Angelasails.com

I don’t even know where to begin… So much has happened the last couple of weeks.

I was approached by a Dutch owner of a Sweden Yacht 45. She needed to be delivered from Vathy 🇬🇷 to Scarlino 🇮🇹 for a refit.

On our first attempt I left the marina with the owner and 2 friends for the 5 days journey. 12 hours in, so much had happened, that I decided to call it in the middle of the night: “we are going back to the home marina”

1,5 week later I returned to Vathy with my own crew. Ready to bring her to Scarlino. Due to a huge weather system we decided to find refuge in a marina close to Rome but 18 hours before our arrival the engine started making a weird sound and there was smoke everywhere!! We had water in the saildrive..

(Which is sheer bad luck by the way – not bad maintenance)

Since we were literally in the ‘calm before the storm’ it took us 16 hours to do 32nm towards Napoli. Land has never looked so close and yet so far away.

My crew left the next day and I stayed behind to oversee the boat being hauled out of the water.. That is now 8 days ago. The company that suggested the current marina forgot to tell us the boatlift is 12nm away! The weather has been so horrible that a tow was only possible on 1 day but the company ‘forgot’ to set everything up..

6 days in I was brought in contact with the surveyor of the insurance company and things are moving along a bit faster now. It seemed that the initial company was literally in it to make a shitload of money of us and soon backed out completely after the surveyor entered the scene..

While on the mooring line in the marina the boat is behaving as if it is still sailing. The swell is nothing short of what we had outside, the rain so heavy that even non-leaking hatches start to leak and the boat is continuously leaning to one side due to the big winds only to be pulled back with a tug by the lines securing her to the dock. Cabinets have actually flown open because of it!

In the meantime I have been struggling to get the bilges oil free and empty of seawater… and when I had done just that (took me 4 days!) a Volvo engineer came onboard, started the engine and now I am back to square one.

During all this I am battling with the WORST outbreak of eczema. I have only had this once before, some 15 years ago, but the cause is the same: allergy for (too much) productsoftner when washing my clothes.

The itching is driving me absolutely crazy! I can’t sleep, can’t wear clothes (but have to 🤗) and the pills from the pharmacy don’t seem to be working. I am at wits end.

And to top it all off: I really wanted to be home on the 6th of November to celebrate my son George’s 8th Birthday 💫 – with my family. Since sailing professionally I have either been on the Atlantic or on a course and I really wanted to make it this time…

But then my sister texted me: “don’t worry sis, my Birthday was always celebrated a week later because of the boatshow where mom and dad had to be… So it is ok to celebrate it as soon as you are back..♥️”

.. and she is right.

In the end it is the worst for the owner. A 5 day, pretty straightforward, delivery has turned into a (financial) nightmare for him …

To be continued..

After we abandoned our delivery Palma – Cagliari on the 15th we spend two nights on a mooring buoy in Porto Colom.

The weather was hazy, fully clouded and hot between the mountains of Mallorca, but there was a 20-25 knots blowing from the SE. The worst you can have in that area because when we woke up the next morning we were horrified about the look of Toy Club.

All the work we had done cleaning in Palma was thrown out of the window as she now was covered with a thick layer of sahara sand..

We got straight to work (my crew Heather is truly amazing!) and managed to make her reasonably presentable again, or rather: livable…

At midday we needed to leave the mooring buoy and we decided to find an anchorage after we fuelled up. Unfortunately this seemed impossible with the prevailing wind (and mainly) wave direction.

We were left with 2 choices: sail all the way around the corner in the general direction of Palma or simply head out and ‘go for it’ towards Cagliari.

We choose the latter.

I have to say: it became one of the weirdest deliveries in my career. I saw 1m sailing boats which upon investigation turned out to be fishing pots. A dove tried for hours (!!) to land on the luff of the jib. Then exhaustingly fell down on deck and realised that was a much better resting place..

The swell and waves were literally all over the place making the sea a true washing machine. Our speed varied between 4.0 and 7.0 knots depending on which wave hit us.

The worst of it though was the sahara sand particles.. Our eyes were on fire and our throats felt like sand paper resulting in a killing headache.

We put the screens up at the top deck helmstation to give us some protection but nonetheless our bodies, hair and clothes look like we went hiking in the desert rather than sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. Where are the masks when you need them!

The next morning at first daylight it was not a suprise to see the boat completely covered in an orange carpet (again). Consequently our cabins, sheets, the saloon area, all outside pillows.. everything is a mess. We will have our work cut out for us when we reach the ‘other side’.

We have approx. half a day to turn the boat around from delivery to cruising mode before the guests come onboard. Challenge accepted. I mean, sleep is highly overrated.. haha

On a brighter note: we had the pleasure of a dragon fly joining us almost the entire trip. At one point it was caught in the beam of the nav. station red light and I grabbed it to toss it back to freedom. Only later I realised I might possibly have killed it because I threw it towards the water. I strangely felt bad about that.

When I went to bed after my watch I put my head on my pillow for a well deserved 2,5 hour sleep. Usually I bring 2 crew on deliveries but when it is ‘only’ 50 hours, doing it double-handed is not too bad (4hrs on / 4hrs off during the day and 3 on / 3 off at night). But I do regret it at times when the alarm goes off!

Just when I was about to doze off I heard this weird sound and then something hit my face. I nearly had a heart attack! Soon I realised it was the dragonfly whom I thought I killed.

But what will truly make your day:

I bought new shorts just before we left and thought: “that is cute with the ‘A’ on it”. Never thought for one second that dots could be so crucial.

