{"id":335,"date":"2026-04-12T17:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T17:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/?p=335"},"modified":"2026-04-12T17:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T17:27:29","slug":"the-little-princecomes-aboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/archives\/335","title":{"rendered":"The Little Prince\nComes Aboard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An early start, a heavily loaded car, and a grandson who made it all worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ilse & PietBreskens MarinaBound for Adriana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the crack of dawn, we were off. The car was packed to the roof with good intentions and even better expectations \u2014 and by the time the marina came into view, the morning felt like it had already earned its keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a full list, a short stay, and no room for the bicycles. Something had to give, and the bikes lost. There is a certain satisfaction in leaving them behind: it means the things that made the cut genuinely mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Cargo Manifest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A boat weekend requires a very particular kind of packing. Not just clothes, but everything<\/em>. We carried:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Today’s Cargo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Washed & waterproofed sailing trousers \u2014 for repair at the Bootique<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Scrapers & sandpaper for the toerail<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Fresh tuna for a salade ni\u00e7oise<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Whispering Angels ros\u00e9 \u2014 naturally<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Warm layers (12\u00b0C feels like 5)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Clean bedding & towels<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • New tools \u2014 a birthday gift from Katia & Gert for Piet<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A new saloon mat<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • LED bulbs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Safety accessories for the horseshoe buoy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Extra first-aid knowledge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A dose of patience and a willingness to scrub on hands and knees<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The Day’s Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
    \n

    Task 1<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Liferaft to the Bootique<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Collected for service & inspection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
      \n

      Task <\/strong>2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Sailing trousers for repair<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Dropped at the Bootique<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
        \n
        \n

        Task <\/strong>3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Replace the saloon mat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n
          \n
        • The eyesore is gone. Good riddance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
          \n

          Task <\/strong>4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Sand the toerail<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Started \u2014 scrapers and sandpaper well used<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

            The Liferaft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            We carried the liferaft off the boat and down to the Bootique, where they will collect it for its full service and inspection. Once it comes back, we can begin putting together the grab bag properly \u2014 which is a satisfying milestone to have in our sights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            The Mat: Good Riddance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            The old mat had been an irritant from the moment we first set foot aboard. It was, to put it kindly, not a thing of beauty. We showed it the door with considerable affection \u2014 the kind reserved for things one is thoroughly glad to be rid of \u2014 and unrolled its replacement with a quiet but genuine sense of triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The old mat left the boat with all the ceremony it deserved. The new one, washable and rather lovely, rolled out in its place. We stood back and felt unreasonably pleased with ourselves.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            Lunch Aboard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            Twelve degrees on the thermometer, five degrees in practice. The marina was filling up \u2014 more boats than last time, the car park noticeably busier, the first signs that the sailing season is quietly beginning to stir. The sun showed up to help, but lunch was always going to be inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ilse set to work in the galley, and what emerged was a proper salade ni\u00e7oise \u2014 fresh tuna, the works \u2014 laid out on the vintage Alessi dishes we discovered on our last visit. The ones that apparently graced the dinner tables of our parents’ most stylish friends in the 1970s. They look exactly as good now as they evidently did then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The tablecloth and napkins came from Nijmegen, part of an inheritance. We thought of Adriana and Peter as we laid the table \u2014 they should have been sitting there too, sharing the lunch, admiring the dishes that would have felt so familiar. We miss them, and there would have been great joy in all of this.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            The Little Prince Arrives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            By early afternoon, the little prince arrived in Breskens \u2014 our grandson, with his parents in tow. There are days when a boat feels like a project, a puzzle, a list of tasks to work through. And then a small person arrives on deck, and none of that matters quite as much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            The Toerail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            And then, once the little prince had gone home and the afternoon had quietened down, we returned to the toerail. Not the most glamorous of tasks \u2014 scrapers, sandpaper, a certain amount of determination \u2014 but the kind that makes everything else feel more intentional. Good, honest work to end the day on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

            \ud83d\udc51<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            A new mat, a liferaft delivered for service, a grandson aboard \u2014 and a toerail sanded as the evening came in. Not a bad day at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            An early start, a heavily loaded car, and a grandson who made it all worthwhile. By Ilse & PietBreskens MarinaBound for Adriana At the crack of dawn, we were off. The car was packed to the roof with good intentions and even better expectations \u2014 and by the time the marina came into view, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-335","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\/335","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=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sailingadriana.com\/sailing-adriana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}