That was close!

6. June 2008, Friday
Position unbekannt


Today is the fourth day at sea. The wind has turned. Miserable counterattacks, strong winds, hardly the possibility to sleep properly in these conditions or to cook, make themselves felt physically.
Staying awake and alert is especially difficult during night watches. Every ten minutes on deck, all-round view and determine that everything is clear!
Since we seem to be the only ones in this world, the diligence in this matter naturally decreases a little over the days.
Bertel had the early watch today and he made himself "comfortable" in the cockpit while I try to get some rest in the aft cabin.
Bertel sits with his back to the bow and watches the play of the waves and must have nodded off when he suddenly heard and felt a terrible rumble of thunder under a bright blue sky.
He jumps up and his heart almost stops. We're going through the stern water of a huge tanker at full steam.
Bertel sees that the bridge, which is about the height of a ten-story skyscraper, is unoccupied.
In other words, we didn't have them and they didn't notice us.
It sounds dramatic, but less than a minute earlier and we probably would have collided and drowned without the people on their big ship noticing.
It was just damn lucky today!