10th July 2012
The wind died down a little yesterday which was perfect, because itmeant that we went through the pass of Rangiroa this morning, whichwasn’t bad at all. […]
8th July 2012
Today we finally got “normal” weather: sun, clear skies, and goodwinds. It looks like we are going to arrive in Rangiroa sometimeduring the night, so I […]
6th July 2012
Guppy is making good progress but the weather is not very nice. It hasbeen rainy and drizzling since just after we left, and with it havecome […]
5th July 2012
We had a good time with our sailing friends and enjoyed celebratingthe birthday. We are full with delicious fresh fruit, and so isGuppy, as we stocked […]
2nd July 2012
We’ve moved over to another bay, still on the same island, but twobays further. There is a little town and the people are very laid backand […]
30th June 2012
We decided to leave Hiva Oa and go a few miles further to Tahuatu, aslife was getting pretty uncomfortable with the big swell coming intothe bay. […]
28th June 2012
After a year away, seeing the island of Hiva Oa appear on the horizonwas magical for me. It felt just like I had never left. And […]
26th June 2012
We arrived in Hiva Oa after I don’t know how many days at sea, since Ididn’t count them. We went to the little town and I […]
25th June 2012
The wind has totally dropped down over the last day so we’re runningthe engine, as expected. We still have 130 miles to go. And just likeevery […]
23rd June 2012
Last night, a lot of squalls came over us. The rain poured all night,at times with as much as 30 knots of wind coming from every […]
21st June 2012
Last night we had 25 knots of wind and really confused cross seaswhich made life uncomfortable and sleeping very hard. But it’s alreadya whole lot better […]
19th June 2012
There’s about 15 to 20 knots of wind now, occasional rain with morewind and it’s exactly from behind. The waves got a little higher soit’s more […]
17th June 2012
We are slowly getting there. There’s already a little bit more windand it has shifted to east, so it’s from behind now. The wind forecastsounds a […]
15th June 2012
Last night we saw dolphins. But with no moon and almost no phosphorescence in the water it was hard to see them jumping in front of […]
13th June 2012
The wind has come back a little and Guppy is doing 5 knots again. We’re just over halfway, with 1490 miles still to go. I love […]
11th June 2012
Blegh…the wind has dropped down the past few days, leaving usrolling at 3 knots over the calm blue empty sea. With the remainingswell, it makes things […]
9th June 2012
Yeah! We’re making great progress, doing an awesome 7 knots. The wind shifted a little more to the southeast so I poled out the Genoa last […]
7th June 2012
I’m finally recovered from my cold. Mweh, I felt so bad. But at leastthe weather is good. The winds have been awesome. We’ve made prettygood progress […]
4th June 2012
I totally forgot to mention that we saw a whale the first day out! Itwas not as close as the one in South Africa, so that […]
2nd June 2012
Our last evening in San Cristobal, we had a nice dinner aboard ourneighbor boat Donna with Kris and then pulled up the anchor and setsail towards […]
29th May 2012
The dinghy got stolen last night by one of the locals who asked $300to give it back again the next morning! We of course didn’t pay, […]
27th May 2012
We enjoy sitting on the beach with the sea lions, but trying to keep them off Guppy and out of the dinghy–well, that’s not really so […]
25th May 2012
He could smile sometimes ( although it wasn’t a lot) Big Dolphins! We had headwinds most of the trip It’s certainly a lot messier with three […]
24th May 2012
So far I really like the Island of San Cristobal. It’s quieter than Santa Cruz last year. There are fewer boats and the town looks really nice. […]
23rd May 2012
Crossing the equator was fun. We had awesome weather and good winds.It’s already the fourth time I’ve crossed the line. Of course I madepancakes again and […]
22nd May 2012
It just got light out and we have about 110 miles to go. We made suchgood progress the last few days it’s unbelievable, and we’re stilldoing […]
21st May 2012
Things are a whole lot better over here now. The annoying crosswavescalmed down and so did the wind. So we’re sailing full main, mizzen,genoa, and jib […]
20th May 2012
Still really rough out here. The course is a little bit better. We can go the right direction now, sailing closehauled into 20 to 25 knots […]
19th May 2012
The cat enjoys the sailing so far: sleeps, plays, eats, and gets fatter by the day. I made a little harness for her so she lives […]
18th May 2012
Meeh, progress is so slow…There is just enough wind to sail but right against us, so we can either go south…or west. We’ve come about 50 […]
17th May 2012
There is still a lot of rain and squalls and sometimes a lot of wind because of the squalls like right now.. argh! Okay, the squall […]
15th May 2012
Saturday afternoon we left Panama City heading towards the Galapagos. So far progress has been really, really slow. And the trip has been pretty interesting too. […]
11th May 2012
We’ve been on the Pacific side now for two days. The transit waswonderful. We didn’t have a drop of rain and had to wait less than […]
