First day back at sea after three weeks on land

Date: 09th of February 2024
Geographical Position: 09°41.9′ N 82°07.8′ W
Etmal: 79 nm
Total: 6404 nm
Ship: Regina Maris

Back on board

After traveling around Costa Rica for the last three weeks, it was amazing to see the Reggie again and be back on board.

In the last three months, the Reggie became home for most of us. When I think about the Reggie, I think of many beautiful moments that I experienced onboard. For example, the Mid Atlantic Ball, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve. But also just the casual evenings sitting on the Maindeck with friends are really special memories.

I think we all experienced and learned so much onboard. We grew. We learned to deal with difficulties like sea- or homesickness. But we also learned that we have a lot of people here that help us in every situation and time you can think of.

We grew together as a family. Greta always says that we all are like her siblings and I can understand why. Sometimes when I see her and Joshi „fighting“ about the powerbank or other stuff Joshi stole, it somehow reminds me of the relationship I have with my brother back home in Germany.

All of these beautiful things happened onboard of this ship and that’s why it is so important for me and feels like home. Now it feels like being back home after a trip.

Back at sea

After a couple of days at anchor in Bocas del Toro, we now are back at sea. Of course, this is mostly great but for some people, this also means Seasickness. Half of the students were/are seasick again. Even some that weren’t seasick the last time.

Overall, I think that it was less than the last time and now we all are known to seasickness and everybody has their strategy to prevent or deal with it.

Margaux tries to rest a lot and, for example, lay on deck. Luisa tries to sleep and distract herself. Yesterday she made fun of the seasickness with Greta which helped her a lot. (They were up in the mast together which might not have been the best idea…) Due to that, Greta recommended not to go in the mast on the first day at sea after three weeks on land. For me, it helps to distract myself.

Yesterday, when I felt a bit seasick, I distracted myself with some bosun work like whipping and splicing. After that, I felt a lot better. But not everybody that was puking yesterday was seasick.

The next wave of a stomach virus has hit us. About one forth of the ship is sick and some of the sick ones are puking and not feeling well at all. But the ones that are healthy can really enjoy being back on sea.

For me, it is amazing to feel the wind blowing through my hair again and to feel the ship moving through the waves. Sailing means a lot of freedom for me. You see nothing but your small, meaningless ship on the big, wide ocean. We are now back in our „Reggiebubble“ with our own routines and rules. I really enjoy having a fixed daily routine and also your own personal space for your stuff.

Now everything is organized and you don’t have to pack and unpack your whole stuff every two days. When everything has a fixed place the cabins feel huge. Especially in comparison to the beginning of the voyage or Costa Rica.

I think most of us are happy to be sailing again but we all are also really excited for all the upcoming experiences in Cuba, Bermuda and on the Azores.

P.S.: Isabel: Lau, alles alles Gute zum Geburtstag <3!!!!