Today we left Belgium at 6 am and took the Eurostar to London! It was an early morning and busy day, but it was all worth it. Once we arrived in London, we were met by Victoria, our tour guide. Victoria taught us how to use the tube with our cards and then we took a boat ride to Greenwich. The boat ride was absolutely beautiful as we passed numerous famous landmarks such as the London Bridge, Big Ben, and the Buckingham Palace. Once we arrived in Greenwich we saw the Cutty Sark. Inside the ship, we learned about the tea that the boat imported and the way of life for the sailors on the boat. After our tour of Cutty Sark, we went on a walking tour of Greenwich. Victoria took us to the Prime Meridian where I crossed from one hemisphere to another. Our walking tour also included passing through an under water tunnel. It was a very eventful and full day!
The most surprising aspect of today was seeing how the sailors on the Cutty Sark slept. The bunks we small and had minimal padding. Being six feet tall, I could not imagine being smashed into a tiny cabin with many other sailors in a small bed with the temperatures drastically varying. Victoria told us that many sailors would get near the foreign country England was receiving tea from and they would jump ship. After seeing how they lived, I was not surprised to hear that many of the sailors did not want to stay on the ship for the duration of the importation process. When this occurred, the captain had to find more crew members to bring back to England in order to successfully finish the process.
In regards to mental health, I found the living conditions on the boat terrible. Not only were the crew members sharing tiny rooms, but they were also not sleeping well and being pushed to their limits while working on the boat. This physical challenge, along with the mental challenge of being away from home and other personal difficulties, made being a crew member on the Cutty Sark extremely draining. I do not think that the sailors mental health was at all thought of as a factor to their wellbeing during their voyages. Thus, I have a newfound appreciation for these sailors and I hope that as the decades have passed, sailors and crew members are treated much more humanely as their physical, mental, and emotional health are all equally important for their wellbeing and the success of the ship.