I'm quite close with the officer Arian. He's the best officer I've ever had. Simply because he's not an asshole. He's completely different. He thanked me and the shipmates so many times for being there and helping him, he could simply admit to having difficulties with something. A very appreciative person, someone who knew exactly where his strengths lay and where he needed help. I could also talk to Arian about many things. He's from Mexico and currently lives in Finland. It was very interesting to talk to him about the Latin American construction of male identity, or the Finnish one. He also reminded me in more detail about the pervasive sexism in commercial shipping. And I have to mention here that he smokes a fat pipe and wears a skirt. Such a cool guy.

We were both very sad that I left so early. But we still have a date for a glass of wine.

The Dogwatch can be a real pain in the ass. But if everyone participates in making the watch enjoyable, it's possible to create pleasant hours.

Thank you Arian, Johannes, Andrés, and Lara. It was very pleasant with you.

The crossing was over faster. Even in feeling. But it was more work for me, with at least nine hours of work per day. I haven't mentioned the all-hands maneuvers yet. So, on this crossing, I hardly took any photos.

Well, we have arrived in Marie-Galante again, where I celebrated my birthday back then. It was also strange. Not as promising anymore. This time I really needed a break. Captain Felix and Bosun Christiane are very ambitious and have very high standards. It's exhausting.

It was an experience that I'm glad to have had. I've opened the door to Avontuur a little more. Let's see what happens. For the near future, a little break, a bit of vacation, a bit of rest at my own pace.

And sightseeing.