Blog

17th December 2021

Whales, Dolphins, Fish & 1980nm ahead.

So far we have had an amazing start to our Atlantic crossing, well that is after we finally managed to get our anchor up…We heard a […]
15th December 2021

Islands of the Cape Verde

Today, the 11th of December, we started the day with our schoolwork after Sander woke us up with the pots and pans because we all have […]
11th December 2021

Big Flying Fish and colourful houses

The wind continues at a steady northerly swaying between 15 and 20 knots so Guppy is keeping good speed. In the last two days the flying […]
8th December 2021

Fresh fish for dinner

The squalls continue to pester us as can be seen by our track which became ever more interesting with the changing wind directions and speeds. It […]
7th December 2021

Cape Verde here we come

I love mornings but this particular morning was really beautiful. The high cliffs of Valle Gran Rey watched over us as Guppy gently swayed at her […]
5th December 2021

Our last days in the Canary Islands.

We had a fast passage to Las Palmas, leaving Lanzarote at around 4:30am. The wind was strong so Guppy powered along. We arrived in Las Palmas […]
29th November 2021

Lanzarote, land of volcanoes

It’s off to an early start today as we want to be able to see as much as possible of the island while we’ve got the […]
26th November 2021

Porto Santo – Lanzarote

After a lovely time on Porto Santo, it is time to move on, there has been a bit of a strange weather pattern creating southerly winds […]
20th November 2021

From rocky dry countryside into cedar forests.

Our first crossing with the young Guppy crew already behind, how time flies. It was a lovely crossing with good winds and therefore fast, it took […]
17th November 2021

Setting sail to Porto Santo

On Monday night it was finally time to hoist the anchor and set sail for the first time with our new teen group. There has been […]
3rd October 2021

Video – Fast Sailing to Azores and Europe Mainland

12th September 2021

Video – Part 4 Atlantic Roundtrip 20/21

Atlantic Roundtrip 2020/2021: Part 4. We’re going back to Martinique and stay long enough this time to really get to know this beautiful island full of […]
2nd September 2021

360nm, 4 islands, 2 mainland places

What a great Europe Trip we have had! Sailed 360nm visited 4 islands and 2 mainland places, had one birthday and saw several seals on the […]
19th August 2021

Helgoland

We wake to the birds song and wind rustling through the rigging of all the ships in the harbour. It’s Sunday today and besides some of […]
15th August 2021

Biking Adventure and sailing along the waddensea.

At 8.30 sharp we all stood in front of the bike rental to collect our bikes for the day. After we had collected our bikes we […]
12th August 2021

Start of Europe Trip 2021

After days of rain and clouds this morning, the cockpit is filled with bright sunshine and blue skies above. Today we have a new group of […]
14th May 2021

Photo’s of our arrival. The end of an amazing journey.

6th May 2021

Last miles of an amazing adventure

The wind continues to pick up, Guppy is flying now, regularly seeing 11-12knots on the GPS. We’re also lucky to have the current with us while […]
4th May 2021

Satellite train…

The wind continues to be light for another day. We see more phosphor and also a lot more dolphins. The skies are clear and we see […]
2nd May 2021

Magical encounter

During the night we start seeing lights on the horizon. They belong to windmills and small towns on the Costa del Norte, the Spanish mainland. Around […]
30th April 2021

Sun and green soup…

On Wednesday Florian got inspired by the cold weather to make a very traditional Dutch winter soup consisting of peas, onions, carrot, and some other healthy […]
28th April 2021

Lazy dolphins under a gray sky

Not much change in the weather, alto today was the first day we actually saw some color in the sky during sunrise. There are a lot […]
26th April 2021

Happy birthday :)

I take another look at the weather, sigh… it’s still not looking great. Lots of headwinds in the prediction, and it does not seem to change anytime […]
23rd April 2021

A hike around the Caldeira and time for the Guppy Games

Our time in Horta has been extended a bit because of a nasty weather system that is coming over and I rather wanted to wait out […]
17th April 2021

A meeting between Guppy and the Johann Smidt (previous Eendracht)

Guppy is rounding the south side of Faial around 5 pm on the 13th of April. We’re being directed to a quarantine dock on which we […]
14th April 2021

Pictures of our crossing

We arrived in the Azores 🙂 Here are some pictures of our crossing. Overall it was a really good crossing. The weather definitely kept us busy […]
13th April 2021

Azores, land ahoy!

