How time flies. It is almost November already and winter time has just started. The boat is back in "winter mode"; the cockpit tent is up (and enlarges the living space), the plexiglass windows are fixed in the top windows, the windows in the aft cabin have been insulated, the heater is back on every day (and makes it warm quickly and comfortably), and the dehumidifier is back under the stairs and on regularly at night.
Many other boats are really in winter mode (with sails off and abandoned) or are on the side in the hall. The parking lot is getting quite empty, with only a few cars left, especially on weekdays. For us, this is a familiar change of the "sailing season," and we don't much care. Every season has its own beautiful characteristics. We are ready for it!
But we are also happy (as it looks now) to be able to move into our new apartment just before Christmas. Not so much because we don't like the winter on the boat with just the two of us. But rather to be able to live closer to the daughters and work so that we and they don't have to drive as far. Bruinisse is quite far away, so we regularly experience 😅.And meanwhile we have been living on the boat full-time for 3 years.
The weeks after the summer vacation fly by. The weather is regularly bad and therefore the marina is much quieter than previous years. Therefore, we do not have any "trouble" from vacationers around us as we experienced last year in August.
We don't go out by boat much ourselves. Except for a few nice moments. At the beginning of September we sail with Inge and Mark for a day, in mid-September we go to the cozy HRC BBQ at Ossehoek (with Eline as well) and at the end of September we spend a weekend in Yerseke with the Indian Summer and Ocean Five, with delicious food and a fine sailing trip back. We also anchor a few times on the Grevelingen, but those moments can be counted on one hand. This is partly because of the weather, but also because we make other choices ourselves. Because we live on the boat, despite the little sailing, it feels like 'boat life'. We also know that in a while we will be doing a lot of sailing, so everything in its own time.
Now we especially enjoy being able to see the daughters regularly. Last year they were both traveling for a few months, now we see each other almost every weekend 🥰. A new phase has begun for them. Eline has started her internships of which the first 12 weeks are in the hospital in Geldrop. During the week she is in a staff flat in Eindhoven and in the weekends with Jonas in Maastricht. Marinthe started a six-month internship at De Nederlands Bank in Amsterdam in mid-August. She has regular time on the weekends to see us because Sam is working in London this fall.
We go to Marinthe in Amsterdam twice on a Saturday. She has a nice place to herself there. Good catch-up moments 😃.
In early September we go to Maastricht on Sunday to see Jonas' (and now Eline's) new room (is Marinthe's old room), and have a nice dinner out. Marinthe also joins us. Around Marinthe's birthday at the end of September we eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant in Utrecht with the four of us 😊.
In mid-September we have cozy Sundays at Inge's in Wilnis with kids and supporters. Unfortunately Marinthe is then with Sam in London. Nice to have this whole bunch together with some active farm games and delicious food in the garden. These are all cozy and precious family moments 😊☺️.
In mid-October we are going to Traben-Trabach on the Moselle for a whole weekend. We have been invited by Jonas and his father. What a beautiful area it is and what great food you can eat there. The weather is beautiful, we take a walk and visit a wine tasting organized by Jonas. Thoroughly enjoyed 🍷🍁⛰️👌😊.
Toine and I have busy work weeks. That is partly why time flies by. Fortunately regularly with good results, but it also takes both of us (and especially) Toine quite a lot of energy.
With Mieke, due to difficult fitting schedules, I unfortunately only walk once. But I have been asked by Emily from the Vryheit (neighboring boat) to participate in the Zeeland coastal walking marathon on October 8 because of a dropout in their group. So I am getting my due. Of course I immediately say ' yes' to that and make some sort of training schedule for the 8 weeks in preparation. During the week I regularly run a fast 10 km. On a Friday I ran 30 km myself, with Monique 24 km in Tilburg (during the Tilburg Ten Miles) and the day after with Emily's walking group 30 km near Burgh-Haamstede. On October 8, the walking marathon itself. Fortunately, the weather is beautiful with sunshine and little wind. Toine and Eline, as well as Inge and Mark are supporters along the route 😃. Because of the many walking kilometers I have already walked, the distance is no problem at all and it is very cozy in the group of 6🚶♀️🏅. But also nice to now be able to walk together with Toine again at a slower pace and shorter distances.
The second weekend of September we visit Teun and family in Canada 🇨🇦. How nice to be able to see him again ☺️. He is clearly getting older, which is not surprising now that he is already in his 92nd year of life. We promised to come again next year in September!
So we are not sailing much ourselves but we are making concrete plans for the first year after our planned departure in April 2025. The plan already made is to go north first, for example to the Lofoten in northern Norway, and not immediately south. The plan now is that we will indeed go north along the entire west coast of Norway, then in July and August to Spitsbergen and in the winter of 2025/2026 winter somewhere in Norway, for example in Tromsø. In the summer of 2026 we would like to go to Iceland, and from there we will see. This has been a very concrete plan for a few weeks now, and it feels good. We are already pre-enjoying by contacting other sailors who have been there this summer (Anna-Carolina, Saphir) or are sailing around there now (Sarabande). The pilots have already been bought; it's great to be able to read up on them from time to time in preparation ⛵️🇳🇴🏔️.
The job projects on the boat are these months:
- A solar panel on the davits. Toine takes care of that the first week after the summer vacation. For now it is still provisionally attached with tie-raps. The stainless steel mounting hooks are in the making at the sail store in Zierikzee.
- Automatic flush of the watermaker. Toine installs a new pump and a system that causes the watermaker to be briefly flushed with fresh water every 6 days. This ensures that the watermaker can remain in operation instead of being preserved every time, which is less good for it. Not really necessary for now, but ideal for 1.5 years from now. Toine spends many hours doing odd jobs 😎👌.
- Cleaning the alcantara sofa cushions by me. Harald comes up with a very good tip; interior cleaner from Stipt Polish. Spray it on, brush it with a soft brush and wipe it off with a wet cloth and clean water. It works perfectly and the couches look like new again.
Yes, time goes tremendously fast. It is nice to be able to see our daughters often over the past two months and also over the next six months. All four of us enjoy that immensely ☺️🥰. Soon enough there will be times when we will see each other a lot less.