After a trip of 6 days and 15 hours (all sailed, only 3 hours motored) we dropped our anchor last night at 3.00 a.m. at Half Die, the anchorage at Banjul, the capital of The Gambia at the beginning of the Gambia River. Yes, we are here! What a great experience to have made this long trip and to even arrive in Africa, a completely different part of the world. It smells really different than we are used to and it's hot and very humid. Fortunately, there's a nice breeze on the anchorage, so we can find some cooling on the boat. The trip here is a trip of extremes. The first part with good wind and fair seas, then too much wind (storm, wind force 9) and the last part with very calm weather and a smooth sea. Anyway, a fantastic and very educational experience!!! Our confidence in the boat and the crew has only increased. Read below how we have fared in the past week.

On Tuesday, Nov 3, we will leave at noon together with the Barbarossa for the crossing of over 900 miles to Gambia after we have filled up the diesel and water tanks in the harbour of San Sebastian, La Gomera. We think this will take us 7 to 8 days. The first hour we sail between La Gomera and Tenerife with a little head wind. Soon the wind comes from the east as predicted and we can sail well. That first afternoon we even have to deal with a strong wind force 6 for over an hour, with gusts of 7. With the sails fully reefed the boat keeps going and we manage just fine. Soon the wind subsides to wind force 4-5 and life on board improves. Fortunately, I had already cooked a meal in advance so I didn't have to stand in the rocking kitchen for long. Once we had eaten, washed up and made our beds, the girls and I went to bed early. Sleeping is actually great on a rocking boat like that; you can shut yourself off for a while and let the boat do its own thing.

The rotation of the guards is going well. We pick up the same rhythm as the last two longer trips. We like that rhythm very much for several reasons. Toine is fine with starting and staying up a bit longer and sometimes watching a movie and I like to go to bed early. Toine is happy to do 2 watches in the dark and I am happy that I only have to do one (if I start at 6.00 the sun will rise at 7.00). I like to do the morning watch, see the sun rise, bake bread and watch the girls wake up. And Toine likes to sleep those hours. During the day we don't have a fixed watch schedule, but in general Toine is more outside and pays more attention to the boat, and I do the necessary chores inside (cooking, washing up and helping the girls with school). Just fine!

The whole night, the full moon shines brightly in the sky and the sea is well lit. We only encounter one boat and see nothing else. The Barbarossa is a bit behind, but the next morning they make up for it and so on the 2nd day (Wed 4 Nov) we sail together again. We go like clockwork, with wind force 4-5 half wind and full sails we regularly do more than 7 knots. In the first 24 hours we cover 140 miles.

The second day at sea flies by. The girls are doing some school lessons while lying in the cabin. The boat sails its course and Toine and I mess around a bit. For dinner I make spaghetti and that goes down well with everyone. Before that we sit together in the cockpit to eat some chips. This 'drink' (without alcohol!) is a fixed ritual; a nice moment to chat with each other. Just like breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the evening at 21.00 hours the watch schedule starts again. The moon is in the sky again by then and keeps us company all night. This 2nd night is a bit more restless. The wind increases after midnight to wind force 5 with regular strong gusts to 6 and that makes for a 'bumpy' sea. The girls sleep well through this, but especially Toine has a worse sleep. The second day we cover 141 miles.

In the morning of the third day (Thu 5 Nov) the wind dies down and the whole day we are sailing with wind force 4 half to well from behind, averaging 6 knots per hour. That is great sailing! Also this day flies by. The girls do some schoolwork, we lie in the sun and read a book.
The girls are allowed to watch one movie a day and they sit on their nintendo every now and then. The Barbarossa sails right next to us and we have regular contact by radio. That is very cosy. Without too much trouble we can maintain the same speed. The fishing line is hanging out with a hook/bait that we bought new in La Gomera (which should attract tuna fish!), but unfortunately without results. The third night is a quiet night, with a beautiful starry sky and again that moon that gives a lot of light. Great sailing in cloverleaf mode, because the wind is coming from behind. The third day we cover a distance of 154 miles, not bad (159 is our record to Madeira)!
In the morning of the fourth day the wind picks up and the whole day the wind stays strong (a 6) with the corresponding swell. With reefed sails we make good progress. It is spectacular sailing, surfing off the waves. Once in a while the boat is pushed to the side. These are the moments that we still don't know that the boat is moving and then a can of cola falls over (three times with Toine) or the bowls fall out of the cupboards in the middle of the pan with food (Mira), and we grumble a lot about the waves. We spend the day mainly lying down (the girls read a lot or listen to Ipods), we listen to Ipods and I also do quite a bit on the computer (sending e-mails to the home front). We skip school; the boat moves too much for that.

