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Fishing for refrigerators!

Klaus Esterluss
November 3, 2017

We are following the young and ambitious crew of the ocean college vessel on their journey across the pond.

https://p.dw.com/p/2mxWm
Oceans College
Image: Oceans College
Oceans College
Image: Oceans College

Author: Karl
Position: Coast off Morocco (31 ° 14.5 N 14 ° 22)

Dear Diary,

My day started again very early. I was woken up by the Alpha Guard at  2:40 am. Believe me, this time it was actually humane! Last night, I was torn from sleep by a wet rag right in my face. 

So, everything was better today, although I had to spend my guard duty cleaning toilets. After handing over my duty to the Charlie Guard, I was able to get another two hours of sleep from six to eight before going to breakfast. After that we had classes, two hours of physics, followed by two more hours, which we spent on the microplastic project which, at the end, brought us a fairly big example of pollution in the form of a huge refrigerator, which we spotted on the starboard.

Martin then quickly took the wheel and skillfully maneuvered the ship closer to the fridge, which was accompanied by six large tuna. 

We pulled it onto the rear deck with the help of a rope. Once we land in Tenerife, the fridge will be disposed of properly. Since we have it onboard, various crustaceans appeared from it.

A daily routine?

After lunch, I quickly started my second guard shift from 3pm to 6pm. Not much happened during the watch. The sea was very calm, the sun was shining until just before 6 o'clock and served as a good practice for steering without a compass. 

Additionally, to the various positions each of us has to occupy during guard shifts, such as a lookout (starboard and port) or helmsman, we serve as security officers and keep track of the time and are responsible for the hourly entries in our logbook. Toilets and the fresh water production must also be taken care of, the latter has overflowed today, which means that yesterday's shower plan had to be moved to today and I can take a shower after finishing this text. 

Later, after dinner, I will go to sleep quickly because I need as much sleep as possible before my guard shift starts again tomorrow morning.

Yours, Karl