Finally! Today is D-day. The start of the RORC600 Caribbean. 600 miles around 11 leeward islands.

I have been looking forward to it for ages. After my atlantic crossing I only did a couple of sailing nights and I can’t wait to get back into it again. In racing mode this time.

The “Emily of Cowes” Team is great. Our skipper is Richard Oswald and we have Mary, Alli, Nini, Pierre, Phil, Graham, Justen, our navigator Fabio and me. The day before we did a practise run and apart from the sheave box that came off while we were under spinnaker (which was placed by riggers just half an hour before!!), we really acted as a team. Justen and I are in different shifts on the bow and I am stoked about it. I love being out there working hard, fighting the waves and getting totally wet.

We start at 11am and it is amazing how many people are up on Shirley Heights to watch the different classes go and there is even an helicopter making pictures!

We are off to a good start and battling it out in our IRC3 class when all of a sudden the jib comes down. It is amazing how fast we actually got it in and put a replacement up. Yes, we lost some distance to the other boats “but it is a long race” Richard keeps telling us. 

It gives us time to fetch two holes in the kevlar jib that were the result of some heavy tacking after the start. We needed all the way to the first mark close to Barbuda (42 miles) to glew and sow the holes. The ladies on board did an awesome job while Justen went up in the mast to get the hallyard back.

At the mark we jibe and prepare to hoist the spinnaker. Again I am amazed by the way this team, who had never met before, is working together. The hoist goes well but the lazy sheet gets stuck and puts incredible pressure on the bow sprit. After about a minute the line to keep the boom out breaks and the bowsprit comes back in with a bang. Nothing we couldn’t fix though.

We chang the dacron jib back to the just repaired kevlar one and we are ready to make up for some lost miles. The Emily of Cowes (an Elan 450) is flying!! I get to take the helm and try to keep the speed above 10 knots all the time. 

Then we all hear another big bang. 

We immediately know it is the sheave box (again!). Damn. 

After the spinnaker is down and the jib out we have a crewmeeting. What are we going to do now that we lost our ability to use the spinnaker. Do we want to turn the race into a cruising trip or are we going back to Antigua and start the repairs for the Heineken regatta. The deciscion is easily made and we alter course towards our home base some 30 miles away (one tack upwind). 

Just 10 minutes after our decescion to go back the block of the jib breaks once again and it comes flying down. We all look at eachother.. This race was really not meant to be this time around.

We are disappointed and also proud. We worked hard and held it together: a great team effort.

But our ordeal wasn’t over yet. Just before we enter Jolly Harbour the boat suddenly comes to a stop. Nini is driving, Richard and I are keeping her company and the rest is asleep. The boat stalls and just before it is pushed off course the ‘mysterious object’ disappears and we are able to continu. It can’t possibly have been a reef and therefor we conclude it was a whale or a sunfish..

What a ride. 

Antigua is breathing with anticipation. Sailors from all over the world are walking down the streets and can be found in the numerous bars and restaurant. 

Famous boats can be found on anchor or simply on the docks as if it is the most normal thing in the world.

Me, a normal girl from just a small town up North in the Netherlands. Me, a girl that is practically born (and raised) on the water. Me, that has been around boats and sailing all of her life. Me.. I can not believe what I am seeing. I am humbled by what is going on right now down here in Antigua.

As I am dropped on a small private dock a couple of days ago, a swimmer gets out of the water. “Hey, I know you” I say to him. “My name is Wouter [Verbraak]” he says. “Ah yes! We met at the Easter Regatta at the Braassem!” 

The next day I approach Capey. The navigator of Brunel during the last 2 editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. “Is it really you?” I ask him. When I walk away the corner of my eye catches a glimpse of someone I also know from somewhere.. Damn, it was Alex Thompson. He was sitting at the same table as Capey and I totally ignored him! Behind my sunglasses and beer I cannot stop staring at this guy who I so immensly admire with his mast- and keel walk.

After that day I simply stopped. Everybody looks familiar. All these people, all sailors, all down here to do the same race as I am: RORC 600 Caribbean. I will be on an Elan 450 (Emily of Cowes) and I am so excited that I am basically a colleague now of all these professional guys!

Tonight is the crew party. Tomorrow I have to report on board the Emily of Cowes and monday we start at 11.00am. We hope to finish within 4 days and I will do my utmost to be the best crew I can be. 

Me. A girl from just a small town in the Netherlands just stumbled into a world that breaths, eats and drinks (loads of drinks) SAILING. 

Me. A girl that has sailed races all of her life, just entered a world that is completely different and at the same time hopefully still the same. Sailing is still sailing right?

I feel as if I am looking through a magnifier class. Everything is just so much bigger. Teams and individuals I know from the internet because of their achievements. Racing machines I know from Youtube during all those sleepless nights..

It is all here. In Antigua. And I am participating with all these heroes in the same event. Finally something got me humble and quiet.

And now I have a whole different thing to worry about: What am I going to wear to the crew party?

Want to follow us? Go to the YB race tracker app:

Pending my Yachtmaster certification I had a delivery BVI (British Virgin Islands) – Antigua lined up. So added to the stress I totally put on myself there was the pressure of losing my first paid gig.

Luckily I made it so early this morning I left for the airport in Antigua, going for a new adventure.

At the airport I ran into a Canadian guy (Mark) and a Brazilian guy (Eduardo). They knew eachother from their business travels and soon adopted me into their gang. It made waiting funny as hell and time passed quickly. With a little delay we got into this very small 15 seater airplane and the strong winds smashed us around as if we were made of paper. If you are afraid of flying you should definately avoid these kind of planes!

Half way through the flight Mark asks me if I have $10 cash on me because I will need it at immigration. I do not have any cash apart from Caribbean Dollars and I always figor that if I need anything there is a solution (for example an ATM when you need cash).. But no such thing here. Luckily Mark turns out the be my knight in shiny armour because just like that he gives me $20 (he didn’t have smaller). “I will find you whenever I get back to Antigua..”.

I cannot believe how nice people can be sometimes.

Luckily I didn’t realize yet that something else entirely was missing apart from cash. That I had to play every card in my book and hope for a a lot of ‘nice-ness’ from a person in uniform in usually a bad mood.

Mark and Eduardo were in transit to the Dominican Republic so I lost them right when we landed. I will see them again however, either in Antigua or possibly because they independently are looking to charter a boat with friends and are now considering me as their skipper.

At immigration a very strict and blunt officer asks me about the purpose of my visit. “I am picking up a boat to deliver to Antigua”. Without looking up but with holding out his hand he goes:

“Give me your letter of confirmation”

“Uhhhh.. It should be in my email but for that I need wifi..”

“No, you need to have it printed! I cannot stamp it if it is in you mailbox, can I?” The officer is now looking straight at me and I am starting to blush. Damn.. now what..

A vision of that movie in which Tom Hanks lives on the airport flashes before my eyes. And that was a big airport. This airport is so small, even the landing strip (of which there is only one) is no larger than 3 connected soccerfield!

With an angry face the immigration officer starts putting stamps in my passport and on my filled out immigration papers. “How long are you staying?”

“I am leaving first thing tomorrow”.

“Make sure you do that and just know you are going to have a lot of problems with port immigration if you do not show up with a PRINTED version of your confirmation letter there..”

Wow! He is letting me go!!

I smile at him and thank him extensively. The smile is not returned however, he has moved on: “NEXT”…

I soon find out that the ATM at the airport (behind immigration) is out of order. Luckily the ferry to bring me to Scrub Island does not charge anything because hoping to run into two Mark-types in 1 day would have really been pushing it..