Blog

13th April 2012

Setting sail again

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

I’m back on Guppy, but it wasn’t easy!

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

Into the cold air of Europe

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

A little break from writing

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

Starting to make a book from diary

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

Photo’s of my arrival into St.Maarten

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

Sailed to Bonaire

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

Pictures Cape Town – St.Maarten

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

Reflection and a crazy and very special journey.

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

Land in sight!

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

280nm to go!

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

Lots of thoughts going through my head

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 keeping me awake

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

St.Maarten is coming closer fast…

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

Getting slapped in the face by a.. fish

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

Waves & Flying Fish

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

Getting sloshed around like in a wash-machine

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

Back in the trade winds

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

Only 12days to go, I’m not ready to arrive yet.

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

I think we made it out of the Doldrums

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

Wild Water, Pooring rain and Dancing Dolphins

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

Going through the doldrums

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

Back in the Northern Hemisphere

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

A bit of Dolphin company

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

Singing birds and Flying Fish

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

Loud tjilping birds!

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

Over halfway

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

Making good progress

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

Happy New Year Everyone :)

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

A bumpy ride into the New Year

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

It’s getting hot

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

Back on the ssb radio

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

Welcome Trade wind!

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

Good Sailing

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

Attacked by Flying Fish

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

Christmas at sea

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

Dropped a bag of rice.. Oops

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

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas

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

Found the Tradewinds :)

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

Compared to the Indian Ocean it’s so quiet here

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

We sailed over all longitudes!!

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

Leaking oil..

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

Staring at the endless empty horizon

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

A beautiful night

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

Looking forward to warmer weather

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

Bobbing around in a grey bubble

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

Left Cape Town behind

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

Sailing on Camper in the Pro am Race!

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

Guppy on the yard

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

Climbed Table Mountain

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

A visit to the Cape of Good hope by land

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

Welcomed Groupama into Cape Town

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

A very heavy night and day, but arrived into Cape Town safe and well

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

Getting into rougher weather

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

Rounding Cape Agulhas

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

On route to Cape Town – got a leak..

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

Waiting for a weather window

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

photo’s Durban and Addo park P

           
20th November 2011

Photo’s from the Indian Ocean Crossing

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

Arrived in a stormy Port Elizabeth

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

Into the Agulhas current, Onto Port Elizabeth.

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 […]
16th November 2011

Escaped Durban for a little mountain trip

for new photos… I tried for hours to upload pictures to my website without success, the internet here being too slow but maybe it will work […]
14th November 2011

I can’t walk on land anymore!!

After 47 days sailing across the Indian Ocean Guppy and I are in Durban, South-Africa. On my last night at sea I met with intensifying ship […]
13th November 2011

Getting real close now

10-11-2011 Almost there… Just a little way still to go as each passing hour stretches longer. Just a mere 100 nautical miles left to sail out […]
12th November 2011

There were better days..

9-11-2011 Last night Guppy and I was thrown up and down. The wind picked up to 25 knots and blew from the side which would not […]
12th November 2011

Only 450nm to go and I’m not ready for land.

8-11-2011 Yesterday night my lovely southerly wind faded into an easterly wind that blew directly from astern and made Guppy roll back and forth with the […]
12th November 2011

Rules on open sea, sailboats go first..

7-11-2011 Finally a whole night of sleep! There was a nice southerly wind that pulled Guppy along at 6,5 knots. Even though the wind now weakened […]
11th November 2011

Flying and exploding peperpots

6-11-2011 My prediction that the wind would drop to almost nothing happened. And by midnight it was completely gone. I went to get a good rest […]
11th November 2011

Another sailboat in sight!!

5-11-2011 ARGH! The wind really doesn’t know what it wants and keeps changing back and forth, either blowing strongly or not at all. So I had […]
11th November 2011

Wet clothes & Weavels in the pasta..

4-11-2011 Still no wind, sigh… Well, at least the weather is fine. I awoke early this morning to get to work. When I was about to […]
10th November 2011

A Tiring endevour

1-11-2011 Sailing was great today with good crosswinds at times changing to headwinds but I am happy that we are on course. Guppy flew like a […]
10th November 2011

Rain & shifty winds

2-11-2011 My good northern wind has now left me… Rain and shifting winds took its place and kept me busy all morning adjusting course and the […]
10th November 2011

Headwinds again

3-11-2011 After another day fighting with the sails and keeping course I was hoping for a good night sleep, but in the middle of it the […]
9th November 2011

The storm is not loosing her grip on Guppy yet

29-10-2011 Just when I was hoping for the wind to weaken a little, Guppy got even more to play with… Clipped with a short safety tether […]
9th November 2011

Sighted first ship in three weeks!

