This afternoon we had a great reminder of the importance of safety at sea and how critical it is to react quickly. 

This afternoon we had a great reminder of the importance of safety at sea and how critical it is to react quickly. Around 1400 the alarm rang for ‘Man over board’ and with hearts pounding the voyage crew ran to the decks as previously instructed. At that point we had no idea if this was a ‘real’ situation or a drill. The permanent crew were already in place and sails were coming down at quite a speed. What a relief to see it was a large orange buoy (ed. spotted by the lookout) we were saving and this was a drill to see how well we all responded. The fantastic training of the permanent crew was evident by the way they calmly and professionally instructed us all to take on different tasks. Together everyone worked as a team to ‘save’ the buoy and in less than 15 minutes the buoy was back safely on board. Bark Europa permanent crew are exceptional and their professionalism shines through. In a crisis I would be happy to put my life in their hands, however hope we do not ever have a real man overboard situation.