News

To sleep or not to sleep? That is the question.

July 04, 2026
Guilia and Lina working together to filter phytoplankton collected by the net

Friday to Saturday, 3-4 July 2026
South of Martha’s Vineyard

Staying awake and alert is somewhat difficult when it comes to working from 0100-0700.

Starting early in the morning, we (A Watch) relieved C Watch and took over the ship. Half of us was assigned to the lab and half of us was assigned to the deck – today I’ve been in the science lab.  Isaac and I first sorted different floating objects in water samples previously collected with our equipment and it took around an hour and a half to count and organize 94 ants, among other flora and fauna. Throughout this time frame, I was in awe of the beautiful stars and hints of the Milky Way in the sky. On the other end of the spectrum, being submerged in the nighttime really tried to drag me under with the idea of sleep. Moving around the ship intermittently helped me manage some of the impending drowsiness. In our previous watch 18 hours ago (on Friday, July 3rd), we were definitely all tired because we were setting sails, doing morning chores, line handling, etc. while taking care of ourselves in the midday sun. It’s a physically taxing job for me, at least. I know a few other shipmates and I will be sleeping right after breakfast for as long as possible.

Linnea and Isaac working together to cast the phytoplankton net into the water 

The sun started its climb through the horizon close to 0345 and officially rose above it at just about 0515. Seeing light for the first time after working in the dark is definitely a mental reset, because the day is only just beginning now.

In the meantime, the science group has been working hard on our report to present at the next class later today. It includes factors such as depth, salinity, surface temperature, and others. The report yesterday included graphs, averages, and trends for us to make notes of, so we hope to present our information as easy to understand for our shipmates as possible. 

Lina, Linnea, Jason, and Guilia viewing collected phytoplankton in a lit jar

The other half of our watch has also been steering the ship, keeping a lookout, and continuing the hourly boat and navigation/weather checks.

While it’s hard, I love my watch and I’m having a fantastic time aboard the Cramer.

And so we raise the question again: to sleep or not to sleep? The answer will always be to sleep.

Amy (Linnea), A Watch