En de witte paarden schitteren als fonkelende diamanten op donkerblauw fluweel. Dat was het uitzicht toen ik op de voormast klom. Nog maar een paar maanden geleden zou ik, door en door landrot, nauwelijks hebben begrepen wat zo’n zin betekende. Toch was dat mijn eerste gedachte na bijna twee maanden op zee, zittend bovenop de […]
Ongeveer één tijdzone per week passeren, op een klein drijvend eiland, alleen aangedreven door de wind. Het is verbazingwekkend als je erover nadenkt. Geen brandstof, geen ingewikkelde machines. Gewoon een stel planken, touwen en canvas die met liefde en vakmanschap bij elkaar zijn gebracht. Dat is alles wat je nodig hebt om de halve wereld […]
Mid-January, is a winter where it is so warm around noon that we have to take care of and hide from the sun, like in the Spanish culture. When the wooden deck looks thirsty, we pour a fair amount of water on it. The black lady knows and recognizes the West longitude of the Atlantic […]
4 Beauforts. Moderate breeze, small waves, breaking crests, white horses. Dear loved ones, fellow humans, relations, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, with good winds, and good navigations on all levels, for us and the next generations. Sailing into golden sunsets… Here is a message from the Atlantic Ocean. There is a North East […]
A happy and peaceful new year, in how far this is possible. 10 years ago we left La Palma for the first time with rum from Destilerias Aldea. Nobody of us knew that these Islands produce artisanal rum until I met Santi Bronchales at the German Rumfest in 2011. He was working for Oliver in […]
We left the harbour with the last Northerly wind of the day and once outside quickly Southerly wind came, so for the first time (for me), we went to the Atlantic ocean by the north of La Palma. It is always tricky to leave this harbour because the wind often changes a little inside the […]
Here comes a message from the ocean, the Atlantic Ocean. It seems like we are here forever. Time is passing by… We started with sunshine and good east wind in Den Helder, with 8 men, and 7 women heading towards the Channel. After some time we passed strong winds, and everything was flying around. Peanut butter […]
We’ve been visited by some elegant gulls, a cormorant, a falcon, dolphins and a fin whale. So little wind that we brailed up the main and doused other staysails to protect them and stop the noisy flapping. Rolling smoothly, the crew goes to bed on one side and wakes up on the other side. Very […]
Travelling through infinite sceneries even though they may look the same on the surface. Bizarre images of ships that look like blockhouses… sometimes seeing only their silhouette in the fog or in the middle of the sunset painted in the deepest orange and dark blue of the water. Dolphins playing in the water… jellyfish… glowing […]
Saviez vous qu´en anglais, les bateaux sont genrés au féminin ? Quand j´ai envoyé ma candidature pour naviguer sur le Tres Hombres, j´ai imaginé que j´allais devoir cohabiter avec des hommes pendant plus de trente jours, dans un espace réduit, en pleine mer, sans autre échappatoire que de grimper dans les voiles. Heureusement, en parcourant […]