10th May 2012
Panama City skyline Lake Gatun Our litte Kitten ”Kiwi” Crew member Shaoul
1st May 2012
Panama City Camping in the jungle Playing some Ukele while discovering Panama City
27th April 2012
We left the San Blas pretty fast, as there was really no wind and the bugs and mosquitoes were just eating us alive, while at night […]
26th April 2012
San Blas Islands. Baking pancakes on a friends yacht San Blas Islands, amazing sunset Bruno playing the Ukulele
20th April 2012
Yesterday morning we arrived in the San Blas Islands. The last two days to the San Blas we had little wind and the speed was going […]
17th April 2012
Everything is going very well since I left Bonaire last Saturday. The first day we didn’t have much wind so that was a good start for […]
13th April 2012
The last few days I’ve been busy getting Guppy ready for the next trip, going to the San Blas again. I have been checking the rigging […]
9th April 2012
After doing my last interview in the Canary Islands for a German tv-show, I finally returned to Guppy. My return didn’t go as smoothly as planned. […]
19th March 2012
I’ve already been fourteen days in what is for me still really cold Holland. But in these fourteen days, I haven’t exactly been sitting still. The […]
1st March 2012
Thanks a lot for all the title suggestions for my book. In the meantime I’ve made my decision and will let everyone know when I’m at […]
15th February 2012
I’m already in Bonaire for a while now. But time is flying, I’m really busy trying to make something out of my diary’s that I can […]
7th February 2012
Big thanks to my dad, who always supported me and thought me all the things I needed to know! A beautiful welcome from the St.Maarten Yacht […]
6th February 2012
A quick update after sailing into Sint Maarten, 366 days after I saw it disappearing behind the horizon. It was really nice to spend some time […]
25th January 2012
Flying fish everywhere!! This is where I spend Christmas Nightly visitors. Squalls, lots of them! Crossing the equator What squalls look like on the radar Like […]
23rd January 2012
The dark and starry night sky slowly vanishes its floating lights sprinkling to dust as small islands appear on the horizon. I can see Sint Maarten […]
20th January 2012
Only 160 nautical miles left to go and today I saw the first of many small islands I’ll be sailing by. Guadeloupe is still hidind over […]
19th January 2012
Today is a beautiful sunny day with less wind than yesterday which makes sailing quiet and easy. Still Guppy is going fast enough for us to […]
18th January 2012
Reaching the end of my circumnavigation, I look back with joy at the adventures of the past year. I am also thinking hard, and trying to […]
17th January 2012
Squalls have kept me awake all night and Guppy had a good shower of fresh sky water. It washed away most of the salt from ‘Gup’ […]
16th January 2012
Waves are smaller today and especially longer so my life aboard is much more easier. Small squalls have kept annoying me all day with their strong […]
15th January 2012
The wind has calmed down a little and the hatch to the cabin can stay open. Also I can sit on the deck and easily check […]
14th January 2012
The wind keeps pulling us ahead. Happily the waves are longer now so less of them end up in the cockpit which makes my life aboard […]
13th January 2012
Within no time the waves have built up, becoming high and steep. The sea has been changed into a cooking pot and aboard of Guppy it’s […]
12th January 2012
The waves are rolling nonstop over deck now that Gup and the Trade Wind have found each other… And so between the closed hatches and the […]
11th January 2012
All night and today we had good wind and the shining sun made for a very hot day today. But the worst of the doldrums is […]
10th January 2012
The gusty and heavy squall that brought 40 knots winds and pouring rain finally dissolved with the night. Today the wind has settled to a nice […]
9th January 2012
To a windless night with squalls followed another cloudy day with even more squalls. And the rain has not stopped all afternoon. Even after I had […]
8th January 2012
Today was overcast with squalls bringing rain and wonderfully refreshing showers to me, at first… But the squalls intensified and the showers turned to strong, heavy […]
7th January 2012
Guppy and I have crossed the equator again so we have now left the southern hemisphere and jumped from summer to winter in the northern hemisphere […]
6th January 2012
Like on the previous two nights my nocturnal visitors have kept at whistling their songs from their favorite stage, the solar panels of the Targa frame. […]
5th January 2012
Yesterday’s dark clouds only brought some rain and once they finished raining they just hung around not bothering me. The wind eased again but it is […]
4th January 2012
As expected the wind is still blowing straight from behind, but it decreased in strength a little. Happily it still is enough to keep us going […]
3rd January 2012
Waves behave nicer now and the wind is blowing from behind so Guppy still keeps rolling back and forth. Yet the wind is pulling at 15 […]
2nd January 2012
The wind and the waves have become a bit too enthusiastic and are making my life aboard less comfortable… But the great weather and our good […]
