{"id":217,"date":"2026-03-18T15:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/?p=217"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:57:30","slug":"shes-home-shes-ours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/archives\/217","title":{"rendered":"She’s Home. She’s Ours."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 2026 \u2014 Breskens, The Netherlands<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car was packed to the roof. First, a babysitting detour to Kapellen \u2014 because life doesn’t pause for boat deliveries \u2014 and then straight on to Breskens. A small harbour town on the Zeeland coast, where the sea meets the channel, and where Adriana was coming home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had rented a holiday apartment with a front-row view: sea on one side, the harbour mouth on the other. From the balcony, we could watch every vessel that came in. We knew exactly which one we were waiting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Apartment, the App, and the Shrimp Croquette<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The apartment was wonderful. The only stumble? The Tapkey smart lock. I had not read the instructions. Classic me. Ten minutes of confusion, one YouTube moment, and then \u2014 perfect. Even worked on Piet’s phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday evening we walked to Ons Dagelijks Kost<\/em>, a solid brasserie with a no-nonsense menu. Exactly what we needed. The shrimp croquette was everything. The lamb and the stew \u2014 excellent. A quiet dinner before the big wait began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Longest Night<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We did not sleep. Not even close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every hour, one of us would reach for the phone. Marine Traffic. Vessel Finder. Where is she? How fast is she moving? She was moving fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 5 o’clock, we gave up pretending. Coffee, a proper breakfast, a quick shower \u2014 and then back to the balcony. Scanning the horizon. Looking for a mast, a silhouette, anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was near Cadzand. Close. Very close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well before that, actually \u2014 we couldn’t stay away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming In<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the dark, we walked down to the jetty. Just the two of us, the harbour lights, and the quiet slap of water against the pontoons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then the light began to change. The sky softened. And there, on a flat and glassy sea, she came gliding in \u2014 calm, steady, unhurried. As if she’d done it a thousand times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We tied her up together with the skipper. Firm lines, good knots. She’ll stay here for a while \u2014 until the registration clears, or our permanent berth opens up. But she was here. She was finally, actually here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Handover<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We went aboard and did a thorough inspection, stem to stern. Then we sat down and signed the official transfer documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just like that \u2014 she was ours. Our responsibility. Our adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vinegar, Discovery, and an Excellent Coffee Machine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Armed with vinegar and cloths, I got to work. And what a pleasure it was. Wiping away months of dust and revealing, centimetre by centimetre, everything this boat has to offer. The more we cleaned, the more we found. A boat in good order. Better than good, honestly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The semi-professional coffee machine deserves its own mention. It works beautifully and delivers the kind of espresso shot you genuinely need when you’ve been awake since 5 AM. I did have to consult YouTube to figure it out. It’s becoming a theme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first full day aboard flew past in a blur of cloths, discoveries, and coffee. Exhausted, overwhelmed \u2014 but deeply, genuinely happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bubbles, Sunrises, and a Caesar Salad for Peter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saturday morning, the sunrise was spectacular. One of those skies that feels like a reward. We took it as a sign and got back to work \u2014 cleaning, exploring, ticking things off a list that keeps growing every time we look at a new corner of the boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Saturday afternoon, Marita and Bert arrived unannounced with cold bubbles and warm smiles. A beautiful interlude. They loved the boat so much they’ve put an option on the guest cabin \u2014 they want to come sailing with us. We’ll hold them to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday morning: a stop at the Plus Market in Breskens, which is going to become our home supermarket for the foreseeable future. We stocked the fridge \u2014 and, very deliberately, we bought a Caesar salad. Peter’s Caesar salad. A small, quiet tribute to the man who was Adriana’s rock. We ate it on board, thinking of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sunday night, for the first time, we slept on the boat. The harbour sounds. The gentle movement. The creak of lines. And a hundred ideas and plans keeping our minds buzzing long after the lights went out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official \u2014 Almost<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Monday, we drove to Rotterdam. The official registration in the Dutch boat registry is now in motion. In roughly a month, Adriana will be a small, official piece of the Netherlands \u2014 registered, documented, and irrevocably ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

She came in on a flat sea, just as the sky turned light. She is in good shape, in good hands, and ready for whatever comes next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories are just beginning.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piet & Ilse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 2026 \u2014 Breskens, The Netherlands The car was packed to the roof. First, a babysitting detour to Kapellen \u2014 because life doesn’t pause for boat deliveries \u2014 and then straight on to Breskens. A small harbour town on the Zeeland coast, where the sea meets the channel, and where Adriana was coming home. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delivery-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions\/228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}