When you see it you can’t ever unsee it …

Cheers! We made it!

I received countless messages from people asking why I am not part of the Clipper Race Skipper line-up. Thank you so much. It meant a lot.

I started to doubt being part of the project a couple of weeks after last years race finish and it never really went away. My heart was not in it and the Race Office picked up on that during the trials. They are professionals for a reason.

So while a lot of skippers were weathering the cold in Gosport last week I was on my way to Palma. After a 48 hours trip with a cancelled flight and then a delayed flight the next day I arrived in Palma last Saturday. On a mission I have to say. On Monday the movers were coming which left me the Sunday to pack.

To say I was a whirlwind going through my apartment, is the understatement of the year.

But guess what: I.BOUGHT.A.HOUSE.IN.SNEEK! 🇳🇱

Words can not express how happy am I about that. I am going home. Back to my roots. Back to where my family and friends are. Back to where George is…

Palma simply did not give me the peace of mind I was seeking, in some sense my life even turned more chaotic.. At one point I had stuff there, stuff in Sneek, stuff in the UK and stuff in Austria. Another thing is that I only spent about 12 weeks in Palma since I bought the apartment and every time I am there after a (long) tripe, I’d rather be home.

Was Palma a mistake? Absolutely not. Sometimes you have to do something to find out it is not the best for you. I love it there, but I love going home more.

So now I am moving loads of stuff back only to possibly not be able to be there in May when I get the keys and when the movers arrive.

At that moment I will probably be sailing from La Rochelle to .. yes really… Palma. Apart from my deliveries for angelasails.com, I am going to run a brand new, privately owned, Lagoon 55 this year with it’s base in … yes really.. Palma.

Life throws interesting curve balls sometimes…

But, to me it feels like getting the best out of both worlds: spend time in in the Mediterranean for work and go home when I am off. Can’t wait!

Writing the above suddenly makes me realize that this probably is why my heart was not fully committed to the Clipper Race. I dreaded the prospect of being away for 1,5 years.

Maybe my mindset will be different for the 2025 race..

In the meantime: I am going HOME!!! 🥂

I am so sorry for not writing a blog for over a year! The Clipper Race was such an extreme experience that blogging on my own website was pushed far down the ‘to-do-list’. During the race I wrote quite a bit but obviously those blogs landed on the Clipper website..

In February 2022 after a little run in with Covid-19 I arrived in Subic Bay (Philippines) about one week behind the rest of the professional race team. We had 7 weeks to prepare the 11 boats for race start on March 20. You can imagine the state of the boats after being in the marina for about 2,5 years in extreme heat and a lot of dust. We had our work cut out for us but at the same time it was an amazing experience to take the steering cables apart, clean out and replace parts of the X-box and be part of a team working their asses off in 40+ degrees temperatures.

The crew arrived about 10 days before race start and after sea trials and a refresher week we were all set to leave on March 20. The leg from Subic Bay to Seattle was going the be the longest leg yet for Clipper and we were expecting to be out at sea for 35-40 days. But first we had to motor out for 3 days in no wind and excruciating temperatures, after which we did a Le Mans start in the ‘middle of nowhere’.

One week later we passed Japan and the temperatures finally started to drop. Since I get cold easily I was the first person to start wearing thermos and layering up my sleeping bag.

Since the wind was more favorable close to the ice-limit (a virtual limit set by the Clipper Race) all 11 boats pushed rather far North. And wow, cold it got. One morning I got up on deck and we had a layer of snow on deck! I promise you, even my USB charged bodywarmer and socks could not provide me with enough heat to keep me warm. Sometimes I would get into my sleeping bag and simply not warm up before my next watch. It was really challenging and at the same time my job was never over.

I was first mate and during my watch I was basically in charge so the skipper could sleep. We had people seasick, people who (apart from the 4×1 week training in the UK) never had been on a boat before, people who could not see at night (and thus could not helm) and people who found out during the (longest!!) leg that ‘sailing may not be their thing’..

After 6.753nm 36 days we finished fourth in Seattle and I can tell you that the hot shower at the hotel almost made me cry.

A week later we left for the leg to the Panama canal (which we won!!), then to Bermuda, New York, Derry-Londonderry and on 31 July we finally finished in London. It was an amazing experience during which I learnt so much. I rushed back to the Netherlands to do some dinghy sailing (yes really) and Mid-September I went to Palma. The moment I received a phone call to do a couple of weeks teaching in Greece I couldn’t say no.

In October I was approached to do the ARC in the racing division as a skipper with paying crew onboard. A little bit like the Clipper Race but then on a much smaller boat (40.7ft in stead of 70ft). I had 8 crew and a mate onboard which really was a full house. But it was great, we made the right tactical decisions, team spirit was high, we made the boat go fast.. and we WON!

After that I had to rush back to Europe for the most important event of the year: The Christmas skiing holiday with my family. Life really has to throw a curve ball for me to miss that week. I love being in the mountains and I am lucky enough to always be able to extent that holiday and work as a ski/snowboard instructor for a couple of weeks until duty calls again..

And next?
I am back in Palma and I just passed my AEC1 (Diesel Engine Course). I will be doing my GMDSS in February. All courses to prepare myself for a step towards the superyacht industry (yes really!). In the meantime I am back doing deliveries, but I would love to land a job as a Chief Officer/First Mate on a 80ft+ Sailing Yacht, preferably with a racing itenary, somewhere in 2023.

A girl has to dream..

To be continued.

