Bottle Post Black Moon: “The Moon is Our Center”

“Did you see my reading book?”. Niels turns to me and nods in the direction of my pillow: “Over there, under the grinder”. After a few spinning lines, we both get exhausted and go to sleep, and then go out a few times a night. This is not to trim the boats or check the anchor at this time, but because it is too hot. Our moon is in the dry land, where she is luxurious from head to toe. “Does everything really revolve around the moon?” I sometimes ask myself. Because yes, we would not be here without her. But when we look at the questions we’ve gotten in recent weeks, it’s mostly all around us. Because yes, we would not be here without us.

Activities

It is airless. Our moon stands on six legs in the scorching sun in a shipyard in Martinique. Armed with grinders, scrapers, skin feeders, sea cranes, paint rollers and antifouling cans, we orbit the moon for five days. We never had this hot. We sweat for more than 12 hours a day to get into the water within the agreed time. “Sweat is running in my eyes!”, Niels puffs as he operates shoulder to shoulder in mini boxes to replace one of the sea cranes. Like a skilled or assistant, I usually wipe his forehead. As soon as his ankle even started to sweat, I paused. “Come on, dry out. We also got some good questions via email. ”

question and answer

K: Do you ever think: “Now I want to live in a house with all the amenities and luxuries”?

A: Yes, especially now that we are in the yard, but we do not think it is worth the money to rent another house. We are naturally accustomed to those amenities and luxuries. It takes a lot of time for everything to survive on a boat – cooking, washing, odd jobs, bugs, travel – but at the same time we have time for that. If we ever go back to live in a permanent home, it will definitely not be the same as before. There are a lot of rooms to dream around in a simple house because that too is luxurious.

K: Is your feeling of traveling for 1 year still a kind of holiday feeling or ‘Is this really our life !?’

A: This is definitely not a holiday haha! Sometimes it even seems like a full-time job, but then we work with a different view of the tropics, we don’t work from 9 to 5. Vacation is a short break / escape from your daily life. It looks like a business. This is our real life as long as we can / want to fund it. So a general statement:

“Cruising Life adjusts your boat to attractive locations”

K: Are there sailor legs / nausea on land?

A: On our first long sailing trip about 10 years ago, we looked like the worst hue of Jack Sparrow when we landed. But now we will never again have the sailors’ feet on the ground. Strangely, since the departure, whenever we start a crossroads, I’ve always been a bit of a sea tiger for a few days!

Meanwhile on the moon

Now that the boat is out of the water it will no longer be cold at night. Now it is 35 degrees inside! To postpone bedtime as much as possible, let’s watch a movie in the cockpit in the evening. Niels is half asleep. Normally I call him three times to come to bed, but this time I occupy the whole bed like a starfish – spare machine parts here and there with the grinder – and set the blower to hurricane position. I didn’t even hear those bad vampires because of this. Two mosquitoes with one stone, so to speak. The underwater hull has now been given new antifouling; A substance that inhibits the growth of useful marine life for a year. “Where will it be next year”, I dream. “Maybe New Zealand or Australia?” We can’t answer that question yet, but we can answer the next question …

question and answer

K: How does it feel when you go out into the open sea, with no other ship or sail to help if the storm or your boat breaks down?

A: That’s great! It is precisely more dangerous than other ships, and sometimes on land, the open sea. You need to constantly take them into account to avoid conflict. As long as there are no other ships, all you have to do is watch your own ship and course. You have the time and space to fix something. If there really is an emergency, where we need to leave the ship, we can call for help (via satellite and / or VHF) and we are still on the boat of our lives as a last resort. We may be a little scared about that.

K: How long did it take to be comfortable being on the road (like slowing down, not letting go, accepting)?

A: Leaving our old life: immediately. We enjoyed the slow for the first time in Porto Santo; Our first tropical island. Prior to this there was traffic on the beach for three months, which made it very difficult to travel. It was very relaxing for the first time in terms of C operations in Porto Santo, where we have no international follow-up plans yet. Very inspiring. Now at Martinique we have entered a new phase again, more about that.

Kritze learns liberation

K: What have to do Ann No. Bee Released?

A: A good question! In short. Outdoors: Good equipment, snorkel, goggles, flippers, weight belt, suit and gloves (to protect from coral, sea urchins, lionfish, etc.). Things to do internally: Be calm from start to finish, take a few deep breaths beforehand, clear your ears at the right time, and do not make unnecessary movements. Save and prolong every few meters to balance the ears. So everything that should not be done is the opposite from above!

K: Is it hard to kill a (sea) animal?

A: It depends. Our first mackerel in the North Sea was hard, especially with that crunch, but we eat fish (and meat), which is the purest form of consumption, and we think we can do this ourselves. How do we kill the fish condition Here The 11th day was described as our Atlantic crossing. Spearfishing is a bit easier because you can see which fish you are going to kill because it came from a distance. You can also attach a marlin with a fishing rod to the back of your boat, No Not fun!

Meanwhile on the moon

The last full day of work is the hottest. We think we’re almost ready to take it easy or do some extra ‘Glad to have‘Jobs, but get excited very quickly. Water tests in dry land are not entirely sensible. Hull fittings look like irrigation – though we don’t know until our moon is halfway back – only sea cranes squeeze water droplets from metal attachments. The three sweat arches are again covered by four sweat armpits. The mini lockers are screaming too.

question and answer

K: CreedJ, what is Niels’ new quality during this trip?

A: Niels seems to have a sixth sense when something threatens to go wrong. For example, he suddenly has the urge to check something, for example the machine box, and then it turns out that something may actually be wrong or wrong. As a result, he was able to prevent several times worse. If something goes wrong he always knows how to come up with a solution: problem shooter!

K: Niels, what is the new quality of Kritz during this trip?

A: Creedjay has the best ability to put things forward. It is very valuable to see the essence in difficult or stressful situations and to filter out the noise around it. In this way we were able to make the right decision in difficult situations while talking.

Meanwhile on the moon

Montje drowned in water up to her waist. We check all the valves quickly: the question is whether we are also dry from the bottom due to water pressure. We give the crane operator the green light and travel to our reliable anchor. Our three noses blow wonderfully in the air; Again our element. “Can we do anything tomorrow?” Niels advises. I interjected. “Screaming and watching some movies”. We made a nice bottle of French wine leak-proof and slept through the night for a week. In the morning I set up the outdoor cinema, while the last odd job disappears from view. “Put this back, and then the movie marathon will really start … Leaks !!!”

Freedom

Final Questions

K: What is the hardest thing about living on a boat?

A: Mentally, the boat is always No. 1, followed by the crew (as a team) and finally the individual. So your own need is basically subject to what is needed in terms of ins and outs.

K: What makes Montzev’s life wonderful?

A: Freedom to go where we want. We travel all over the world and still come home every day. Montje is our center, all ours to make this dream come true!

At the end of July 2020, Kritze Tops and Niels Eagleboom, in their thirties, set out from the Netherlands for a world tour with Black Moon, their Talking 33. Every three weeks, Jail’s teachers receive their mail in bottles, which contain all the adventures and challenges.

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Click here to see previous adventures Black moon To read!

Text: GreedJ Tops | Photo: Sailing black moon

More departure stories? Column brother, read all as Sailors for Consistency, and look at Yentilio’s vols.