We’ve had a week of lovely sunny and (reasonably) warm weather in south-west Greenland, with beautiful blue skies. We’re so lucky to have this 🤗. There’s also very little wind, so we’re motoring almost the whole way. But we don’t mind that in this area. This part of Greenland is indeed more accessible than the east coast. […]
Read more
The crossing to Greenland and our first encounter with the eastern part of Greenland 🇬🇱 is truly special, intense, unique, challenging and certainly no ‘walk in the park’ ☺️. We set off early on Sunday morning (19 July) for the 430 nm journey to Tasiilaq on the east coast. I hardly slept that night (a crossing like this is always exciting and […]
Read more
We’ spend the four days before the girls arrive on the boat and around the harbor. We don’t feel like going out right now. We get to know other Greenland-bound travelers who are also moored here in the harbor, and it’s really helpful to exchange information with each other. By now, we’re […]
Read more
On our final stretch in Iceland, from the Westfjords to Reykjavík, we’re facing a lot of southerly wind. And that’s exactly the direction we need to head in 😅. So we’re letting the weather dictate our stops along this stretch, without being able to see ‘everything’ (which is really playing on my ‘FOMO’ […]
Read more
Na twee prachtige zeildagen in de zon naar de noordkant van IJsland krijgen we een paar koude dagen met hardere wind en regelmatig regen. Hier aan de noordkust is het (zeker zonder zon) duidelijk kouder dan in de rest van IJsland 😅. Er zijn ook niet veel overnachtingsplekken en ze liggen net als bij de […]
Read more
We feel very welcome on the east coast of Iceland. With incredibly friendly harbour masters, stunning rugged nature and excellent facilities for tourists. The Icelanders are so proud of their country and take such good care of their cultural heritage 🤗. It’s quite special to be in such a completely different setting again. Rougher than Shetland and […]
Read more
Even with lots of (low-hanging) cloud, the Faroe Islands reveal their beauty. We hardly see the sun, but there’s little wind and not too much rain. So you won’t hear us complaining. With temperatures of 10–14 degrees, it often even feels warm 🤭. Especially when the sun peeks out for a brief moment now and then. Little wind […]
Read more
The second leg of the Viking Route takes us from Shetland to the Faroe Islands 🇫🇴⛰️🐏. The crossing from Shetland is 285 nm, which we cover in 27.5 hours, 24.5 of which we can spend sailing. The forecast proves accurate; we have a perfect weather window with a broad reach (3–5 Bft). You really couldn’t ask for better, but […]
Read more
Over the coming months, we’ll be following in the Vikings’ footsteps along the so-called ‘Viking Route’ 🧔♂️🪓⚔️🤗. The Viking Route refers to the ancient shipping routes that the Vikings sailed between around 800 and 1100. In their fast longships, they sailed from Norway via Shetland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland to Newfoundland in Canada. The name pays tribute to these brave […]
Read more
After more than a year, we are leaving Norway to sail to the Shetland Islands. Our final few weeks in Norway have turned out a little differently, as we are heading to the Netherlands for a week and a half—somewhat unexpectedly—following the death of ‘Opa Wim’. This is followed by a family weekend in Bergen that had already been planned […]
Read more
The second leg of the journey to Bergen takes us to the Ålesund region. We’re making good progress, with long days on the water and the occasional rest day. The weather is exceptionally warm and dry for this time of year. Very un-Norwegian, but lovely nonetheless ☀️🤗. In the evenings, we’re often able to sit outside in […]
Read more
We’re making good progress on the first leg of our journey south towards Bergen (where we plan to be in early May). We’d rather have a bit more time at the end than at the start. The weather is very changeable. Lots of sun, hardly any rain, and regularly strong winds or very little wind. As we […]
Read more
The second part of our stay in the Netherlands is flying by with visits to family and friends. We’re spending a lot of time in the car again, but we’re starting to get used to it. We’re also sorting out some practical matters, such as visits to the dentist and GP, along with a few vaccinations. We also go to the hairdresser in Tilburg, where we’ve been [...]
Read more
We had a wonderful time with the other liveaboards during our last weekend in wintry Finnsnes. We watched the European Handball Championship final together during dinner, which everyone had brought something for. And yes... Denmark beat Germany 👍🥇🇩🇰. We are also invited to spend an evening at the Polaris Helvetica [...]
Read more
It's a festive second half of January 🤗. Starting with celebrating Kathrin's birthday and Daniel's belated birthday with delicious spaghetti at Polaris Helvetica. Followed by playing the super fun game “Mexican Train” with Jera joining in too. A very enjoyable evening 😊 [...]
Read more
The first two weeks after our return from Tromsø, we are very active in the cold winter landscape of Norway. Active in the harbour with our own boat and boats belonging to other sailors in the exceptional winter weather with lots of ice in the harbour and snow on the boats. Active on land on snowshoes and especially […]
Read more
During the Christmas holidays, we spend time with our family and my sister's family in Tromsø. We experience a variety of weather conditions, providing us with the full Arctic experience. It begins with warm weather (4-8 degrees Celsius) and frequent rain that continues through Christmas. This allows us to have an easy trip […]
Read more
Just one more week until the shortest day of the year. That doesn't really change the actual amount of daylight we get compared to now. When it's clear, we get daylight from around 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with a nice orange/light blue glow on the horizon because the sun is only 6° below it […]
Read more
Before we headed north to spot orcas and whales, some snow had already fallen. But that had completely melted away by the time we returned two weeks later. That gave us just enough time to tidy up the dinghy and put it on the foredeck before, a day later, […]
Read more
Between mid-October and the end of January, orcas, humpback whales and fin whales can be found in the fjords east of Skjervøy. They swim there because there is plenty of herring to eat during that period. This also attracts many fishing boats that fish for herring and many boats […]
Read more