It’s 6 am, I am sitting in the cockpit watching a big golden fireball rise above the horizon. It’s casting a beautiful golden glow on the […]
11th April 2021

Getting colder and a slippery floor

The weather has calmed down considerably. No more lightning at night, and just a few squalls with max 40kn of wind. Guppy is sailing along really […]
9th April 2021

Squalls and lightning

The nights of squalls and lightning continue. The wind has been around 25 to 30kn, and Guppy is sailing under staysail double reefed main and single […]
7th April 2021

Mysterious light… 

For the past two nights, Guppy has been sailing through lots of heavy lightning and squalls, making the night watches even more exciting. However, somehow the […]
5th April 2021

Happy Easter and flying lasagna

Two days ago Lucas and I decided that we wanted to make lasagne for dinner. We had made it twice before with Florian, so we thought […]
3rd April 2021

Sailing through a painting of meteorology lessons

April starts with one of the most beautiful days so far. The weather is calm but Guppy still has enough wind to sail, even when just […]
1st April 2021

a huge fish,

After three days of sailing with lots of spray and salt on deck, Neptune decides to give us a break. The waves and wind calm down […]
30th March 2021

Guppy flying along,

As the evening nears Annika and Florian make a yummy meal which consistes out of cabbage, carrot, onion, potatoes, and smoked sausage and went down really […]
29th March 2021

Bye-bye Caribbean

We left Ile des Saintes late afternoon, after some more exploring, swimming, and a nice big bbq party on board guppy. The first hours are nice […]
28th March 2021

Our last days in the Caribbean

After a few more days in Fort the France to be sure the recovery from one of the teens went as we wished for, we headed […]
24th March 2021

Treasure hunts and hospital visits

After the few late nights watching the America’s Cup ( totally worth it with New Zealand winning!! Yay 🙂 We stay a few more days around […]
15th March 2021

Setting Sail Again

We enjoy St.Maarten for another couple of days in which we sail the Minicat and get invited over to the Green Dragon for dinner. The Green […]
8th March 2021

Ships Maintanance

Our new students have been with us for a week now and have gotten nicely into the rhythm. We are still anchored in Simpson Bay where […]
4th March 2021

Sailing, Climbing, visiting Race Boats, so much to tell!

After we had stowed away all our food for the next few months we continued to get Guppy ready for cutting some waves again. Next destination, […]
23rd February 2021

Yes! Fresh fish for dinner

The entire night and morning the rain is pouring down with buckets. I had planned another swim with the turtles in the morning but everyone feels […]
16th February 2021

Turtles and uninhabited islands.

Early in the morning we set out by foot with Mike and Babs to get more provisions. We walk to the Digicel shop which is about 2km […]
11th February 2021

Into the Jungle

Wow, so many things already happened again, we are now anchored in Bequia which is a smaller island just south of St.Vinvent. But let’s back up […]
31st January 2021

The Guppy effect

The last couple of days we have been swimming, snorkeling, building the perfect swing on Guppy and a walk up to Fort Duvernette.  After having jumped […]
27th January 2021

Big Green Mountains

The last days in Barbados we moved to another anchorage, further north and more quiet than Bridgetown. After all the practice on the catamaran, two of […]
22nd January 2021

Tres Hombres, Coconuts and Island vibes

The sun is slowly setting while we are still racing around the bay on the minicat. From afar a beautiful square rigged ship is approaching the […]
19th January 2021

Another day in paradise

The days fly by, in the mornings everyone makes their schoolwork and in the afternoon we either go ashore to explore the island or have a […]
17th January 2021

Entering Paradise :)

I radioed the port frequently to see if our test results had come in, on the 15th a positive reply came back and all we had to […]
14th January 2021

Minicat sailing :)

After all the morning duties have been done ( school, baking bread, cleaning) it’s minicat time! We dig out one of my two minicats we have […]
12th January 2021

Crossed the Atlantic Ocean =D

The sun rapidly disappears below the horizon leaving the sky colored pink, red, yellow and purple. The last miles to Barbados are ticking away slowly as […]
11th January 2021

Land Ahoy! 

