Logbook Leg 2

Latest position 

 

Day 20 – 08-12-2018

Last night, I woke up to the dropping anchor next to our cabin, a sound I hadn’t heard for two weeks. Lights! Land! The bar opened, hugs were shared. Time for a well deserved beer and a little dance, we actually crossed the Atlantic Ocean!

A strange feeling struck me. For two weeks, we had only lived in our bubble consisting of our group, the ship and untouched nature all around. Water, sun, clouds, seaweed patches, a little drop of rain, (flying) fish, dolphins, whales. At night we lived with the soft sound of the waves, the bioluminescent jellyfish and plankton, the moon and incredible starry skies at night.

Now, it suddenly changed. Right in front of the ship, there was the island of Marie Gallante. Some people already connected to the rest of the world with their phones and were able to speak with their loved ones. I decided to leave mine off. The feeling of living in our bubble gives me a lot of space and time to have a clear and peaceful mind while at the same time enabling me to learn so much each day, on every level. I feel like I want to extend this for the last week we have as a group, with the ocean. I am super excited that we arrived to the other side and I still can not really grasp it. Yet I am also a bit melancholic, this is the end of our set watch rhythm, meaning the end of our 12-4 nights of steering, talking, doing our daily jobs and looking at the stars. It has been difficult to deal with the rhythm and sleep deprivation but I get so much back for it all!

Today, we set foot on land. After a morning of great case work and our last creative brainstorm before the final phase of the project, Harry, the captain, brought us all to land where we got the whole afternoon to do whatever we wanted. With about half the group, we took a minibus to the capital of the island. Out of all the options we had, we immediately decided to go to the beach and swim; more water! Haha! We ended up spending the whole afternoon playing games, swimming, talking, doing backflips, making headstands, running around and feasting on an incredible picknick. It was amazing to eat fresh fruits and a crusty baguette again and I’m so grateful to share this time with our beautiful little boat family.

We witnessed an amazing sunset on the white sand covered palm beach, like we were in a postcard picture. Happy and tired, we returned to the Morgenster. I realised that going to the ship kind of felt like going home, so special how this all became so familiar and home-y by now.

Tonight I’ll sleep like a baby since we are not sailing ánd there is no night watch, awesome. To those who are actually at home (or anywhere else on the globe), I am sending you lots of love and big hugs! Good night.

~ Tess

Day 19 – 07-12-2018

“Land in sight! And it smells like old tea.” – Lys

Mmm, What can I say about this situation that is truly relevant? I saw about 15 dolphins swimming around the ship at the same time. I was mesmerized by bioluminescent plankton and jellyfish swarming in a turbulent fashion. I’ve been surprised by sunset and sunrise in ways I would not have imagined possible. But what has stuck with me most is the people that have made this experience worth sharing. With each of them bringing their unique views and viewpoints to the table. Each of them giving their everything to make this trip as enjoyable as possible for each other. I am speechless, and at the same time I am writing my thoughts. Is this me? I guess so.

I guess these people have changed me for the better. I guess they have restored my faith in mankind, in a world where everything seems lost. To have a sense of balance and security in a place where everything is swinging back and forth constantly. Somehow, through this intense process, everyone seems to have found their place in terms of getting a say in their part of our mission. For me, it has been a true enlightenment, to be able to contribute in a way that so many talents can be put to use, is truly a dream come true. It feels like I’m heading in the right direction (as well as the group). And things can only go up from here. I know I am writing this as if it were a final chapter, but there are still many adventures to come, don’t be worried! As always, I have managed to look past the most memorable events, which include Sinterklaas and 2! Birthdays (one of which happened to be mine).
How amazingly creative one can get when al resources are reduced to a minimum. And now, grateful one can be with the simplest of gentle and kind gestures. This is something I will always cherish and probably will truly miss in the future. In the world that will be shaped in times to come. But let’s just keep our hopes up. We have a solid week of hard work ahead of us. We have seen (still unidentified) land. We all enjoyed the landing party (as far as I know). So now it is time to say goodnight, let’s not think about the morning after for now. It’s time to close our eyes.

