Why didn’t I just say “no”?, I keep asking myself. I am sick. I can’t see my own face but I bet it is as greenish brown as the Sargasso seaweed that is spread all over my deck. I feel terrible. Cold sweat is running down my face. I remember the fun fact that it…
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The blistering sun is relentless, the broiling heat inevitable. Not too surprising. It is summer in Mexico after all. And still my mind has wandered off to distant shores in the cold. The book is written, I can finally take down my pen and prepare my next voyage. After the game is before the game.…
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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…
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A beautiful scene. The boat is heeling in the evening breeze. The mainsail is hauled tight. And all this in front of a romantic sunset. But something is wrong. No spray is flying, no bow is cutting through the waves, no whooshing, no splashes – no movement at all. No sound. A still. Surreal. I…
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A kiss. A hug. I hate goodbyes! Without a further word I turn around and walk back to the beach that now lonely lays in the dark. Playa Tortugas, turtle beach, here in Cancun, during daytime full of families and fun, is surrounded by a net, intended to protect its guests from sharks and other…
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Patience is the most important quality of a captain. A lack of patience sinks ships. But even more important it is to be just in time.
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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…
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I am wet. I am cold. My bruises hurt. My scrapes burn. My head aches. Breaded in sand like a schnitzel I feel hunger coming up. I take a deep drag. The sweet smoke befogs my mind and my sight but I still make out Seefalke’s anchor light in the distance. So she is still…
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Port of Departure: Marina Hemingway, Havana, CubaPort of Call: Isla Mujeres, MexicoDistance: 268 nm (308 mi, 496 km)Estimated Duration: 67 hrs (2 d 19 hrs)ETD: Thursday, Mar 12 13:00 UTC-4ETA: Sunday, Mar 15 07:00 UTC-5 Weather The moderate high (1024 HPa) sitting south of the Florida Panhandle is most influential for the current weather situation…
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Weather The high that was sitting west of Florida over the last days and brought cold and strong northerly winds to the north of Cuba moved east. Accordingly the winds are currently shifting from northwest over north to east and further to southeast and decrease as the center of the high moves northeast. At first…
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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…
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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…
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“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.…
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Santa Marta, Cuba – January 29, 2020 – I took this photo in Santa Marta, Cuba, just a few moments after the earth was shaken by a 7.3 force earthquake short of Cuban’s southern coast and a tsunami warning was issued for the area. Everyone is checking on friends and family. Only the couple in the top right corner…
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Most sailors dream of sailing the Caribbean at least once in their lives. They dream of warm weather, clear water, secluded anchorages, endless beaches… The reality hits them with unaffordable marinas, crowded anchorages and crazy labor rates. I am not saying there are no hidden gems left off the beaten path anymore but the beaten…
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Santa Marta, Cuba – January 25, 2020 – There is a lot of things that Cuba has plenty: cigars, beautiful girls, vintage cars and Che Guevara pictures for example. But on the flip side there is also a lot of things that Cuba has very little of: milk, apples or razor blades for example –…
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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…
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Every downside has its upside, and as my good friend, experienced Cape Horner and professional psychologist Katarzyna said, “The cure to everything is always more sea and less land.” Following this motto I am going to cure my grief over the loss of my dear crew members by embracing the new freedom and setting sails…
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Key West, Florida, USA – January 19, 2020 – As most of you know it was my current mission to bring the Seadogs back to the continental USA after my first mate signed off Seefalke‘s crew in Suriname. It is my pleasure to report that this emotionally and nautically challenging mission is now accomplished. This…
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Key West, Florida, USA – January 17, 2020 – There are these days in life when you are doomed to lose, when the shit is just not dropping off your foot, and if you keep shaking it, it eventually lands on your face making a bad day just worse. Today was one of these days…
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Varadero, Cuba – January 04, 2020 – Let me tell you the good news first: Yesterday we safely arrived in Varadero, Cuba Marina Gaviota, Varadero after a 168 hrs/503 nautical mile exciting passage: We left GreatInagua, Bahamas on Dec 28 around 13:00 with some delay because I needed to climb the mast to cut the…
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