Summer 2019 on Merrimac

COVID-19

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 16:20:13 +0100

Today is the first time in 22 years that we’re not at Arnold’s birthday. We called him at midnight Dutch time so we could still be there a little bit. He’s in Harlingen with Ella, and she has put up the bunting to make it festive.

Last week in Martinique, and the Îles des Saintes

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 21:36:17 +0100

Ah yes, the parcel. It’s now three weeks later as I sit down to write again, so I first had to read back to see where we’d left off. At the time it all sounded very simple. It was a Thursday when we sailed to Le Lamentin, and we’d get a call once everything was sorted and we could actually come to the DHL office. That call came on Friday at half past three, and the office closed at four. So that wasn’t going to happen before the weekend. We weighed anchor, headed back towards the marina where we’d been before and dropped the hook there. Since we had another weekend anyway, we rented a car to do a bit more shopping. In the evening we went to the restaurant at the marina for a bite to eat. Over drinks on the terrace beforehand we got talking to John, an American waiting for his wife. She was on board with her daughter and her family, doing the big crossing. That was supposed to take 3 weeks, but due to circumstances she’d now been gone for 7. We invited John to join us at our table and asked whether he’d like to come out with us the next day. He clearly needed the distraction, because every few minutes he checked his phone to see if they were making progress, even though their ETA was still 3 days away.

Martinique

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 22:24:12 +0100

We were really looking forward to returning to Europe, or rather France in the Caribbean. Partly so we could use our own phones again, but definitely also for the shopping at Carrefour! And it didn’t disappoint. Not to mention the delicious baguettes and croissants the way only the French can make them!

St Vincent and the Grenadines, part 2

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 17:43:10 +0100

You already got a little preview in the previous blog, and today is our last day in this island group before we head back to Europe….. The Caribbean version, that is. But first, let’s rewind to mid-January, when we left Grenada…

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 20:52:00 +0100

I’m at a music festival in Bequia right now (pronounced bek-wee). Today’s theme is Soca, the Caribbean music, and I just heard such a great concert by Bequia Kids on Pan that I wanted to share a little clip. Brilliant fun!

Last week in Suriname, we're off (the internet isn't great, so not everything works yet)

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 12:58:36 +0100

Early in the morning on 1 January we weigh anchor and head for the Commewijne River. It starts where it joins the mouth of the Suriname River in the north of the country and winds its way east. Halfway along, a branch splits off to the north as the Cottica. We spend the first night at anchor just past the fork. There are plantations on both banks, though you can’t see much of them because of all the vegetation along the water. We try out our new outboard by running up a creek that Merrimac can’t get into because of some high-voltage power lines. This motor is considerably faster, so we’re there in no time.

Arnold and Ella in Suriname

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 23:52:46 +0100

On 23 December the day had finally come: we could pick the kids up from the airport. We were there in plenty of time and wandered around the arrivals hall, where deafeningly loud music was playing by way of welcome, specially for the holidays. The area in front of the sliding doors the kids would come through was empty, and it turned out we weren’t supposed to stand there, that was for VIPs. But if we bought something to drink, we were allowed to sit on the little ten-chair terrace next to it. Since the kids were seated near the front of the plane and had no checked luggage, we expected them to be among the first out. After a long wait, passengers finally started trickling out one by one, sometimes five minutes apart. And luckily Arnold and Ella did indeed come out ahead of the big crowd. They’d had a very long wait themselves before they could get through, but at last we could take them with us. We hurried through an arch of waiting people and out the door so we could get away.

No spang - No rush

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 14:39:08 +0100

The first Surinamese words we learn, haha.

André and Eeuwe are off on a 3-day ‘school trip’. One day into the jungle, back to basics, and one day with a bit more luxury. Under the personal guidance of Rudi Wortel and one of his staff they’re getting a crash course in survival. We’re curious how it goes.

You've reached your destination

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 15:54:12 +0100

“So how does it feel?” I ask André, 140 miles out from our Suriname waypoint. “Mixed,” he replies. “On the one hand it’s a shame we’re nearly there, on the other hand I’m looking forward to roti and a drink at the bar or by the pool!” Later he admits that 10 days at sea is actually quite a long time.

