Autumn's Last Sail

Summer has come to an end. It is time to bring our boat back to the boat yard, for the necessary winter maintenance. It's a two-day trip from our home port to the boat yard, so we get to enjoy one last sailing trip before our season ends. Around Mid-October, the forecasts predict two last days of sunny weather. A great opportunity for us to sail to the boat yard.

Sailing the Wadden Sea

Finally, vacation! 

Last September, after a long year of hard work, I finally finished my master’s thesis. It was time for a well-earned sailing vacation. The Monday after my graduation, I and my boyfriend set sail for a three-week sailing trip.

The first two days we sail to the north of the IJsselmeer Lake, to the locks that are the gateway to the Wadden Sea. Although it is September already, the weather is still nice and sunny. We enjoy the Dutch version of the Indian summer. But when we arrive at the north of the IJsselmeer, the weather forecasts start to change. Stormy rain and winds keep us pinned down in the town of Makkum.

Mirror Boxing

The loud call of the oystercatcher always reminds me of the Wadden Sea, one of its natural habitats. But the salty wetlands of the Wadden Sea aren't the only place where I meet these beautiful birds.

They also colonize more inland areas, like college campuses and industrial sites. These worlds of glass and steel may look like unnatural places for them. But as long as it's not too crowded, they seem pretty okay. Most of the time, at least...

Those peaceful nights

In the Netherlands, sailing is big. Really big. Or perhaps, the country is just a tad too small to fit all those sailors in. But on hot summer days, everybody seems to get out on the water. In the evenings, even the smaller natural harbors and inlets are packed full of boats. There's the smell of barbeques, dinghy-racing kiddo's and the five other boats you have to climb over to get ashore. Mass tourism, Waterworld-style.

Winter in the Netherlands

Today, I am posting three paintings instead of one. These three are part of one whole. Together they try to capture the atmosphere of winter in the Netherlands.

Winter sailing, winter quietness

Often, I hear people say: such a shame that summer is over, I enjoyed sailing so much! Or: ‘I am glad that I live in California/Malaysia/some other warm country, so I can continue sailing all year long. Some people seem to assume that sailing is impossible during the wintertime! But they couldn’t be more wrong...

The cruising life? Oh, if only we could afford that!

You guys sailed to the Channel Islands? With your own boat? For ten weeks? Wow guys, that’s really cool! And look at those pictures you took! Amazing.. This is quite different from our holidays. Two weeks in some Spanish beach resort, that’s it. Some people are just so lucky. I gotta admit I’m kinda jealous here.