Marnix

Day 19 – 07-12-2018

The ocean is a mighty giant, a friendly giant. One wave could turn our ship into a big bath with some wood splinters.  Yet we trust the ocean and we love her to get loved back and to live together with her. We sail on the waves and go gently up and down, making sure we do not give anything back that is unasked for.  We keep our plastic and we only throw overboard what we want the ocean to have. In society it becomes harder and harder to live in and with nature. We long for nature to get away and find peace. The ocean is nature in its truest form, as far as we can see there is only nature. Man cannot build on the ocean or extract form the ocean what we want. The only thing we can do on the ocean is being on it. This is one of the only parts of earth that we have not been able to conquer. Or, said in a better way, it is the place that we do not even think we can conquer. The “conquering” of nature is what we call the extracting of resources that we need, although we do not take nature into account. On the ocean we know, although we do not always realize, more than ever that we are nature. We set ourselves above it, but we can not rule over what we are in essence. Far away from society, life gets simpler although it is not easy to live in certain circumstances. Like a schedule of sailing, there is a flow to get into. This way of life gives time to allow ourselves to be simple. Not every second of the day is a second to think, but we think about more important things, in my opinion at least.

Today I climbed to the top of the mast. Something I did not expect to do due to my fear of heights. Freek and I went up together and I got to the top of the main mast, almost 30 meters up from the deck. As I read once and agreed with, I am not afraid of falling but the “hitting the ground” gets to me. It is all worth it though, looking out over the outstretched ocean, a peace comes over me together with an excitement to form a weird combination of greatness. Up there, nothing else seems to matter so much. We are now hours away from seeing land again and the group feels happy, but a also a bit sad. We have grown used to the waves and the boredom by now and it will be weird to see people besides the familiar 28 faces. From tomorrow on, we will forever be people that have crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a Tallship. Whatever else we do and however else we fill our note in the theater of life, we will be bonded by this crossing. Excuse me for mu romanticism, I have been told by max that I take it a bit far sometimes. Stupid Max 
I am excited today and I am grateful to have been accepted by the ocean. The ship will still be our home for over a week. But there is an end to this specific chapter. A new respect for nature has come over me and over more people on the ship. Time to spot some land! Peace out.

Maarten

Day 18 – 06-12-2018

The vibes on board great today. Whether it was due to the aftermath of sinterklaas’ visit, or the fact that Lys slept well for the first time since the start of the crossing. It felt like a peaceful Caribbean spirit came to accompany us on the last days at sea.

I started the day in an empty galley. Because our lovely cook Isabella didn’t feel so well. Luckily this didn’t show in the meals of the day, especially the speculaas at 4 o’clock kept the 5 December mood living on. After our snack Hanne and I started organizing a lipdub we want to record. But we just started when the Caribbean spirit made itself visible, a small falcon like bird of prey was spotted in the main mast. It was far from home and looked exhausted but still was able to fly around the ship.
During my 8-12 evening watch I had to work had behind the wheel. Even though the sea was quiet, and winds were not strong, during a rare shower the wind direction shifted rapidly. We had to deviate almost 90 degrees from our original course. Within half an hour the wind sifted back and forth. And stabilized again enabling us to set the course to Guadeloupe.

Waiting for what will probably be our last evening watch to end, we were gently danced into the night by Ans (Anne Sophie) performing a ballet like dance on the front deck. Witch turned out to deprive people from their sleep in the cabins below. Luckily this was over once our watch ended and I didn’t need long to be swayed to sleep for the last night on the open ocean.

Wouter

Day 17 – 05-12-2018

Sinterklaas! Today was marked by a mix of creativity and laughter for today we finally got to present the hilariously humiliating Sinterklaas poems we wrote for each other. With Isabelle’s home-made pepernoten and a bunch of Sinterklaas goodies that Hanne brought from NL, we each had our turn to sit on Sinterklaas’ (Harry the captain’s) lap to read aloud a short summary of our most embarrassing and hilarious moments on the ship in AABBCC rhyme. Apart from the well written poems, it’s crazy to see how creative people have proven themselves in making their gifts. Using seaweed, ropes, and bits and bobs of things found around the ship, people managed to create jewellery, souvenirs, and even entire instruments for each other. I think most of us were happier receiving these products of lots of effort and thought for Sinterklaas than receiving something someone simply bought in a shop – as per usual.

