Fine, winter is over again 😃😎. Meteorologically yes, but unfortunately the weather does not show that picture for the next week 🥲.

Looking forward to the warmer days of spring after this mostly humid winter. No more taking the boat to the harbor office to fill up with water 😃. Fortunately, we already don't have to do that as the water is back on the jetties. No more turning on the dehumidifier, no more regularly wiping condensation from the windows and aluminum edges with the chamois. And how wonderful it will be when the windows and hatch can be opened again while cooking, and the cockpit tent can be taken off again ☺️. Yes, let spring come!

Either way, the winter months in Bruinisse are flying by with fun experiences.

In mid-January we have the New Year's reception of the HRC in Lelystad. Nice to speak to many fellow sailors again and to muse together about sailing plans. Also nice to drive together with the Calanche because it is quite a drive from Bru.

Eline is still traveling and we only speak to/see her via whatsapp calls. Especially the first week after the joint vacation the loss is great from both sides, especially on her birthday. After that we are all used to it again. It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to travel for so long! So above all, enjoy it there 🥰!

Marinthe is coming home from Bangkok January 22 and will be cozy with us for the first two weekends. Then it will be convenient to be able to use the marina's 4 washers and 2 large dryers for all her laundry 😜. She arrives at Schiphol Airport very early on Sunday morning, so we sleep in Amsterdam the night before and take the opportunity to have a delicious dinner out in Amsterdam for my birthday, with Inge and Mark there as well. In a super nice real Amsterdam restaurant 😋.

The second weekend we go with Marinthe and Pieter to the jappie in Utrecht. Of course that is part of it again. That weekend we also finally see for once the large group of flamingos that have been wintering for years near Herkingen on the Grevelingen. A bizarre sight, those bright pink/orange colored animals in the cold Dutch climate.

In early February we drive to Lelystad on a Sunday for a lecture by Janneke and Wietze of the Anna-Carolina. They have sailed around the world for 8 years and it is very nice to hear their experiences. We also meet Henk from the Romlea (who was my colleague for a few months). From him we also hear useful tips, especially for the trip to Patagonia. It is a long drive from Bruinisse, but well worth it, and everything is a long drive from Bru ☺️.

We also pick up walking (20-22 km) again. Myself (near Bergen op Zoom), with Toine (also in Bergen op Zoom and Strabrechtse Heide), with Mieke (part of the Pelgrim Trail) and with Hendrieke (near Kinderdijk). Wonderful to be able to do that again. In addition, Robbert-Jan persuaded me to participate in the 5 km of the City-City Pier run on March 12 in The Hague. Monique is going along nicely 😃. It doesn't disappoint either of us and we immediately planned another 5 km run in June. That's a good stick 💪🏃‍♀️.

Toine makes some improvements by installing 5 new gauges above the cabin entrance and a new navigation screen on the helm station. Now the whole navigation network is of the same generation. It looks very nice and will probably work very nicely. Well done 😎👍.

The last weekend of February we are going to Sweden for a long weekend by car, along with the yard visit of the HR connection. We drive out on Friday, spend the night in an Airbnb cottage on Orust and drive home in one go after the yard visit on Monday afternoon. It is beautiful sunny weather all weekend. We visit Carl and Anna (of Adams Boatcare, who did the refit of our boat). Very nice to see and talk to them again 😊. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday we take brisk walks in the beautiful Swedish nature. Nice that there is a sauna in the cottage for our tired legs. On Saturday evening we go to the for us known restaurant in Fiskebäckskil and on Sunday with part of the HRC group at the for us known Thai in Henån. It feels a bit like "home" so to speak. We have lived there temporarily in 2020 and 2021 with so much pleasure. A gift, this weekend 🥰😊.

In March we visit Inge and Mark on a Sunday. What bad luck Inge has with her right arm and shoulder. It just won't heal properly. Being healthy and being able to do everything is not so obvious. Not even for Eline van Pieter. We hope enormously for a good recovery for both of them 🤞🍀🤞🍀.

As icing on the cake, we are going for a week of skiing with Marinthe, Sam and the Calanche (with Thomas and Sjoerd joining us). We can book the apartment next to them. It is a fantastic and super fun week. What a huge ski area (compared to the Zillertal, so familiar to us); we ski a lot of kilometers and come home tired every day. Even Toine held his own with his less trained body 😎. The food is delicious, both on the slopes and in the village in the evening. Those French can do that 😋.

And now we are back on the boat. On to a beautiful spring. That will surely come sometime I hope, though not next week 😊😃.