After endless hours of maintenance, repairs and somehow trying to fit all of the tools, spares and other things we have accumulated over the years of having Europe as a home base onboard.

Guppy is ready to take on the world. And so are we. Over the past 5 years of owning and sailing over 40,000nm on her, we have put in so much love and effort into our ocean home. From changing the bowsprit, engines, teak deck, half the interior, building a dodger, to an almost infinite list of little things.

The start of this voyage is not so different from the voyages we have done before, except that we are not planning on coming back to Europe anytime soon. Guppy’s bow will continue west – finally back home to New Zealand. With a little detour, of course, via Cape Horn and the Pacific Northwest.

We are leaving the Netherlands in our wake over a wintry North Sea. With its moody grimness. Over the years of my acquaintance with the North Sea, especially in winter, we have not built up a great relationship, and I found myself once again not looking forward to southerly passage in November, which was bound to be very cold, wet and with seasick making short and choppy waves. It was. Even though the first day we had a lovely weather window providing northerly winds, very rare and though cold, made the start much more enjoyable. After two wet and cold days, we arrived in Cherbourg, where we waited for another weather window to cross the Bay of Biscay. After looking at the forecast for a while, which predicted one after the other deep low crossing the bay for the foreseeable future we decided to make a jump for it while the waves hadn’t built up and we ‘only’ had 15 knots of headwinds. A desision which, looking back, seemed like a good one. We are now holed up in Viveiro, a lovely little Spanish town with a sheltered anchorage. The wind is howling through the rigging, and Guppy is swinging behind her anchor. We are cleaning up the cabins and getting Guppy ready for the next group of trainees, who are due to arrive on the 10th of December. I have to say, after more than two years of sailing in the north, dodging lows and only going outside dressed as a penguin, I am somewhat excited to be heading south into the warmth again, at least for a little while 🙂