As you probably know I will be joining the Clipper Race this year as a AQP (Mate). It is the 2019-2020 race but due to Covid-19 they stranded in Subic Bay (Philippines) in 2019. Last month I found out I am assigned to Ha Long Bay Vital. I am absolutely stoked about this!! The team has done an amazing job thus far and are in 2nd place (of 11 yachts) after 5 legs. I have some big shoes to fill..

The race will take me from the Philippines to Seattle, through the Panama Canal to Bermuda, then to New York after which we prepare for the final leg towards London.

Especially the first leg, which will be about 37 days at sea, is the one that ‘worries’ me. I am not very good with dealing with ‘cold’ and we are promised temperatures around zero degrees, strong winds and loads of water across the deck.

What do you wear, how on earth am I staying dry for 37 days and most importantly: how am I staying warm!

I bought 4 Merino wool underlayers (1 for every week and then some..). The advantage of Merino wool is that it does not start smelling like regular thermal underlayers. It is said to be quick-drying but I have no illusion that anything that gets wet will ever dry again while at sea.

Then I am putting on a bodywarmer with heating elements which can be USB-charged. Oh the luxury! I honestly believe this will be one of my favorite items during the race.

The next layer is a ‘bear-suit’. It will be a hassle to take it off and put it back on when going to the heads, but it’s promising to keep me warm in the toughest conditions.

After that I am not quite sure. Not a lot of clothes will fit over the ‘bear-suit’ so I might end up putting a fleece of some kind below it. Time will tell.

When it gets really really cold I will be putting on a dry-suit next. Again, a hassle when going to the heads, but it gives me a feeling of safety and it is making sure I am staying absolutely dry. Clipper provides us with Ocean Gear so that will be the final layer. Hopefully I am still able to move after wearing all the above!

As for my head I bought a waterproof beanie. Underneath I will put a fleece beanie for extra warmth.

My biggest headache at the moment is how to keep my hands and feet warm. I have neoprene gloves, but obviously, they will get wet. I also bought merino gloves and I am putting heavy duty cold/oil resistant work gloves on top of it. That should keep them dry. As for warm I am not quite sure yet.

As for my feet; I am thinking about buying heated socks with USB charger. I also have merino wool socks which I can put below my waterproof socks. The drysuit I mentioned earlier comes with feet ‘attached’. So that is one less thing to think about.

But how on earth am I going to fit all that in my boots??

Then the sleeping bag. My place of comfort and some sort of privacy. I have one of those waterproof ones with 2 layers of (thick) fleece lining. It is HUGE! I have been told however, this will become my best friend, but I have no idea yet how to pack it in a sensible manner.

My mind is going crazy, wheels are spinning all the time and I am continuously walking from closet to closet making sure I am not forgetting anything.

Then my eyes wander to my closet again and I see my bikini’s and shorts.. Sh*t. I have been so focused on the cold leg that I totally forgot about the fact that it is also going to be extremely hot. It is summer in the Philippines where we will be spending one month to prepare the boats, train with crew and look at race tactics (my favorite!). Shorts, shirts, bikini’s and obviously sunscreen lotion are added to the ever increasing pile of stuff-to-bring.

For good measure I order a USB-chargeable mini-ventilator. While at it I realize I am using the word USB-chargeable a couple of times in this blog. This is apart from my phone, e-reader, toothbrush (yes really!), watch and God knows what I am forgetting. Bringing 2, instead of just one powerbank is starting to look like a smart thing to do.

I was talking to my skipper the other day and we both cannot wait to slip the lines in Subic Bay. But that is still some 7 weeks away.

I, however, will be ‘on the road’ as of coming Sunday and in the meantime I am preparing my house to be rented out through Airbnb or long-term. I just moved here, but it looks like I am moving again.

Sometimes I really doubt my sanity..

Should have stayed in the Optimist forever..

For as long as I can remember I wanted to sail in the (Volvo) Ocean Race. But when I still worked in business, I didn’t have a clue about how to get ‘a foot in the door’. Coming from the Frysian lakes the big boat world was somewhat a mystery to me.

Then I started living my Plan B. I left my job, sold my house and went as an unpaid crewmember on a catamaran across the Atlantic Ocean. This is exactly 3 years ago.

Since then I crossed the Atlantic Ocean 6 times, did around 30.000nm (of which 80% as a skipper), got my Yachtmaster Ocean (Sail and Power) and became a Cruising Instructor. Somewhere in between I decided to participate in the Vaurien (dinghy) World Championship and together with my Spanish crew we won the (female) title. My second time.

The dream of taking part in the (Volvo) Ocean Race became more tangible. I got to know people, some of them vouched for me and my CV made the rounds. But… unfortunately no door has opened yet.

I also started training people for the “race of their lives” at Clipper. And slowly I became excited about this race. A plan B in my plan B.

But is it? Now that I am mentally & physically preparing for the 20.000nm ahead in temperatures going as low as 0 degrees and expected winds of 30+ knots, I am not really sure if this race is in any way less of a race.

To compare:

The (Volvo) Ocean Race is sailed with 8 professional sailors on a 65ft race yacht. The Clipper Race has 2 professionals onboard – a skipper and a mate. The rest of the crew – about 20 on a 70ft race yacht – are people like you and your neighbor. People with a dream, a goal, a mission. From an 18 year old with a gap year to a 70 year old looking for excitement and any other person in between. Everybody with their own reason. There are a handful ‘round the world-ers’ and they are evenly divided over the 11 boats, but the majority of people do 1 or 2 legs. So we have to deal with crew changes every leg.

