Taking your rest.

The Gulden Leeuw is sailing all year around. We have very little time when we are for a few days in harbour, and usually those days are filled with so many things to do that the crew has never that much time to rest before going back at sea. It is, by the way, often said that sailors take their rest back at sea because they go back in a normal routine of watches and systems and regularity. Having said that. Every day is so different onboard that there is also – specially for sailing vessels I guess – the hidden rule to take your rest when you can because you never know when will be the next time you can go to bed.

Sleeping and sailing is a mixture that is pretty interesting actually. We are lucky we can go to bed several times a day, in between our watches. But it also means that we usually don’t and even cannot sleep more than 6 or 7 hours in a row – if you are lucky. Well for somebody like me, needing a lot of sleep, it is sometimes tough, but you kind of get used to it. Indeed I am still there! 😉

Sleeping several times a day means that :

1. You can be in a watch in the middle of the night and in the middle of the day, that sometimes you are never there for sunrises or sunsets, or for some meals; so your routines is a bit strange. And 2. That time flies also in a different way. I cannot really tell if it goes faster or slower. Looking back I would for sure say faster but when I am looking forward to something, it is way too long.

Indeed. You go several times to bed , so you think that your day is over several times a day but.. it is not. You remember when younger you would maybe tell yourself: «  yes! Still 5 sleeps till this or that », « still 4 sleeps till holiday », « still 3! »… a good way of counting down. Well I have tried it here. It doesn’t work. Every thing seems two times longer than usual. And again, when looking back, you just wonder where time went!?

When new trainees join the vessel, we always try to tell them they have to go to bed and remind them to take their rest. Days can be long, and nights even longer! It is difficult, and I understand them completely. People always think they will miss out on things if they go to bed. I can understand that. I am a Sophie and I literally have difficulties making choices; so if I know something might happen I can stay up all night for it! And making the right decision, balancing choices such as « fun+ no sleep » and « sleep + good day the next day » well I’d probably choose option 1.  It is difficult to think in another way such as: « If I wouldn’t have known there was this opportunity, then I would have continued my life the same. So I should just act accordingly and pretend you didn’t know that it would happen, thus take your rest ». nope. Not for me thank you.

The best example would be when at anchor. If we are sailing for weeks already and we arrive earlier at anchor, we usually split the watch in 2 and do 2 hours-2hours instead of 4 in a row. Well sometimes people complain a bit, but I answer that it is actually a bonus because we could be sailing so no split watches.

To be honest, I usually end up staying up with trainees or crew or talking the time to finally watch a movie and realize I stayed more awake than if I had ben on watch the 4 entire hours. whatever.

To take your rest is pretty difficult. Sometimes, you do not really have the choice. The rhythm onboard is ongoing, crazy, chaotic: new trainees, familiarizations, schedules, drills, guests, corporates, daysails, Liaison Officers, maintenance, technical issues, shifting berth…. And all this at the same time – of course, what else?. I sometimes wonder how we survived some days onboard. But we did and days went great (in the end)!

I love when things get really busy because I do not have time to think, it is just ongoing. If I have my brains with me (small notebook I keep in my pocket and locker and write down everything on it) then I just need to prepare a good schedule. Take time to plan it ahead and check with all departments if everything works well on their side.

« just » and « good » schedule…. Of course. The art of managing different departments with the known and unknown in order to please the captain by scoring most of the necessary requirements and the crew by hopefully according them half a day off to go sight seeing and discovering a new place.

In other words, inventing the unicorn.

So there you are with your busy schedule, people running around to get things done and you orchestring the whole and trying to go forward with your own duties and to concentrate on one of these 60 pages captain’s manual you had to read for two days ago for the corporate event, the harbour, the sail training or any other reason why administration came int the sailor’s life… 

But then off course, how many times does one interrupts your motion, to download a grib file because the program is not working, to cast off mooring lines from the vessel alongside, to give the shopping list to the Liaison Officer, to check out some things with the deck crew and answer their questions, to run to the Race Office mobile Home to exchange the crew list for the race pennant… Your day is pretty much full and by 17:00 you realize you haven’t gone forward with your work yet but it will have to be reported to the next day because you have a VIP-firework-evening-trip-with-Classique-Chic-buffet-for-200-guests and that you scheduled yourself behind the bar to promote « department-exchanges » and that you are late to start filling in all the glasses of wine for welcome drinks, and you have to wear that so famous corporate smile…..

Yes the schedule and safety harnesses check and fire extinguishers check still on your notebook since two weeks will wait the next morning…. So will the boring manual you attended reading three time already…

As I said, I love being busy, but… I hate being disturbed in my work. I like to be in silence, no talking or noise around, no interruption then I can focus on one task at the time and chop chop things take no time and I can be so efficient. As soon as there is a question that you have to solve something for someone or that there is a coffee break or a question outside on deck, every single task of mine takes five times longer and instead of having two « items open » I have 5 running at the same time, for 5 different persons! priorities, priorities… the worst is when you come back to the shared computer you were working on and someone has kindly started a new task for them selves and you have to wait your turn again….

