Winches, sails, neighbours with 160 years of experience between them \u2014 and our first real sail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Ilse & Piet – Breskens Marina – 11\u201314 June 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a lot to tell. But where to begin? Perhaps the easiest thing is to work backwards \u2014 starting with the best part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday 14 June<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday. We actually went sailing. And it was good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the help of our berth neighbours Arie and Else \u2014 and Nico \u2014 we slipped out of Box A6 without a single hitch. Box A6 is our permanent berth now, and the neighbours that come with it happen to have a combined 160 years of sailing experience between them. That is not nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, Arie and Else carry 160 years of sailing experience between them. We could not have picked better neighbours if we had tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just the two of us out on the water, into the mouth of the Westerschelde. The conditions were close to perfect: a Force 4 wind, a few waves, a hint of contrary current, the sun doing what sun does in June, a cloud or two for texture. The mainsail rolled out smoothly. The genoa went in and out, in and out, repeatedly and without complaint. Everything behaved exactly as it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the sail, we came back to find Arie, Else, Ineke and Nico waiting with drinks in the evening sun. Stories were swapped \u2014 many of them involving cats, dogs, and adventures we may never fully verify. We laughed a great deal. It was, in the truest sense of the word, gezellig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n