It is 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I have no heater on the boat. I went to bed at 7 pm but woke up at 4 am to  add more socks and long underwear. Waiting for the sun to bring some relief. Cape Charles is at the Latitude of Tunis. I am scheduled to take the train from Norfolk to the Baltimore airport on Wednesday and fly to Seattle on the 13^th.

I am ready today for antifouling. But I’ll need to work fast while the afternoon sunshine lasts. The preparation took a lot more time and muscles than I had expected, as the pictures will tell. The port side had a lot of loose spots that needed to be sanded up to a firm surface. And I must have faired out about a mile of edges. Which had to be filled again with thickened epoxy and then sanded again, while the filler clogs up the sandpaper.

the faired out loose bottom paint

I thought that I’d be done with this much sanding at my age and switching to tupperware from plywood. “Fleetwood I” was clear finished from 1980 until 2009 when I painted the mahogany hull and traded my vanity for compliments like: “Looks like a Stradivarius” to much less than a yearly refinish of the clear finish.

The loose paint before repair

The starboard side of “Fleetwood IV” did not have the same loose underwater anti-fouling as the port side. I conclude that it might have something to do with it having been on the shadow side and the paint not having cured enough before splashing. The travellift straps had also left deep marks into the uncured paint. The dark brown color appears to be oxidation from the saltwater penetration. This might also indicate that this could have been avoided with a good barrier coat.

with the two part barrier coat

I intend to leave the boat in the yard until I return in mid-December from my West Coast Thanksgiving visit. And cruise up to Kinsale, Va and pick up a part for the #3 in Amsterdam, north of St. Michaels, Md. And then leave for warmer waters for the rest of the winter.

In my October 16 blog, I posted a new US telephone number. Well, scratch that one for another one: 253-408-8527

The Verizon experience turned out badly. The $100 phone turned out to cost much more spread out in their monthly schedule and when I had to go to a higher rate in order to use the phone as a hotspot it pushed the monthly rate to around $75.00 So, I decided to go back to my Google Fi sim card at a third of the expense including the hot spot ability.

In the same blog I reported my search for a way to fill my empty European propane tank.  Lou Negretti solved the problem and since Wednesday I am cooking again on my two burner galley stove. I am going into some detail here on how a new adapter was created for the benefit of other cruising pals confronted with a European tank trying to adapt it to the US standard filling stations. :

“   I ran out of propane two weeks ago on the 5.5 KG ALUGAS.DE tank that came with the ELAN 31 I purchased last December in Rio Dulce from the Slovenian owners. It is fitted with a GOK Marine CE 0036 Typ EN 61 PS 16 bar regulator. GOK part number 01280 04.

With a female metric LH 21.8 x 1/14 thread. I could not find any place to fill the bottle and all my searches for an adapter went nowhere.

The GOK spare UK CA regulator

I corresponded with GOK and they had no suggestion for an adaptor to the standard suppliers of Propane for the US backyard barbecue gas grills.

So, what finally solved my predicament, after eating raw vegetables and purchasing a small one burner camping stove, was to cannibalize a spare regulator for the same tank, which came with the boat, that shows it being used for Canadian and UK tanks.

My friendship made in 2017 with Lou Negretti in nearby Exmore, Va. came up with the solution. Lou has a metal and woodworking shop and he managed to straighten out my bent rudder shaft in the shipwreck on the Barrier Islands in June 2017. I also ended up singing in his Hungar church choir where he was the director and the bas soloist in the 2018 Messiah.

We purchased a $10 adaptor to the standard BBQ grill from an older version to fit to the output of the USA propane supplier. The GOK female end into the tank was removed from the regulator by heating it up to melt the Loctite and then Lou tapped the US adaptor to fit it to the metric 12mm x 1.00 Right Hand connection of the part he removed from the German regulator.  It should be possible to accomplish without the spare UK CA regulator we used. The metric GOK part should be able to be removed again by loosening the Loctite and unscrewing and mate it again with the GOK regulator.

the metric to imperial home made adapter

I hope that this might serve anyone else that runs into this predicament. But, please don’t take the wind out of my sails by responding that you bought the adapter at  SVB or at Bauhaus for €3,00. “

Full moon November 5th

It is starting to warm up and time to start rolling the antifouling on # 4.

Eefje passed away early this morning in the hospital, near to where she lived and where I keep “Fleetwood III” . We said goodbye on September 26^th when I returned from Amsterdam to “Fleetwood IV” in Virginia. I have known Eefje since she was 16 in 1956. But we did not shake hands until June 6, 2003. That day started a romance that was not meant to be. I was already working on getting “Fleetwood I” ready for my circumnavigation. But it turned into a good friendship from the time that I sailed “Fleetwood I” to Amsterdam in 2009 and continued until her passing.

Eefje lived only a 10 minutes bicycle ride away from where I worked/lived on the boat at the Yacht Club “de Schinkel”. I would visit her every Sunday after the 10.30 mass at the St. Augustinus church, for coffee. Often part of her extended family would be there as well. She is survived by her sons Peter and Frans and her daughter Ellen and her eight granddaughters and one grandson. And a sister.                                                  All dear friends, gorgeous, successful and a very close family relationship with their grandmother. I have seen them grow up since 2003. They will dearly miss their oma.

Evelyn was always very caring for me and made me laugh with her limetless assortment of jokes. She visited me and my family and friends for Thanksgiving 2003 in the N.W.

