The Crew on the Willard

Introduction

My name is Mateo. I am the captain of the “The Willard,” a small schooner that sails across the Atlantic Ocean. It’s been almost two months since we left port, and we’re still working our way up through France before heading into open waters again. We’ve had some rough weather recently, but we’re still moving along at a good clip – hopefully it won’t be too long before we get to visit another town!

My name is Mateo. I am the captain of the “The Willard”

Hi, my name is Mateo. I live in a small town in Spain with my wife, who is pregnant with our first child. It’s hard to believe that I have been captain of “The Willard” for about two years now! It feels like yesterday when I was just a new member of the crew…

Today was our first day in Hamburg. We’re staying for about a week to do repairs on the engines and hull.

Today was our first day in Hamburg. We’re staying for about a week to do repairs on the engines and hull. The pirates were delayed because of storms, but they should be here tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest so we can start loading up again.

We’ve set up shop along the docks selling our dry goods and spices to locals while we wait for our next shipment from London to arrive (and hopefully not get hijacked by pirates). Our captain says that his wife is pregnant too!

I just got off the phone with my wife, who told me that she’s pregnant! We’re going to have our first baby soon!

I’m so happy about this news. The captain is overjoyed. He wants a child with his wife very much. The captain has been waiting for such an announcement for years now.

He’s excited about what this means for him as well: becoming a father is something he’s always wanted, and he can’t wait to start planning the future of his family—and yes, having a child will definitely be part of that future!

A good day in port today, we sold all of our dry goods and spices and are now ready to head out to sea again.

Today was a really good day in port. We sold all of our dry goods and spices, and we’re now ready to head out to sea again. The crew is very excited about this, because they love being on the water more than anything else in this world!

As for me, I’ve been busy getting some rest after my long trip from home. I love it here on the ship—it’s so quiet and peaceful compared to what life was like back home before I started working on The Willard.

We’ll be leaving port tomorrow morning at sunrise. If you need anything while we’re gone (such as dry goods or spices), please stop by our storefront located at 1 Main Street between 9am-5pm Monday through Saturday!

After being held up by pirates, we’ve finally reached our intended docking station, a small port town in northern Italy.

You may have heard about our recent encounter with pirates. Well, after a brief period of captivity, we’ve finally reached our intended docking station—a small port town in northern Italy.

I heard a rumor that a storm is brewing somewhere out there on the Atlantic – hopefully we’ll be able to avoid it!

I heard a rumor that a storm is brewing somewhere out there on the Atlantic. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid it! It could pose a danger to the ship.

I’ve been told that during storms, the crew will tie down everything on board for safety – including us passengers. It’s standard procedure when a storm is coming so we can keep you safe from falling objects and other potential accidents.

In addition to tying down all loose items and making sure there aren’t any exposed wires around which may have come unplugged during rough seas, they also use our lifeboats as floating devices in case they need them (which they do).

I just found out that my old friend Anton and his wife have moved into a new house overlooking Edinburgh Bay! They invited us over for dinner, which sounds lovely.

The Crew on the Willard: A blog about life on the ship.

The day was long but ultimately successful – we were able to snag some carp from our nets and cook them up for dinner. They went over well with the crew.

The day was long but ultimately successful – we were able to snag some carp from our nets and cook them up for dinner. They went over well with the crew, who were pleased with their meal.

Today was pretty rough – one of our crew members became seasick due to terrible weather conditions. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be as bad!

The weather on the Willard is always unpredictable, and changes quickly. Today, for example, we had bright sunshine and blue skies earlier in the day then a sudden thunderstorm that blew through during dinner. The sun came back out after dinner but by then we were halfway through our night watch (from 10pm-2am) so all four of us stayed up talking and playing games until about 1:30am when it started raining again.

We’ve seen some amazing sights due to this unpredictability: dolphins swimming alongside us as we sailed past them; a gorgeous sunset with pink clouds stretching across the sky; whales breaching off our port side while we sailed along California’s coastline; rainbows appearing out of nowhere on a very cloudy day…the list goes on! As much as I love those moments though, they can also be terrifying if you’re someone who gets sea sick easily like Matt does (or if you’re just an anxious person who worries about getting caught outside during lightning storms).

I hope we have a chance to stop off at a town during this trip – there’s nothing like getting some time ashore! But for now, it’s back to work…

The Crew on the Willard is a blog about life on a ship. We hope you enjoy reading it, and we’re always looking for feedback. If there’s anything you want to see in future posts, let us know!

If you’re new here, I’d recommend starting with our first post: On board the Willard – A blog about life aboard an ocean liner. It’ll give you all the basics of what this site is all about! For example:

What does “crew” mean? It means all the people who work for a cruise line or ship company
What does “blog” mean? It’s like an online diary where someone writes about their experiences – but ours is written from multiple perspectives (the captain, his officers, crew members)…and has pictures too!
How do ports differ from towns? Ports are places where ships dock; towns are cities where people live permanently

Conclusion

I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog post. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me an email at captain@willard.com.