After a good bit of laughter, the case-group for the day had a productive meeting discussing the form of our final end-product(s). While most of the content is already there, we are now working out the details and on finding the right way to present it all. Although the conventional pdf-report will most probably be among the products, we’re also considering a podcast series, a moving-drawing story (for lack of a better term), an info-poster, and/or a movie. Tomorrow we’ll have to decide as it’s about time to start working towards putting all our work together!

Dirk

Day 16 – 04-12-2018

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Arno, happy birthday to you!”, it’s 7:30 in the morning and Ans is singing the happy birthday song to wake me up. A great way to start your birthday if you ask me. Max and Robin, my two cabin mates did sing the same song for me every morning since the second of December. I guess they also couldn’t wait for me becoming 20. However, it isn’t easy to celebrate your birthday here, since Marnix baked a delicious cake for his birthday yesterday, I feel the pressure to also create such a great 4 o’ clock snack and all of that in a kitchen that swings more than an average playground. Luckily I got help from Isabella. We build a great pie with whip cream, almonds, raspberries and chocolate, which was absolutely delicious. I wasn’t expecting anything for my birthday, but I got surprised with several nice gifts and an hilarious play by Denise, Moon and Dirk-Jan. Although they made fun out of my (not so) heroic acts on the boat, it was really much fun and everybody had a good laugh. It made me really feel like it was my birthday. Thank you all for this beautiful day, it will be a birthday I’ll definitely never forget!

Arno

Day 15 – 03-12-2018

What a trip this one! I feel incredibly grateful for so many wonderful things that have been shaping this journey. First sailing – a new experiment to me – has proven to be extremely relaxing and provides me with plenty of fresh new ideas. Second, the group interaction has been way beyond my expectations! There exists a great tone of respect, creativity and a sense of family within us all. And finally, it feels great to contribute to a greener future together with such bright minds.

Today – yet another day to remember! Had a very productive day working on the case. At around sunset we gathered about 10 team members for some exercise and yoga on the front deck. I can get used to this lifestyle 

After a delicious dinner, a few of us gathered again on the front deck to appreciate the infinite stars in the sky and the sudden flashes of plankton in the sea by the ship. We even caught some plankton with a bucket!

It was Marnix’s birthday at midnight so we waited until then to wish him a happy birthday. In the meanwhile some of us shared some personal stories and we all laughed to a few great  memories which we will surely keep from this adventure. Maarten even surprised Marnix with a harmonica as a birthday gift! Tess shared some vegan treats that she had brought from home and we gave him a balloon to top everything.

Such an experiment taught me the joy of simplicity. No need for flashy or expensive gifts when what you give is pure good intentions and friendship.

Happy birthday Marnix! I hope you enjoy many more birthdays surrounded by a genuine group of people 

Bernardo

Day 14 – 02-12-2018

Making progress together with a team is something magical and it makes me incredibly happy! At the moment I am reflecting the day at the bridge of the tallship. The sun is shining  friendly and the swell creates smooth ocean waves. Michael Bublé is blasting trough my earphones ‘’In this crazy life and through this crazy time’’. Yes, it is a crazy time we live in but you always have a choice, how crazy do you want to live? I would prefer to live a crazy life and at the same time a fun, dynamic and adventurous life. A clarifying quote which I learned from Edwin: Embrace discomfort, because the journey of joy start where comfort ends. Nice words from a guy on the middle on the ocean, isn’t it? I can really recommend spending some time in the middle of the ocean. No external communication, the wind decides the destination, the arrival date is unknown and there are no external influences. This can be pretty uncomfortable for some people. For me it gives me time to overthink daily life, having space for creativity and get to know myself a little bit better.

I started this article with what makes me happy, what makes you happy? When do you have to make a choice, do you always choose what makes you most happy? Why not? Probably that choice will give you the most energy. But are we as people really making choices which make us happy? Last week I read quite a lot of papers and this continuously repeats in my head: does consumerism make us happy?

Did you know…

• 60% of people buy more than they need.
• 50% of people report their shopping excitement wears off in one day.
• 50% of the people hide purchases for others fearing associations of wasting money or other negative reactions.
• 33% of people feel even more empty and unfulfilled after shopping.
• >1 day spends an average millennial on online shopping sites.

I didn’t know that the power of marketing is so big. That we feel a strong need to consume more than we need and that buying behaviour is driven by the pressure of social media and marketing strategies. Thus again, does consumerism make us happy?

