Changing of the guard

2 January 2025

Changing of the guard

After Jan-Willem had sailed the ship back and forth between New Zealand and Australia, it was time for some rest. That’s why I (Maarten) flew to Christchurch at the end of December to take over from him.

On New Year’s Eve, we held a large pub quiz with the (almost double) crew, featuring tricky questions about the Oosterschelde and, as is customary with a pub quiz, questions about music. It was a very competitive, but also a very fun evening!

We are now in the final stages of preparation and will be welcoming the guests on board this afternoon. Early tomorrow morning, we’ll move to another dock to refuel with gas oil, and then we’ll set sail eastward. The wind looks a bit variable in the first few days, so we’ll need to figure out the best course to catch the right wind.

At the moment, everyone is excited, but there’s also a slight tension in the air. That tension will likely ease once we’re underway.