Nina and Jip still best buddies

What can we say: just look at the pictures, they tell it all! Jip is not always so sure of Nina's signs of affection, but he seems to put up with it. He just loves any form of attention :)

Sinterklaas in Chicago

And finally it was the 5th of December, the day that we would celebrate Sinterklaas together with 75 other kids at the Dutch Club in Chicago. The children were called in alphabetical order, making Nina and Stasiu the first ones to come to Sinterklaas! Nina shook his hand, twice, graciously accepted the pepernoten that Piet offered her from 'de zak' and that was that. No panic, no crying! In fact, she kept going back to Sinterklaas over and over again and found it all very interesting keeping a close eye on 'de zak' full of pepernoten en taaitaai of course. The wait for the presents was long but fortunately there were tables with crayons, colour sheets and art supplies to keep her busy. Stasiu just took it all in with his Pieten hat on.

Sinterklaas

In line with Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrived with his black assistants (zwarte Pieten) from Spain mid November by steamboat to deliver little presents to children who set their shoes (with some food for the horse that Sinterklaas rides over the roofs of all houses) at the fireplace and who sang Sinterklaas songs before they went to sleep. Assisted by her parents Nina did all of this yesterday evening and this morning she found her efforts rewarded....On December 5th Sinterklaas celebrates his birthday and this will also be the 'grand finale' with lots of presents. Last year Nina and Anita were at the Dutch club in Chicago where Sinterklaas and his (politically correct) rainbow colored assistants delivered presents to the Dutch children. Back then Sinterklaas was way too frightening. Let's see how this year goes....

Sailing the BVI

The last 10 days we spent sailing the beautiful British Virgin Islands in a chartered sailboat. What a fantastic vacation! With 15-20 kts trade winds blowing practically every day we visited almost all of the islands while circumnavigating the main Island Tortola. When not sailing, we chased dolphins and sea turtles in our dinghy, watched pelicans hunting for fish, relaxed on quiet tropical beaches and swum around the boat. Apart from an occasional rain shower, the weather was fantastic. Nina kept us updated with the weather forecasts from Babcia. On the last day, when we were on our way returning the boat to the charter company in the capital Road town, we had to share the canal with a huge cruise ship. We will certainly return to the BVI for more sailing, but probably when the kids are a bit older. Nina and Stasiu did not completely buy the concept of living for a good week on less than 20 square meters with sweaty bedrooms and rationed water supply. The main advantage for them was to sleep every night in a cradle that was continuously rocking....

Halloween 2009

There goes cinderella, and there's a vampire. Wait is that Winnie the Pooh? Nina's first time trick or treating was a success although it took her some time to get acquainted with the concept of collecting candy in her pumpkin bucket. Stasiu was taking one for the team in his cow outfit but had a good time as well.

Nina two years old!

Another year has passed and our Nina has become quite a little lady of two! A birthday cake with real candles, a tricycle, life-size Elmo, games, books and lots of other presents. What more could a girl ask for?! She had a great day.

Mast Maintenance

Some of the lines that came with "B" were not of use for us anymore and were only causing trouble. We decided to take them out. Unfortunately they were connected to the mast at approx. 40ft (12m) high. A bosun's chair was purchased and as Anita has the brain (and the lowest body weight) and Staszek the muscles, a decision was quickly made: Staszek winched Anita up the mast. Good that she brought her camera....

Sailing again

A quick impression on how we spent our last weekends....

Celebration

The first evening after "B" was launched we called the babysitter and celebrated our boat's arrival with champagne on deck.

B's Maiden Voyage in Lake Michigan

After stepping the mast in the morning and tuning the rigging in the early afternoon, we were ready at 3pm. The engine started without any problem and was running smoothly. We made a short stop at the yacht club were we picked up Anita and the kids and of we were. Stasiu found his place in the cabin and Nina preferred Daddy's shoulder.

Light winds, in fact almost no wind at all (3-5kts), but this was good to get acquainted with the boat. We sailed for a good two hours and after that it was time to find our new slip in the harbor. Slowly we turned in our slip and docked without problems. The boat seems very controllable at low speeds and is stable and without surprises in reverse. All in all a successful first trip.

Arrival in Lake Michigan

Today was D-day. After some unexpected delays 'B' was to arrive in Waukegan today. At 11AM we received the telephone call from the trucker that he was 20 minutes from Waukegan and at 11:30 we saw our boat coming around the corner. She's in the water now and tomorrow we will step the mast and finalize the rigging. After that it's time for our first sail... We will have an additional hand on deck from a more experienced sailor neighbor so stress levels are expected to stay low.

"B" is on her way....

From Fort Lauderdale to Waukegan; from the Caribbean to Lake Michigan. She's on her way to her new owners who cannot wait....

Yes, this is our 'new' boat. A 2002 Dufour Gib'Sea 37 that we 'rescued' from slavery at a charter fleet in Fort Lauderdale, FL. In Lake Michigan she will be able to relax from her Caribbean adventures.