I think the absence of social media makes me feel more comfortable on this tallship. There is no possibility to consume anything but tasty food. So there is no need to think about what you would like to consume more. Another quote which summarizes the current situation by Tim Jackson: ‘’People are convinced by current marketing to spend money which they don’t have on purchases they don’t need. This all just to make a quick impression on people we don’t even like.” Or another quote by April Lane Benson: ‘’A lot of people conflate the search for self with the search for stuff. Thus, we consume to make quick impressions for people we don’t even want to impress? Interesting isn’t it? Or are we consuming more than we need to show other people that we are happy while we are not happy with the stuff we actually have? And overall, why waste >1 hour a day on something which makes us unhappy only because we feel social pressure? I encourage you all to give this a thought. Good luck!

Robin

Day 13 – 01-12-2018

Today we had an awesome day. Together with a group of ten, we worked on the case. I am learning so much this journey! We grow every day, both individually and as a group – and you can feel it in everything. We all want to learn and even amongst those who are on sailing duty, the case is alive in every corner of the ship.

Today we had a very creative session in which we built on each others ideas using techniques. Also, we had a group discussion about the process and agenda of the upcoming days. Things like decision making in a big group and without structure is a whole process on itself. I am really impressed by how great we all get along so well while sharing everything in such a small space. The vibes are great, the sun is shining, we are moving forward in every way and all the while we are more or less in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. What an adventure!

Tess

Day 12 – 30-11-2018

We are now almost halfway across the Atlantic. What is strange is that to me it appears that the sea is getting higher by the day. What I’ve also found interesting about the ocean is that I never seem to get tired of looking at it.

After almost two weeks, we have finally figured out how to read the star map that Max brought works.  We took this moment also to teach Denise that falling stars are not actually stars that fall down (it was a hilarious night). Furthermore, I get the feeling that everyone is very much getting along on the boat. Apart from having to rewrite this text because I wrote it in Dutch the first time, life is pretty good!

Hanne

Day 11 – 29-11-2018

Only 4 days since we stood on land for the last time, but the new rhythm has already been picked up by almost everyone. Some of us literally threw the seasickness over board, but now we all seem to be used to the motion of the ocean. We made some good progression with the case yesterday, so today will be my ‘sailing day’. A day that started at 7:30AM with breakfast. At home I’m not much of a morning person and that is nothing different over here. However, there is no time for a slow start of the day. At 8.00 o’clock I’m expected to take over the steering wheel. The watches are pretty easy since we started the crossing. Steering and fishing are our main tasks. So, plenty of time for good conservations about volcanoes, the origin of the moon and the types of ‘dropjes’. Since we started at 8.00 PM with split watches a few days ago, I’m done with sailing for the upcoming 32 hours. After lunch there is the absolute highlight of the day. Although there are 24 hours in a day, there is only one as happy as ‘Happy Hour’. A hour where everybody is busy with buckets, cleaning cloths and ‘WC eend’, all while enjoying nice music. As soon as happy hour is finished I’ve got some spare time which I decided to spend in a useful way. Today, I started to teach myself some Spanish, to be honest, hablo unpoco de español. After the delicious 4.00 o’clock snack the next thing on the schedule it is our sunset work out session. Every afternoon when the sun touches the horizon we bathe ourselves in sweat. Once started with the 4 of us, last days it is getting more popular every day. But also became a popular event among the ladies, they all try to get a glimpse of the bodies, shining in the last light beams of today’s sunlight. Working out makes us men hungry and therefore we feel lucky to have dinner right afterwards. We feel even more lucky when we see what’s on the menu, oven-baked potatoes with big pieces of a well prepared tuna, thanks to Isabelle, our galley princess. After a good game of 30 seconds it is time to go back to my favourite piece of furniture. Tomorrow the alarm will sound at 7.30AM for what hopefully will become a productive case day.

Arno

Day 10 – 28-11-2018

At 11.45 at night my bedroom door slowly opens, with Max peeking cautiously inside. He had come to wake me up for my night watch from 00.00 to 04.00. He looked a bit startled when I popped my head through the door opening saying, “good morning!”. I usually wake up way in advance of my alarm clock, still getting used to the new (wobbly) sleeping Rhythm. When I make my way towards the stern (back) of the ship, I am being greeted by the people that are about to go to bed. Soon our watch is completed consisting of Bernardo, Tess, Thomas, Johanne, Brendan and of course me.

