Sleeping is Tough; The Sailing is Exciting

„Sleeping on these boats is a bit of a mystery. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t; a lot of it depends on just how tired you are. When living conditions are at their absolute worst- you’re insanely hot, drenched to the core, haven’t gone horizontal in 12 hours and struggling to keep your eyes open – you can sleep anywhere, anytime. We all know the feeling. In those instances someone can be so “out,” they sleep through anything. It takes a vicious shaking to wake someone like that up for their watch – borderline abusive behavior. They usually start talking about their crazy dreams or something only half coherent; I usually start making them a coffee.

But the other 90% of the time, when you’re just tired (or even really tired), sleeping can be hard. The boat is loud…rock concert loud…it’s like trying to sleep inside a drum set. The boat is unpredictable. Your body gets acclimated to one thing, and then it’s completely upended when you find yourself being pulled in the opposite direction. The air is bad. It’s either excruciatingly hot, or bone-chilling cold, and never dry. Everything is wet – your pillow, your air mattress, your hair. It smells…people are moving and talking everywhere…you only get 4 hours, but not always… You get the idea. Sleeping is tough.

Fortunately, when the sailing is as exciting as it is now, everyone has something to get up for! So we all roll out of our bunks, put on our (very wet) wet weather gear, head on deck, and continue to chase down the French, 80 some-odd miles off the bow.”