Datum: 21.03.2023
Author: Johannes
Position: Northatlantic
Koordinaten: N 09° 19.825´ W 082° 14.231 Etmal: 6316 Seemeilen 
Schiff: Regina Maris 

The beginning of our north Atlantic crossing…

… started with the wakeup call from Freddy with the „Spandauer Hardbass“ on full volume. 
Immediately after our breakfast we wrote our math test about Ableitungen, Krümmungen und …
As soon as this test was finished, we drove out of Bermuda with the pilot and set all our sails to quietly sail to the Azores. 

Right now, we have wind from the North and we are driving a course of 80 degrees. Later this night the wind will change to northeast and we have to drive more south. In about two days we will have to turn on our engine until the wind changes and we can sail again with a southwest wind to the Azores. Short after we set sail and sheeted in the main, we saw a very thick (Buckel) whale jumping out of the water. 

Seasickness again?!

After Lunch I had a little nap like a lot of people on the ship, because seasickness overtook us collectively.  I try passing time by tying knots of all different kinds. I’m sure I will remember some that I can use at home. My newest learned knot is a spanish palstek. It’s used for rescuing people out of deep holes or in the mountains. Not very practically on a ship but we tried it out with our working line and it worked better than expected. While our crossing I would like to do a knot board. I will see how this works out with puking. 

Shanty 🙂

I’m puking all the time and that makes it a bit hard to write a daily report so I just finish this one with my favorite shanty.   

The Last Shanty (written by Tom Lewis, 1987) 

Well, my father always told me when I was just a lad A sailor’s life is very hard, the food was always bad But now I’ve joined the navy aboard a man ‘o war
A sailor ain’t a sailor ain’t a sailor anymore 

CHORUS 1:
Don’t haul on the ropes, don’t climb up the mast If you see a sailing ship it might be your last
So get your civvies ready for another run ashore A sailor ain’t a sailor ain’t a sailor anymore 

The Killick of our mess, he says we’ve got it soft
It wasn’t like that in his day when he was up aloft
We love our bunks and sleeping bags but what’s a hammock for? Swinging from the deckhead or lying on the floor 

CHORUS 1:

They gave us an engine that first went up and down
And then with more technology the engine went around We use our steam and diesel but what’s it mainly for?
A stoker ain’t a stoker with a shovel anymore 

CHORUS 1:

They gave us an Aldiss lamp so we could do it right
They gave us a radio we signalled day and night
We love our codes and ciphers but what’s a semaphore? A bunting tosser doesn’t toss the bunting anymore 

CHORUS 1:

They gave us a radar to pierce the fog and gloom
And now the lookout sits below in a tiny darkened room LORAN does navigation the SONAR says how deep
The jimmy’s three sheets to the wind the old man’s fast asleep 

CHORUS 1:

Two cans of beer a day and that’s yer bleeding lot
And then we got another one because they stopped the tot So go put on your civvies we’ll have a run ashore
A sailor’s still a sailor, just like he was before 

CHORUS 2 (x2): 

Don’t haul on the ropes, don’t climb up the mast If you see a sailing ship it might be your last
So get your civvies ready for another run ashore A sailor’s still a sailor just like he was before