We Always start with a nice warm cup of tea or coffee and a chat about any highlights of the previous watch. They said a Japanese ship had been sighted. What the hell would they be doing out here? Yet the same can be asked about us. To keep us awake throughout the night we prepared some interesting questions for one another. Some on which we had a good laugh (but not too hard to wake up the other crew), and also some touching and serious stories. At about 3 am, Bernardo and Tess went off to make some toasties to keep us energized in the last hour of our shift. I took control of the steering wheel keeping our course on 260 degrees. Watching the wind fill up the sails and the stars above. And then the realisation kicked in… I am a f*cking pirate! How bad ass is it to set the course of a century old ship to conquer the Atlantic. Happy moments 

After a 4-hour nap it was time to get some breakfast in the belly and enjoy the rest of a beautiful day. With the sun out, the temperature reaches about 25 degrees Celsius. Lucky for us there is also some wind that gets us up to a speed of 7,5 knots and assists with cooling down a bit. Between clean up duties and watch we have some time for entertainment too. I discovered a couple of songbooks that have the guitar chords written above the lyrics. I think, by now my repertoire increased tenfold compared to my pre-ship capabilities. I really enjoy playing the guitar and singing together with Tess (crew), Brendan, Marnix and anyone who wants to join. These music vibes spread positive energy throughout the ship and makes the trip towards Barbados that much more enjoyable.

Freek.

Day 9 – 27-11-2018

Today was a great sailing day for me. It started with my 12-4 watch in the night. The moon gave a lot of light but still we could see a great amount of stars in the sky. We were sailing around t knots with almost all the sails set, Slow big waves, heading for Barbados. I find these night watches really peaceful. And I really like the Rhythm we’re slowly getting in during this crossing. Although I’m already looking forward to arriving in the Caribbean, for now I’m enjoying this ocean Rhythm quite a lot. After a few hours of sleep after a night watch, when I had just started my next 12-4 watch in the afternoon, Thomas (crew) asked for someone of the white watch wo wanted to help him with a chore on the dolphin striker (the thing right in front of the ship, underneath the bowsprit).

First the striker had to be cleaned, so we took a bucket, put on our harnesses and stepped over the rail in the front of the ship. In the beginning I really had to look for the right places where to put my feet, uncomfortably holding on to the cord on which I had fastened myself. But as we proceeded I started to find my way and as I looked down and back to the ship, I felt like flying. On the very front of the ship, looking at the bow, the waves that splashed away, the sound they made, the couple of metres I went up and down standing there, the 5 km depth of the ocean just a metre underneath me, it was really spectacular. Once we cleaned everything, we want back on the deck to get some white paint. With a bucket full of paint, I stepped back over the rail again, already feeling way more confident. I made a plan with Thomas on who would paint which part, and we started. One hour later we were done: all the white chains, white parts and white figure head (which is a woman on a sea horse) which were getting rusty were now white and shiny again! As were my arms, legs and clothes. The white paint was everywhere!  It was quite hard work, standing there in the full sun, holding on to the cord. Standing in all kinds of positions trying to reach all the rusty parts, but men I felt good doing it. And the best part was that you could see the result right away! I cleaned up everything with Thomas and thanked him for appointing me this spectacular chore during this watch. When an hour later some dolphins showed up, and I was slightly disappointed that they were not there when I was hanging 1 metre above the water. But still… SO AMAZING to see these happy animals keeping us company, playing in the waves. I was happy, this was a good day.

Madelon.

Day 8 – 26-11-2018

Nice French music on and I’m chilling with DJ in the Saloon. We’ve just had our first split watch! Amazing lighting up glow in the dark jellyfish yesterday, really amazing. Today I had a solid 1,5hour of steering, rain boots, short pants, sunglasses and hat on.

We also caught two fish today! One small Bermuda on the line and one flying fish flew on board. Lunch was delicious as always and apparently we are going to have pizza as 4 o’clock snack! I’m happy to have begun with crossing the Ocean. I was longing to start on the case and finally we have a solid structure and rhythm.

