Life on board
The ship
Participating in sailing and running Bark EUROPA is a big part of the overall experience on board. Powered by canvas and cooperation, teamwork has to be the key to keep the ship sailing. Life board is simple but ever changing at the same time.
Life on board
On board Bark EUROPA we take a maximum of 48 voyage crew members and on Antarctica a total of 40 guests. Together with a permanent crew of 16 you will form the crew of Bark EUROPA.
Next to your duties as voyage crew, there is also enough time to have a good rest, enjoy the scenery, read a book in the library of in the deckhouse. The bar will be open for drinks and the crew will be giving lectures on various subjects such as traditional sailor skills, astronomy and oceanographic science. Your time off watch is for you to fill in, you may do as little or as much as you like.
The watch system
As soon as the watch system starts you will quickly find the rhythm of life at sea. You will be divided in three watches, the red watch, white watch and blue watch, named after the colors of the Dutch flag. You will stand on watch for four hours, after which you will be eight hours off.
During your time on board there will be several tasks that will be divided between the members of the watch:
- Helm duty: there will always be two people on helm duty. Together, you will maintain a steady course on the helm. The crew will explain how to steer the ship and how to keep the right course.
- Look-out: on the bow of the ship two people will stand on look-out. Whenever you see anything of interest in the water such as ships, buoys, icebergs or wildlife this will be communicated to the officer on watch.
- Deck duty: the rest of the watch members will be on deck duty.
- Maintenance: during your watch there is also time to assist the crew with maintaining the ship. You will learn to work with traditional materials and methods, such as woodworking, astronavigation, sailmaker work and traditional rope and rigging work.
International mix of voyage crew
United in their dream to sail the oceans, our voyage crew comes from various parts of the world. Having up to fourteen different nationalities on board is no exception. All these different backgrounds and different ages lead to interesting talks and discussions on board. You can learn so much from each other. We have one common language: English. All communication and instructions are given in English and a basic understanding of English is therefore required.
Watch schedule
The three watch system of four hours on and eight hours off and a split 'platvoet' will make that you will have watch at different times every day. A possible watch schedule could be:
| 00:00 | 04:00 | 08:00 | 12:00 | 14:00 | 16:00 | 20:00 | |
| Day 1 | Red | White | Blue | Red | White | Blue | Red |
| Day 2 | White | Blue | Red | White | Blue | Red | White |
Following this system means that your regular sleep rhythm will be off. You might be woken up before a watch at four in te night, while on of your cabin mates might just go back to its bunk.
The permanent crew is divided in two watches, called Port and Starboard and follows the watch system divided in four shifts of six hours (six on and six off).
Wakey wakey!
Waking up in the middle of the night can be difficult. Therefore wake up calls should be done with some sensitivity. No one likes to be shouted at 'military style'. It might help to pass on general information, like what time it is, what the weather is like so they can dress appropriately to the conditions on deck. For some extra motivation it always helps to highlight things like 'under full sail', 'pancakes for breakfast' or 'it finally stopped raining'.
