Hi! We are two enthusiastic Belgians with a dream of owning a boat - looking to gain experience around Europe :-)
Hi :-)
I've been sailing with my dad since I was little, but I never really learned anything besides doing what my dad told me to do :-) As lockdown gave me some time off work I decided to study the theory and to slowly start my own sailing career. So far I've (co-)sailed the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, a bit of the Med, Zeeland, along the Colombian coast, San Blas and a crossing from Florida to Colombia .
Recently I followed the RYA Day Skipper practical course in Lagos with RuSailing, I own now an ICC and I have successfully completed the theoretical Day Skipper exam in Brussels. Unfortunately my dad's lovely Island Packet is now for sale and I'm looking for other opportunities to build my experience. I am an airline pilot so very familiar with navigation and concepts like risk management or seamanship. This means I do like a challenge and adventure but I am conscious and analytical.
My partner Sander is in a different learning phase (beginner sailor) but equally keen and enthusiastic. He build his own bike messenger company, and is a bike mechanic. He's a fast learner, a gentle and reliable person.
Together we make a great team and we are curious to see what would be possible in terms of owning our own boat and living on it in the future. We talk, read and dream about it often. Since we are still committed to our jobs here in Belgium it's all still very much in the exploration phase, but we are very eager to learn, explore, meet people who can introduce and teach us, and discover new places. We want to get hands on experience in sails, knots, navigation, boat mechanics and harbour manoeuvres. We are seasoned travellers who've been all over the world, we are both divers and love cycling, good food (lobsters on a beach!), and cultures different from our own. Our last trip was cycling around the Dominican Republic, where Sander used to live and has family.
Very excited to see where this takes us!
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