Amsterdam – Enkhuizen (NL)

Sleepless in Sixhaven
We cannot sleep. The adrenaline from our farewell party and the excitement about the imminent departure for our trip around the world keeps us awake all night. We fantasize about beautiful destinations, interesting people and sustainable solutions, while the day towards which we have worked so hard is slowly breaking.

At the same time we know that today’s destination – Enkhuizen – is close and the route familiar. Also, we are still in “checklist” mode – we have been so focused on getting ready for our trip, that all we seem to think about is the engine repairs that we plan to do in Lemmer.

Still, today is special. We feel energized from the love of family and friends so many of which came to the Sixhaven in Amsterdam to say goodbye to us yesterday. Their positive thoughts and wishes of good luck warm our hearts and motivate us to follow our dream, even if it means that we will not see most of them for a long time. We were also showered with gifts and donations to our foundation – a very big Thank You! It means very much to us that you help us make our trip possible and stay safe. We were also treated to a serenade by the “Heppie” crew – the tune of “Met de Luci op zee” is still ringing in our ears. And our party would not have been possible without the members of the Sixhaven Association, who generously lent us their canteen, including super-bartenders Tanja and Harry.

Farewell with a Film Crew
Back to this morning. Fellow-long distance sailor Willem makes sure we appreciate this special day: he treats us to fresh croissants and delicious juice – what a star! We look forward to meeting him at some exotic destination and returning the favor. Renée and Wijnand, the film crew from Vandebron, arrive just in time to enjoy the croissants as well, while Ivar teaches them the basic safety instructions. Soon thereafter we cast off. Our friends in the harbor take care of the dramatic effect as they wave us farewell and blow a ship horn. It makes us forget the rain shower that pours down on us – the Netherlands is bidding us farewell in the most appropriate of ways.

Energized in Enkhuizen
Despite our previous efforts, Luci is in her natural state again, meaning that some parts need to be repaired. We leave without our compass and we need to pre-emptively replace some engine parts, which adds Lemmer to our route. On our very first day we are reminded that nothing goes as planned. Nevertheless, it is great to be on the water! Wijnand films as the weather gradually improves and the wind increases. Renée conducts the interviews. We look forward to seeing the result on Vandebron’s YouTube channel. We also realize that it will soon be us doing the filming and interviewing for our vlogs about sustainable solutions.

Our good friends Marjan and Feitze join us for dinner. Feitze is Enkhuizen’s master sail maker and his partner André has been mentioned as the world champion canvas spray hood maker. Together they run UK de Vries Sails and Luci is a show model of their craftsmanship. Feitze also skillfully put our logos on our new SfS-branded shirts. A big Thank You to them as well – we couldn’t imagine a more fitting place for our first destination.

And here’s the video that Vandebron and OneWorld made about our mission and first leg to Enkhuizen.

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