We arrived safe and sound in Spain after a trip of 57 hours. The last 28 hours we only sailed with in the beginning wind force 3 to 4 and the last couple of hours wind force 6 to 7 with gusts in 8. Luckily with the wind from behind so the sailing went well. With that strong wind we reached speeds of 7 to 8 knots and that is why we are already there. All night we sailed in the 'clover' position; i.e. the mainsail on the right to starboard with a line (called bulletalie) to prevent jibs and the genoa (the headsail) with the tree on port side. Spectacular sailing, rolling on waves a bit, which made sleeping less for us. The children don't suffer from anything and sleep through everything.
This morning we were treated to a beautiful dolphin show. As many as 30 dolphins jumping out of the water, playing around the boat for a while, and then continuing their journey.
Valentine's Day arrives in a few hours. The champagne is already cold; we are going to toast the crossing together!
We really like the fact that so many people follow our journey through the site and sometimes even watch it on a daily basis. We also like the reactions we get to messages! We will definitely continue to keep track of the site until the end of the trip!
Hello Toine, Mira, Marinthe and Eline,
Wow, what a fantastic milestone. The Bay of Biscay is really the first of the really big crossings. Good to hear it went with good conditions.
Like many, I follow your actions on a daily basis. Must give you a special feeling. Especially the updates on the map are very nice. Various (sailing) colleagues's of Achmea also follow you.
Have fun.
Greetings,
Hans van Liere
Hello Toine, Mira, Marinthe and Eline,
I follow your trip closely and regularly publish one of your travel reports in the news on the Watersportbank.
Wind force 7 at the back with the sails in the "clover mode" is blown. Now rest again.
Are you following the preparations of Laura Dekker, youngest world circumnavigator, at least if all the preparations go well? And what do you think of that?
g. Water sports bank
Dear Brandaan,
We follow the site of Valentine's Day-trip closely because Baaf sails on it. How nice to read your reports as well! And so we see in your last message that the Valentine is doing well and that they may have arrived safely in Spain by now. Good luck and enjoy your trip.
Greetings,
Jochem (father of Baaf), Maaike, Santje and Teus Nuhn (Hilversum - NL)
Oops, did the reaction go well? But otherwise only double.
Very nice of you to follow. Slowly step by step. And now this crossing. Must have been very nice. And for dessert, a whole dolphinarium for Eline and Marinthe. That's great. We still want to see this show.
When we are back in 3 weeks from our trip, we are curious about the stories. We will have to miss them for a while.
Have a lot of fun the next few weeks.
Greetings Miriam, Franc, Pim and Lotte
Hi Mira, Toine, Marinthe and Eline,
We just got back from vacation and we've read up on what you've been through. It is good to see that you are already in Spain. On to the sequel!
Our holiday went well. First a week and a half in Corsica and then another week in Venice. Seen a lot of beautiful sea and beaches.
Above all, continue to enjoy all the experiences!
greetings from Niek, Elma, Stefanie and Myrna.
Ha! Fire crew!
Nice to read your report, especially after we left our sailing boat in Greece this morning after two weeks. It's nice that you are on schedule, you can really enjoy the trip and the places you visit. We will keep following you!
Greetings, have a good trip!
Hi Brandaan crew,
Those dolphins, that must be a wonderful feeling! If only we had a webcam on board, or live streams, so we could enjoy your adventures with them. By the way, great website and chapeau for the travel reports. Enjoy Spain!