{"id":288,"date":"2026-04-03T16:01:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/?p=288"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:07:24","slug":"loaded-lockedand-leaving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/archives\/288","title":{"rendered":"Loaded, Locked,\nand Leaving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bikes on the towbar, tools in the boot, Easter on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We left at sunrise. Genuinely \u2014 actual sunrise, golden light, the whole thing. The car was loaded to the roof: tools, provisions, work clothes, proper clothes, and two bicycles strapped to the towbar looking very pleased with themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s Easter weekend, which means we’re doing something slightly unusual: we’re not just going to work on the boat. We’re going to stay<\/em> on the boat. A miniature holiday tucked inside a working trip. The cycling junction routes are already mapped, the gin is already packed, and we are, cautiously, optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Small Problem with Bicycles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two bikes on a towbar, it turns out, have strong opinions about fuel consumption. The car was not pleased. Piet’s solution \u2014 empirical, characteristically practical \u2014 was to drive at exactly 80 km\/h and find a working compromise between ambition and aerodynamics. It added some time. It probably saved money. We’ll call it a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“We’re leaving the Flemish cobblestones behind for Dutch dikes. Secretly hoping the best one wins.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

No Belgian cycling madness this weekend. Instead: flat dikes, sea views, junction numbers, and the particular freedom of pedalling somewhere with no particular deadline. The routes are already checked. We’re curious how far we’ll actually get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Weekend’s Ambitions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We arrive with a long list. Some of it is proper work. Some of it is the kind of thing that only counts as work if you’re on a boat \u2014 coffee drunk outside, for instance, requires genuine effort when it’s still April and the wind has ideas. We’re committed to all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

\ud83d\udd24<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fit the new name letters \u2014 Adriana, finally made officia<\/strong>l<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udca7<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Watermaker pump \u2014 get it installed and working<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udebd<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Guest toilet \u2014 pick up where we left off with the wiring<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\ud83d\udd0c<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Electronics inventory \u2014 find out what we actually have<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udce6<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clean and inventory the lockers \u2014 all of them<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\ud83d\udd27<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spare parts inventory \u2014 so we stop discovering things by accident<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udecf\ufe0f<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Investigate the bunk cabin \u2014 we suspect more surprises<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u26f1\ufe0f<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Set up the bimini \u2014 fingers crossed the instructions make sense<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\ud83e\ude7a<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Final first-aid kit check \u2014 one less thing to worry about<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udd11<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Clean check list \u2014 because nobody is perfect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83e\uddfd<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cockpit and deck \u2014 a proper clean, stem to stern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\ud83d\udccb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Full inventory, continued \u2014 calmly, methodically, without panic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83d\udeb2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cycling \u2014 as far as the dikes will take us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83c\udf73<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good food \u2014 this is not optional<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\u2615<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coffee outside on deck \u2014 even if we have to wear three jumpers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83c\udf78<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inaugurate the gin and tonic seats \u2014 the whole point of everything<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

\ud83c\udf24\ufe0f<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Catch our breath and do absolutely nothing \u2014 at least once<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

About the Weather<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The forecast is, to put it charitably, more January than April. We would have preferred otherwise. We did not get otherwise. So: layers, flexibility, and the firm conviction that every patch of sunshine will be treated as a personal gift and spent immediately on deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the gin and tonic seats get their inaugural moment this weekend, we’ll consider it a triumph. If not \u2014 well, there’s a very good reason we’re coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\ud83d\udc23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter on Adriana. Tools, bikes, and one ambitious list. We’ll keep you posted.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

By Ilse & Piet – Friday 3 April – Breskens Marina<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bikes on the towbar, tools in the boot, Easter on the water. We left at sunrise. Genuinely \u2014 actual sunrise, golden light, the whole thing. The car was loaded to the roof: tools, provisions, work clothes, proper clothes, and two bicycles strapped to the towbar looking very pleased with themselves. It’s Easter weekend, which means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-refit-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","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=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions\/303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}