Her physical problems started with a young boy rearending her in, around, 2011. She had back problems from then on. Never an insurance settlement or an apology from the parents. She stopped using her bicycle and more recently sold her car. She kept falling. She had good day care. But in early September I took the night watch. When I left she appeared to recover and manage without the night watch. She called me after I arrived on the 27^th of September in Virginia. I feared that my good bye on September 26^th might be the farewell. But the message from her daughter Ellen came still as a shock. May Eefje rest in Peace and her love and care and jokes continue to warm our hearts.

Now on a lighter note there is a somewhat hilarious background to the period from getting to know Eefje in 1956 until I shook her hand in 2003.

I worked in 1956 as a trainee for a large hardwood importer in the port of Amsterdam. On my way home from work I passed Eefje’s home in de Scheldestraat and she would always be at her front door and wave at me. Through mutual friends I knew who she was, but I was 19 and I was not going to mess with a 16 year old. And I had a girl friend my age. I left Holland for a new life in the USA  on January 11, 1957. My twin brother was still going to school to learn to be a shipbuilder. He had a hand me down bicycle and I gave him my English fancy Humber Clipper, red frame, white fenders, racing handlebars.

One of the first letters I received from my brother, after arriving in California, was that Eefje was now his girlfriend. So, Eefje did not have a crush on me after all, it was the bike.

In 1965 I worked for Weyerhauser in Belgium until 1970 and I would see my brother occasionally and we would wonder where Eefje might have ended up after my brother’s friendship with her ended a year or so after my brother managed to have my red and white Humber Clipper stolen. He married in 1962 and he has managed to find true love instead of an affection for my two wheeler and has managed to celebrate a 63^rd anniversary. His twin has only managed to achieve 1/3 of his married bliss.

In May of 2003 I flew to Holland to visit my European customers for my company American & Tropical Forest Products Company and to see the launch of the restored “Groote Beer” botter yacht. See: https://cometosea.us/albums/GrooteBeer%20webpage.pdf

One of the hood’s kids I grew up with, Gerrit Alberts, from the Griftstraat had organized a get-together with a dozen of contemporaries on June 6th at the “Rockefeller”, a bar-bodega next to the RAI convention/trade show complex on the Scheldestraat. I happened to sit across Marleen Zemmelink, de sister of Martin one of our street brother-hood pals. I remembered that she was a friend of Eefje and I mentioned to her: “Eefje used to live across the street” . She: “Oh, would you like to talk to her?”. She punched her up on her cellphone and I got to talk to the elusive lover of my Humber Clipper. I asked her to come join us. She had been divorced for many years. I did not recognize her at all from my flashing handwaving exchanges off the saddle of the good looking bicycle. But all I wanted out of this encounter was to e-mail a photo of me with my arms around her to my twin.

Well, I might have reconsidered this if I would have known that this ended up in a 19 year retribution from my dear brother. Apparently his interest in her ran deeper than hers in my bicycle.

The first picture is the 1^st meeting at the Rockefeller and the 2^nd is at he 90^th anniversary of the Yacht Club “de Schinkel” in 2009.

November 2009 de Schinkel

June 6th 2003

I thank God, Marleen Zemmelink and the British Humber bicycle manufacturer for the love and friendship I received from this special woman and from her family.

My previous blog of September 1st was titled “Ich bin ein Berliner” this one ends with “I bin a Bayer” in the sphere of Oktoberfest.

One of the best transatlantic flights, there have been many, I ever had. On an airline I had never heard of. The Icelandic Happy Airline. I was impressed with their online booking setup and when checking in at Schiphol on September 26 that was the fastest and smoothest experience ever. On the leg from Reykjavik to Baltimore I had a emergency exit row with lots of legroom and the center seat stayed empty. But, alas, Happy Airline ceased to operate four days later.

Full October moon over the Chesapeake Bay in the morning mist

I am still on the Hard in the Yard, siting next to my shopping Card at wall-Mart, (can be sung to the Dutch tune of “Op de hoek van de straat…”) while waiting for the southbound bus with the last items I need to ant-foul Fleetwood IV’s bottom. When done I expect to be launched again, after they move a fleet of huge boats from around my spot. I’ve been busy trying to get a new US phone working. It has been another nightmare like I have gone through on the last four annual re-entries into God’s country. Verizon, Ting, Boost, Google Fi and last year’s T-Mobile.

T-mobile had my most recent phone number and I tried to re-open my subscription but they refused to use the three absolutely good credit cards I have. Noone else has this problem. So, then there is this senseless exchange where they have to  send me a security check to the phone that they have blocked. So, I still had a good sim card from a previous attempt to use Google Fi. Everything worked fine until they had to come up with a new phone number for me. They kept sending me messages with an apology for the delay, but were still working on the number. For the next 12 days. So, I settled on a new service and new $100 phone with Verizon.

Please, use the above 253-294-1022 number from now on. Also for Whatsapp. I’ll be checking the Dutch number 31-649676419 less frequently on my Dutch cell phone.

I lost an inch from my waist line having raw cole slaws for dinner. My 26 kg LPG tank ran out and so far I have not found a way to fill the tank. It has a German valve and the system here is set up for the barbeque grill propane tanks. I have had some help from the German mfr of the nice allu tank but no adapter found. So, most likely Lou Engretti the ironmonger friend here who did some very creative work in straightening the bend rudder shaft on Fleetwood II in 2018, after the 2017 shipwreck, will try to make up a custom adapter. In the meantime I purchased a one burner camping propane stove and had my first home cooked meal last might and real coffee this morning.

