It has been a while since my last blog, and a lot has happened. I have sailed in the Mediterranean for the Middle Sea Race, which was really nice. After returning, I immediately went to Les Sables D'Olonne to watch the Vendée Globe start. In addition, we also got Boatsje out of the water and onto the trailer for a winter refit.

To start, I have officially begun studying! Thus far, I am enjoying all of the interesting new things I am learning. Besides studying, I still try to spend my free time as much as possible on the water. After four weeks of studying, I left the Netherlands, flying to Cascais to sail some deliveries to get the VO60 Boudragon to Malta for the Middle Sea Race. Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar was really amazing; luckily, there were no orcas. The weather turned a lot nicer in the Mediterranean; the water was warmer, and the strong winds had passed. So, we had a nice and calm journey to Alicante.

After a couple of days in Alicante we sailed to Malta, this was a journey with some strong winds from behind, so everything went quite speedy. On Malta we made some repairs for the race and discovered Valetta. We first sailed the Inshore race, which was in really light winds. This race served as a good training, but only in light airs. The team for the race will consist of a core crew who know the boat well, most of the crew will be trainees with different experience levels on board, and a guest. The difference in knowledge and experience can be a challenge. I had the role of watch leader, so during my watch I had the lead when the skipper, Thierry, was in his bed.

For race day we needed to arrive at the starting area 2 hours before our start, because we were one of the last starting groups. This meant we had quite some waiting, but the start was all worth it. It was amazing sailing away past the fortress, even though we had some fuck ups in the beginning. When everything was stable and the watch system had started we saw some water spouts on the horizon, which was interesting, since all of the expectations said the wind should die down. Seeing this on the horizon, we took down the gennaker, and waited. When the strong winds came around, we were still sailing with the full main and j2 up. This meant we had way too much sail up and we needed to take in a reef and take down the jib. This got a bit dangerous, but nothing went wrong, still after tough discussions with the core crew, we couldn't receive any new weather updates predicting this, so we made the decision to abandon the race for the safety of the boat and the people. It was though to accept this, but sometimes the conditions can become dangerous when you don't have the complete knowledge of the boat.

Back on Malta it was time to prepare for the trip back to Valencia, this would be the last trip and looked to be nice downwind sailing with a bunch of really nice guests on board. The trip back was really enjoyable and was good for the crew to overcome the bummer of the race. Back in Valencia it was time to go home, were a different boat was waiting for some winter TLC.

Back in the Netherlands it was time to get Boatsje out of the water, and the next thing on the schedule the vendee Globe start. We took Boatsje out of the water and did some work on her and the trailer in Medemblik before bringing her closer to home at my grandparents. Immediately when Boatsje arrived safely at my grandparents, it was time to drive to Les Sables D’Olonne. First I picked up the Rib, Sander and Florian, and then it was time for our 12 hour drive to the start. We arrived at 7 and immediately put the Rib into the water, and went out to watch all of the boats dock out and start. It was amazing seeing all of the boats at the start, and we went passed all of the boats when they picked up speed and wished them a safe journey. And then after a nice night we went back home.