You did what?!

How I managed to surprise, inspire and offend people by travelling more sustainably.

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“Huh??” was probably the most frequent reaction I got after telling people that I had come to South America by ship. Usually followed either by disbelief, confusion or amazement, depending on the person’s attitude and disposition. It was even worse during conversations in Spanish, as people would naturally assume I had made some kind of translation error or mixed up the words. But is it really so difficult to believe that with our planet headed straight for 3 °C warming, a person wants to avoid flying? Apparently, it is.

Zeitreise über den Atlantik

44 Tage, über 7.000 Kilometer von Teneriffa nach Montevideo: so sieht auch heutzutage noch eine Atlantiküberquerung unter Segeln aus. An Bord des Großseglers „Europa“ (er-)lebt man lebendig gebliebene Seefahrertradition. Als Mitglied der „voyage crew“ gilt es, aktiv mit anzupacken und während der Tage und Wochen auf See wird aus der Abenteuerreise beinahe so etwas wie Alltag.

Leise wird die Kabinentür geöffnet und der blasse Schein eines Handydisplays schweift suchend über die vier Kojen. Jemand flüstert: „Svenja, aufwachen! Gleich ist Wachwechsel….“ Schnell signalisiere ich, dass ich wach bin und versuche, möglichst geräuschlos im Dunkeln meine Anziehsachen zu finden um meine schlafenden Mitreisenden nicht zu wecken. Es ist 3:45 Uhr und in einer Viertelstunde beginnt mein nächster Wachdienst an Bord der Dreimastbark „Europa“. Schnell greife ich einen Pullover und verlasse die Kabine.

Bark Europa Times – the only newspaper between 15° and 45° degrees West.

“What did you do the whole time?” is easily one of the questions that I get asked the most when I tell people that I came to South America on a sailing ship. “I founded a newspaper”, I would say. Because while tasks like being on lookout or steering took up part of my day, there certainly was enough free time to get creative.

Neptune’s Court

Apologies for the delay in updates. My bag was stolen in B.A. so I had to take care of that first.

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Crossing the equator was a long expected, albeit somewhat arbitrary moment of our voyage. Expected, because it was one of the few signs of progress in an otherwise almost uniformely blue surrounding. Arbitrary because after all,  this important line that separates the northern and the southern hemispheres of our planet is in fact nothing more than a theoretical concept. You rather know than see the moment of the crossing. There is no signpost and no red line in the water to mark the spot, so you have to rely on your equipment to know that you have crossed the equator at 27°38.466′ W.

High Seas University

As part of Bark Europa’s sail training mission, we did not only learn basic sail handling and manoevres but also had lectures on navigation, the history of sailing, the bosun’s toolbox and different kinds of rigging. And because 7 weeks in fairly stable weather conditions can indeed get a bit long at times, we also created the “Bark Europa Lecture Series” where voyage crew members shared their own knowledge. This included air traffic control in the UK, fishing in the Behring Sea, ancient celestial navigation and a little introduction to photography by myself. Definitely not the worst way to occupy one’s time.

 

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If the sun rises at sea…

…and there’s no one to see it, would it still be beautiful? In fact, sunsets and sunrises at sea are a most extraordinary experience. Stunned by nature’s beauty, they can also make you feel quite insignificant though. It’s not a spectacle designed for our pleasure. It just happens, whether you look at it or not. While sunsets were often enjoyed together with a glass of wine, snacks and music in the background, sunrises were usually a more quiet affair, silently admired by the few people on watch between 4 and 8 am.

Even small visitors make for big news

Every now and then we would get visitors on board. Usually sea birds but closer to shore this little fellow found its way onto the ship. Out on the ocean we often felt very far away from any other living being. So any sign of life, be it dolphins, birds, butterflies or even just the blurred silhouette of a cargo ship passing us at the horizon would be treated as major news and could easily be talked about for days.

Life on Board a Tallship

Life on board includes a lot of different tasks. Especially during the calm weather of the trade winds and the doldrums there was a lot of maintenance work going on to prepare the ship for the Antarctica season. If sanding, varnishing or rope repairs aren’t really your thing though, you can always help peeling potatoes for 50+ people.

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