Now that winter has arrived, it is also the moment to pick up our boat projects again. We will fly back to the Netherlands in mid December, so before then we want to finish a few things. At the moment the boat is completely turned upside down and Philou and I spend as much time as we can on land. And to be honest, that is not difficult at all because there are so many lovely places here.

Today the weather is beautiful. We can go for a walk, do some shopping, sit on a terrace or visit one of the brilliant playgrounds around. Philou is in her element and enjoying every moment. But today is just a lucky day because the rest of the week will bring strong winds and heavy rain. So we need to think of indoor plans. I have already looked up a few cosy spots where we can shelter and luckily there are plenty. I have found a comfortable place for us and we will simply bring games because I do not want us staring at screens all day. So we will play, draw and take everything with us tomorrow. We can also go and visit our friends, maybe even take the ferry for a little adventure. There are enough options, we just need to be a bit more creative when the weather turns.

Life on shore becomes a little less comfortable when the storms roll in but we will not let it stop us. It also means that some important boat jobs will be finished and repaired. We are also working on recovering our outdoor cushions which I secretly love. And then there is our master plan for the solar panels, something truly necessary. This summer we switched to lithium batteries which already made a big difference in storing power. Now we need to make sure we can charge properly. We can charge from shore power or from the engine although the latter is slow for us. We also have the generator which works well but it uses diesel and makes quite a bit of noise. And then there are the solar panels which need expanding. That was always the plan for this winter and I hope we can make it work. If we manage to add enough panels we can stay at anchor much longer without relying on the generator. That would make everything feel a lot more balanced on board. And with that we will have completed most of the big wishes on our list, at least for now. Boat jobs never stop of course.

Next year we will also need to haul out the boat for a month to maintain the hull, check the through hulls and repair the keel. There is not a huge list of tasks but it takes time because the keel needs to be stripped and dried. So now we face another logistical puzzle. Where will we do this? Can we find a place to stay nearby? Staying on the boat on the hard was not a great experience last time so we would rather avoid that. A new year brings new challenges but this one has been on the horizon for a while. And actually it is a good thing to do in the low season. At the same time we notice how much we are already looking forward to moving again in early spring or maybe even this winter.

So we plan and we think and we try to look ahead. It is not always easy because circumstances keep shifting. We often get the question, what will you do after this? The short answer is that we have no idea. The slightly longer answer is that we are starting to dream about a place in the sun where we might settle one day. But that still has many layers and unknowns. We need time to arrive, to feel, to search. And this is not the moment yet. For now we enjoy the boat and our life on board. And slowly a small spark is appearing, the beginning of a seed that tells us another chapter may come. Whether that will be returning to the Netherlands or staying somewhere here, we leave completely open. What we do know is that we dream big.

A new chapter always begins with a quiet spark.

Written by: Mirjam