Las Palmas - Mindelo, Cape Verde

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 14:59:28 +0100

Contrary to what we said in earlier posts, we can’t stay on the hard at the yard over Saturday after all; a few more boats are coming in for repairs. The guys there had always been very friendly, but the boss completely lost it when we came to ask about alternatives. The marina was full, you see, and we didn’t really want to leave until we were a bit more confident that the bow thruster had stopped leaking. Not his problem, he wasn’t a marina. Get lost. We weren’t his customers and he couldn’t care less.

Back in the water after a hard day's work

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 18:03:26 +0100

We’ve been busy all day. Well, since she’s out on the hard anyway, we might as well…..

Kees sealed the bow thruster, installed a non-return valve and did all sorts of odd jobs here and there.

André spent the whole day working inside the water tank, diesel fumes included. Rinse, scrub and rinse again.

Boat ashore

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 18:37:31 +0100

The boat is on the hard in Las Palmas!

First they clean the hull with the high pressure, so time for some hydration of ourselves:

Lanzarote - ?

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 12:38:52 +0100

Up early, as there are still a few things to sort out before we start the crossing to Cape Verde. With the wind forecast as it is, it could well take us seven days. A quick catch-up with the kids first. While I have Ella on the phone, Kees’ phone rings: Vetus Netherlands. This time it’s someone who actually turns out to know what’s what. The part for the bow thruster is waiting in Las Palmas and the yard has said: “Send them over”. We pack up quickly. Just top up the diesel tanks and then we’re off.

Las Palmas here we come

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 12:08:10 +0100

03:00 we arrived in very full las Palmas. The trip was easy cruising and we had two fishing lines out. Dolphins had a look during a short visit, but no sushi yet.

Look at this movie! IMG_6082

Some pictures:

Madeira - Lanzarote

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 19:38:22 +0100

After dropping Els off at the airport at the crack of dawn, it’s back to the boat, where the gentlemen are still blissfully asleep. In the evening Paz and Carlos come aboard for sushi, which I make with some delicious Madeira tuna Paz still had and a fish Miguel caught the week before: a Cavala da India (wahoo) of at least 1.5 metres. Delicious, of course. On Monday we go swimming in Porto Muniz. The waves are bigger and more spectacular than I’ve ever seen there, and the lifeguard regularly blows his whistle to get us away from the edge. Every now and then I get dragged all the way back to the middle of the pool. Brilliant! The video was shot after our swim, but it gives a good idea of the conditions.

Goodbye Madeira

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 10:42:19 +0100

A quick note, we’re off to Lanzarote this morning. Madeira was as nice as ever, and it was fun to show Andre the beautiful island.

You can now track our satellite location, see Tracking. Unlike AIS tracking on MarineTraffic we shouldn’t disappear here. But don’t worry if it doesn’t update fully yet as we still have to learn the ropes of Iridium Go tracking again – we may forget to switch out the battery bank, for example.

A short stint as a guest, Lisbon > Madeira

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 11:00:03 +0100

IMG_0152

A week off! Our sailing friends Kees and Marion are setting off on a round-the-world voyage. I would so love to do another Atlantic crossing, but work is far too busy for me to sail with them from Cape Verde to Suriname. So just a short leg then, from Lisbon to Madeira, to get a brief taste of that ocean-sailing feeling again: the dolphins, the starry skies, life at sea. There are four of us on this leg. André is coming too, but he’s staying on board all the way to Suriname. André is a sailing friend. When I’d crossed the ocean three years ago, he sighed about how much he’d love to do that too, but that his American employer would never allow it. “Have you actually asked?” No. “Why don’t you ask if you can have two months off in two years’ time? That way you’re not putting your boss on the spot, and he knows you’ll be sticking around for another two years.” And sure enough, he got the go-ahead! The next step was finding a boat. And just as Kees once advised me to look for a boat for my ocean dream through the ARC crew database, André and Kees met each other on our boat during a trip to England. Kees and Marion were looking for crew for some of the legs, and André is the kind of sailor you can recommend to anyone and who gets along with everyone. A good sailor and always in a good mood. Wonderful to sail a short stretch together now that his dream voyage is beginning.