Each crew member has to train 4 x one week in Gosport (Solent, UK). During the training they do not necessarily learn how to sail, but they are learning how to be safe on specifically the Clipper Yacht. To do the revolutions like sailchange, reef, tack, gybe, winch handling etc without losing any fingers or go overboard.

And don’t forget: The ocean does not differentiate between the (Volvo) Ocean- or Clipper Race.

So that brings me back to the question if the Clipper Race is a plan B in my plan B..

It is not.

I am proud, excited and extremely eager to set sail onboard one of the yachts (I have not been allocated a team yet). I have a race heart and I do not ever start a regatta without the ambition to win. With that in mind my main focus is to make sure the crew is safe and having fun. Who knows how far that will bring us..  

Stats

Leg 6     THE MIGHTY PACIFIC                   8.000nm             0 – 15 degrees Celsius
Leg 7     USA COAST-TO-COAST                 7.200nm             15 – 35 degrees Celsius
Leg 8     ATLANTIC HOMECOMING           4.400nm             15 – 25 degrees Celsius

Read more about the race restart: https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/news/article/clipper-race-to-restart-in-2022-as-it-receives-special-event-permit-from-the-philippines

Day 1

26 April 2020
0225 GMT

This afternoon we left Horta after having been on the quarantine dock for 2 nights. It was strange to see Peter’s Cafe across the marina but not being able to go there.

A big fence on the dock marked the ‘end of our line’.

Groceries, diesel and even Peter’s Gin was delivered to the fence by people wearing white suits and masks.

I couldn’t help but wonder if that attire was to protect them or us. Our skipper, Alex and I have been in quarantine for 36 days now so surely we cannot be a danger to anyone..

Just 2 nights on the docks and the whole watch rhythm flew out of the window. I went to bed at 1800 GMT and have been wide awake looking at the ceiling until it was time to get up for my watch at 0000. I most likely will sleep very well after 0400.

Honestly, I can’t wait.

Day 2

27 April 2020

0200 GMT

After an uneventful graveyard shift and a good couple of hours sleep I got up at 0950 to go to the ‘gym’.

I put some extra layers on because the temperature is dropping faster than a brick from the sky (so it feels). Imagine my surprise when I came outside to find the sun shining and almost no wind (the fact that we have been on engine almost since we left Horta should have given the wind part away). I ended up doing my gym session in a tank top and shorts!

Alex and I took the most out of the nice weather because we knew it would be short lived. We expect today to have been the last day that the aft (sun) deck was open as we could see the low pressure area surround is during the day. In the afternoon the wind slowly started to pick up but not before I served everyone risotto with spinach and seafood for dinner..

On my watch now I have seen gusts up to 40 knots and I had to go outside a couple of times to put extra reefs in (read: pressed the buttons to make the sails smaller). We are currently using the baby genoa (2 reefs) and the mizzen (mainsail on the second mast, with more or less 2 reefs). The wind is on our beam and it is erratic at times. It literally is on/off; we are set up for the gusts but when the wind drops a bit we are like a tennis ball in a tumble dryer due to the swell and the irregular waves on top.

But hey, we are going in a straight line towards our destination.

Day 3

28 April 2020

0111 GMT

Eventhough we are sailing on a superyacht it stopped being comfortable some 20 hours ago.

The swell picked up, the waves picked up and the wind is continuously above 30 knots gusting to 40.

It is pitch black outside.

The wind is still on our beam, as are the waves and eventhough I tried changing the course towards a broad(er) reach I have not been able to make the ride any smoother.

Sleep is nearly impossible. For one the noise, not outside but inside the boat. Having so much stuff on board has its disadvantages. Cuttlery, alcohol storage (it is making me thirsty!), the dishwasher and boxes with god-knows-what stored under my bed. Another disadvantages of a ‘superyacht’ is that the beds are too big, you can’t adjust the angle of the bed and you can’t wedge yourself in smugly. Oh how I miss the bunks on the Volvo 70 right now.

On the other hand, I am sitting inside, protected from smashing waves and the (feels to me) icy wind. So I am not complaining (too loudly).

Another 24 hours and then we get a little breather before the next low hits us. You got to love crossings this early in the season..

Day 4

29 April 2020

0014GMT

“How did you sleep?” The skip asks me as I come up to take over the watch from him. “I could totally do withsome sleep..” I reply. “My mom always says: even if you don’t sleep, you do rest when in bed, well it definately does not feel like it!”

“These conditions are ridiculous” we conclude. “I just saw 49.7 knots of wind speed” he says. In the mean time a wave picks us up and my feet are literally lifted from the floor as I hang on for dear life.

For the last 24 hours the ‘normal’ wind is somewhere around 35 knots gusting to well over 45. The waves have increased to 6 – 7 meters and even now in the dark with a weak light from the (half) moon I can see the wall of water coming towards us, and again, and again, and again…

We expect another 6 – 8 hours of this and then the weather should calm down a bit. Lets hope the waves will too so I can make a nice dinner later today to celebrate our survival.

We are breaking record after record though. First we were aiming at doing 200nm in 24 hours, right now we are disappointed when it is anywhere below 220.

It is a fast trip, that is for sure!

Day 5

30 April 2020

0005 GMT

After writing yesterdays blog a rogue wave in combination with a 44 knots gust almost send me flying from my chair and generated so much pressure that the mizzen’s softhackle of the sheet broke resulting in a big bang when the boom hit the bimini (over and over again) .. Within seconds part of the bimini posts came loose and I had to wake up skip to assist me catching the flying block and controlling the damage..

So what a difference a day makes. From (literally) screaming along with 35 – 49 knots of wind to being on engine with 5 knots of true windspeed with almost no hope for improvement. So we are back to doing our hourly engine check during our watch.