One new thing this old goat learned in the 6 trips I took up to see Lou in Exmore and to Wallmart, about 40 miles north of here, is a a piece of Americana that I have been involuntarily been sheltered from for most of my life in America. 99% of the riders are local African Americans.  They know every one by first names in the 50 square mile territory, and their parents and their siblings. The back and forth chatter is hilarious but kind and respectful. It makes the over one hour ride with side trips into a landscape that I have seldom be exposed to an eye/ear opener. If I do this a few more times I might be able to add another language to my five plus languages, so far I am at about 50% of it. But enough that I envy my black brothers and sisters and wished more of it would rub off on me.

This evening we celebrated the Birthday of Laila Moretto at the home of Sharon Whitman. Laila’s birthday was on October the 9^th which happens to be the same brthday as my Dad. He could have been her granddad if her grandmother had wanted him. And my daughter. Laila was born in Nazareth, Israel. Her mother is Armenian who grew up in Eastern Turkey and her father was raised in Egypt and just like the other Nazarene father was a carpenter. She speaks fluent Arabic and Hebrew. Visiting her cradle is very high on my list for the years I have left. The picture was taken by Susan Kovacs. I will send a link to my super-duper Dutch dentista, Linsey, she did one fine job on those lower teeth.

L.R. Kay Hopson, Arnie, Laila and Jack

Birthday Girl

Just to fill you in on the progress of the latest developments on “Fleetwood III” in Amsterdam. I decided to repaint the cabin roof and window sides. Even though both hull and cabin roof paint job by the seller looked very good, I discovered that in the spots where a machine sander could not be used the paint was coming loose. They had not removed the obstacles. I did it right and removed these and in the process found more rot to be removed, which extended the time I had allotted. My nephew is removing the masking tape.

The judge gave us a deadline of October 28 to respond to the retort from the vendor to our claim. And that has kept me busy the last ten days. The vendor has figured out that I have lost my e-mails to him from before June 10, 2024.  When Go Daddy screwed me in the migration of my jack@cometosea.us address to Microsoft. So, he claims that I never communicated with him for 2 years until I sent him the last bill the end of 2024. And that this solves his problem. But this might actually proves to the judge that he is a crook. Because we can prove his double hibernation, after all. And I am blessed with a very competent defender and from what I have seen of his representation, his is the opposite. But it remains a game of luck and, please, say a prayer to God or your preferred deity. Also, I have a favor to ask. My lawyer asks if I can rustle up a few written testimonies from any of you who recall me speaking or communicating in e-mails or in these many blogs I wrote since the story began in late May 2022, about the fact that I mentioned that the job was not done yet and that there would be more bills to send to the vendor. Remember that, until now I have kept these highly entertaining blogs without commercials, so you owe me a favor. Or else….

I intend to fly to the N.W. on November 15 for Thanksgiving and return after St. Nicholas, December 5^th and then head south for the winter. I hope to make a short trip North on the Chesapeake to visit friends in Kinsale and to pick up a furling drum for “Fleetwood III” near St Michaels, Md. before November 15^th. I plan vote here on November 4^th. Here in Virginia my vote can make a difference. Not in Western Washington.

This Sunday evening we have an Oktober Fest dinner at our parish hall. I shall have my lederhosen on and sing: “Ein, Zwei, Sufa…… “ Und erzeigen was Ich vertragen kann…..

I am writing this in the train at the Berlin Haupt Bahnhof on the Way to Hamburg.

On Wednesday I continue my swing of visiting family, which started yesterday from Amsterdam, to Warsaw. My nephew Jacob (my name sake) van Ommen showed me around in Berlin yesterday. The only other time that I was in Berlin was shortly after the fall of the Wall. But I did not get to see much of it. Jacob is an architect and shared his knowledge about all the monumental historic and modern architecture.

Berlin: L.R. me, Joshua Jacob’s stepson, Lara van Ommen, Jacob van Ommen 

My twin brother and his wife live east of Hamburg in Reinbek near the Elbe river.

Reinbek: My twin brother’s ready to press harvest.

Poland will be a first for me. My eldest daughter Lisa is visiting her daughter Corrine and family in Warsaw.

Warsaw: FOUR GENERATIONS L.R. Weston W., Corrine Spencer, Spencer W., Lisa van Ommen, me, Euan Wheatly

On the way back to Amsterdam I will meet a Polish-American sailing friend, Marek, who will be visiting his home in Poznan. We met in November 2016 on the occasion of the Baja Ha-Ha sailing cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.  We met again last year August when he had his (other) boat in Enkhuizen.

With Marek in Poznan                          .

Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, Poznan, Oldest Polish Cathedral.

I took advantage of my Dutch residence permit by travelling the trains on a Global Rail Pass instead of the Euro Rail Pass. This is good for a months and you can pick the number of days. I chose 5 days which was about $300, this included the supplement of the express trains. Since the Polish train tickets are much less than the Dutch and German fares, I paid for the 3 hour ride from Warsaw to Poznan, this was about $15.

In the meantime, it is Monday September 8^th. I made it back to my Amsterdam home Saturday evening, from Poznan. The Indian Summer lasted through last night and I saw the moon eclipse perfectly when it rose over the houses reflecting in the water of the marina. It would have made a perfect picture, but my camera battery was dead. I found my spare battery after the eclipse had elapsed….Oh, well, I have another 12 years left.

Be sure to check the 5 minute slide/video presentation of the sites on this trip.  https://studio.youtube.com/video/A9yDYl9Mx08/edit

Castle Square, Warsaw

After the wall came down, Prague became the place to visit.  After you see the splendor of these pictures you have another one for your to see list. Hotels, eating out, transportations are half the costs of the beaten Europe tracks. Compared to the seven countries on the Danube, converted from the Communist regime, I visited in 2010-2011, Poland has shed its scars far better. But that is most likely due to the practice gained in being pummeled by their neighbors for centuries.

