Newsletter – July 2015
We’re homeward bound!
On Sunday, July 19th, the Anne-Margaretha leaves for the last leg of this world trip!
We sail from La Coruña, Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, to France where we hope to meet, of course, whales and dolphins… The trip from the Azores to Spain was very special. Heinz describes it beautifully:
13 July, 2 AM The cool of the night gets the sleep out of my eyes. Above me, is the infinite, ablaze with stars; I look, look, look …. The propeller draws spirals of greenish light through the phosphorescent water. I am startled by the sound of rain and look around to see the thousands of small ink fish jumping out of the water … and plunging back again into the foamy sea. My thoughts go to the sperm whale that we saw yesterday. We are pleasantly surprised by the teeming life here!
July 13, 6:30 AM Crewmember Annet calls to me: “Killer whales!!!” I get up, grab some clothes and the camera and run outside. A group of 7 killer whales swims close to the ship. The male with its high dorsal fin pops up every now and then with two others, and after a quarter of an hour in the depths he comes back up on the other side of the ship. His dorsal fin stands out; it is distinguished, but a little wrinkled. Another male has a beautiful fin: intact but slightly smaller. He is clearly the younger. Most impressive to me is the matriarch. Her dorsal fin is jagged at the back and covered with mussels. She is the group leader. Female killer whales are fertile between the ages of 30 and 50. With that rich life experience, they then assume the leadership of the group, until at the ripe age of 80/90 when they swim off to the Valhalla. Crewmember, Samuel, goes crazy when a young killer whale comes to inspect our propeller. The orca swims with it, then goes on his side and watches the viewers on board. This continues for a while until we and they move on to other things. I’m going back to bed to find a dreamless sleep.
2-3 August – The Netherlands The last leg of our World trip will be to France and the Channel Islands. The ship is full and we expect to see the Anne-Margaretha and its happy passengers back in the locks of IJmuiden! Upon return, the ship goes to the great event Sail Amsterdam and after that to the slipway in IJmuiden for a few days of the necessary refit and inspections.
The Race of the Classics for Young Professionals
We have been invited again after several years of hiatus to this race. Representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs come on board in October for 5 days and we will do everything for a good race finish! (Some years ago we won 1st prize on one leg, and received a beautiful model boat prize, which we proudly display in our wheelhouse. She has weathered all kinds of storms with us…!) The program for 2016 Right away after placing the new program on our site, requests for booking lit up my in-box! It may seem well in advance for 2016, but if you want a special trip, don’t wait long to book..! We wish everybody still a wonderful, warm summer and we hope to see you again on board of the Anne-Margaretha!
Greet and Heinz (photo: Son Sam swimming next to a grey finwhale ( 22 m.) on G.of Biscay)
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