Blocking the anchor of the Agia Irene

Anchor Watch

26 February. As part of our rotation system for keeping the Agia Irene at anchor, Rodrigo and I were scheduled for the 1:00 to 4:00 am anchor watch. I have performed anchor watches at sea in the past - I sit on the bridge, make certain the ship isn't moving, and walk about the ship every hour or so to check for fires. But this watch was a little different.

We were awakened by the captain at 12:40, after getting a couple of hours' rest. We grabbed something to drink and put on dry suits, hats and gloves. We met Dmitri near one of the novuranias (the small inflatable boats we often use during actions), which we proceeded to launch from the Rainbow Warrior. We drove over to the Irene, where Marco and Cees were just finishing the 10:00 to 1:00 anchor watch. Rodrigo and I swapped places with them and made ourselves comfortable. Marco and Cees then dropped off Dmitri at the ladder climbers had erected on the side of the log boat the previous day and went back to the Warrior to get some rest.

Our responsibility was to ensure that the Agia Irene would not attempt to heave to. Our inflatable was locked to the anchor chain, so we checked periodically to make sure the lock was secure. But aside from that, our watch was not particularly demanding. We tried to get some rest, inadvertently (and sometimes intentionally) kicking each other in the face in the process, and enjoyed the moonlight as we pondered the strangeness of our night under the stars.

-- Meghan

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