We got through Europe with strong storms and we've been crossing the Atlantic, with burning sunny days. We went through a crazy time in Barbados, with exhausting anchor maneuvers and an environment that left not so much space for a good rest. And then finally we reached St. Martinique.

The island made us a nice welcome, with the refreshing smell of wet Forest wood of the huge green landscape. The green grass around the little hills and the nice Forest were the refreshing views, which we were longing for. After our successful anchor maneuver, we were looking forward to the art of French baking. The word croissants were in everyone's mouth. Nice food and good drinks became the basis of our arriving party. We were happy to be in beautiful surroundings like this island.

We all felt a big change was about to happen. Almost half of us had to leave…
We became a family when we did this big crossing together, but now this amazing journey is ending for some of us. Their time on the ship is over, they did their duty and left their footsteps in our hearts and on this ship. It will be different for us, and hard for them to leave. We keep them in our memories.

The happiness of arriving on a nice and friendly island and these moods of change. Made space to mirror the passing events on this ship for me personally. I am now over three months on this ship. I started in November in Den Helder, crossed the channel and reached the “other side” of the world and became a part of the ship. I learned to fear and respect the water. I solved being afraid of heights and became the climbing instructor. I faced my inner demons on the crossing and shook them off.

Three words became really strong for me: faith, hope, and love. The faith grew about my knowledge, my abilities, and my spirit. The belief in a bigger thing, like this project and that a small change can become a big wave. Every star night and beautiful sunrise gave hope and created greed for the next day.
The strength of the mates, the captain and our beautiful ship Tres Hombres gave me hope that after every suffering comes a breath-taking moment around the corner. And I felt strong love. Love for the ideals of this company, to her our wooden home and our amazing crew. I am really proud to be a part of this.

I finally arrived at a place where I always dreamed about to be. Since I was a child, I was reading books about sailors and pirates. I collected bottle ships and on every holiday on a coast, my parents had to fight me away from the harbors after hours of watching the sailing boats. And now at the peak of my life, I finally got the opportunity to make this dream come true. To sail on a tall ship across the Atlantic, to climb into the rigs and stand on a yard and all this with a good ethical idea in the background.

I had plans. I wanted to cross the ocean to visit friends in Mexico and my lovely family in North Carolina. I was looking for adventures on the way through America. A country that is full of western society. But in this arriving-night on Martinique, it changed my mind totally. The Idea to stay on board grew out of a little talk with the galley cook some months ago and became my biggest wish. I saw myself more on this ship than traveling thought another western society. I miss my cousins and uncle who have been waiting for me, but I need to bring this sacrifice.

I am looking forward to new opportunities to face my fears. Out of the fear of storms became a longing for it, the stress with climbing grew the lust for it and the bunch of crazy people which I met for the first time in my life found a big part in my heart. These old planks, the rusty metal, the tared rig, and the shining white sails became my home. And I will stay until I have to leave in Amsterdam. The present on this ship became the biggest present of my life.