And all of a sudden it is calm. No movement. Not the slightest breeze. Not the usual cacophony of Reggeaton music, barking dogs and roaring power boats. Even the birds stopped chirping. The world is holding its breath. This happened so suddenly, like someone pulled the plug in the dance club. Subconsciously I want to…
Read More
Please make sure you have read Mexican Standoff – Part 1: Humiliation before you continue. So I lost my dinghy, I got bruised and hurt, I spent the night in the dirt, I got ripped-off and robbed. Humiliated. How deep can you fall and still not hit bottom? Once again I remember Rocky’s words: “It’s…
Read More
I shake Tommaso’s, Michele’s and Renato’s hands. Screw social distancing for a moment! “Fair winds! Stay safe! See you later in this or in next life!” A smile. A hug. A nod. I see tears glitter in their eyes. I climb down the rope ladder into my bright red dinghy. I crank my little Mercury outboard…
Read More
I got up early this morning. I had my “good” camera charged over night and I had researched that moonset at my position here at Isla Mujeres, Mexico would be at 07:07 UTC-5 or CDT. Not too bad. But sunrise would already be at 06:33, so I knew I had to get up a good…
Read More
So now it is definite. It is early morning of October 31, 2019 as I motor down the muddy waters of Suriname River from Domburg, through the heavy jungle heat. I follow the tide past plantations and mansions towards Paramaribo, Suriname’s lively capital, and I know: It is definite. Earth and water, just like air…
Read More
I just arrived back on my boat Seefalke. She is currently docked in Marina Gaviota in Varadero, Cuba and after two weeks of painful separation, the two of us are finally reunited again. I caress the womanly curves of her wheel tenderly; I know she feels how much I missed her. When talking with friends on…
Read More
As you may remember, I am in Germany at the moment. I left my boat in Cuba for two weeks to take care of some important business. Despite being here for a week already, I am still suffering from the blunt culture shock. It is just a few days ago that I met with my…
Read More
Being in Germany now, in my home country 10,000 km away from home, I feel like on a speed dating competition. I will be here for only two weeks and friends, family and business partners are fighting for a spot in my bursting schedule. I feel very flattered, however, I feel overwhelmed and homesick, too. …
Read More
“Uh oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien….”, Sting has been following me today from the moment I got out of the plane in Düsseldorf, Germany. I just arrived from Cuba, where I left my boat and home Seefalke for two weeks to take care of some urgent business and admin in the fatherland.…
Read More
I just arrived in Santa Marta, a lively small town in the north of Cuba, between the cities Matanzas and Cardenas. As I get out of the blue and white 1956 Chevrolet 210 Sedan that served us as a taxi, I am struck by the smell of fresh bread. (You need to know that bread…
Read More
North Atlantic Ocean, Straits of Florida – January 20, 2020 – Cold and wet and tired – there are moments when I am asking myself “What the hell am I doing this for?” And usually the answer is just a moment away. All day the weather is lousy. You know there is a front coming…
Read More
Matthew Town, Great Inagua, Bahamas – December 13, 2019 – The most exciting experience while sailing the seven seas are the encounters with people from other worlds. From worlds so far from ours they might as well have just landed from Mars. Sometimes their stories are sad, sometimes they are funny but almost always most…
Read More