A month ago I reported that I was barricaded in the Lake in Amsterdam on “Fleetwood III”. With all the major restoration done, I’m finally making good on my neglected social visits. Last Thursday I saw a pretty part of Holland that was a surprise to me, located in the affluence into the North Sea of the three major rivers in the Rhine delta. Holland at its best on a beautiful late summer day. My oldest nephew drove us there.

The reason for it was to take a look at a potential “Fleetwood V”… This boat is identical to number I and II. The price is right but the timing and the chances to sell number III are a problem.

I have booked my return to Fleetwood # 4, in Virginia departing on September 26^th and arriving by train from Baltimore to Norfolk on the 27^th.  I have restarted my US phone service.

Two weeks ago was the 10^th visit of the Tall Ships “SAIL AMSTERDAM” An event that takes place since 1975, every 5 years, skipped in 2020 due to COVID. It was extra special because Amsterdam celebrated its 750^th birthday.

This was my first opportunity to attend the entrance parade from the North Sea to the Amsterdam harbor, on August 20. I had a good elevated spot along the route and posted the pictures and video at:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUcyW9xt4zE

SAIL AMSTERDAM 2025

The used sailboat market is oversupplied and I have little response to my advertisements. Right now my plans are to make the best of it and enjoy the boat as my pied a terre in the Netherlands for the summer and use #4 from Virginia to the Caribbean for the winter.

I look forward to visit Lisa and my friends in the Pacific Northwest around the Thanksgiving holiday period.

The pictures were taken last Thursday evening from the committee boat at the weekly “Vrijheid” class sailboat race. After including these in my advertisements I had the first potential buyers calling. That is the good news.

3

4

2

1

The bad news is that I am a salmon stuck between salt and fresh water without fish ladders in the dams. I wrote in the previous blog from 13 July that I was planning to cruise north to Friesland. I triple checked the bridge opening schedule. One showed that the Schinkel railroad bridge would be closed from July until further notice, but in the same notice was a more recent scheduled closure for just August 8th. This bridge opens only just after midnight. The other two sources gave the schedule for this early morning at 00.30. My phone calls to the adjoining lock remained unanswered. But when I showed up, just before dark, there were no other boats. Then, from a sailor at the nearby marina, I learned that there is no estimate as to when the bridge will be opening again. An enormous project is under construction since 2022 to add another couple lanes to the freeway. The only exit from my cage is the Schiphol bridge, to the south. It is in repairs and not expected to finish until next year. So my only escape by way of the Tsunami thas has been forespelled for July. Or take the mast down and restep after passing the Schinkel bridge, sail to Friesland and redo the process on the way back at a cost of around $500. It would also add an expense for a potential buyer. I shall not perish from boredom, there is still enough to improve on the boat and I might rent a car and go for a swing through West Europe to visit family and friends. Lisa, daughter #1, is visiting her daughter and family in Warsaw and I plan to drop in for a couple of days in the first week of September.

There is also a NEW twist to my potential final resting place. It might be in wood fater all. After the March 5 2022 Cuban shipwreck, I searched for another multiplex boat. I had hoped to find one of the other two of the four NAJA kit boats I had imported in 1980. For a while some NAJAs showed up for sale in Europe and as relative good compromise I ended up here with #3. My purchase, this winter, after concentrating again on wood, turned out as a good compromise. But I sold my soul to “Fleetwood # 1”. And another NAJA owner in England alerted me to a NAJA for sale here in the Netherlands. If I can find a home for #3 then I would consider #5 and sail # 4 from Virginia to Europe next summer and sell it here, where the ELAN 31 is more popular than in the USA. So, another good reason to avoid boredom.

Another bit of good news is that what I reported in my July 13 blog, the planned January 1st closing of my parish church, is not a fait accompli after all. The small group of “Friends of the St. Augustinus Church” are not giving up yet.

After steady healing of the dental repair, I’m experiencing more pain again. Speaking and singing hurts again. I have an appointment on August 19 for a checkup. It might have been the fault of last Sunday’s choice of hymns. In the Dutch language service were two English hymns, “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” and “Amazing Grace”. Few of the parishioners participated and it became a duet with the Cantress. The same for the “Dona Nobis Pacem” from Mozart’s Requiem.

I moved from Lakeview to Forest Lawn, here in the Yacht Club. My new neighbors could not care less about my problems they are not going anywhere. When that monster Tsunami, forespelled for July, comes I’ll be towing this forested dinghy sothat I’ll get a jump on the rest of you

Alder and Birch

Potted Pot

following in the Ark with just a handful of seeds.

It’s time for my noodle soup with a straw. Enjoy the last day of July and the rest of this beautiful summer weather. And pray that the creek may rise to float me over the bridge. Love from Amsterdam.

On Wednesday I took “Fleetwood III” for her first sail on the nearby Nieuwe Meer (New Lake). Four summers of hard labor and now hoisting the sails was a celebration. I discovered a few chores to fix but I was not disappointed on the reputation the Waarschip-900 has.

First sail on “Fleetwood III”

So, the bow repair was the last major fix to the hidden defects. The crooked seller has by now been served with the papers of the legal action against him.  Today I started on thin sanding the mahogany trim for another couple coats of clear varnish.