Then, (and only then of course! 😉 ), I get short and sharp to people and ask people to come back later and later isn’t a good moment either. I do not know why but some days everything seems to happen at the same time and everyone wants you to solve something at the same time and that is when you tend to explode to the nice guy bringing you desert in the bridge…. How awful am I?!

When I am tired, I guess I tend to be sharper faster. And maybe I do not contain my « anger » long enough, and my face gets that annoyed and grumpy mask. 

Yes. I am also known for saying things directly and not always keeping my mouth shut long enough… Although I am getting better at it, I know 200% sure that some people are happy I say out loud what some think and happily, or luckily I do not know, most of the times it needed to be said.

Then you also learn pretty fast that there are ways of bringing the message, of course and listening, nodding and accepting what people have to say is very important too. Take the British for example. They ace at the « politically correct » answer. Every one is then a winner!

I will of course not mention I still have a long road to acquire this wisdom….

Trust me. Event if it doesn’t always sound like it, I love my job and wouldn’t exchange it for anything. I love those busy days because they gather the crew together. The crew works so hard and we rely on each other a lot.

I always believed that a leader should get people to overtake them, and I was already working like that when I was chief scout in Paris. Let me explain.

If you sit, they ( the youngsters, the crew, maybe anybody looking up to you? anybody) will lay down; If you stand, they will sit, I f you walk they will stand, If you run they will run.

Until you want your team to believe that they achieved things as a team, as their team by their own.

This is to my opinion how you will want to se them grow.

But it can be tiring. I admit. 

And It also happened that I ended up not being patient enough and doing it myself (fast and better of course…). Now I learn and practice a lot « delegating ». You’ll see it is pretty could.

The idea is that you make someone else responsible for a task you want to see achieved.

Works- almost– well.

But it also means you know exactly what you want, that you give the good job to the good person and that you are clear in your explanations. It tales time to explain. But it give you also a better overview of who is doing what.

I try to do that in schedules. If we know ahead what is going to happen when, and with who, then you would just need to apply stricto senso the schedule hanging on the door.

hahahha… not that easy… Some just like to read what they want to read. Sometimes I didn’t write down everything either, and sometimes I do mistakes. Yes I do! And often, last minutes changes occur squeezing into an already tight schedule, things to do that would require – at least – 4 times the amount of time we have… of course. Gulden Leeuw style? In the end, what matters the most, is that we always manage.

* check out my new schedule for the week!! 🙂 #citybeach #therightchoice *

« If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit. »

When I get tired, it is easy, my voice goes away the first. And no. It isn’t because of the beer that I almost never drink. My captain’s who know me, as soon as they hear my voice slowly disappearing send me to bed for two hours. They know I will only go for less than an hour, but they know. That is nice. It is all the talking. Ok, ok I already hear some of you thinking I already talk so much, it shouldn’t be a problem… but it is talking over music at a party, talking louder than other people around or just repeating myself, explaining and training all day long. My voice disappears.

The other day, sailing out of Sunderland all our trainees -56- needed to me familiarized before departure with the vessel and they received instructions in the bridge, for their watches, for climbing, wearing harnesses, for line handling…it is a lot of information. And divided into smaller groups means easier to go around the vessel but also means more talking. A couple of hours later, in a short amount of time it was an abandon ship drill, shifting berth, working on our generator that decided to not work just the moment we needed it, finish bunkering water, making sure the vessel is ready inside to receive 150 guests, making sure all trainees have their tall ships teeshirt on and and are ready at their stations to set all the sails for the first time, making sure we are in the parade at the good time, that sails come down, all passengers disembarked, no trainees lost in the crowd and full speed back to the start of the race setting once again all the sails and shifting to sea watches for the rest of the week….

You just need to go for it. When you think some job or task is to big, most people will walk away from it and end up doing the tasks they know: emails, small non priority jobs, cleaning etc, doing jobs they know. On the opposite, you need to tackle it straight in the flesh to get over with it and done. Then go for the easy known « safe routine jobs ». Just get it done and go for it. This is the way to get forward. Not pushing it away. In the end you realize it was doable, and only then you get better at it.

We managed. I have no idea how, but we managed. And it also went great and surprisingly smoothly! It is all in the mindset. If you believe you will win and manage, you will. If you think you will not make it and that it will fail… the chances are pretty high it will.

Mindset is important also for your crew to mirror your same mindset. What other people think is impossible to do might be common for you.

To be honest, hat day knackered me. I would still do it again though… #crazysailorlife

Since I have been sleeping a lot in the race. I have a full list of things I would like to do while at sea to have more time in harbour, but…. I sleep and read. And my sleeps are finally deep again. Hopefully I will manage not to be angry to fast. Angry at myself for snapping at someone kinder than me. And also getting rid of those black pockets living constantly beneath my eyes…

Only three days racing then back in harbour. It is a short one again… and the story will start all over again

I love my job and not one morning I wake up not looking forward to what the day will bring. To be honest there are also moments when I do think «  shall I just quit everything? »… no sophie. Go get your rest and breath in deeply, and think before you speak; or just don’t speak at all, it would be better haha! ;p

« Do what you love and love what you do »

Time for a nap in my hammock now…. See you later! 😉

Sophs ❤ ⚓