A long weekend at Box 6A — a new vacuum, two dead batteries, and Adriana’s first guests.

Breskens Marina – Belgian National Holiday Weekend – By Ilse & Piet

No national holiday for us in Belgium — instead, a long weekend on the boat, working and having a bit of fun. Ilse was supposed to be at an RYA Competent Crew course in Kortgene this weekend, but circumstances moved it, so the extra days went straight to Adriana instead.

That gave us the time to properly clean, this time with our new vacuum cleaner — the kind with a light built in. Wonderful gadget, except now every last bit of fluff is impossible to ignore, and you start to develop faintly OCD tendencies about going round with it every hour. Cleaning is very much a running theme aboard: the boat is Piet’s car, so she has to shine. Luckily Piet is a natural at getting windows spotless. We’ve divided the labour sensibly — Piet takes the exterior, Ilse takes the interior.

The Day’s Work

Piet had set out this weekend to run mouse lines for the new navigation system backbone, but his actual first job turned out to be getting the washer-dryer combo talking to us properly. We put it through its paces, and for small loads the result is excellent. Large loads — duvet covers, in particular — wash perfectly clean, but drying is a different story. Unlike a dryer on land, ours works by condensation using cold water, and in our view it simply uses too much fresh water for the result. So the search is on for a washing line to string up in the cockpit instead.

Power Training

We also put in some proper power training: hauling the old starter batteries out of the boat, two of us to a battery, onto a trolley on the quay, and then into the car for a run to the container park. The old ones have been replaced with two brand-new batteries. Last week the aircon pump had started cavitating, and — handy as ever — Piet had that fixed quickly too. Through much of the weekend the floor panels were up more often than not, which made getting around the boat something of a small obstacle course.

The inner woman needed feeding as well, so Ilse took the marina’s loaner bike to the Plus supermarket. The loaner bike is handy enough — right up until you try to cycle up the slope out of Breskens with no gears and a back-pedal brake. That climb is a genuine challenge.

Since a few parts on the KitchenAid still needed testing anyway, we took the opportunity to make fresh pasta — and a wonderfully burnt cake. That’s what you’d call proper homely industriousness.

Marita and Bert Come Aboard

Marita and Bert had a long-awaited visit on the calendar too. They were our very first visitors, weekend she arrived in Breskens — so this time round, we finally had the chance to let them enjoy her properly, and to give them a taste of what sailing is actually like.

Monday Morning

They arrived early in Breskens. We started with coffee and a thorough safety briefing, then cast off without delay. A force 4 out of the northwest pushed us along nicely, and we were soon off Knokke before turning back. The return leg went just as smoothly.

Adriana is a genuinely lovely yacht to sail — she responds to the smallest movement at the helm. Marita picked it up quickly, and so did Bert. The sea was a bit boisterous, and when Marita went a little quiet, we put her back behind the wheel — that brought her right back to life. In the afternoon the sun put in a bit more effort, and we enjoyed the wind and the water properly.

Coming back in, we spotted the KNRM lifeboat heading out to a sailing yacht with engine trouble. A useful reminder that it isn’t always plain sailing out there. Mooring up went smoothly, with a hand from the neighbours in box 5.

Monday Afternoon & Evening

Marita spoiled us with a generous basket of apero snacks. After sailing, we opened the bubbles and tried the gin and tonic, with plenty of good bites to go with it, sitting comfortably warm under the bimini. Afterwards we walked down to Lafayette sur Mer and enjoyed a good plate of mussels. Then it was time to say goodbye — though the next visit is already on the calendar, so that’s well taken care of.

What’s Coming Next

• Finish running the mouse lines for the new navigation backbone
• Find a washing line for the cockpit
• Preparations for next weekend aboard