The finished bow repair

The picture shows the finished product of my last rot repair job. The laminated arch has once more become a structural part of the boat. It could  have cost me a major accident if I were to have sailed the boat in a storm. Please, take notice of my Dutch phone number. I stopped the T-Mobile service on my US 253- ….number. My service was stopped in June after T-Mobile accused me of not having a valid prepaid account listed. That was days after they acknowledged having received my payment update. I fussed on their FB page and shortly after my account was restored. But they pulled it once again on July 1^st. So, goodbye big -T. You can reach me any time on the Dutch number, and when I am connected to the internet on WhatsApp. You can text me to call you back, I have upgraded my Dutch subscription for 5 Euro a month to unlimited overseas calls from here. That is nearly the same as I paid for Skype which has been discontinued. Now having a way to call overseas without excessive roaming fees, I called BOOST Mobile once again to try and see if I can clear their security idea clearance, to recover the money they stole from my old prepaid account and applied to another customer. My previous failure to identify myself failed because they sprinkle trick details to trip one. This time I came prepared and had a list of all my previous mailing addresses. After clearing the first layer of questions at the Manila call center I am passed to the Security Gestapo agent. After being on hold for 20 minutes a robot tells me that they are so sorry but I need to go the nearest BOOS Mobile office. I tried it one more time, same result. Now the nearest BOOST office is in Baltimore, Md. 4,000 miles away and a 11 hour flight. This attempt to identify started when I was in Guatemala in December. When I got to Fort Lauderdale in March, I called a number of BOOST stores and they all directed me back to the web site.

Now that I no longer am limited to the engine for propulsion, I plan taking off for a tour of the Netherlands, probably head into the former IJsselmeer and into Friesland with stops at Marken, Enkhuizen, etc. I’d like to be able to post for you a video of this year’s Skutsje Silen that starts in de Lemmer, the home of the Mastmakers’ Daughters, on August 6 and 7. From August 20 to 24 is the spectacular SAIL Amsterdam, with the world’s Windjammers parade in the Amsterdam harbour. It is also special since this is the 750th anniversary of the city of Amsterdam. After the horor stories I have decided not to try and mingle with the madhouse on my boat, but will instead BOOST myself up on a telephone pole. If any hardy soul wishes to test the company of a solo sailor, I have a V berth and a a 2nd cabin berth.

There has not been much action yet on my ads to sell the boat. But, as I reported before, I am not under the gun to sell. I may end up being a double boat owner, “Fleetwood III” for the European summers and “Fleetwood IV”, now in Virginia, for the Caribbean winters. I still consider leaving on an extended world tour on # IV in June 2026 with a double parking on # III to transfer my gear and to continue in the fall to the Mediterranean on # IV.

L.R. Jozina, Mariken

My two oldest nieces, daughters of my older sister, came to see me on the boat. Mariken (1960) lives in Amsterdam and she is expecting her first grandchild in December, Jozina (1962) lives in Perth S.W. Australia and is here on a 3 weeks visit. She is expecting her 2^nd grandson later this year. Jozina dug up some pictures from the late sixties. Lisa our oldest daughter is born in 1964 and was not yet a year old when we settled for 4 years in Belgium. Rose Marie was born in Brussels in 1968. Mariken, Jozina and their 1958 brother Dirk Jan saw their American cousins regularly.

I am enjoying the summer here. I am moored in the de Schinkel YC where I learned sailing when I was twelve years old from my uncle Fred, the younger brother of my father. I am moored on the closest slip to the Nieuwe Meer (New Lake) with the best waterfront view. A manmade lake dug in the depression to use the sand bottom for foundations of large residential developments, in particular the one I grew up in.

The sand was pumped in large pipes from the lake. Now the lake is used to recirculate cold water from it’s 25 plus feet depths to cool nearby sky scrapers in the summer and warm them in the winter. Around the lake a huge forest was planted in that same depression period just before  WWII. I remember the tiny trees that are now huge with diameters of as much as six feet. I kissed my first high school love in this park/forest. Besides the lake it has hockey, soccer, tennis facilities, a children animal farm, an Olympic rowing course, etc. Though it is a 15 minute bicycle ride from the center of Amsterdam, I feel like I am 100 km away in the country side. Lots of water- and song-birds.

I sailed here in 2009 from the US Atlantic Coast and spent 5 years in Europe, visiting 19 countries with the boat. And a good part of it was spent at the YC de Schinkel. I now became reacquainted with those members.

Last Sunday my parish church here, since 2009, celebrated its 90^th anniversary. It was also a celebration of the pastor Ambro Bakker’s 15 years of service and his retirement. You have read here how the church and another 4 nearby churches were to be consolidated into one parish located about 10 miles away. Somehow we managed to pay the bills and postpone the verdict but I learned last Sunday that the building will be shuttered on the 1^st of the year and put up for sale. Since pastor Bakker retired we have had a number of priests and deacons lead the service on either Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Today the church bells did not ring.

Next Sunday there will be the monthly English service with Father Alan de Guzman. I am not certain how they will adapt to this. Since the church is listed as a historical monument it might become the home of other church groups where God is still an attraction, like the Friends of St. Augustine https://www.facebook.com/groups/1474698250166590 or the Eritrean Tewahdo Orthodox community who use the Augustinus church for their services. See details on this Facebook group link. In that case I may need to learn Eritrean and adapt my wardrobe and brush up on my Ululation (yodeling) that you can hear in the video I posted on the FB link of last Sunday where the Eritreans contributed to the festivity. At least when God is welcome again in Buitenveldert the pews can be dusted and the magnificent organ cranked up again.

Please, pray that this building will not suffer the same indignity as Saint Anna in the municipality of Amstelveen, across the street from St. Augustine, turned into a Micro-Brewery….

Do you like my varnish work, after the 3rd coat?

Varnish on Le Jour de Gloire

Now I am climbing on my (Bow)pulpit and you are excused to skip to the Dismissal Blessing. Four summers of good sailing were stolen from me by the bastard that sold me # III. But just like my three divorces, three shipwrecks, there is always a reason. God has another plan for me and after bitching for a while I have come to gratitude for the new opportunity. I made new friends, earned new skills and stayed out of more shipwrecks and divorces.

