LIVE +++ Move your body, every everybody +++ Everyone pulls together to move the boat. First, it’s positioned at a slight angle to make room. Yesterday’s dry runs with the crane are on the agenda today, this time with the real RHIB (aka MOLLY). It’s not exactly like backing a car out of a parking spot. It takes quite a few hands to loosen the lines in the right spots and reattach them elsewhere. By the way, Eiffel 65. Not punk, but probably on the CD shelves of most kids who grew up in the ’90s. In 2025, the Italian Eurodancers gave a concert here during the San Domenico festivities in Augusta. Unfortunately, I missed it, but it must have been a real banger. And in the background, Mount Etna comes into view after the thick curtain of clouds has cleared for the first time.+++ ÓRALE PUES +++ „Con dinero o sin dinero hago siempre lo que quiero.“ In the background, Mexican ranchera music plays through the galley. José Alfredo Jiménez, one of the all-time greatest pop stars in Mexican music history, provides the soundtrack for dinner. Our head chef Naomi brought corn tortillas and chipotle chiles especially for this occasion, and plenty of black beans are being mashed to go with them. Bean purée, let's go! It's not H. P. Baxxter, but H. P. High Protein sending his regards. Buen provecho!+++ Dry runs under Greek direction +++ Under the guidance of our exceptional anti-fascist athlete from Athens, who is also a former top basketball player. Just a few years ago, he was on his way to becoming a star in the Greek basketball Olympus, but he’s since found a new passion (good for us!). As 1st Mate, that is, First Officer, he’s instructing the crew today on how to crane the RHIB. First up: dry runs. Instead of the actual RHIB, a basket stretcher is suspended from the crane to simulate the procedures. The crew needs to familiarize themselves with the crane, keep the lines taut from all sides, and move in a controlled manner in sync with the crane’s movements. Everything needs to be well-coordinated before they move on to the actual rescue boat (RHIB aka MOLLY) tomorrow.+++ So kind of pseudo-philosophical aka Descartes +++ I think, therefore I am, cogito ergo sum, or something like that. When not too much is going on every now and then, your mind wanders a bit. You sit together, get to know each other, strike up a conversation. Favorite animal: seahorse; favorite color: red; favorite music: punk. Just the usual small talk. And then you sit there and think to yourself, this is complete madness. People come on board who blow their entire annual vacation on rotation duty. Everyone’s so committed. The same goes, by the way, for the people who lend a hand during the shipyard work or volunteer with the association throughout the year (shout-out to them!). And without all the Amboatsador:as, there would be a nothing going on here anyway. From day one, there’s a sense of professionalism and mutual respect here, it’s insane. There’s already a certain tension in the air, officially goosebumps.+++ Fish Food +++ When the stove here is running at full blast and the rice ends up getting sticky (at least on the bottom of the pot), eventually even soaking and scrubbing with a metal scrubber won’t help. So, cast off, drop the pot into the harbor basin overnight, and the mullets will take care of the rest. The next morning, give it a good rinse again, and you’re all set. Fish are happy, dishy-wishy done, make some coffee, take a lunch break, and get back to work. Life hacks from the life of a seafarer, or rather, a country rat who’s lost its way. Follow live

BACK IN THE GAME: SEA PUNK I BACK IN THE WATER

Hello!

We have a problem: 1,643 people have died while fleeing across the Mediterranean since the beginning of this year. These people have been someone’s mothers, sisters, brothers, parents, children, and friends. Now they are dead. Because the European Union is not fulfilling its humanitarian and international law obligations for sea rescue and is sealing itself off at the external borders instead of granting legal and safe migration routes and freedom of movement for everyone.

For these 1,643 people, the hope of a life in safety and freedom ended in death by drowning. And as always, these are just the people we know about. The number of unreported cases is higher. 

We have a problem with that! We can’t stand it! If you feel the same way, help us. With your donations we can finally send the Sea Punk I back into action in just a few days – to make a difference for a few people on the move. The difference between life and death.

BACK IN THE GAME: SEA PUNK I BACK IN THE WATER

Three months ago we were on the verge of having to give up: a hole in the hull. Account empty. You got the news. And then: you happened! You donated to us, you organized solidarity events, you looked after our concert stands as street team members, you wrote to us and asked how you could still help, you came to the shipyard to lend a hand. Hell yeah! Sea Punks Magic happened – and now the boat is back in the water. Watch here.

BYE BYE MALTA : BACK TO AUGUSTA

A big concern of ours: please don’t stop with all the support now! Let this be just the beginning, because we continue to need all the support we can get from you. 

Last week our crew transferred the Sea Punk I back to Augusta. While you are reading this, training for the next rotation is already taking place. We’re about to head out again. The Sea Punk I is now in the best condition it has ever been since we bought it. We have started planning for 2025 and want to do five rotations next year.

So much for the good news from us. Not good: our account is almost empty after the repairs. There is low tide. We need: Money, money, money. 

BECOME AN AMBOATSADOR: TELL A FRIEND TO TELL A FRIEND

The calculation is simple. We need a monthly sum of €41,666 for ship operations in 2025. Thanks to our amboatsadors, we have already achieved 26% of this. If each of you now brings in three more people as boaters, then the total will be together. How strong would that be?!

Therefore: find three people in your area, send them this link and recruit them to become Sea Punk I amboatsadors. With 13.12 euros or more per month you can become a captain.

CORPORATE DONATIONS

You can also donate in kind. Do you work in a company that is doing well financially and would like to support our work? Maybe you also make devices that can be of great use to us? Then become a corporate donor and help us help other people! 

The Kärcher company, for example, did this and donated one of their yellow high-pressure cleaners to us. So we can now make things clear again – we say THANK YOU.

COME ABOARD : CREWING 2025 IS OPEN NOW

Our crewing department has started planning for 2025 – we want to sail fünf rotations, and there is of course layover times in Augusta, and also a longer time in the shipyard. If you would like to support us in action or on land in the shipyard or during layover in Augusta, then fill in our crewing form. You can find more information here: Crewing – Sea Punks e.V.

POLITICS

Times are tough. Stay informed and loud and active against injustice. And above all: take good care of yourself and others.Here’s some news that affects people on the move, search and sea rescue and our work – you’ll see, there are plenty of reasons to be angry and carry on! Thank you for supporting us!

Love & Rage
Sea Punks

20 Years Frontex – Thanks for nothing

The European border agency Frontex is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. 20 years of “effective protection of external borders”. 20 years in which the protection of the construct “border” takes precedence over the protection of people. We say: Thank you for nothing! Frontex is financed by billions of EU funds (yes, your tax money is included in this too!) and has developed into the central actor in the isolation of Europe and the criminalization of escape and migration. This costs human lives. The illegal activities of the European border agency were uncovered again and again, but there were never any serious consequences. This has to come to an end. Protect people! Not Borders!

Italy threatens NGOs with confiscation of monitoring aircraft • Sea-Watch e.V.