The Life of a Sailor, Aboard the Sea Cloud II
Fused together by a sense of adventure and a passion for the sails, the sixteen deckhands aboard the Sea Cloud II are the most visible crewmembers on deck. While a portion of their day is spent up in the rigging and in the public eye, a large part of their day goes unnoticed. With a constant need for some part of the ship to be cleaned, polished, varnished, sanded, or scrubbed—these men keep busy. Then when the ship comes to port or anchor, they are on gangway watch assisting guests with disembarkation or driving the Zodiacs to shore. There are no sick days for a true sailor and their two half days off per week are heavily guarded.
On a typical morning, the men rise at 6:30am for breakfast and either go up in the rigging or begin their work by 8am. A good morning of sailing means time in the rigging—preferable to the maintenance alternatives. Coffee breaks occur at 10am and 3pm with lunch at 12pm and dinner at 5:30pm. After dinner there may be time for enjoying some drink (or grog as it was called by the sailors of yesteryear) from the crew canteen with the other shipmates. Or perhaps after a long and hot day on deck, sleep may be the only real option.
Fused together by a sense of adventure and a passion for the sails, the sixteen deckhands aboard the Sea Cloud II are the most visible crewmembers on deck. While a portion of their day is spent up in the rigging and in the public eye, a large part of their day goes unnoticed. With a constant need for some part of the ship to be cleaned, polished, varnished, sanded, or scrubbed—these men keep busy. Then when the ship comes to port or anchor, they are on gangway watch assisting guests with disembarkation or driving the Zodiacs to shore. There are no sick days for a true sailor and their two half days off per week are heavily guarded.
On a typical morning, the men rise at 6:30am for breakfast and either go up in the rigging or begin their work by 8am. A good morning of sailing means time in the rigging—preferable to the maintenance alternatives. Coffee breaks occur at 10am and 3pm with lunch at 12pm and dinner at 5:30pm. After dinner there may be time for enjoying some drink (or grog as it was called by the sailors of yesteryear) from the crew canteen with the other shipmates. Or perhaps after a long and hot day on deck, sleep may be the only real option.