My previous blog was written on April 23^rd one week before my departure, from my Atlantic Home Port in Cape Charles, to Amsterdam.

From the day I arrived back on the boat, the weather has been sunny warm days and cool nights, but the rain has returned and I am locked in the cabin with long underwear and my wool watch cap. It is hard to imagine the difference with my 1^st Home Port in the Pacific Northwest where a record breaking heatwave with 100 plus Fahrenheit (38 Centigrade) has hit for already one week.

But tomorrow’s forecast will bring the summer back here.

On May 7^th  I lost my friend Annemarie Fakkeldij. I wrote about our first meeting, on Opening Day of the  boating season in April last year at my Yacht Club, on my blog of June 17^th 2024.

The second time I ran into her at my parish church. She had the debilitating handicap of Aphasia but managed yet to be a dear friend.  I had dinner with her the day before she passed away. During her career with KLM she had travelled extensively and had collected an impressive art collection. In the six month of my winter absence her wings had become weaker. She wanted to be with the Lord and spread her wings again.

This picture was taken on May 26^th last year at the Urbanus Church near Amsterdam. This was on the first Sunday that the Diocese had arranged to close my parish to consolidate several of the area churches. But so far, so good, we have managed to stay rooted. Jolly Nguyen, in this picture, and her husband are parish friends. She sang the Ave Maria of Caccini at the 150^th anniversary of the Urbanus Church on May 25^th .

L.R. Jolly Nguyen, Amily, Annemarie, I, Iwan te Meij Jolly’s husband and video producer.

Last Sunday we were treated to a Spirited Pentecostal mass with one of the church’s choirs, where I used to sing in the tenor section. This was the first time that the choir was directed from the organ bench. A multitasked musician. After the dis-mis-sal he played a short organ virtuosa that made the walls tremble and the applause burst out. Veni Sanctus Spiritu. This is a one minute video of parts of the Kyrie and Gloria of the Missa Brevis by Gounod.https://www.facebook.com/jackvanommen/videos/724641079955096

Even if I had been able to practice with the choir I would not have been able to sing. I even have trouble speaking. On the 28^th of May I had two broken off teeth pulled and one next to it, standing but with hidden defects, just like in the next paragraph. So a temporary bridge has been anchored on the one good tooth to make me look better, but it was a brutal slaughter and very painful because of an infection in one of the stumps. The tongue has gone through several different colors. Every movement of the tongue is painful. Last Wednesday I went to a specialist who prescribed antibiotics and that seems to be helping. When I was quoted a price to fill the gap, the first tooth had left, I gagged and decided to keep a stiff lower lip.

Now, I can only imagine what I spent on the temporary alone, until the bill comes in. Let’s keep my heirs ignorant for a while longer.

But it might get me off my lazy ass and get this boat sold and sail with #4 to Turkey or Vietnam. Just like I did in 2010. When I left Fleetwood # 1 here in Amsterdam and spent January through March touring Indo China. I had a molder crowned in Saigon in January and when I was in Nhatrang in March I went to an Emergency Room to drain an abscess under the crown and take antibiotics. When I got back to Amsterdam, in May, I had the crown removed and a temporary filling put in. I got the blessings of the dentist to have the permanent crown put in in Turkey, which was done in October 2011. I remember when I got the bill in Marmaris, I thought it was for the initial visit, if I recollect it correctly it was around $300.00 but it turned out to be for the entire process. And it was done well. So, that’s the molder that was worked on in three different countries.

Just before I left here to return home for Thanksgiving, I discovered another boat problem. I noticed a screw that was loose in the foot of the pulpit. It turned out to be another rot spot. I kept it covered under the tarpaulin for the winter and got to work on it. The picture show again the deception of the seller. Again his trade mark red-brown epoxy stuffed against the rot. This is an essential structural part of the bow and the beam dad lost it’s integrity with the ends being rotted out. He knew this. The pulpit had been removed for a repair, badly done, to rot close to the headstay. I used the leftover as a pattern to make the new lamination. I am doing this in two parts to make it easier to bend. You see the first part in place, my job yesterday. Tomorrow with better weather the rest will be laminated to it.

Discovery

The Trademark of Deception

Using the left over to bend my laminations

Look Ma! No screws!

The lawyer will have the papers served in the next days for a court hearing. Wish me luck, please.

As soon as I wrap up my current project I expect to do my first sailing, the sails are bent on. I need to add some photos and video of her moving. Response to the ads have been disappointing. It is a buyers’ market and my exposing the discoveries here is not helping either. But I truly believe that I will have relaced all the structural issues. And I am not planning to sell her in desperation. I can afford the moorage here at the YC membership rate and may end up sailing her the European summers and # IV in the Caribbean in the winter.

Now here is an opportunity to lease the boat and see Holland from the water and sail coastal, drop the mast and cruise through France. Only for good friends and boat qualified. See the pictures in my ad on this page bottom r/h column 

At least for a year or two and then appraise my options. So, the Beat Goes On………….

For the uninitiated the Port of Gold is Cape Charles, Virginia on the Eastern Shores peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay. This name was given to Cape Charles by Thelma Peterson-Jarvis, see “Jack Come Back” . 