Around 2pm a vague blob appears on the horizon, Babs immediately blows the Horn and yells, Land Ahoy! Since then time has slowed down onboard, as […]
10th January 2021

What a day at sea looks like. 

Today has been one of those typical trade wind days. Blue ocean, blue sky, warm and sun. A squall in the evening or night and a […]
9th January 2021

Guppy rolling forward

Babs had said to call the other yacht again at night, which was possible because they were still in reach of the vhf. The whole group […]
8th January 2021

A sail on the horizon. 

Finally the trade winds have become how they should be, around 20-25knots 🙂 The waves of course have also built a little more.. During my night watch […]
6th January 2021

old school Navigation

The trade winds have really kicked in now and Guppy is peacefully rolling her way west. About 800nm to go. On dek, Annabelle and Sista are […]
5th January 2021

St. Pancake?..

A beautiful day today with plenty of sunshine which always makes me happy, because it means extra amps going into the batteries. The sea has been […]
4th January 2021

Guppy found wind

This morning we’ve finished the spinnaker boom mast car, which is great because the wind has been returning and is now back from behind. Sadly the […]
3rd January 2021

boat maintenance

Around 4am the dark clouds around Guppy finally stop shedding rain curtains over us. Most of the night the wind is very variable, so we’re very […]
2nd January 2021

Rain! Lots of it. 

We are now going through a little weather system that brings no wind, squalls and rain. Lots of it! The squalls sometimes bring some wind, so […]
1st January 2021

blowing the horn for New Year’s Eve

We celebrated New Year’s Eve at the time of our geographic location which is -2 utc. With some songs, music and of course blowing Guppy’s horn […]
31st December 2020

getting ready for new years eve 

Another cloudy but warm and lovely day. Especially as we had about 14knots of wind most of the day, so Guppy made some more progress. Now […]
30th December 2020

flying fish

The sea remains very calm so even though the wind sometimes drops, Guppy is able to continue sailing nicely. Today was spent reading, playing games and […]
29th December 2020

A very peaceful day today. 

The promised 14kn of wind came and Guppy is sailing along very smoothly on a relatively calm sea. The sun also decided to come out, so it […]
28th December 2020

2100nm of blue ahead

We got up bright and early but don’t rush to leave, I am still a strong believer that good preparation is one the biggest keys to […]
26th December 2020

Excursion on the Cape Verde

After a good full night of sleep we head back into Palmeira to clear out and try to find some fresh fruit and veggies. In the […]
22nd December 2020

Cape Verde, Ahoy! 

During the early hours of another amazingly clear warm night we start to see a few lights on the horizon and as we get closer the […]
21st December 2020

not a single cloud

For the last two days we have been sailing through a bubble of many different shades of blue. The days and nights are incredibly clear, we […]
20th December 2020

Guppy caught in a fishing line. 

With a good breeze from behind we nicely sail along at 7,5-8 knots. The waves have build a bit, so Guppy is being tossed around a […]
19th December 2020

Dolphins & Poffertjes

We leave La Gomera around 3pm while a good wind is funneling through the islands, but soon the nice wind is gone and we slowly roll […]
15th December 2020

Gran Canaria & La Gomera

It’s still dark with just the slightest tint of pink behind us as we enter through the piers of the marina from Las Palmas. It’s a […]
13th December 2020

Lava Rocks and Volcanoes

After a nice walk into the village Playa Blanca and a successful score at the car rental place we make our way back to Guppy to […]
6th December 2020

A new speed record!

