Crew Blog

All at sea…

23 June 2008

While on Berg Watch, in the serenity of thick fog through which a full silver moon struggled to shine, and with lightly lapping water against the bow, my mind began to wonder…what is it that I will miss most about life on Uniquely Singapore?

We are now on our penultimate race, and it is with both anticipation and trepidation that I head towards home and what I refer to as ‘real life’. Having grown accustomed to facing white horses rather than white collars, I am beginning to wonder which of these lives is the more ‘real’, life on the ocean or life in the office. We have spent 10 months battling with the elements, relying on our wits, relying on others, and feeling constantly humbled at seeing other creatures in their natural habitat while we look on as visitors – what could be more real than that?

At times I now feel physically and emotionally exhausted so on the one hand am looking forward to getting home to see friends and family, and to enjoy some peace and quiet and my own space! On the other hand, I know I will miss the simplicity of life aboard – we have a daily goal that we work towards and having boarded this boat virtually as strangers, we have all come to rely upon and trust one another with our lives. We spend more time together than with our own families; we eat, sleep and work together 24 hours a day, so it really is amazing that we do this without conflict the majority of the time. I will miss these people.

Despite being cooped up within 68 feet of 17 others at all times, I have rarely felt claustrophobic. I have grown rather attached to my 6ft bunk’s worth of personal space and have discovered that this is in fact all you need in life! I also have a sense of infinite space, above, around and below us; I am quite sure that I will never again see starry nights such as these and am ever in awe of the sea life. We’ve seen whales by the dozen, dolphins in their thousands, flying fish in their millions, turtles, jellyfish, squid, sharks, albatross, seagulls, and even bats! I will miss this space.

In two weeks time I will be back in London, probably packed onto the Underground, and no doubt away with the fairies planning my next adventure, and will look back on this cold, damp, smelly, noisy, overcrowded boat with a smile. I will miss this place.

Anna Nicole Forshew