Night Watch by #12

We were just finishing night watch on the Balclutha (a ship with three masts in San Francisco), when the captain said, ‘’Stevedore Crew will be first for nightwatch.’’

Yes I thought in my head. I either wanted to be first or last shift because you are either staying up late or getting up early.

A little later, I heard the seals barking and the seagulls saying their goodnights to each other. The salty air filled my lungs which went well with the rocking rhythm of the Balclutha. The view of Alcatraz seemed so unreal with the old prison in the dim light of its light tower. It was so close I felt as if I could take it home and keep it as a souvenir. But even though I was  comforted by my surroundings, I was feeling a bit uneasy and homesick on my Dad’s birthday.  

Later in the night, I was feeling drowsy on my shift until, I heard the sound of tiny claws running across the deck. Then I saw a little figure. At first I didn't know what it was, but then, someone said, ‘’There is a raccoon on the deck!’’ I was relieved to find out what it was. At the same time I was hoping it would not come near me. Good thing it didn't come near me because I thought there was a possibility of it having rabies.

Awesome, it was my turn to write in the ship’s log (a journal for everyone on the ship). By the time my writing time was up, I felt as if I needed to write more things down. Finally, after a long day, I got to got to bed. I could not fall asleep no matter how hard I tried because my mind was focused on my dad. After a half hour or so I finally fell asleep.

After an almost good night’s sleep, the Galley crew woke us up by slamming pots together while saying,  ’’Wake up you scurvy dogs!’’ They looked satisfied from doing it. We must have woke up at least by 6:00 am because we got a couple of hours of work done. A little later we had a short dogwatch, said our goodbyes, then got on the bus.

As we were driving home I thought to myself I just did things I never thought I  would be capable of. Already I miss the rocking rhythm of the ship and the sharp voice of the first mate yelling at us for the slightest mistakes. I adjusted to being gone on my Dad’s birthday because I was really focused on my work and having a good time with my friends.