Now, for the first time, it feels like we are really sailing home. Although theoretically that could have been much earlier. A friend of ours even said when we left over a year ago that we were on our way home from the start if you sailed a round like that. Well, it depends on how you look at it. For us, being on the way home is only a feeling when we no longer have any other (intermediate) goals that demand our attention more than the sailing with final destination home. Now for the first time (from departure Blyth) that is the case and it really feels like we are almost home. Especially now that since this morning we are really in the Netherlands, in Zeeland. I can't help but say that our fantastic boat has always been 'home' to us in the past year and it still feels that way. So coming home ... yes ... but 'home is where the heart is' (according to a friend of ours), so even on the boat it still feels 'home', and soon in Tilburg for sure!!! Anyway, we are very much looking forward to see family and friends again !!!

The last long trip at sea we cut in two and that works out very well. That makes it seem less long. The first part is about 240 miles from Inverness to Blyth (Northern England). A great trip with calm weather, occasional motorbikes and also nice sailing. In the middle of the night (at 1.30 am) we walk to Blyth. We moor at the head side of the yacht club jetty and then quickly fall into a deep sleep.

The next day we have to find out how to get to Alnwick Castle (the Harry Potter Castle). Renting a car doesn't work. Finally we go by taxi (40 min) and back by bus (2 hours). Alnwick is a historic village with a castle where the Percy family lives for 700 years and a very nice castle garden. The castle is still inhabited by the family in winter and is open for visitors in summer. A beautiful castle in beautiful surroundings. Very understandable that this is used in the films of Harry Potter (and also in other films like Robin Hood). We recognize the entrance gate, Griffoendor's student room, classrooms, the place of the first flying lessons, the stray ball field and the entrance to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid's cottage. The girls are very excited to see this in real life. Marinthe is already dressed in her white blouse, tie (from Griffoendor) with magic wand, and with two Griffoendor coats we can buy there it's really two Harry Potter girls walking through the castle and even being photographed by other tourists. Besides the fact of the HP-decor it's also impressive to see and hear how the Percy family (a very influential English family) has been living here for so long. We also visit the garden; a beautifully landscaped park with fountains, beautiful flowerbeds and spacious park parts. The sun shines all day long ... have a great time in Alnwick! The way back by bus is also very nice ... along beautiful places and along the coast. In between we stop in Morpeth for a nice Italian (...) dinner and around 9.30 pm we are back on the boat. Picking up weatherfiles and what turns out ... we'd better leave immediately because then we get less light weather (with only engines) than when we would go the next morning. And so we sail back out to sea around 10 pm (and we have been in Blyth for less than 20 hours).

The first night is wonderful sailing. The next day the wind is unfortunately much less and we motor most of the time. By now we are a bit worried about the diesel supply. Since the Azores we haven't refuelled anymore because in the UK only the so called 'red' diesel is for sale (it is much cheaper but the Dutch customs make it very difficult when they find this diesel in your tank with a chance of 5000 euro fine ...). If it stays that light the next day, will we make it? We can find out by measuring the height of the diesel in the tank itself (because the gauge is not completely accurate). After measuring it it turns out that we still have more than enough, especially at low revs ... so no more worries. But fortunately the wind in the night is blowing again, even pretty hard (wind force 4-5 with bumps in 6), coming in plenty, and that's good sailing. With a clear starry sky and in the middle of the oil fields between the brightly lit drilling platforms ... a beautiful sight! On the second day the wind continues to blow and we sail until late in the afternoon. We sail through one of the busiest stretches of water in the world ... literally a traffic junction near Rotterdam and southern England. With the help of AIS and choosing the right crossings, we get through this very well. Up to the entrance at Roompot we can sail and for the last part we sail on our motorbikes in pitch dark between the sometimes and sometimes unlit buoys. Long live the E80 (our navigation system) that always shows us the right way. In the middle of the night at 1.30 am we go through the Roompotsluis and sail back into the Netherlands! The girls are totally excited and stay up for so long. The four of us are having a good drink ... we deserve it! But it still feels a bit strange.

So now two more days before we really get to Bruinisse. We were supposed to take the Barbarossa these days, but unfortunately they had engine trouble and had to leave their boat in Ostend. Very annoying for them, no fun and no real end of the trip. Now they go home by train and pick up the boat later. Jan and Ellen will come to us tomorrow to 'finish' a fantastic year of sailing together. We still mess around a bit ... cleaning the boat inside and out feels good and might be the right job to 'kick off'. We have the first brown bread with flakes and sprinkles on ... mmm ... really enjoy. And so there will be more things that we will do again for the first time in over a year ... a special but beautiful sensation!

For those who come to Bruinisse ... see you Saturday !!!!!! We are ready and looking forward to it !!!