Toine is the skipper of the SeaQuest. Now 58 years old and with a lot of sailing experience. From a young age he could be found in falcons on the Frisian lakes. In daily life he works at a pension company as IT manager. Toine's specialty is everything to do with technique; of course sailing technique, but also the electrics, engine and ICT on board is his hobby. He can spend hours repairing things that break down and continuously improving things for more convenience or to prevent them from breaking down.

Mira is the second skipper of the SeaQuest. Also 58 years old and also has quite a bit of sailing experience. Not only sailing but also visiting new destinations has her interest. In daily life she works as a program manager at a large insurance company. Mira's specialty is everything related to planning; trip and tour planning, provisioning the boat and cooking. And creating this website. As a hobby, she reads many sailing blogs which gives her a lot of knowledge of sailing destinations and associated challenges.

Our daughters Eline and Marinthe are "out of the house already" and are students with lives of their own. But regularly they 'come home' and enjoy sailing with us.

What draws us to life on and travel by sailboat? Since the beginning of our relationship (in 1997), it has been clear that we would like to travel on a sailboat for an extended period of time, without a concrete plan.
This becomes more concrete when in the fall of 2005 we decide to buy a boat after several years of chartering, mostly in the Caribbean. So in 2006 we buy the Brandaan and then immediately make the plan to travel with our family for a year in 2009/2010 for a tour of Atlantic. Our daughters will be 8 and 10 by then. We like that immensely and taste for more 😊.
In 2014, we will exchange the Brandaan for the SeaQuest. With the goal of taking this on a longer trip when we retire early. But it is also a great boat for weekends in Zeeland and summer vacations in Northern Europe with our family.

During all these years of sailing, it is clear that we are true touring sailors. We go for safety and comfort at sea en route to beautiful new destinations, and not for maximum speed. We are not afraid to sail through the night. We don't mind motoring even in calm weather as long as it serves the purpose of reaching a beautiful destination on time. The boat is for us a means to travel in a pleasant way to beautiful areas and late anchor bays. Naturally, we also enjoy sailing at sea, especially for several days and nights in a row. But we focus on comfort and a conservative trim of the sails.

In 2017/2018 we have the opportunity to live in Florida for a few months and take the boat with us. On the trip back home from Florida through Canada, it again becomes very clear that we really like the migratory life with a sailboat. We get along very well and have plenty of each other. We don't mind having family and friends at a distance for a while. We greatly enjoy visiting unknown and somewhat more difficult to reach areas.

The plan will take another step further when we sell our house and live on the boat in early 2021. Now there is not much stopping us from 'leaving' 😎. We have now set the 'departure date' to April 2025. Of course, all in life and limb, we always say. Where will we go then? That too is an open plan and will probably change frequently. But Patagonia, Alaska and New Zealand are high on the list 😊.