At the end of the 4th day the wind is still 6 knots. Just sit out the night like this, it should be doable. But at 20.00 hours the boat is put away for the night, the wind gets stronger and stronger and suddenly we have a strong 8 with gusts in 9 (we measure a maximum of 49 knots of wind on the wind meter). The first couple of hours the boat is still sailing fine and she is actually very calm, in cloverleaf position with reefed sails (3rd reef in main and genoa only slightly out). The sea always needs some time to build up with such a strong wind, so we already know that we are going to have to deal with it later that night. We are still sailing together with the Barbarossa and that is great in this situation. Just to encourage each other morally and to keep looking at it realistically. Toine has decided to stay up and sit outside on a leash. We have already put in the hatches to the saloon, because with those waves coming from behind you never know; one can roll into the cockpit and everything inside will get wet as a result. I walk around in between lying in bed, talking with the girls and watching Toine's adventures outside. When I am standing on the cabin steps looking out the window around midnight, we suddenly see a huge wave coming from behind. A first breaker, that still goes under us, but the second breaker that comes right after that one grabs us full force. A wall of water comes into our boat from behind, Toine is completely submerged in the wave and is soaking wet, I see and feel the boat leaning to starboard (as if you are running out of rudder) and the water pours into the cockpit. I quickly close the top hatch and what do I do now? .... Unbelievable, but the boat just gets up again and the water runs out of the cockpit through the drain holes as if nothing has happened. Unbelievable, such a tremendous force of water (the outboard motor of the dinghy has even been pushed askew and is only hanging on one hook), but what a strong boat we have. It's a frightening situation, but strangely enough it also gives us great confidence in the boat. And neither of us is afraid. Toine decides to take down the genoa and to sail a little higher (less chance of a jibe). Now it is no longer about sailing to your goal, but storm tactics and riding out the storm as best as possible. Fortunately, this is easy to do without encountering another huge breaker. That was just bad luck. And once again we have a beautiful starry sky and a bright moon. After an hour we can put the boat back on the course. The girls have gone to sleep, Toine is awake outside until 6:00 a.m. and I sleep at most one hour in the fast moving boat and supply Toine with coffee, dry clothes, etc. In the morning the wind subsides to a 'normal' 6 and we can both take turns in getting some sleep. Yet another 147 miles in 24 hours.

The 5th day (Sat 7 Nov) the wind clearly decreases (to force 5 to 6 and later to 4 to 5) but the calming of the sea takes hours longer. This makes it the whole 5th day pretty rocking on board. But we are all used to it by now. We are well used to it. No one suffers from seasickness and cooking, showering etc. is also 'normal'. And so the 5th day flies by. The girls read a lot of Donald Ducks in bed and watch 2 movies (we will skip school for now), and Toine and I sleep a bit. Around 15.00 hours we covered 2/3 of the distance (600 out of 900 miles), which feels like a good milestone! The 5th night is great sailing, in cloverleaf position with full sails and wind force 4 to 5 from behind. Again we have a beautiful starry sky with a bright shining moon. We pick up our normal waiting routine and sleep well. It has become a bit busier with large ships because we are sailing closer to the coast and Dakar is already approaching nicely. With the help of the AIS it is easy to gauge how close the ship is and at what time. In the middle of the night during my watch (and that of Jan with the Barborossa) a ship suddenly comes straight at us. He could easily have passed us on starboard, but apparently decides rather late to pass us on port side and suddenly steers 90 degrees to pass in front of us. That is quite a scare. I call him on VHF channel 16 and fortunately he immediately answers. He has seen us and is indeed passing in front of us on the port side. Of course it all goes well, but it was very close for a while. The rest of the night passes quietly. It is a beautiful night for a watch. The air is getting warmer. We cover a distance of 141 miles.

And then we have arrived at the 6th day. This will be a great 'Sunday' at sea. We start with a nice Dutch breakfast (with home made bread and a boiled egg). The sea becomes calmer by the hour, we make a good speed of 6 knots and enjoy it to the full. The girls are back in school and catch up on the lessons of the last few days. We also feel like hanging out the fishing line again (we didn't do this the last two days). Suddenly Eline calls "we have a bite". There is indeed a huge fish on the hook. It is 80 cm long, a bit high (shaped like a dorado) and yellow/green in colour. We're shocked, "how do we get this one in?" Toine pulls in the line and the fish stays on the line. We can't find the scoop net so we pull it up by the line. Then I throw alcohol into its gills and it suddenly sputters very hard while hanging behind our boat so it escapes and falls back into the sea. We are completely flabbergasted. We are still so green. If only we had bought one of those 'brutal retrieval hooks' like the Valentine. Well, we don't give up and cast out the line again. Luckily we didn't lose the expensive bait (15 euros). The Barbarossa has a fish book with him and deduces that it must have been a dolphinfish, from the dorado family.

We notice that we are getting more southern, because suddenly it's very hot and humid during the day and the night; tropical temperatures. At the end of the afternoon we are treated to an hour-long dolphin show. Many dolphins swim and jump around our boat. Eline applauds them for every high jump. The night is very quiet with little wind and a sea that is getting flatter. So it can happen like that! In the middle of the night we pass Dakar and for a moment we have mobile phone reception. Then we switch on the engine because the speed really drops. But in the morning the engine is turned off again (at the request of Ellen of the Barbarossa, she is quite right of course) and we hoist the big gennaker sail. We make a good speed with it.
We only make a twenty-four hour run of 115 miles.

Then suddenly the last day at sea starts. With about 65 miles to go we arrive in Banjul in the middle of the night. We estimate that the approach to Banjul and the anchoring in front of Half Die (where we have to check in) should be doable in the dark and we decide to sail on and not reduce sail. Again it is a wonderful day of sailing. Flat sea, little wind, and very warm. The girls are doing school lying on the deck. We are in swimming trunks and bikini and are sweating from the heat. Here and there we see small fishing boats with Africans in them. Sometimes they are so close we can see the men on them very clearly. They give us a friendly wave and then go on with their work. It's still hard to realise, but it's really true, we've arrived in another part of the world and we're excited! Sailing to Banjul in the dark goes very well, although it's quite exciting. The moon comes up late this night, so it wasn't able to help us. Just quiet sailing and later on the engine, looking around us, and then it turns out to go very well. After 5 attempts the anchor is finally in place and at 3:00 in the middle of the night we celebrate our arrival with a drink together with the Barbarossa and all the kids. After that we fall into a deep sleep.