Where or When Does One Thing End and Another Begin? I had imagined blurry lines, but figured quickly that all seems clearly defined: The sky above touching the horizon, the ocean below with numbers of depths unimaginable. I know nothing about sailing, well, maybe now after 10 days, a little. Borders. We already crossed several, […]
The departure maneuver was tight in the bay of Sainte Anne, Martinique. We anchored nicely after Le Marin marina behind all the sailing yachts. During our stay for a week, 3 other yachties arrived and anchored quite close. The catamaran in front of us had to hive up the anchor when we left. The sound […]
The sun rises And lets a billion orange-golden loops loose To chase a billion black circles A soft breeze is slithering Over the mercury glittering And Venus twinkles from above Oh look: a rainbow, double, over there (where we just were) A nice couple: sun and clouds Their raindrops drying on the shrouds […]
A ship on shore is something mystical. On my way to the dock, from the other side of the canal, I was looking up at Tres Hombres majestic bow, coated with a fresh layer of anti-fowl, in a deeper colour than before. It’s odd that even though a ship, when ashore, is pulled out of […]
We left Spain and Portugal behind us and are now heading towards La Palma. The wind blows straight from behind and the waves are rolling, rolling, rolling. More than a month ago we left Den Helder and set our sails. For me the first time sailing in my life. An amazing new adventure with all […]
On a previous tall ship journey I was awarded “minus sixty salty points” by a seasoned sailor for wearing a glove on one hand. On that trip I developed a healthy aversion to anything ‘yaughty’ – thrilled by the experience of sailing under square sails and without such preposterous inventions like winches and epoxied laminate. […]
PART I Out on the ocean the tradewinds cross over a deep-water trench of no particular name. A crossroad of sorts between a wind and a waterway, that for a long time was the location of a public house. The outlines can still be seen as the square coral reef on the bank of the […]
Last night, there was an amazing shooting star in the sky. A breathtaking green light drew a glowing stripe against the black, before it fell apart into two or three white flashes. The whole spectacle lasted about two seconds. Abundance of magnesium and copper in such burning space debris, a little online research would suggest. […]
I’m terrible at sleeping. Always have been. I know every little corner of the ceiling in the bedroom. It’s not necessarily the quality of sleep that’s bad, it’s the practice of falling asleep. Don’t I often wake up on the sofa in the afternoon, bewildered, disoriented, evidently after having falling asleep there, though? Why yes, […]
I want to tell you straight how great life on board Tres Hombres is. I really do. Because it is. Great, I mean. It’s just… I’m no good at all that cheery ‘life’s full of wonders’-crap. As a storyteller, I need my fair dose of tragedy. Recently I have found, though, that tragedy is much […]
