To quote Robin Williams, “It’s hot. Damn hot!” And with heat comes sweat. Oh, so much sweat…
With temperatures down below consistently above 40C (~110F), it takes nothing more than climbing down the companion way ladder for the sweating to begin. And you quickly start to get used to the patterns. There is, of course, the intense and unrelenting sweat of the galley, when the oven is baking bread and the stove boiling water. Luckily, this is offset by two fans working hard to keep the chefs cool and functional. There is the slow-build sweat that comes once the door to the head is zipped shut, cutting off what little air circulation existed and ensuring a rapidly rising temperature. There is the full-body sweat while deep cleaning the galley. There is the one-sided sweat which occurs when lying on your bunk with your fan keeping your front dry while your back and neck sweat into your sheet and pillow. And my favourite, the wake-up sweat – sweat dribbling into your ears that gently rouses you to the fact that your fan has died in the middle of your sleep.
Now, the above experiences do vary by nationality. I think they are commonly felt by all us Canadians on board, conditioned as we are for a more wintery climate. Much of it is felt by our UK and Northern European crew. However, the Australians aboard seem almost delighted that they finally have some decent Aussie weather. And our Mediterranean and Brazilian gentlemen are puzzled by what all the fuss is about.