This man is sailing around the world with his beloved pet chicken

According to the many superstitions of sailors, there are just some things that are luckier to take aboard a ship than others (black cats good, women bad). But even the most wizened old sea captain might be at a loss of words for what to make of this first mate.

Meet Monique:

Monique is a chicken who is sailing around the world along with her (human) 24-year-old captain, Guirec Soudee. Both are from Brittany, France; the team set out in May 2014 although their adventures are only just beginning to be picked up by the international media. The pair began their journey in the Canary Islands, then sailed to St Bart's in the Caribbean, and moved up to the Arctic last August.

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"I thought about a cat, but decided it would be too much effort to look after it. The hen was an ideal choice. It doesn't need that much looking after and I'm able to get eggs at sea," Soudee told the BBC, speaking from Greenland where he and Monique are currently moored.

"At the beginning, I was very worried — there would be huge waves and she might stumble, it would look for a second like she might go overboard, but she would always regain her footing," Soudee said. "She's very brave."

While chickens are not the most aquatic of animals, Monique rather embraces life on the high seas. In fact, when she's not busy helping out in the galley, Monique quite likes to surf. See it to believe it, below. Jeva Lange