Laura 2011 – 2020

Since my arrival in Fiji I have done lots and I have met many new people. As I was inflating my dingy people form a closer […]

Guppy and I have come through unscathed from the reefs, and around midnight we dropped anchor off the city of Suva, Fiji – then I enjoyed […]

Yesterday Guppy and I sailed between the first islands, atolls and reefs. I was really surprised to see a mountain rising out of the water where […]

After calm winds for the past several hours there is now a good sidewind blowing so ‘Gup’ and I are heading for the atolls at 6,5 […]

Guppy and I are en Route again. At first the wind seemed to cooperate but later in the day it weakened and now it is blowing […]

There was no wind at all last night and mosquitoes came en masse to visit. So at 3 AM I was awake and I just couldn’t […]

Thank you very much for all the e-mails and advices about my SSB radio. I was given a small handheld transmitter by another sailor, so if […]

With Henk we tried to reanimate my ICOM 700 Pro SSB radio. He has exactly the same, and as a test we installed it in place […]

I kept busy all day mostly doing small things aboard, like cleaning the boat again, inflating the dinghy and with one mega-task…Lately my SSB radio was […]

There is a pretty wind blowing again, but at this time I don’t really want it. Guppy is now going too fast! I have 35 nautical […]

After many hours on a close course that felt like being on a rocking horse the winds slowly faded. Guppy made good progress and from going […]

The wind keeps merrilly fooling around… Last night it shifted to the North, which was great. So this meant that I just had to unrig the […]

Gup and I have decided not to stop in Niue but to go directly to Tonga. Via SSB radio all the sailors who have been to […]

I had planned my route to sail close to Palmerston Atoll [Southern Cook Islands], so that maybe I could see it … But sadly it was […]

Yeah – wind blowing since yesterday. But it kept playing games on Guppy so I was busy all day adjusting the sails and correcting course. At […]

Finally some winds… And they are here for awhile. Early this morning there was some light wind but by the time I had all the sails […]

I feel much better today, so things are going in the right direction. But I can’t say it is the same with the wind although I […]

My sore throat feels better, but I can’t remember ever suffering from such a strong cold! Also I did not know that it was possible to […]

The wind is still weak and blowing straight from behind but all in all, I am on the right course and the sails are not flapping […]

I am on my way to Niue Island. The wind and waves looked pretty inviting at the start but as it usually is, I was kind […]

Everything is back in its place, the MiniCat, the dinghy, my bike is onboard and I cleared things inside Guppy’s cabin so that not everything will […]

This morning I refilled the diesel tank that of course was almost empty from running the engine during my last windless crossing. Since I had to […]

Actually I had planned to set sail again when I was told by the people here that there will be a big traditional dancing festival on […]

As often happens my plans for the day ended up to nothing. I posponed my second bicycle tour around the island because early this morning American […]

After a windless crossing of 30 hours I arrived in Bora Bora. As it often is with atoll islands, I first had to sail around the […]

Although there was not much wind, I had the travel-jitters again so I decided to head for the Leeward Islands. Too bad this means I have […]

Actually today I wanted to explore the island but early this morning it was already sweltering hot that I did not feel like going. From Guppy […]

Even though Guppy is very satisfied with her anchorage in the crystal clear and calm waters of Tahiti, I am planning to sail the 20 nautical […]

After two days spent running around I moved to a slower pace, and now I have to do all of the everyday things that need to […]

We’ve had an awesome day!! Because the stranded sailor we went to the waterfall with yesterday is away for two weeks, we could borrow his car. […]

Up to now I have met many new people again, and one of them is a stranded sailor who has to work to earn some money […]

After an exciting passage between two reefs with many lights and buoys I was neatly moored, exactly at midnight. When I woke up in the morning, […]

Going outside without getting wet has become really impossible now! Obviously, Guppy enjoys practicing to be a submarine once more… but not for long since Tahiti […]

While I was running along by the remaining atolls, the wind slowly began to pick up to a speed of about 30 knots [55 kilometres or […]

Another hot and windless day, and I kept looking to the point on the horizon where land should be … my first atoll. And I still […]

This morning I first tried to make something with my stock of now rock-hard baguettes. Unfortunately I did not succeed, so right now I turned to […]

