The bow bulkhead opens with the great crashing and through the pitch-black darkness goes the voice “Nastya, it’s 5 minutes to 8!”

“What? I set 4 alarms”, – flashes through my mind.

I fall down from the upper berth to the lower one, it helps me to wake up.

Only few minutes to have my breakfast and be on time for the hoisting of the flag.

I’ve been here almost without any breaks since August 2013, but it seems that I will never get used to the fact that morning starts here at 7:30 a.m.

I love that! All of that! I love it when the incredible sea welter rocks the ship, and I feel each movement of hers. I love it when it rains in the bunkroom but it’s sunny on the deck at the same time. I love my night watch despite sometimes I have to get up at 3:40 a.m. I love it when I put on harness and go up only when it’s getting stormy, or when I have to cook something urgently for 30 people on my own.

It’s always interesting to test my capabilities and explore my personal limits here.

Though the most interesting things for me always start when we set the ship for repair. On the one hand, it’s a possibility to really get to know the ship, her anatomy, on the other hand, it’s an amazing feeling when the whole crew works on one common thing! One can’t act the maggot here … And no one wants to!

It’s easier to tear down than to build up! Considering the fact the ship was built to last, might get tired while pulling it down!

I am glad to work with strong and brave people, who take the work seriously despite the weather rapidly going to extremes within a couple of days. We work without caring about time, about snow and sun, we’re doing everything just hand in hand – inventing another fashionable hair style for Livey, building a “hangar in a hangar” and odd small houses with ovens. Оne begins to do many things consciously and confidently even if one first learns them only after getting here. And if one does not understand something, one can ask the Captain. It turns out here that rest is work, and work is rest. Sometimes you manage to do so much in so little time that it looks you would need to split in two to do all that in ordinary circumstances.This is the kind of climate we’ve got here.

You can find the latest impressions of members and their illustrations in the album http://vk.com/album-21985_208464602?rev=1

By Anastasia Engalycheva