The music is still French and I heard that four of us are going to organize the meeting, we are probably going towards working groups.

What a contrast with yesterday! (Lysanne is happy a.f.). To quote my notebook of yesterday: ‘laptop on my head, the table did slide towards me, Marnix and the anchor chain box, Maarten fell down the stairs, me, Tess and Tess between the door. A rough day I would say. We went approximately 9 to 10 knots though, Lysanne half in shock.

So I really enjoyed today! (the sea isn’t too rough on us, haha) Greetings to everyone’s family, we’re doing good!

MAX

P.S. Moon is licking her glasses right now.

Another blog of day 7:

I slept until 8 AM! Harry informed me that he doesn’t appreciate me (&others) coming to breakfast shirtless. We couldn’t come to shore on Fogo, so onto the next island: Bravo! Unfortunately we were not allowed to stay in the port there, so no swimming and excursions. Our adventure starts here! Crossing the great Atlantic! At lunch we addressed some practical differences between crew and Quest group. We are thinking in solutions regarding waste management and food distribution. We ended up accidently having more vegetarians than planned. The first sails are set, so… Let the Adventure begin! – Marnix.

Day 7 – 25-11-2018

A week has passed!..

Yesterday was a really rough day for me. Probably the worst day on the ship yet (so far). I vomited for the first time in 3 years and it was terrible because I’m dreadful of vomiting. I was holding Max’s hand really tighty as we were standing against a door outside trying not to fall because of the rough sea and I was fighting the feeling for 5 minutes until it happened. It came out as the color of the grey crackers I had for breakfast and Lutzen joked you could build a sand castle out of it hahah (gross). I had tears in my eyes but could laugh about it afterwards. Afterwards I felt a bit better and relieved as people told me I would be, unfortunately this feeling only lasted for a short hour in which we saw 2 sperm whales!!!. Then I spent a whole day in bed feeling bad and unhappy trying to have positive thoughts, and Hanne and I appropriately named the room the medical ward.

However! Today I woke up still weak, but happier. I pulled a lot of ropes and made of myself the perfect deckhand. I even went into the galley (kitchen); the absolute worst and most warm place on the ship when there are waves. As we sailed to Bravo, I had some really nice conversations that distracted me from my feeling of yesterday. The bucket, that I took with me as a precaution, stayed empty! During happy hour I cleaned inside which went a lot better than I expected it would be. Then we had to abruptly leave and begin our big crossing of the Atlantic! We had a meeting outside but the boat was rocking back and forth so hard that everyone had to hold on tight and yell into the wind the things they wanted to share. We were really well in control as a group, despite the non-ideal conditions. Then the best moment of the day came. PiraTess brushed my salty hair full of threats and we had a moment of revelation and said to each other: Wow, the boat is rocking really hard and we’re inside and are NOT sick! I only had a little bit of a headache from my sunburn. Even though this morning I was talking with Joris about how unbelievable it is, like really not believable, that we would actually lose this terrible feeling in our stomachs. But I did it! Without the pill against motion sickness! To end this day of victories, this victorious day, we saw fluorescent jellyfish during my night watch under a sky full of stars.

Love, Anne Sophie (written down by Dirk-Jan, because she was tired)

Day 6 – 24-11-2018

An early wake up, lifting the anchor, I am excited to set sail and start moving again .

The plan was to have a team meeting after breakfast, but as we left the harbor of Sao Vicente, waves thought differently. The wind is finally seriously present so we’re reaching a good speed and will get to Fogo before midnight probably. It’s wise not to count on the predictions and be very flexible as many things on the ship will not go according to plan…

Back to the waves & wind, great circumstances for sailing, but also for seasickness. Today might not be the most beautiful day in the memory of many, but I found it beautiful to see how our group cared for each other. Some well executed unplanned team bonding!

I am grateful to be on the ship with these wonderful people, their positivity, humor & eagerness to work on the case. Luckily, despite some physical constraints, I can still be 100% part of the team. I did not keep track of the ‘kots kampioenschappen’ (puke competition), but I believe we got a new champion today & many new ‘runner ups’.

Although, the rough sea & high amounts of sick people didn’t allow us to work much on the case, it was great to reflect a bit on what we did so far. We started naturally, sharing what happened so far & getting to know each other better through some workshops. Our direction for the case is not yet set in stone, luckily I do have a clear idea which direction to steer the Morgenster!