This became my second home port after Gig Harbor in 2017. I literally washed up on the Eastern Shore at the end of June 2017, in my second of the three shipwrecks. I spent a year repairing the damage and in that period made lots of lasting friendships here. I had planned for a longer stay here but the delays since the December 17th purchase of “Fleetwood IV” has shrunk it to a week. I made arrangements for Number IV to be stored on the hard at Cape Charles Yard Center until I return from Europe. And then a decision will be made for the continuation of my adventures.  The way the new boat performed from Rio Dulce and Cuba and sitting here listening to her slide through the waves in a 15 knot downwind run, doing over 5 knots in a 15 knot downwind breeze, with triple reefed main and shortened furled head sail, I realize that few things can make me more excited than planning another long voyage.

Since my last blog on April 11, I started out on the ICW from Fort Lauderdale and exited at Fort Pierce for an overnight sail to Port Canaveral. I had just a short window, because all hell was supposed to break loose on the Atlantic the next evening. Back on the ICW. Slow travelling with often strong currents and having to put the anchor down for the night with few choices because the Intra Coastal Waterway is a for the most part a channel dug through shallow lagoons/swamps. This means that there still might be daylight to take advantage off, but no spots to anchor.

So, instead of storing the boat in Cape Charles, I decided to head for Green Cove Springs on the St. John’s River in Northern Florida. I have hauled out there for bottom painting, etc., four times, since 2008. I was all set to arrive there on Good Friday. I knew they took the Saturday and Easter Sunday off. But then I learned that they were also closed on Monday. That meant I’d be lucky to make it to Cape Charles by today. So, when I arrived at the St. John’s Rubicon I checked the weather forecast, it looked good and I turned right instead of left. I have had some of my best sailing since Friday on the Atlantic but had to motor, for lack of wind, for 24 hours since Sunday afternoon. I ended up in the Gulf Stream on the 2nd day and was doing as much as 9 knots/hour. I did not realize that it was that close to the coast. And for a short while, yesterday evening, while motoring near Cape Hatteras, I hit a patch of strong favorable current and saw a momentary flash of 10,5 knots.

Full Moon at my 1st anchorage on April 11.

Sunset on Monday April 21

I missed participating with my brothers and sisters in the Holy Week. On previous similar occasions at sea, I’d often be able to listen to international senders on FM or shortwave radio.

The crooked seller of F.W. #3 has not reacted to a suggestion for a settlement and we are going to court in the Netherlands. He messed with the wrong (once) Dutchman.

I came here in Fort Lauderdale on the 11^th of March, to install my AIS transponder and repair the Anchor Windlass.

But both ended up driving me to the edge of depression. Nothing worked right. And it is difficult to get expert help to the boat where I was moored and row from shore.

My moorage in the Fort’s moat. 3rd from Left.

I was handicapped to get around. I have no folding bike yet (Rhon a good sailor friend in Kinsale, Va., is gifting me  his) and relied on walking and the bus. But the busses are very infrequent and walking has become painful and slow for me. Thank God for bicycles. This all due to the back injury and surgery in 2017. The grocery and hardware stores are far away from this part of the city. A week after I arrived here it was Spring Break and lots of loud parties on and near the beach. My boat was a block away from the beach. Last week the Tortugas attracted large crowds to the beach with their country music.

In the last couple weeks I have been blessed to reconnect with a sailor family from Seattle who moved here 3 years ago. I met Ken Wickman on a flight from Chicago to Dulles D.C., in 2014. We share the same Faith and passion in marine activities. This picture was taken on March 30 after attending St. Anthony church together.

L.R. McKenna, me, Danette Mrs.W, Gabi, Ken

My April 30 flight to Amsterdam is only 19 days away and I will probably end up storing the boat in Green Cove Spring on the St. John River near Saint Augustine in North Florida. And try still spend a few days with friends and family in Virginia.

I will have my ”InReach” satellite responder show my progress. This will also be the first time that you cannot shut me up while out of internet reach now that I have my Mini Star Link wherever I venture.

The April issue of “Latitude-38” sailing magazine contains a detailed introduction to “Fleetwood IV” and a reflection of my 20 year sailing adventure, wild plans and lots of good pictures.

Tomorrow’s Full Moon

I can see the high rises of Ft. Lauderdale. A familiar place, the first day I landed here was in 2009 on April 1st. That was after my 2008/2009 North Caribbean winter. Greg and Marlys Clark gave me my red West Marine folding bike for my birthday. My first folding bike was stolen on my 72^nd birthday in Puerto Rico. The first folding bike was a gift from Bob Ellsworth in the summer of 2007. The red bike ended up in the first shipwreck in November 2013. It saw 22 European countries. By coincidence, I finished my round the world cruise on April 1st, again, in 2017. “Everybody knows a fool, no exception to the rule”.

This is the capital of the Marine Industry business. I hope to fix my Aries wind vane here and find a life raft.

This will probably be my fastest cruise ever. Lots of wind and the Gulf Stream. I left Key West just before 9 on the 8^th and expect to be in port within the hour 27 hours with a distance of 171 nautical miles. That is an average of over 6 knots. I saw over 9 knots on the odometer and most of it  was an average of 6 plus knots. But I also had some motoring at 6 knots for about 3 hours when the wind died. And I dragged a lobster pot for a half hour, but managed to get rid of it by dropping sails and running the engine in reverse. I could not sail in a straight line because the wind for a good part was dead aft and I need a narrower angle to the wind. I miscalculated the angle when I had to jibe once I turned the corner below Miami. I went way too far and did not give the push from the Gulf Stream enough consideration. Instead of doing the last jibe into Ft. Lauderdale earlier I ended up hard to the wind instead of just some space off the aft wind.

On the sail from Cuba to Key West I had the advantage of being pushed sideways to the correct angle instead of having to tack to make up for the unfavorable wind direction.  Now that I am starting to leave the Gulf Stream I’ll end up with room to spare and can ease the sheets.