At least I could cook a decent dinner 🙂

And we had time enough to do the repairs on the mizzen and she been ready to use again ever since.

Day 6

1 May 2020

0115 GMT

I am bored. There is no wind, it is foggy and we are treated with this drizzling rain that soakes you within minutes. In all fairness, we had a couple of hours sailing today but the wind veered so much that we almost ended up in Bordeaux rather than heading for the English Channel.

After a total of 42 days on this yacht I am ready to be at our destination and go home.

4 more days.. 4 more days (most likely) on engine..

I’ll just have another kit kat, a fresh baked muffin (thanks Alex!), a cracker with peanutbutter and ohh.. is that dark chocolate?? Good thing it is easy for me to stay off the English crisps..

Day 7

2 May 2020

0150 GMT

A couple of hours after my graveyard shift last night the wind picked up and we were able to continue under sail. On starboard tack this time, so rather than hugging the hull (to which I really got accustomed to) I now ended up curling up against my lee cloth.

Living on a steep angle again. Oh does this old lady (again: the boat!) like to heel over..

We have been eating the miles away at 6-8 knots of speed and this afternoon at 3pm we actually hit the soundings meaning that it is shallow enough for the depth gauge to give a reading. We had a small party to celebrate this mile stone. .. Land is getting closer.

At this very moment we are on the verge of entering the English channel and the fact that we have about 6 fishing vessels in our vicinity marks the start of more vigilant watches.

Unfortunately I just had to start the engine, not because of lack of wind but because of the wind angle which made us head towards Brest rather than into the channel. And yes, on any leasurly trip you would cut your losses, do a couple of gybes and get to your destination (maybe a little bit later than planned). But this a delivery. We sail when we can but start the engine when we need to.

If we keep up the current speed we have about 3 days to go till we reach IJmuiden. Eventhough I know that in a week or so I will be longing for the ocean again, for now I can’t wait to get there and see my family and friends (if at all possible with the current Covid restrictions)..

And I really need to get away from all the sugary goodies on this boat. This trip I have once again proven to myself that I really have the backbone of a shrimp when talking ‘chocolate’..

Day 8

3 May 2020

The mainsail is up and the engine is on ever since my last blog. It’s foggy, there is hardly any wind and it is very busy!

At this moment we are right off the coast of Cherbourg and we have 12 tankers within 15nm of us. That is, on our side of the Traffic Separation Scheme. On the other side the AIS is showing another 14 freighters. And then ofcourse you have the random fishing vessels that may or may not show up on AIS.

It humbles me that along with all these 300ft+ ships we are cruising along sharing the same waters.

It must be one of those nights.

Because we are on engine we have to go down into the engine room every hour to complete the log about tempereature, throttle and pitch to name a few.

It actually makes you realise how fast an hour passes but I have to say; it is much less stressful to go down below in the middel of the ocean than down here in the English Channel with all the traffic.

44 days down, 2 to go..

After all this time living side by side on the boat we have gotten very aware of eachothers rhythm, habits and perks. Occasionally Alex and I have a good laugh about that: “you know when this and this? Well, then you always do that..”

Don’t tell her but I might even miss her after we have gone our seperate ways in a couple of days..

Damn, it really is one of those nights..

Day 9

4 May 2020

0110 GMT

So one moment we are gently plotting along making way towards IJmuiden and the next moment the wind picks up, turns ENE and since 3pm we are bashing against the waves (and every 6 hours: tide) at the incredible speed of 2-4 knots. Our ETA has just been postponed by 1, possibly 2 days..

We couldn’t hold our course (and speed) in the Traffic Lane so we asked permission to leave and try some sailing just outside it. It did not help much though.. granted, speed went up but not even close to into the right direction. So it has come down to chosing between 2 evils and for now it is nose to wind, no sails and as many revs as we feel comfortable with.

Day 10

5 May 2020

0220 GMT

Pffff… 23 knots on the nose in the Channel is 10 times worse than 49 knots in the Atlantic. The last 36 hours have been horrible. The waves have been bashing over the deck with such force that at some point I was afraid that it would break the windows. This really is not funny anymore.

We have been playing with different angles to the wind, a little bit of sail, a lot and none, but all to no avail. Speed on the ground stayed between 1 – 3 knots.

We could do with some sleep though..

The English Channel is showing its moody side …

Day 11

6 May 2020

Finally, finally, finally we made it to IJmuiden 🇳🇱

The wind started dropping this morning just before my 0000-0400 watch ended which resulted in a great couple of hours (well deserved) sleep.

It was a boring last bit as we had to do everything on engine, but honestly, right now I do not care anymore.

It was a great adventure and experience. 47 days on a superyacht as delivery crew and chef, who would have tought..

Alex, thank you for your friendship, cookies, chocolate and patience in teaching me. I feel very confident with the sextant now.

I am sure we will join forces again on another job and remember:

In the mean time it is a (near) full moon, the same view when we left Grenada exactly a month ago.

Looks like we have come full circle 🌎

Cheers!

8 April 2020

And off we are..

One of the first things we did after we hoisted the sails.. ehhh.. unfurled the sails.. was changing the clocks, watches and phones to GMT.

For today that messed a little bit with lunch and dinner but as of tomorrow that will be solved.

I started my watch at noon GMT by making dinner which is really weird when you think about the fact that the local time is 08.00am.

Give us a day or 2 and it will not matter anymore.

I have the 12-4 am & pm watch and I am currently sitting behind the wheel with the full moon at my starboard side, doing about 9 knots of speed and enjoying our escape from reality.