It’s great that so far all teams which were proposed filled naturally with enough people. Great to work in such a diverse team . Some people barely left their beds today, but when we arrived at the shores of the mighty volcano Fogo, they also got some fresh air & enjoyed the magical lights in the distance.
An eventful day; I’m so happy to be on board, can’t wait to start crossing the Atlantic!
Moon.

Day 5 – 23-11-2018

After a working day comes a leisure day, at least for us! Although waking up at 6 does not sound too leisury to most, we had breakfast at 6:30, so we would be on time for the ferry. The ferry took us to this beautiful island Sao Antao. We split up into four groups for a bus tour, some quality relaxing time, or an enjoyable hike. I joined the hiking team, expecting to be very warm and sweaty. Boy, was I wrong. The wet clothes I ended up with were from clouds and rain. It was, however, an amazing experience. We saw mountains, plants unknown to even plant scientist Arno, local people and cows and goats. The hike itself was tough, but rewarding. After 5 hours, we reached the end, cold but satisfied. We got back to the ferry and had dinner on board. We still did a Freek session to brainstorm about consumer behavior even, what a dedicated group of sailors we are! Love from my napping time in bed, Maarten.

Day 4 – 22-11-2018, night (04.00)

Being woken up by the ratling noise of the anchor chain being tightened up, I decided to write my entry in this book. In two more hours this place will be crawling with people again. But for now I have the deck for myself. Time for a little recap of our first day in a new port! It’s nice that the ship is not moving around much anymore. Everyone is in high spirits with seasickness being absent, and eager to go a shore. I’ve gathered with the mediateam to look for a place where we could use some wifi to send some content out in the world. We found a nice place where we ordered drinks and pizza (do not eat a whole pizza right before dinner!) but the wifi was worse than bad. After moving from table to table to those for about 2 hours we found the sweet spot with some consistent signal. And in about the same amount of time we managed to squeeze some pictures through the line. It was nice to have a quick chat with the family back home and to share some footage of the dolphins we saw the day before. I also told them about the malti malti (fish) we almost caught the previous day. Due to the excitement of some of the crew, we rushed the catch. Someone tried to lift the fish aboard by pulling the line, and that was when the fish came off. Too bad since another crewmember was waiting with a gaff (hook on a stick) that would have made the job so much easier. When we got back to the ship from the island we had a wonderful dinner made by our amazing portugese cook. She has such an important role in the ship, providing us energy with her nice meals. After dinner we did a bonding activity: hide and seek on the ship! But once you were found, you had to walk behind the seeker. A high give from a person missed by the seeker would make a found person free again. In the first round I hid myself in a dark corner on deck behind some ropers. Hanne was seeking and walked right passed me! But so did all the other people I tried to offer my highfive…  During the entire game Bernardo was never found, as he predicted himself. He endud up hiding in the engine room where the anchor chain is stored away. I love the actions that crazy bastard brings to this ship! After the game I did a peek over the railing and saw so much fish! (Attacked by the ships lights) so I grabbed my fishing pole and managed to catch 2 ‘geepjes’ which are some sort of pencip fish with very pointy mouths.

Freek.

Day 3 – 21-11-2018 Night (00:00-04:00)

It’s time for my very first shift on the boat. After being woken up by the previous shift, I put on my sailing suit (which is way too comfortable!) and step on deck, into the night. Most of the people are asleep, the moon is providing all the light we need and immediately a sense of calmness that I have never felt so intensely before falls upon me. I have the honor of standing on the steering deck, making sure we stick to the set course. Whilst the ship goes up and down on the waves, I feel as if I am guarding over the others vast asleep. Together with the others in my shift we just sit there, enjoying the shared unique experience. Not much was said and that was ok. It was beautiful.

Lutzen.

Day 2 – 20-11-2018

Sail off. The first sea legs are getting better or much worse. Robin already puked no. 1. But he was not the only one… After we saw the first whales, flying fish and some amazing sunset, more people started to feel sick. Maybe the amazement and excitement of all these new things lead to a decrease in the seasickness, at least up to a certain point. Only half of the people was able to stay downstairs for dinner, all others had to run upstairs to decrease their sickness. Hopefully, people get well soon. The first one is already back to life at the moment (Robin) and jumping around the ship, just like our multi-handicapped friend Moon.