Because of all the many teasing from hazes and squalls, I have been busy all day adjusting the sails. Unlike yesterday, the sky is clear again […]

As soon as the very last “Have a safe trip” was called out to me from other yachts, Guppy and I had already disappeared behind a […]

Even though Hiva’Oa and all of its so very kind people are real beautiful, Guppy and I have travel urges again.. There is nothing that will […]

Unfortunately, the beautiful sunny day is over and the weather is back to normal which means rain and no winds! However it makes it a nice […]

Guppy is now lying at anchor in a quiet bay near Atuona, and I did the crossing in 17 days and 22 hours! This is the […]

Yesterday the squalls have kept me busy for quite a while but they tired down in the evening, just like me. And after a few more […]

Yes, I took another shower this morning and it was a freshwater shower! Early this morning two forceful squalls hit. Of course Mother Nature sent some […]

Woeshh! I took a shower once again! During my check around, a wave took the opportunity to take me to graze unto the foredeck. Thank you, […]

Another beautiful and sunny morning, and there is really no cloud in sight! Guppy is surrounded by dark blue, light blue and even more variations of […]

At the time when most people in Europe are having supper, I just wake-up from my latest nap. The wind again chose to go for the […]

Because of the atmospheric conditions, the daily short wave radio hour is now held at about 5 AM local time which mixes up my whole morning […]

Last night I have seen my very first moonrise at sea! I was outside to do my usual round when I noticed a yellowish shimmer on […]

Toiing-Flap-bling!… There are two wind directions I really can’t stand: strong winds coming from straight ahead, and little winds coming directly from astern. And so, winds […]

My foot is healing very well, thank you all for the many good advices. I think I won’t have to walk like a flamingo any more […]

I have now learned that one leg hopping in a kind of non-stop fairground ride is much harder than I actually thought, and I am afraid […]

Blang!… My intuition that rightly recognizes every single noise on the boat woke me up. There was a new unknowned noise. Clang, clang, pff… I had […]

Beep…Crackle…Hiss…The sailors’ daily radio network on the short wave radio has started again, and out of the squeaky English that comes from the black box in […]

Hup, Guppy, Hup! You are the best! Yeah! I established a new record: 194 nautical miles [359 kilometres or 223 land miles] in a day’s run. […]

Gee whiz! Guppy has got hot peppers up her tushy and it is the same with the wind!! For the last while the wind has picked […]

This morning the birds flew away. I guess they are now well equipped for their next leg… And so I am alone again but for the […]

A high and long swell is rolling under Guppy and washes over her sometimes… then we both I and everything that lies in the cockpit get […]

Today started smoothly with some chatting to other yacht crews via short wave radio. While I was busy throwing flying fishes and squids off the deck, […]

I said Hello and Goodbye for the umpteenth time. I set sail for the umpteenth time to bring Guppy towards the next unknown island. But for […]

I am just back from Isla Isabela. It really was very beautiful. There is a small village with only dirt roads, a few houses, restaurants and […]

Last night the wind lacked courage but came back with the first daylight. Guppy is now blowing forward at a speed of about 6 knots [11 […]

Wind! After running on the engine all night again, finally some wind came and since this morning we are moving under sails. With a good wind […]

Unlike yesterday there was no wind at all last night and so to the noise of the engine, Guppy softly slid over the moonlit sea at […]

Last night Guppy made very good progress. I have had wind so I travelled 140 nautical miles or so since I left [259 kilometres or 161 […]

The passage through the Panama Canal was great. Especially the Gatun Lake was very beautiful. Along with one of the line handlers (that I am good […]

I am back! Sorry to be a few days late. But I am experiencing so much all the time! Today I will sail as a line […]

Today the three boats I was with for the past days are setting sail. Probably I will meet many of them again in Panama. A lot […]

Finally, it is a little dryer here. For the past two days it has hardly rained. At the party for all the yacht crews I met […]

It is really beautiful here. Finally, the sun is back from its vacation, making the scenery even more beautiful. At sunlight, and you see all those […]

This morning the strong winds had not stopped blowing and unfortunately the sun also did not show up. I had hoped that the wind would decrease, […]