7 - Deckhand's Logbook

So I'm back in Darwin.. again.

I quit my job after a week... again.

I'm sitting on the terrace of my hostel, reflecting on the past 10 days, what actually happened?

What was supposed to be a peaceful fishing trip northwest of Darwin quickly turned into a nightmare with no escape.

(Please forgive me for slight exaggerations!)

So we (that's Tobi and me) met our skipper Less and his little barramundi cutter called Skye on Monday morning, and that's where we would spend the next 8 days.

After a brief introduction to scrubbing the deck and a tour of the shipyard, we set off and had our first view of Darwin's harbor and skyline from an incredible angle.

After just 20 hours, we dropped anchor for the first time and reached our first fishing spot, from now on it was all about setting and pulling nets according to the tides.

Twice a day, we would go on the dinghy and throw out and pull in a 800-yard net with 4 anchors, of course by hand.

The worst strain is on the palms of the hands, constantly exposed to rope, saltwater, and various sea creatures.

And then I got lucky again, as the whole thing got infected.

Well, I couldn't stop, asking for breaks from pulling in the nets resulted in punishment rather than success.

At this point, I have to talk a bit more about our skipper Less.

A rough sailor with pronounced racist and sadistic tendencies, he made a fair first impression.

With infected wounds on my hands, countless bruises, a sprained thumb, and a few ribs, I had to tough it out somehow, and somehow I managed.

Although I couldn't wait to hear the almost magical words: "We are full, you lazy cunts! Get in the anchor and let's head home!"

Once we arrived, we had to unload the entire catch of the week, clean the boat one last time, and finally get away from this filthy vessel.

Now I'm back on land for a few days and thanks to antibiotics and numerous prescription ointments, I can use my fingers to some extent.

Now I'm waiting for the check and then I'll finally leave Darwin behind.

Last week, I experienced a lot, maybe I'll talk about it a few more times in the future, but right now I'm just glad to have finished this chapter.

Standing in the middle of the ocean on a small metal speedboat, pulling out sharks, swordfish, and other creatures of all sizes and shapes from the mesh of the nets, is a special moment that I will remember for a long time.

So "no regrets", it was terrible, no doubt, but also terribly exciting and extraordinary.

At this point, I would like to wish you all a belated happy egg hunting celebration.

I hope you had a great Easter weekend.

I'm about to leave in a few minutes!

Finally leaving Darwin!

I'll be in touch soon!