Blog Two-Breakdown of the Dutch Watch system.

There were thirty-six voyage or passenger crew on board all of whom had paid to make the lives of the seasoned permanent crew as hellish as possible. The Dutch, being a genteel race, could convince all of us of how well we were doing whilst simultaneously redoing everything that we (certainly I) did with no hint of being annoyed or patronising. We were divided into three teams, or watches, of a dozen apiece. 

00:00 - 04:00 Dog watch. No dogs. You may see the constellation of Sirius if you look very hard.

04:00 - 08:00 Day watch. Not daytime yet.

08:00 - 12:00 Morning watch. Obviously should have been before day watch.

12:00 - 16:00 Bay Watch. Still showing on maritime cable TV. If you can find the cable.

16:00 - 20:00 Rolex watch. Aka 'wants to be posh but is actually just rich' watch.

20:00 - 00:00 First watch. Clearly last watch.

The platvoet. The flatfoot is a split watch to enable all personnel to rotate their times. This is implemented just as you get used to your own watch and sleeping patterns. Nobody knows what to do when this happens and it is the source of much merriment, confusion and disagreement. Just follow someone who thinks they know what they’re doing. Under no account volunteer as watch leader. Find a Canadian. They are always nice and they display a surprising amount of patience dealing with eleven people’s individual needs and necessities. They are also wonderfully diplomatic when arranging rotas according to who wants to work with whom and who most certainly does not want to work with another watch member. We had Graham. He was the best. On watch you get to be lookout, Most Important Steering Person and general dogsbody. Lots of dogsbodying on dog watch. 

On lookout duty you are responsible for telling the bridge if we’re going to drive into a rock or a continent. Weather, including lightning, has to be reported as well. Be careful not to report flash photography as an electric storm. The bridge is where the important people who really know what’s going on do their work. They actually know where we’re going. Also on lookout you get to see wildlife, which is one of the most exciting things to do but is certainly not as important as avoiding rocks, other vessels and countries.