After a short visit in La Coruna where our young crew has visited an old fort we jump on the next weather window and depart the […]
3rd December 2020

Warmer everyday

No longer the need for gloves and hats at night. Smooth sailing and the quality of food made by our young crew is improving every meal […]
2nd December 2020

Sailing past the portuguese coast

We had another lovely warm calm day. Periods of calm sailing with sometimes motoring in between. Reading, writing, watching dolphins and a beautiful moon rise and […]
29th November 2020

Sailing into the warmth

Written bij Guusje (16) Departure Wednesday 25 Nov 2020 The departure went like this, Laura, Sander, Leonie, Annabelle, Babs and I were awake to leave. The […]
21st November 2020

IJmuiden to Cherbourg

Written by Babs (14) Thursday:  We started sailing at 8 o’clock in the morning, because we had a weather window. After we left people came upstairs […]
16th November 2020

A bumpy ride

Written by Annabel (15) The start of our Atlantic crossing:At 11am all the participants came on board. After all family members and friends left, we had […]
11th October 2020

She has officially become a Guppy.

The last months we have been working really hard to get Guppy in good shape and ready for our Atlantic Roundtrip starting in November 2020. After […]
27th August 2020

Out on the water with the new Ship

Our upcoming Atlantic Roundtrip starting in November with a group of teenagers between 12 & 16 years old is coming closer fast, we’re not sitting idle, […]
27th April 2020

Come sail with us!

We have some exciting news!  We are incredibly grateful and happy for a yacht that has been made available for a period of time to the […]
8th January 2020

What makes a boat seaworthy?

What makes a boat seaworthy? You’re out shopping for a blue water cruising boat and people keep telling you it needs to be seaworthy, but what […]
25th December 2019

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

17th December 2019

Is a small boat much more dangerous to sail around the world’s oceans?

Is a small boat much more dangerous to sail around the world’s oceans? This is a question I have been asked many times. There is the […]
30th October 2019

Looking for a place to build GuppyXL

We still need to raise a large proportion of the required funds to build GuppyXL. We have received some generous donations from sponsors and individuals – […]
22nd August 2019

Victron Energy steps onboard as a supporter.

We are really excited to welcome a new sponsor and a partnership established with Victron Energy.  On my round the world voyage I also had Victron […]
7th August 2019

Atlantic Ocean Crossing delivery West – East.

It was just around midday when we stood in line waiting for the security check of the airport. Tim was sitting happily with Sander in the […]
26th May 2019

Laura Dekker Sailing Regatta

Besides working on the project and raising a little crawler I am also still doing motivational speeches and presentations all over the world. Even though I […]
13th May 2019

Getting some Vitamin Sea

This last year has been crazy, so much has happened yet in some ways I felt like I was standing still and not getting anywhere. I […]
30th March 2019

A new chapter in my life :)

I have heard that people go through big changes about every 7 years in their lives. I don’t know if that’s true but it did kind […]
30th March 2019

Mail conversations between LifeSail and me since Guppy’s stranding

I was sick of all the lies, twisting of the truth and the back and forth of accusations and writings of blogs. So I decided to […]
6th February 2019

BOOT Dusseldorf has been over for a while, but life continues at full speed.

BOOT Dusseldorf has been over for a while, but life continues at full speed. There has been a lot of interest in the project and I […]
1st February 2019

Mails that make me smile :)

Everyday I get lots of mail, And of course also lots of nice mails, that really make me smile. This is one of them, I remember […]
19th January 2019

Great first day on BOOT Dusseldorf

We had a great first day on BOOT Dusseldorf, lots of visitors and great talks.  Big thanks to the Handling Company & Your Identity for the […]
18th January 2019

We are ready for BOOT Dusseldorf!

After two long days of working we are very happy to present our stand at the upcoming BOOT Dusseldorf, I’m super excited to be telling all […]
24th December 2018

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year! We will be sailing for Christmas this year 🙂
21st December 2018

My interview at the ZEIT wirtschaftsforum in Frankfurt

12th November 2018

A new adventure

We want to invite you to have a look into our goals and step in to become a part of it. Our goal is to have […]
9th November 2018

Getting lines into the computer.

The first steps are made.   We are officially a trust now & have been able to accept our first donations ( big thank you to […]
9th November 2018

5 tips on achieving your dreams

8th October 2018

The loss of Guppy, a deep scar that may fade but will never leave

It’s been two months since Guppy’s stranding, not a day goes by that I don’t think about her being smashed up and down on the reef […]