Madeira my dear

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 09:14:56 +0100

Arrived at Marina Quinta do lorde at noon. The bowthruster stopped working, so with some gusts of wind we had to be quick tying up the pontoon. Marion went to pick up the rental car at the airport with Els and in the afternoon all of us went to Funchal. After a search we found the shop Kees was looking for to buy fishing gear. The owner of the shop gave an extensive explanation of what we need and how to use it. After a drink and a tapas and some grocery shopping back to the marina to have dinner at the terrace of the restaurant full of sailors. Today we will do a trip around the island to end at Ponta Delgado to have dinner with Paz and Carlos at Casa de Capelinha.

Life is good in Porto Santo

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 20:22:20 +0100

Washing

Sat, 07 Sep 2019 13:46:41 +0200

For some reason our washing machine has a mind of its own and doesn’t listen to us anymore, it only runs a centrifugation cycle of one minute and then stops. We tried to arrange an AEG mechanic, but we didn’t succeed. So yesterday we bought a new one and it will come this afternoon. To remove the old one we got some help of Miguel, son of our Madeiran friends Paz and Carlos, who lives and works in Lisboa.

Lisboa

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:53:31 +0200

Just arrived at Marina Parque das Naçaõs. The last two nights we anchored along the coast. We could sail for a great part. Here it is sunny, warm and we welcome every bit of shadow and wind.

Dolphins

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 15:33:19 +0200

Two days ago we sailed from Bayona (ES) to Porto (P). We had a totally boring experience, motoring all the way, in the fog or at least with no wind at all or maybe 4-5 knots. Question: Where is the infamous Portuguese North when you need it? Answer: It arrives just as you are about to moor in the marina, with wind against tide!

Oporto

Fri, 30 Aug 2019 19:13:18 +0200

Arrived yesterday in this beautiful town! Today we made a river cruise down the Douro and now having a nice beer with a beautiful view on the town across the river. We passed a lock going down 35 metre, spectacular! Marion had some vertigo looking up at the ladder.

Baiona

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 23:58:02 +0200

At anchor at the lovely bay near Baiona. This morning we woke up in the mist in Rio de Pontevedra, but our super radar guided us to here, just before we arrived, the mist was cleared. A sunny afternoon. Dinner in town, which is a very strange mix of old houses, deserted houses and a lot of restaurants in narrow streets. Tomorrow we will stay here.

Santiago de Compostela

Sun, 25 Aug 2019 18:32:22 +0200

The two candles in the middle burning for all of you. A lot of work is done in the church, but we had a nice guided tour with just us and an italian family. We entered the Cathedral through a special door from the museum, so we didn’t have any waiting. Also we could see the tomb of St. Jacobo without delay. Super!

Portosin

Sat, 24 Aug 2019 20:46:56 +0200

Arrived in a beautiful small, but very well equipped marina in Portosin. We want to visit Santiago de Compastela, even the agnostic Kees, and this is close by. The marina even has a car available for rent tomorrow. Lovely weather, beautiful view at the terrace of the Real Club Náutico Portosin. When possible, I will light a candle for all of you in the Cathedral!

At anchor in Ria de Camariñas

Fri, 23 Aug 2019 21:17:37 +0200

This morning we were still in bed when the phone started ringing, okay, let’s get up and answer… House painter, whether Monday morning will be OK! Sure, go ahead. We’re not there but the kids are!

Anyway, it was soon clear that it would be an extremely hot and windless day in A Coruña, so we quickly came to the conclusion that after two nights in the marina we were up to motoring out to the next ria towards Portugal. Predictwind said 10 knots at most, more likely 3 to 5. Once out at sea, the winds were first all over the place, caused by the high headlands that we were passing closely. Then they changed: directly towards us, at 13 knots sometimes 18! All the **** way! Anyway, we made good progress and are now in a lovely anchorage in the south part of the Ria de Camariñas.

Oldest Lighthouse in the world

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 18:39:58 +0200

Torres de Hercules in A Coruña

Built in the first century after Christ. UNESCO heritage. Huge building.

A Coruña

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 12:07:05 +0200

Arrived in A Coruña yesterday afternoon. Last bit with high waves coming from all directions. Had a perfect dinner in the old town, so we go back there tonight.

25 years

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 00:00:03 +0200

In a fantastic spot we celebrate 25 years of marriage, outdoors with a Brouwdok beer, a glass of bubbly and a local bite to eat.