Us and the Sea Animals

Ship: Regina Maris
Date: 2nd of January 2025
Position: Caribbean Sea
Geographic Position: 11°58.970’N 073°59.192’W
Daily Distance (Etmal): 153 nm
Total Distance: 6227 nm

We have now already been living on the sea for two and a half months. So, fish is part of our daily routine – whether in the sea, on deck or, since today, even in our food, it’s always there.
So let’s talk about fish.

I was just leaving the poop deck because I was done with my watch when I heard Janno and Maxim shouting, “WE CAUGHT A FISH!” I ran to the railing and saw the biggest and most beautiful fish I have ever seen. The fish was yellow-green and shimmering and as soon as we took him out of the water, he turned into a beautiful turquoise.

After hitting him multiple times on the head, he was dead! 💀
We caught our first fish. 🐟 We’re not sure which species he was – probably a dolphin fish, also known as Mahi Mahi, but he was 1.07 m long and weighed around five kilograms.

We removed all his organs and prepared him so we could eat him tomorrow. Lisa gave a little spontaneous science lesson for a few people. I was part of the class and together with Jana, Anneke and Flips, we inspected the head, took out one eye and examined his gills. We also cut open his stomach and found multiple partially digested fish.

Now we’re all excited to see how he’s going to taste. 😋

But we don’t only catch fish with our fishing lines – sometimes, they fly over the railing and visit the Reggie on their own. If you find a flying fish on deck, the first thing you have to do is call for Malte. He proudly collects the fish and puts them into the freezer so someday we may dissect them all together in science class.

But as long as the flying fish don’t fly on board, they look absolutely beautiful and you can watch them glide over the surface.

But the best of all are the dolphins. Not just because I got named after one during the Atlantic ceremony, but also because it’s absolutely incredible to watch them play with the waves, especially when they glow in the dark. The way they elegantly glide through the blue water is amazing and beautiful.

Sadly, we haven’t had the privilege of seeing whales up close, only from far away and rarely. But I still have hope!

We don’t only encounter sea animals when we’re on the ship! When we first arrived in Martinique, the first thing we saw was an incredible fight. Two crabs were battling for their territory – a rock! 🪨 We went into cheerleader mode and cheered them on with all we had.

But enough of that, the absolute best interaction with fish is when you swim right next to them. My best experience so far was when we went snorkeling at a beach in Martinique. I was just swimming when, out of nowhere, a ray (Rochen) appeared under me. That was a crazy feeling – swimming with a ray. I never thought I would ever experience that.

Hopefully, that wasn’t the last time and if we are lucky, we will still see sea turtles. Let’s hope so.

The reefs in Panama are waiting for us!

Bemerkungen:

Anna: Lieber David, alles alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Ich hoffe, Du hast den Tag genossen und schön gefeiert! Und frohes neues Jahr übrigens auch!