A few hours sleep after dinner or to stay up through to 4am? That question divides Blue Watch. Some of the younger ones stay up in the deckhouse playing cards, while the rest of us grab a few hours in our bunks.

At midnight a warm cloudy night greets us, with a few occasional glimpses of the moon & the Southern Cross. Unusually the horizon is visible giving the lookouts something to focus on. As the inter Watch Pin Rail Chase is in a few days it is suggested that we spend our non helming, look out time learning knots. And so the early morning hours pass quickly until the wake ups are done & we are relieved at 4am.

Now the question is - do we get up for breakfast or sleep a few more uninterrupted hours?