Traditions on Board

Ship: Regina Maris
Date: 25th of February 2025
Position: North Atlantic Ocean
Geographical Position: 29°27.097’N 073°52.534’W
Etmal: 133 nm
Total: 8490 nm

In the last four months of our journey, we have developed some traditions on board. Some take place weekly, others monthly and some just twice during our journey.

Silent Hour

Every Sunday, after we have had dinner, we gather outside for a meeting.

That means the Silent Hour begins. Before it starts, Niklas always tells us a short story, plays a song, or shows a short movie for us to think about.

During Silent Hour, we then have the only truly quiet hour – more or less – of the week. Many use this time to write in their diaries, read or paint.

Malte Meeting

The Malte Meeting is a very new tradition, initiated by the student Malte.

It had its revival in Bermuda and only takes place when we are in a harbor. The meeting starts with everyone saying one thing they are grateful for, this can be a chat, a person or the place we are in. After this first part, we have one hour to play board or card games in the messroom.

So far, we have only had one Malte Meeting and just the first part, so stay tuned to learn more about it.

Birthdays

For many of us, having a birthday during this journey means celebrating it for the first time without our families. To make birthdays extra special, we have a headband with a cake on it that the birthday kid has to wear the whole day.

To recreate the feeling of home, we also always bake a cake and sing „Happy Birthday“ about four to five times for the person.

Wochenreflexion (weekly reflection)

On Saturdays, we fill out a weekly reflection in the blue book we received at the beginning of our journey.

These pages contain questions for us to think about, with each page covering a different topic such as family, health or friendship. We are supposed to fill them out every Saturday.

Feedback Gespräche (feedback talks)

During our first Atlantic crossing and the upcoming one, each of us has a feedback talk.

In this talk, two teachers discuss our journey with us, how we are feeling, how we are participating in class or during our watch duties.

We also have the chance to tell them things we would like to do differently.

Sunday Eating

Sunday is the only school-free day of the week for us, but it is also deep-cleaning day.

This day is particularly stressful for the galley crew, as they not only have to cook for everyone but also deep clean the galley. Still, it’s Sunday, so Rainer prepares a delicious Sunday roast or another special meal, like schnitzel.

For dinner, we always have pasta with pesto or another simple sauce so that the galley doesn’t have too much to do.

Bemerkungen:

Johannes: Alles, alles Gute zum Geburtstag Dosi❤️!

Felipa: Huhu, Bea ich hoffe, du bist auf der Fähre nicht seekrank geworden und hast ’ne schöne Zeit.