We are on solid ground….. The Eendracht has arrived on time in Ponta Delgada.
Was that nice? Honestly, no……
I’m now home and writing this final blog from the trilogy ‘The Atlantic Crossing 2023’ at my non-wobbly desk.
Is that nice? Honestly, no…
I wish I were still on the Eendracht… my body is here, but my mind hasn’t really adjusted to ‘solid ground’ yet…..
Is that nice? YES!!!
Because that’s what it, at least, did to me. Totally free from everything and ‘out of your head’ and back in your heart and feelings. Trusting the wind and the waves (and the helmsman’s course) and taking everything as it comes. Shall I give some examples??
- The freshly prepared food flies through the kitchen on the umpteenth high, unexpected wave and the rice has to be fished out from the back of the kitchen cupboards….. Oh well, we’re all in it together and clean up.
- Sliding across the galley floor covered in butter??? Oh well, it almost turns into slapstick scenes.
- Our HEROES, cooks Yvonne and Peter, who were almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown…. Oh well, with a tea towel tied around your head as a headscarf, life (and they themselves too) suddenly looks different…
- What if the apple birthday cake (made by the assistant cook of the assistant cook, our own doctor Caroline – whom I suspect will soon say goodbye to her patients and open a cake shop-)…. with the next big wave, after the touching words of the birthday boy Tom ‘I’ve never had such a beautiful cake’….. hop…. gets launched off the bar right before our eyes….. Oh well, luckily caught at the last moment by our ever-optimistic captain (that man really can do everything….)
You’d almost forget that we’re still sailing… and how! The wind remains ‘strong’, still force 8+ and life jackets are now required not only at night, but also during the day on deck.
It gives us the flying speed to reach Ponta Delgada on time (who will win the ‘predict the ETA’ contest?)
We run our leak and fire rounds at night (don’t forget ‘hut 32’) and that’s no easy task with this wind and waves.
Meanwhile, the murder game isn’t entirely finished and there are still ‘casualties’….
I’m finding steering more enjoyable every day and feel like I’m starting to understand the ship and the wind better. Or is it simply because I try to anticipate helmsman Leo’s instructions?
The wind is so strong that one of the sails tears. And this doesn’t happen in broad daylight at 10 a.m., but literally right before dinner. Boatswain Stefan, tirelessly at work, together with the captain and helmsman, fold ketelbinkie Jesper almost into the sail, from where he can tackle the needle from the inside and stitch the sail back. Just before midnight, the task is complete. What an incredible achievement!!!
After such a watch, of course, serious ‘evaluation’ is required by our Blue Watch. It’s pretty intense to experience all this and we were all busy all day. Again, we are well taken care of and drinks and chips are ready for us!
I believe our ‘evaluations’ are now known throughout the ship. Our captain decides to check in himself. After we’ve shown our best side and
….we threw a ‘Bartje’ with the various cans into the trash can,
….we performed our best Kooten and De Bie sketches (I want a nice girlfriend… but I can’t, I was treated for that.. now I have to buy socks with my mother)
… we recited the best text ever from Picobello BV ‘nowhere to go.. we’re on our way’
…. I heard the song ‘I am a Christmas ball’ for the first time (for that you need cooks Yvonne and machinist Bert..)
… it really becomes too much for our captain and he shakes his head and leaves the dayroom with the words ‘I can’t handle this’……
Sailing with the Eendracht is not just sailing.
Sure, that’s what it’s about and that’s why you came aboard.
But it gives you so much more.
It has given me incredible joy to be able to have fun again with ‘nothing’ (no TV/social media). To laugh endlessly, to sing, and to recall whole passages of anything. Partly to the despair of Chief Wouter when we once again said; ‘Chief Wouter… we’re bored…. (thanks to postman Siemen). ‘Oh no,’ he would exclaim, ‘is it going to be one of those watches again’….
But, as said, now back on solid ground.
‘Suddenly’ the harbor of Ponta Delgada appeared.
There was an enormous release and many had to cry (me too). Relief that we made it safely, but regret that it’s over, fatigue, everything.
It was, in any case, a very special moment.
The final evening ended with a fantastic 3-course captain’s dinner, where everything stayed calm on the table (hey… how was that again…) and we were served by the entire crew. What a fantastic evening with delicious food.
And after a final, calm night (hey, you could suddenly just take a shower…) we left the ship on Saturday….
Thank you crew, thank you Blue Watch, thank you Eendracht….
We’ll make up those 30 miles in Rotterdam!!!
Fokje Das
March 22, 2023
From behind my desk, home in Amersfoort