30-10-2011 The wind has finally weakened! It is even blowing form a better direction and pulling Guppy up to a nice speed so she is not […]
9th November 2011

Time for a big clean up

31-10-2011 After the heavy weather Mother Nature threw at me for several days, it now looks like she feels that she has to make amends… So […]
8th November 2011

Stormy weather

27-10-2011 Another beautiful sunny day. I am sailing on a close tack to a 25 knots wind and heading straight into fast coming towering waves which […]
8th November 2011

Maybe I’m a little crazy, but I’m just loving it!

28/10/2011 The Rollercoaster is in full swing now… but happily we did not do any loop-the-loops so far and I am feeling pretty good actually. Althought […]
7th November 2011

Back to squalls, rain & changing winds

25-10-2011 Very early this morning as it was still dark rainfalls, shifting winds and squalls with strong gusts took me out of my sleep and kept […]
7th November 2011

Charged batteries, thank you sunshine!

26-10-2011 We are sailing close to the wind now and just off course to the south of our rhumb line, but I am happy that there […]
6th November 2011

Steady winds! Yay

24-10-2011 The sky is a bit cloudier today, but instead of sunlight I now have some wind! Our speed is back to 4 to 4,5 knots, […]
6th November 2011

Got a little more wind

23-10-2011 I catched on some sleep last night as the light wind that is still blowing was just enough to keep the boat on course, so […]
5th November 2011

Stitching & fighting Sails

22-10-2011 Our speed has dropped to 1-2 knots.. which is not really something to write home about. But I do, because not much else is happening […]
5th November 2011

Maintenance day

21-10-2011 We are still making progress under light wind. After a promising start this morning the sun sadly faded again. In this hazy sunlight and in […]
4th November 2011

All is well onboard

20-10-2011 It is another sunny day today and there is still a nice wind blowing. Everything on Guppy finally has the chance to dry and the […]
4th November 2011

Fresh Bread & Sunshine :D

19-10-2011 Finally a bright and sunny day! That is good to me and for the batteries.. Along with a great wind and nice waves it all […]
3rd November 2011

Another gray, rainy day in GuppyLand

18-10-2011 It is another grayish gray rainy day in Guppyland. But there is a good wind so we are going great under sails. Last night the […]
3rd November 2011

Started playing a recorder

17-10-2011 How is it possible to be for three weeks at sea and not get good winds for two days in a row .. The weather […]
2nd November 2011

Loosing sense of time

15-10-2011 The wind faded away to normal and we are sailing into another gray and rainy day.. I feel very tired since I did not have […]
2nd November 2011

A little sun

16-10-2011 Nice change; I awoke to the sun shining today. All morning It warmed Guppy and me which gave us a chance to dry up a […]
1st November 2011

Got knocked down!

14-10-2011 Yesterday evening and night felt like I was taking a rollercoaster ride. The waves reached up to more than six meters [20 feet].. really awesome […]
31st October 2011

The wind became a little too enthusiastic

13-10-2011 The wind has become a little too enthusiastic.. She is getting strong and the seas are getting pretty rough.. Different from what things were in […]
30th October 2011

Building seas

12/10/2011 No bird droppings or squalls today but a strong breeze. That’s exactly what we are going for! The sky is still heavily clouded but the […]
29th October 2011

Wind! It’s a miracle, so happy!

11-10-2011 Wind finally! A nice wind that takes Guppy flying forward, so for the first time since our departure from Darwin we are making good progress. […]
28th October 2011

Being swallowed by clouds

10-10-2011 Finally I have some wind, but it is so dark and gray outside that it looks like Guppy will be swallowed by the clouds at […]
27th October 2011

Still no wind..

9-10-2011 Well, I am still waiting for some wind.. Last night I sailed with the engine on for a slow going 3 knots. So I could […]
26th October 2011

Ants!

8-10-2011 Of course I am without wind again, but at least the sun showed up.. But wait.. maybe I should keep quiet because over the horizon […]
25th October 2011

Back to bobbing around and drizzle

7-10-2011 Well okay, I spoke too soon… Since last night the wind is back to ‘normal’ which means calm winds, headwinds and shifting winds.. For the […]
24th October 2011

starting the blog again – A good night sleep does wonders

6-10-2011 Yes!Finally I have wind and it is even blowing from the right direction. With decreased swell but increased wind and in the company of a […]
22nd October 2011

Congratulations to the Dutch Solar Team

The news has also reached me by now.. And I want to congratulate the Dutch Nuon Solar team with the Nuna 6 which I met in […]