The Time of our Life

Ship: Regina Maris
Date: 19th of November 2024
Position: North Sea
Geographical Position: 30°04.937N 012°51.217 W
Etmal: 162 nm
Total: 1,883.5 nm

Exactly one Month

Exactly one month from today, we took our first step on the Reggie. Since then, many things have happened so let’s take a look at all the memories and highlights we’ve gathered in this month. Let’s go!

The first Day

It all started on a sunny Saturday in mid-October, when 35 brave kids chose to start the biggest adventure of their lives. The last tears had been used up to say goodbye to the families for the upcoming six months.

Our phones were collected by the teachers and we started to make first contact with each other. We took a closer look at our new home and by dinner time we were already laughing like we had known each other forever.

But in reality, it was just the beginning of the adventure! 🙂

Us, ourselves and the Sea

After some safety instructions, it didn’t take long until we started the engine and said goodbye to Amsterdam, heading full power forward to Vigo!

After a short time, we heard the word “Erste” coming out of Ella’s mouth. That wasn’t the only thing coming out of her mouth. 😉 She was the first one to throw up. Then we knew it all: Seasickness was about to attack us.

A clear separation was noticeable. We couldn’t differentiate between seasick people and zombies. The other half was dancing around trying to entertain the affected people.

Good Weather, Smelly People 🇫🇷🇪🇸

After we mastered the English Channel with ease, we had no other choice but to take a short anchor break in a bay near Brest to wait for a storm to pass in the Bay of Biscay.

During that time, we weren’t allowed to shower until we got to Vigo because the water maker broke down. That was another reason why we were so excited to get to Vigo. After two days at anchor we set sail through the Bay of Biscay heading to Vigo.

It was an indescribable feeling to finally shower after eight days. In total, Vigo was so much fun and Santiago was also great. We collected memories we will never forget.

Seasickness Supreme

Since Vigo, we’ve started with school. In general, this wouldn’t be a problem (more or less) except for seasickness. In our first math lesson with Niklas, we started with 16 people. Over time, we reduced ourselves to eight people. I personally even threw up into a bucket while Jacob was presenting his results. 🙂

After some time the seasickness was almost completely gone – unlike the school.

“Portimão, na Klaro!”

Spontaneously, we took a short stop at a nice harbor near the beach in Portimão, Portugal. We spent almost all our time at the beach playing soccer, spikeball, volleyball or going swimming.

One day, we battled each other in a beach Olympiad. The best team was, of course, my team, Portimão, na Klaro! (but only if you start from the bottom)

In total, we had a great time in Portugal even though Julius sadly left us… (we still remember and miss you).

Salam Aleikum, Morocco 🇲🇦

Morocco was a huge highlight of our adventure so far. After an intense deep clean on board we packed our stuff to go to a hostel in the middle of Essaouira. The first days were filled with surfing, getting a mullet for almost every boy and playing soccer against the locals of Morocco. Of course, we won.

One day we had the chance to visit a school where orphans live. We played basketball against them and took a closer look at their school.

On another day, we visited another school with the crew of the Johnny. They presented their school to us and explained the most important things we need to know about Morocco. The real reason for the invitation was the celebration of the Green March. We planted some trees, had a great time during a soccer tournament against the school kids.

Probably the most special thing we visited so far was the hammam in Morocco. It is a traditional massage, washing and relaxation place where women and men are strictly separated. This made more sense after we saw the almost naked, old guy who was about to give us the most intense and brutal massage of our lives. But in total, everybody liked the hammam. 😊

“Marmeladeglas-Momente sammeln”

My sister Sophie (Ocean College 22/23) told me to gather as many “Marmeladenglas-Momente” as possible. We have had the privilege to already gather plenty of them.

My personal favorite is, for example, the star-clear sky at night, looking at the fins of whales or the magical sunsets while 1,000 dolphins are jumping around on the bow wave. It feels like we live, love, enjoy every moment together like it’s our first and last. We are all so grateful for the privilege to experience all these extraordinary things.

Thank you so much to everybody who gave us the chance to do this. We can’t wait to gather more of these “Marmeladenglas-Momente” in the upcoming five months.

Right now, it’s almost 4am and I’m about to go to bed because Niklas is about to tell me something about chemistry in five hours. So good night to everyone!

Yours, Johannes

Bemerkungen:

Johannes: Salam Aleikum, ihr Lieben! Mir geht’s hier echt super und ich bin super dankbar, dass ich das alles machen darf! Ich denke sehr viel an euch alle und habe euch ganz doll lieb ❤️

Sonja: Benji, falls du das liest, wir freuen uns schon alle auf dich. P.S.: Bring bitte oriental funny-frisch Chips mit, Kuss 🫃🏼💃

Jana: Hey ihr Lieben, ich lebe noch. Hab‘ euch alle lieb und freu‘ mich schon, mit euch zu telefonieren 💕