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4.
supposed to be the worst & I quite believe it. I imagined them to be
the size of small ants, never having previously seen one but although
some are, most of them are the size of flies & there are hundreds. I've
lost a lot of sleep through them & wake up always scratching myself.
We all have bug-hunts, mostly on Sundays, when we take everything
out on deck. I'm getting rid of them slowly but there are lots yet.
Twice I've gone out onto the hatches to sleep but it's rather cool
for that yet.

Then there is the water problem. There is plenty for
drinking, pumped up from below every morning but there are only 2
small tanks on deck that we get for washing. We are only allowed 2
inches per day in a margerine can (about 9" across) then save that in
something to wash our clothes in & rinse them out in salt water.
Boiling is, of course, out of the question & pegs are unprocurable so we
tie things on the line with string. When we get to the Trade winds
in the Atlantic Ocean the tropical rain will supply us with plenty
I hear & just as well. Most of my clothing will be ready to throw
overboard when we get to England. Just think of the terrific cold
of Cape Horn added to all that, when one wades thru' water up to
one's thighs, never had dry clothing or any way of getting warm and
never knowing if at any moment you'll get washed overboard.
All the romantic tales you read of of life aboard a windjammer
are only to be found in print & certainly not on the ships itself.

I am in the 'forecastle (or fo'c'sle as its properly called)
with all foreigners who speak together in Swedish, but who can & do
speak English to me when they want to, (not all of them),