1st January 2012
I spent a great New Year’s Eve listening to music with light sticks glowing and the shining moon and the stars were a very good trade […]
31st December 2011
The wind is still very kind to Guppy and me – not like the waves that apparently lack some good education and are bullying Guppy… Last […]
30th December 2011
I was kept busy all morning because of shifting winds coming in with a few squalls and rain.That made for a very entertaining course line on […]
29th December 2011
Another nice and sunny day here. The water is getting warmer so it was my chance to take a shower today… The temperature rising the conditions […]
28th December 2011
It’s really great that the Trade Wind still keeps me company on my way. Today I finished reading “Maya’s Notebook” [‘El Cuaderno de Maya’, 2011] by […]
27th December 2011
With a nice wind coming diagonally from behind, Guppy is tirelessly pulling ahead under full sails. Today the sun was shining again, which really was great. […]
26th December 2011
I had just jumped in my warm bunk and fell asleep when a strange noise brought me back to consciousness … something inside the cabin was […]
25th December 2011
We had a nice 20 knots wind today that pulled Guppy at a good 6,5 knots towards the horizon. My Christmas gift was the sun shining […]
24th December 2011
At dawn today the sunlight promessed a cloudless day. I should have touched wood because Guppy is now surrounded by curtains of rain and dark clouds […]
23rd December 2011
This morning the dark clouds had their cup full and just dropped everything they had of winds and rain – the winds shifting madly and as […]
22nd December 2011
For the second time on our journey Guppy and I have crossed, coming from the West, the line between Eastern and Western longitude. The first time […]
21st December 2011
Thinking back on yesterday I realized that two special things happened. I went over the Netherlands’ longitude line and December 20th is the day when the […]
20th December 2011
Today Guppy came in line with the Netherlands’ longitude [5° E], which means that I have now crossed all of the earth longitudes … that’s pretty […]
19th December 2011
To my surprise a nice breeze came in yesterday evening that got even stronger during the night. With the strong wind coming diagonally from behind we […]
18th December 2011
Another clear and sunny day with little wind but still enough so Guppy can skate ahead which is all there is to it … today. It’s […]
17th December 2011
The alarm clock wakes me up, lying in my warm, dry and not salty bed, as I listen to all the familiar sounds Guppy makes… the […]
16th December 2011
After a good start Guppy’s speed has dramatically dropped today… From 5 knots to 4 knots, to 3 knots and down again to a small 2,5 […]
15th December 2011
Guppy and I have been at sea for three nights already. And now the wind is gone… We had a promising start with lots of wind, […]
13th December 2011
After waving goodbye to the sailing out Volvo Race boats as they headed south, Guppy and I left Cape Town and Table Mountain behind us. We […]
10th December 2011
Yesterday I was invited onboard Camper to join them in the Pro Am Race of the V.O.R. It was AMAZING! She is definitely the fastest sailboat […]
9th December 2011
Early this morning after a short flight Guppy was back in her natural element,the water. I would like to thank the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s shipyard […]
6th December 2011
I have found the time to write a new blog so … After being told at least one hundred times that I really had to go […]
4th December 2011
Today I went up to the Cape of Good Hope not with Guppy but by car with my Dad at the ‘helm’. From there I could […]
1st December 2011
In the few days that I’ve been here, I’ve already done a lot. I finally slept for a long time, ate well, and cleaned most of […]
27th November 2011
This last leg to Cape Town was really tough. On the last night coming in I reefed the mainsail three times and we rounded the Cape […]
26th November 2011
For the first time since our departure from the Netherlands Guppy is sailing on a northerly course. With a 25 knots wind coming from behind we […]
25th November 2011
The wind quickly faded yesterday so it gave me a chance to put things back in order inside Guppy. I also filled the space around the […]
24th November 2011
Another blog from the open sea. Early this morning the meteo called for a good weather window so Guppy and I decided to cast off the […]
22nd November 2011
Today a strong wind is blowing over the recently renovated harbour of Port Elizabeth. Some time ago a major storm destroyed the marina and the people […]
21st November 2011
20th November 2011
Arrival into Durban Customs plane flying over while leaving Australia Squalls.. Lots of rainy, grey days Squally nights provide interesting course lines Getting closer
19th November 2011
Guppy and I are now in Port Elizabeth. The night before my arrival I suddenly fell sick and I threw up, probably because of something I […]
17th November 2011
Back on Guppy after my excursion in the mountains, the meteo called for a good weather window on through the next coming days. It made me […]