Since my last blog, I celebrated my 88^th birthday in the Hemmingway Marina. My 2022 hosts after my shipwreck Miralys and Osmany and the two ladies. Valena and Lady, in the harbormaster’s office were a big help. The son of my ’22 hosts brought a friend to play his guitar and show up in his Mexican Mariachi outfit. We ended up with 16 guests, 11 of them cruising crew from six different countries. You can get a good idea of the party on a you tube video/slide show at: www.youtube.be/ow4rp_OdiLM.

On March 1^st I finally found out where “Fleetwood II” ended up after the March 3^rd 2022 shipwreck. Jorge, a haberdasher in, for one, used marine gear who spends a good part of his time at the marina, told me the story. Several says after the boat was removed from the reef he was offered parts from my boat. And he confirmed where the boat ended up with what my guess was, in Bahia Honda, where I anchored right next to a junk yard, awaiting better weather conditions to enter the hazardous entry to Hemingway marina. He told me that everything has been parted out.

Jorge took me and Sylwia from “Sommer Wind” and Mike from “Slainte” to reprovision. He knew all the good places. On Sunday I hopped on the wawa taxis to go to Havana and to the mass at the Cathedral of O.L. of the Immaculate Conception. The city is for a good part a sad looking slum but it also still maintains some of its historic glory.

On Sunday, March 3rd, I took the wWa-Wa taxis to the Big City of Havana and went to mass at the Cathedral of O.L. of the Immaculate Conception.

I ended up leaving Hemingway Marina on Monday morning, March 3rd when I, at last, had a good weather window. But that turned out not to be accurate and it was a tough hard on the wind sail, with as much as three reefs in the main. But it also had a good smoother part. On arrival at Key West, I discovered that the anchor winch did not work again, so I had to hand lower the super heavy anchor. When I checked the fuse, which turned out to be the problem when the electrician in Cuba worked on it. It turned out that he had wrapped thin wire around the two poles of the breaker fuse. It worked just fine but I thought that he had replaced the 5 amp fuse.

Back in the fifties

On pulling the anchor, on Saturday, it became an hour’s effort. Using rope ties to the chain and cranking with the help of my headsail winch. Once the anchor was loose, I floated around the anchorage trying avoid other boats and watching my depth sounder.

It turned out that the anchorages at Key West are too far and the currents too strong to attempt rowing there. I put a call for a ride on the local cruisers FB page. Not a chance. This anchored crowd here is the opposite of the community in places like Rio Dulce. I am told a good part are druggies and permanent live-aboards. So, I was in isolation from Tuesday until Friday when I was starting to crawl up the walls and running out of food. Two French boats anchored close enough to hail “Caribou” with Sebastien and his wife, from Montpellier. And his neighbor Jean Pierre? A catamaran. They both spent time in Rio Dulce and knew my French friends I made there. Sebastien dropped me in town and I spent Friday afternoon clearing customs, shop and blend in with the tourist crowd. I had a beer at Jimmy Buffet’s Margarita Ville. A great place and everyone having a good time. The two French boats left shortly after me and I arranged with Sebastien to sail by, his boat is much faster than mine, and take a picture of me and the boat. And I managed to get a few good shots of their boat.

Near Key West Photo by Sebastien of “Caribou”

Caribou

So, thank God and my luck, I happen to be on the only available mooring ball here in Ft. Lauderdale, in the same spot of my two earlier visits in 2009 and 2017. In 2020, the end of April, the mooring balls were quarantined because of Covid. Anchoring in the confined waters would have been a challenge.

Captain Ron, a Quebecois, my neighbor, helped me with his dinghy because it would have been a two crew job. The spot has a dinghy dock now. I shall get my first ride in the dinghy I purchased in Rio Dulce and try out my 12 volt pump. Another Quebecois, Roger, came by and offered to give me a ride to the stores. I remember that they were a ways from this spot. My priority chore is to try fix the sudden loss of wi-fi and GPS on my laptop and wi-fi on my tablet. It all worked several days before I left Cuba. I have exhausted all the Google searches on the only wi-fi I have on my cellphone. I had to send text and photos for an upcoming article in Latitude-38 and had to use Bluetooth and upload to Google Drive.

UPDATE: I posted this on the 11th and today, March 14, I finally ended up connecting to the internet on my Starlink. So, I can rattle away again on my laptop. It was an half hour one way walk to the repair shop and I did this 16 laps or 8 hours. Coul I qualify for the Guiness book of records as oldest speedwalker? I might be here longer than expected. I purchased an AIS transponder throught the USPS and it has not shown up on the tracking yet. I also need to get the power problem solved on the anchor windlass and GPS restored to the plotter. I hope to find someone that can checkout the old Aries Windvane. Apparently Amsterdam is the place to get the parts.

My time is running short if I still wish to use my March 27^th return portion of my flight Amsterdam-SeaTac. Last year I was able to change the departure of the same roundtrip from SeaTac to Dulles.

I may end up doing this again and trying to extend it to a later date in April. Possibly celebrate Easter with my brothers and sisters at Saint Charles of Borromeo in Cape Charles. I am having 2^nd thoughts to consider pursuing the attempt to flatter myself with becoming the oldest solo round the world sailor. After checking out Rio Dulce, I consider this to be a possible winter’s refuge after a grow up. I still have this long time wish to sail to Cartagena, Colombia and get on the bus for a backpack tour of the South American Pacific Coast. I might hang on to “Fleetwood III” a little longer and use it this summer in Europe for short visits in and near Holland and rent a car to visit friends in Western  Europe who I have neglected too long. And put #4 on the hard until this upcoming winter season.