Arrival
A few hours ago, our crew of eight women left the boat and took the ferry into central Amsterdam. There is nothing better than hearing your crew chatting about where they are going to meet up for dinner once the trip is over. It’s a sure sign that these eight individuals—once strangers—are now friends. Friends out of choice, rather than because they were forced into the confines of a 65-foot sailing yacht with no escape!
We gathered in the cockpit last night to reflect on the trip. It took us four days to sail the 500NM rhumb line passage from Bergen to Amsterdam. That’s slow! But we didn’t go slow—we just couldn’t sail straight. In fact, we actually sailed over 650NM and hit speeds of over 11 knots! Evidence that it wasn’t such a “smooth sailing” trip. In fact, quite the opposite.
We began with gale force winds in our faces, then enjoyed a “recovery day” downwind. Then the wind died off altogether, and a few hours of motoring transitioned us into our next day of upwind, before we came screaming along into Amsterdam downwind in 25 knots—gybe, gybe, gybe, and then in! Then a loch to contend with on the entry to the canal was interesting, followed by a few hours of motoring, and we parked up in our dock in Amsterdam marina. I’m not sure the guy cleaning the showers knew quite what was happening as we all poured in!
We said to the crew before we left: you get out of this what you put in. They took it literally, throwing their heart and soul, bodies (some stomach contents), energy, wit, laughter, and the rest in. So unsurprisingly, the final debrief was emotional. “Empowering” was probably the word of the moment, along with “fun” and “resilience.” A comment that really struck me was from Natalia, who highlighted how grateful she was to have been with a group of people that could always find lightness or a reason to laugh—no matter how challenging the circumstances.
It’s one thing I think these passages really teach you—that with the right mindset and good company, you can get through almost anything. Once again, Mia and I were reminded of the power of sailing offshore, and the fun of doing it with people who are up for an adventure.
Until the next one…
— Nikki
NikkiHenderson
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