Because that is what it is, isn’t it..

Today is very light, especially because we have been sailing in the lee of the islands Carriacou, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and now Martinique. The plan is to come up after Martinique and head into the Atlantic Ocean on a northeasterly course.

We are enroute to officially leave the Caribbean Sea and because of that we will also lose wifi soon after. There will still be daily updates though but they won’t come straight from my cellphone 😎

The spirit on board is good. We are just happy to be sailing.
Eventhough we are confined to the boat, a journey like this feels like absolute freedom.

Stay safe!

Saturday 11 April 2020
Time: 0230 GMT

Location: 18.01.714N – 57.57.097W

Oops.. When we were downloading our weather files yesterday morning we accidentally used all the credits we have on our SAT phone.

This means we cannot down- or upload anything for an indefinite period of time and therefor this blog covers a number of days and might be a bit long. Sorry about that..

So we are literally on our own right now. We cannot get in touch with our families, cannot download weather files and ´land´ cannot get in touch with us.

Our only hope is Skipper Mike his girlfriend who currently is in Scotland and has access to the SAT phones prescription. Mike and I have a bet when we think she will realize something is wrong: I think she will get into action Sunday afternoon, he thinks Monday afternoon. Both days are Easter days so we are confident that we will not have any new credits before Tuesday 14 April.

We are not worried. The current weather file has a validity of 3 days and after that our combined experience onboard will make sure we will make it across safely. I do feel sorry for friends and families following us and in my case especially my parents. I know they are following every update to ease their mind so these couple of days must have been really unnerving. “I am so sorry papa and mama, I hope you are at ease again after reading this.. “.

We are really doing better than expected. We thought we would have to use the engine non-stop for at least 3 days after leaving the Caribbean Sea but no such thing (yet). With an average speed of almost 8 knots we are eating the miles away. Obviously we do not know what is ahead of us, but this at least is in the pocket.

The mood onboard is good. We are slowly getting used to living on GMT and in our watch system. We are with 3 onboard: Michael (Mike) Brooks ) – skipper and Alex(andra) Booth and myself who are the delivery crew. Alex and I both worked at Ondeck in Antigua and we have done deliverie(s) together before. She knew Mike and on the 20th of March we both flew from Antigua to Grenada on what soon appeared to be one of the last inbound flights to Grenada.

Here, on the Atlantic Ocean, there is no Corona Virus though. We live in our own world enjoying what nature gives us. Up till now that has been a group of Dolphins during Alex her watch, crazy beautiful moon rises and a really tired bird that tried to rest on our boat during my watch. Unfortunately she tried to sit on the pull pit and kept being blown off by the wind. Sadly, after a couple of attempts I saw her plunge into the ocean, exhausted..

 

Sunday 12 April 2020
Time: 0130GMT

Location: 19.54.939N – 56.04.637W

I am a lucky person, but I probably have to explain myself when I add that I would not be living this life if given the choice. If given the choice I would have been at home right now being a proud mom of my 4 year old son. Unfortunately he passed away 1 month after he was born and sailing full time is my Plan B. I sold my house, left my job and literally left ´normal´ life behind me.

That is, how normal is life for you nowadays?

In this plan B I am very lucky. I had to work my ass off to get all my qualifying papers but it means that I am (ever so) slowly making a living while doing what I love.

Right now I am on my fourth ocean crossing in 17 month and the types of boats could not have been more diverse. First I sailed as crew on a 42ft Catamaran towards the Caribbean and then a couple of months later I skippered a 42.3ft Clipper Oceanis from Bermuda to the Netherlands (Bermuda – Azores also without weather updates).

But the most mind-blowing difference is if you compare 3 months ago (Gibraltar – Las Palmas – Antigua) on a Volvo 70 racing machine (Telefonica Black) with now (Grenada – Azores – ´probably´ UK) on a 24 meter luxury yacht.

On the Volvo 70 we had to hot bunk so I never knew where I would sleep, we had one gas bun and this was only to boil water for coffee, tea and freeze dried food. We were allowed to shower every 4 days or so using one of those black shower bags that heat up in the sun. There was no autopilot and the toilet (head) was a carbon pot right behind the mast facing the gas bun in the kitchen (galley).

Life onboard now is one in luxury.. I have my own cabin with private shower which I can use whenever I want. I have a full blown galley at my disposal (even at home I did not have so many appliances), we have aircon(!), I can walk straight up through the entire boat and I do not have to make any choices on which day I will have to start wearing my underwear inside out, I simply throw them in the washing machine!

And no, it is not a racing machine but with an average speed just below 8 knots and a max speed of 10,3 knots up till now I am pleasantly surprised.

Furthermore, both Mike and Alex are Yachtmaster Ocean instructors and I happen to use this passage as my qualifying passage for my Yachtmaster Ocean Ticket.

Two days ago I got the sextant out for the first time and yesterday I did my first position fix. If you do not know what that means, do not worry, I am not sure if I know what I have done.

But we still have many more days to go.

Happy Easter!

 

Tuesday 14 April 2020
Time: 0025 GMT

Location: 23.58.491N – 54.01.343W

I hope you all at a great Easter Holiday even though it might not have been a big family gathering like usual. Since we are completely disconnected from the world we have no clue how things are going with the Corona Virus in the different countries dealing with it.

Easter treated us yesterday with chocolate eggs and Sushi. Right around dinner time the wind kindly dropped and we ate like civilized people at a set table. Very nice.

Today during the day is the first ´work´ day after Easter and we expect to be back on line by the end of the business day. No pressure at all Ciara.