  XX Denise

Day 2 – 20-11-2018

After weeks of preparations, we are finally back togetherJ. In a slightly different setting, temperature and less stable environment. The movement of the Morgenster affects us all differently. Some get in a happy and relaxed modus, while others feel nautious from the very first step they make on board (still anchored of the caost in Cape Verde). As the lights of Santa Maria (Sal) glinstered in the dark yesterday, the magic is still in the air when we wake up. After breakfast & climbing the mast, our first meeting was scheduled.

–        Decided to focus on sailing & getting comfortable the first days

–        Updates practical preparations

–        Explanation media team

–        Facilitation team sharing broad ideas

–        First suggestions for our organisation & structure were made

People can sign up for the functions helicopter (overview & planning), moderator (leading planery sessions), designing proposal for direction of our case. We will see thomorrow how many people are interested & if it is wise to change these functions every 1 or 2 weeks or not.

Also to discover qualities & activities people can lead, we have a workshop list. Looking forward to all be surprised by all qualities we have on board.

Day 1 – 19-11-2018

Finally! Today, we set foot on the Morgenster  for the very first time. This ship is awesome, it feels so mighty. It took the ship only a couple of minutes to make me nautious… Nevertheless, the first experience was great We went swimming and I had the great honour of swinging off the boat like a true Tarzan (not). After this we had climbtraining and I must admit that the rest of the group was braver than me. Now I am actually really looking forward to dinner cause it starts to smell pretty great on deck. So check y’all later! Xoxo Joris.

8 days until departure from Cape Verde

Arrived at Cape Verde with the first group! After a very early wake-up call the plane took off at 8 o’clock in Amsterdam and we set foot on Cape Verdian ground at a little after 2 in the afternoon, local time. After a lift from a very nice gentleman from the airport we arrived at the city center of Santa Maria. From there it was just a couple of minutes to our sleeping accomodations. Once we settled in we were able to check out the beautiful beach of Santa Maria. The beach was amazing, the sand was very soft and the water was nice and warm.  After a quick swim and a good hangout session we had an awful dinner, but the smile of the waiter made up for the quality of the food. A few beers later we were all very tired. We attempted to watch a movie at the appartment, but fifteen minutes in the sleep won and we drifted of. Our first meeting with Santa Maria was a success.

 

10 days until departure from Cape Verde

In about 2 days we will leave for Cape Verde with a small group from where we will depart on the Morgenster 8 days later. This means that packing takes some planning and time to do properly. Because we will not have acces to the internet on board of the ship this means that we have to really think about what material to bring that is necessary to work on the case. Relevant articles, metrics of the fashion industry and interviews with our stakeholders for example. Also the individual packing took quite some time for me. What to pack when the weather circumstances can be cold, warm, dry or wet? This means that you pack a lot of layers and very different kinds of shoes, from slippers to rubber boots. Man, this bag is getting heavy….

 

12-10-2018

It is Friday evening, and this marks the end of our training week. If I have to express our experience in one word it would be ‘colourful’. So much has happened that it’s hard to recall all events. The ambiance was really pleasant right from the start. After a short introduction we paired up to get to know each other, and afterwards we were asked to introduce our partner to the group. This was both a great learning experience and a chance to get to know each other more personally. We spent the rest of the day getting motivated and inspired by guest speakers Edwin and Bert, the owner of our sponsor company. The next day we were challenged to think differently, and work on becoming more ecofriendly through a zero-waste workshop. The following day was mainly focussed on the group dynamics, and we had our first real decision-making challenge as a group. This caused a lot of chaos and discussion but in my opinion made us much closer as a group, regardless of the outcome. On our second-to-last-day we had some physical exercise with the boxing clinic. Afterwards we met up for some drinks to get to know each other in a more casual setting. And that brings us to today. We visited the Fashion-for-Good museum exhibition, which gave us many insights regarding the industry and ground-breaking initiatives. So here I am, writing a summary of events while enjoying food and drinks in the centre of Amsterdam.

Edit: I missed a day where we had a Morgenster instructable, and we made a division of tasks for before going on board. We’re motivated and committed to making change!

MEET Leg 2 Quest for Change