At 16.00 hrs UTC I am at 46.09 N 7.59 W with 186 miles to go, a 113 mile day. That same 20/25 knot S.W. wind is pushing us at a good pace. The weather has been dreary, dark, drizzle, light rain, poor visibility. We are to have the same conditions to-morrow and then light winds and hopefully some sunshine on our day of arrival. We are now starting to get into traffic and should cross the main N.S. traffic lane to-morrow during daylight. Since the wind is practically dead aft the boat rolls a lot and I rolled onto the floor out of my bunk twice, last night. A pod of dolphins showed up an hour ago, a sure sign that we are getting closer to shore. No luck on the trap lines.

At 19.15 I am at 45.22 N 9.51 W, 285 miles to Loctudy, a 100 mile day. The winds started to steadily increase as of this morning and we are again running down wind with about 20/25 knots from the S.W. under just the storm jib, doing better than 5 knots. It has been a dark cloudy day. And I dug out my warm sleeping bag and wearing my one piece polypropylene jump suit. From what we hear on the radio the home front in the Pacific N.W. is sweltering in 35 Centigrade heat wave and devastating forest fires in British Columbia. This wind and direction should last into Tuesday and will bring us close to Loctudy. We have to cross the shipping channel coming out of the English Channel towards the Straits of Gibraltar. I’ll try to do this in daylight, to-morrow or Tuesday. I usually try to listen to a religious radio program on Sunday but these are scarce approaching this continent… in sharp contrast to the Bible Belt and Caribbean. Ron is cooking dinner, the very last of the cabbage, onion, stir fried with sausage and rice.

At 15.30 hrs UTC Im am at 44.19 N 11.57 W with 3995 miles to go. Only a 75 mile day. A near gale force wind piped up from the west at midnight. All sails went down and the building waves and clocking wind, to the North, slowed me down to about 2 knots and set me off course. With a slightly calmer morning the direction and speed improved to 3 1/2 knots with he storm jib. Just an hour ago I was able to rehoist the main with 3 reefs in it, doing better yet.

The polling of a number of Dutch sailing friends has resulted in a better than I could have hoped for mooring spot. John van Doorn, friend of Magda & Kees Scholten, managed to get me a spot at the WSV (Y.C.) “de Schinkel”. This is on the Southern edge of Amsterdam, near Schiphol, 10 minutes on the klapfiets to my sister’s home in Badhhoevedorp, 5 minutes from Evelyn in Amstelveen. My father’s younger brother, Fred van Ommen, was a member here for many years. John van Doorn remembers him. I used to do some of my earliest sailing from the “Schinkel” with my uncle and our long neighborhood friend Dick Hooijer’s parents were members and we used to sail with Dick from the “Schinkel”. Memory Lane……. I can live aboard. It is a 5 minute walk from a metro station. Sailing options are somewhat limited in the immediate vicinity but the Ijselmeer and the North Sea can be reached through two locks and opening bridges through the city of Amsterdam on restricted schedules. It fits me to a tee for the beginning of the Dutch visit and I will then get a chance to look for a possible move closer to the Ijselmeer or Friesland for the summer of 2010. I am hoping to organize a get together for family and friends shortly after the arrival to celebrate the return to my roots, hopefully at the “Schinkel” if facilities permit. Stay tuned.