We are doing well on board. We are definitely set into a rhythm of going on watch, eat, sleep and repeat. It is getting colder outside which is a clear sign we are leaving the Tropics.

The water temperature is staying at an unusual height though and this matches the forecasts I read before we left Grenada that this season will be a very active hurricane season. They predict about 12 severe ones. After the Corona Virus this would be a devastating blow!

Luckily we are going in the right direction but I feel for all the people living or being ´stuck´ there.

In the meantime I am slowly starting to nail this sextant thing. I really am really enjoying it. I am still further off our actual position than I would like, but hey, I am getting there. Really cool!

At the same time Mike and Alex are working on their separate studies which means we are all using this crossing to the fullest to develop ourselves. What else is there to do apart from winching the main in (press 1 button), furl the headsail (press 1 button), winch the headsail in (press 1 button) and putting a reef in (press 2(!) buttons).

Seriously, it is easy sailing, or better: boat handling. But the tiring thing about trips like this is being vigilant al the time, not being able to sleep a full night and living on an angle non-stop.

Then again, I would not want to be anywhere else right now!

Be safe!

Wednesday 15 April

Time: 0031GMT

Location: 26.12.562N – 53.15.553W

The wind started to pick up since yesterday around 0600GMT and with that we are treated by moderate waves on a big swell. While I was in my bunk we did our first tack of the trip to avoid a big thunderstorm straight ahead of us. It was not a bad moment for a tack at all as it gave us an opportunity to head back to plotted line on the chart straight towards Horta. 

Since this boat (sorry: yacht) has two masts I have been playing around with the trim a bit which was a real work-out for my index finger. Well, to be honest, since the wind picked up the whole day turned into a work-out. Even this size boat (23.75m) is being tossed around as if it is weightless. I also found out why showers, even on super yachts like these, are still relatively small. You can just braze yourself in every angle as you are trying to put soap in your hair. ´Look mom, without hands..´

Around mid-day today we will be on our way for exactly one week and we are without any land based communication for 6 days. Well, not quite. We have a nifty little device on board which is called a ´Sailor Message Terminal´. The North Atlantic is divided into two sections for which Florida is responsible for the Northern part (section 1) and Toulouse for the Southern part (section 2). We receive weather updates in a text format for each section on a daily basis, well, normally.. Due to Covid-19 outbreak Florida has shut down their Meteo Updates and France has reduced their routine bulletins.. But, “security aspects will be monitored on a permanent basis and warning bulletins will be sent out”. 

So even here in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean we are affected by Covid-19.

I hope you all are staying safe. 

 

Thursday 16 April

Time: 0300GMT

Location: 28.56.229N – 51.34.844W

Yeah! We are back online! Even though anybody can do anything if something would happen to us here, it still gives some sense of security (or maybe satisfaction?) to be in touch with the outside world.

Unfortunately the first email I received was from my dad 3 days ago telling me my uncle passed away that morning. Granted, Erik was over 80 years old but that does not mean he will not be missed.

While replying to my dad I could not hold back my tears and I have to say both Mike and Alex have been wonderful. When I came on watch tonight there were even some freshly baked blueberry chocolate muffins in the galley with a note saying “you can have as many as you want, love Alex” 

 

Great comfort food and it really helped me with my heart ache. Now I have a stomach ache though.. haha

Sailing wise we had a great day. The wind is a steady 18 kn, gusting up till 21. The sea state has been (and still is) quite rough and irregular but I guess that is just part of being out here. Our apparent wind angle has been 40 degrees the last couple of days but just tonight we changed it to 50. Now that we have new weather updates we noticed that we are heading straight into a high pressure area and by altering our course slightly we are hoping to just hit the edge of it and therefor limit our time on engine. After having passed the HP area we are planning to be picked up by the tail of a LP area which theoretically should take us straight to the Azores.

So mentally we are preparing for 1 or 2 days with less wind in combination with using the engine after which we will probably be hit by 25 – 35 knots of wind for a couple of days.

To be continued.

 

See part II on this site for the rest of the trip

Corona or no Corona, it has not had a real impact on my life as I currently live it..

I was talking to a friend the other day: the way everybody is now confined to their house is how we live all the time.

To explain this I have to start at the beginning.

Compared to last year I left relatively late towards the Caribbean. On January 8th I flew towards Gibraltar after having spend the holidays with my family in the mountains. Last year I could not join them and I vouched to never do that again. I miss them and the skiing way too much!

I sailed across on a Volvo 70 (the old Telefonica black) and I have to say, the entire experience was as I expected it to be. From the freezedried food to the carbon toilet, from being watchleader to listen to some of the guys playing the ukelele, I enjoyed every minute of it.

In Antigua I started working at Ondeck right away. I passed my cruising instructor course in December so I was eager to get some hours in. I really like and appreciate how people in this ‘world’ are always so willing to help and assist wherever they can (special thanks to Dee, Phil and Kevin – you know why).

Last year January I did my Yachtmaster Offshore and I promised myself to never put myself through a course like that again (I am not the quickest study), only to find myself in the Yachtmaster Ocean theory class some 13 months later. It was a huge struggle and therefor I am super proud to have passed the exam(s). Now I only have to do my sights during a crossing and I have a new title to add behind my name!

Around that course I started hearing about Corona and I told my parents numerous times not to worry as I am a Heineken drinker. They were so serious about it that they couldn’t even appreciate the joke. What did I know.

First week of March I flew to St. Maarten to skipper an all female team (all employees of Heineken) during the Heineken regatta. It was an awesome week and we even managed to end up on the podium. Now I realize how lucky we have been because in the end this was the last (big) event of the Caribbean regatta season (and even on a global scale).

