Chilli Oyster - Getting into the rhythm

November 24^th  Day 2

Its 12:45 in the middle of the night and my night shift starts in 15 mins; I am out of bed and up on deck as quick as a flash in just pyjamas and a hoody even though its quite chilly. Trying to stay awake is really tough. Dad and I decided not to bother to wake the skipper up after four hours and so I am on watch from one at night to half eight in the morning. The last few hours are the hardest trying to stay awake, it has become a challenge that I was starting to lose and not even the coffee was on my side any more, its 8:30 in the morning and after a lovely well deserved bacon butty I am off to bed. I don't wake up till about midday when there isn't a lot else to do except for school work and listen to my iPod. At about four o'clock I am semi awake sunbathing when I see the pod. Out of the depths of the ocean comes a massive pod of about 25 dolphins all jumping around the boat having a great time, they stay with us for about twenty minutes leaving us alone.

 At about five o'clock in the after noon I speak to Oscar on the SSB Radio, he helps me with some music course work as he's doing a similar course back in England. We talk about everything for a while, really random conversation we are obviously both bored. I don't really know him very well yet but he seems like a nice enough guy.

After a lovely chicken curry I sleep a bit more before my next night shift that starts at midnight. I am comfortable lying asleep in the salon when a hysterical Jordan runs down the stairs, he's on watch, at about 10 o'clock, shouting "there's a massive cargo ship going to run us down" screaming and shouting he grabs the spotlight and runs up on deck and starts shining a massive light at this boat, I am up in a flash and on deck in seconds where Jordan and Becky are standing and am asking "where". Jordan points to a few lights on the horizon that Becky and I are struggling to even see. After checking the Radar, we find that it is a cargo ship but its 16 miles away and going in the completely opposite direction. Bless Jordan but I find the whole ordeal hysterical funny and still can't stop laughing about it.

Author Sam, chilli crew mate - age 16.