On Friday March 13th I finished a dayskipper course and had a great party weekend after. I believe during that weekend the first infected person flew in from the UK. She was quarantained right away but it did send a shockwave through the island. Corona is real. After that everything started moving really fast and on that wednesday (18/3) I realize: ‘I have to do something, otherwise I will get stuck here’.

I flew back to Antigua and as the bars and reataurants were still open, we did not have a care in the world. Surely not about Covid-19.

At that very moment my friend Alex(andra) is in contact with a friend who is Captain on a 24m sailing yacht and he is looking for delivery crew. 1 + 1 really is 3 and on Friday the 20th Alex and I are on board a plane towards Grenada. 1 day later all airports close down, but we did not realize that at the time.

On Grenada we have to go into voluntary quarantaine for 14 days and text the Health Authority on a daily basis that we are fine. Plus we keep a record of our temperature and bloodpressure every day. Apart from that we go running in the mornings, make long hours working on the boat, have dinner, go to sleep and repeat it all the next day.

Just before the end of our 14 days though, the island goes into lockdown. We get a curfew between 07.00pm – 05.00am and boats (new arrivals) cannot enter the marina anymore (not even on the quarantaine dock).

On the 30th of March things change dramatically. The curfew is set to 24/7 and we are not allowed to leave the compound other than to do some mandatory shopping. Luckily we already have most of the provisions on board for the crossing because some supermarkets are open on some days resulting in huge lines at the door.

Our life continues. We can’t go running anymore but the marina has a sort of park and we adapt our exercises to the smaller area. I like this routine even better! So we work-out, work on the boat, have dinner, sleep and repeat.

Today the government allowed all supermarkets to be open and advised everyone to provision for 14 days. Obviously this resulted in chaos and I read on facebook that a lady got in line at 08.30am and had her shopping done at 04.30pm!

We had no intention of doing that. A private taxi driver took me to a local supermarket far away from the city centre and I managed to buy some mayonaise (important!) and babywipes.

I just had to quickly forget about the rest of my shopping list (yoghurt, milk, eggs, carrots etc), but that can happen anytime when living on an island.

We know we will not be able to get any more shopping in but the plan is to leave friday and the boat has enough food onboard to keep us alive for at least 2 months. I do feel for the people of Grenada though (and the rest of the world). Just tonight the 24/7 curfew has been extended with 14 days: Driving your car is forbidden, being out on the street is forbidden, drinking alcohol is forbidden. Life as the Grenadians know it has come to a full stop.

And we? We are going sailing on (we think) wednesday. Continuing our routine; work-out, work on the boat (be on watch), eat, sleep and repeat. We expect to arrive in the Azores in 12-14 days and there we will go on anchor. We are allowed to order provisions and if necessary we can make an appointment to get diesel.

We will stay there for a week or so and when the right weatherwindow presents itself we plan to cross to Europe. Probably the UK but we have to see what world looks like when it is time to make that decision.

And yes, I realize how lucky I am. No people I know have been seriously ill or worse, I have a job, I do what I normally do and I think I do it in one of the safest places on the planet.

And that is probably why I do not feel (as much) affected by Corona.

Stay safe!

A couple of years ago I first heard about the Clipper Race. A race around the world similar to the (Volvo) Ocean Race but with amateurs rather than professional sailors.

People like you and me, with or without sailing experience can sign up for the “Race of their Life”..

Somebody was swept overboard and passed away somewhere in the Pacific. My first thought was “Crazy people to go sailing around the world without any experience”. I did not dwell on it too much and life moved on.

A couple of years later my world was turned upside down after the passing of my son George (06/11/2015-30/11/2015) and I left the ‘traditional’ life to start sailing full-time.

In my plan B my biggest dream is to race around the world and since “they” (whomever that may be) think I am too old and inexperienced for the Ocean Race I shift focus to Clipper.

Long story short: I am currently working as a First Mate and just finished 4 training weeks preparing ‘amateurs’ for a leg during the current edition of the race (‘19-‘20).

Anybody who wants to do the race has to do 4 levels (weeks) of training before they are allowed to do 1 or more legs. During the training they are introduced to sailing, get to know the boats and learn how to work together with crew from all over the world. Most importantly, you are trained to be safe on a raceboat under any circumstances.

Rest assure you: Clipper is not a ‘blue monday’ company. The owner is Sir Robin Knox, a worldfamous sailor with limitless passion to make the sport accesible to anybody who is willing to put in the effort.

Don’t forget sailing around the world is an extreme sport and this means accidents can happen. Nature can be relentless. But I am impressed with the program and I am very proud to be part of the Clipper team. They go far and beyond to make people as safe as can be.

I met such great people already! All with different (life) stories. All with their own reason to join. It was awesome to see them grow and it was great to be part of the start of their journey. I can’t wait to follow their boat the next couple of months.

And in the meantime my dream to race around the world as a skipper has come within grasp. It both makes me proud and scares the sh*t out of me.

But I am willing. Willing to work my ass off and be the best I can be to make next edition race an unforgettable journey for the crew on my boat aswel as for myself. I have much to learn but also loads to give.

It is a great feeling to have a goal in life again. One I can persue with passion, determination and enthousiasm. I love sharing my knowledge while learning at the same time and I can’t wait to be ready in about 18 months to start the ‘Journey of a Lifetime’.

I don’t even mind the cold sailing around the Solent at this time of the year.

.. and that says a lot.

For more information: Clipper Round the World