His departure this week was influenced not only by favorable wind direction and season, but also by the NATO summit taking place next week in The Hague. One of the security measures is that the sea area near The Hague has been declared a ‘restricted area’ covering a ten by eleven nautical mile strip. ‘I absolutely want to be past Scheveningen this week to avoid being stopped by the Coast Guard or the Navy,’ he said.
At his recent mooring in the marina of Nauerna and by the ‘small’ sea locks of IJmuiden, the former chief of the engine room of the navy ships H.M. Kortenaer and H.M. Piet Heyn was seen off. As a former navy man, he had dreamed almost his entire life of such a sailing trip combined with a world tour. After his active service years, the old seaman worked the last years as a team leader at ‘de Hoogovens,’ which everyone now calls Tata Steel.
In both roles he was able to fully develop his technical skills. What his eyes see and his mind devises, his hands can make, said family members. Thanks to this, De Vries has been able to completely convert his catamaran over the past six months to one-person operation (one man-handle). From controlling all jibs and sails to the front and rear anchors, everything can be operated from inside the cabin, both mechanically and manually.
Moreover, he installed various technical gadgets in his cabin and in the ‘work area’ on the port side of his catamaran. The starboard float serves as his living space for galley, living area, and similar. The Pros & Cons is also equipped with all communication equipment, permanent Wi-Fi connection, internet, GPS, and more. This allows him to maintain contact with a large group of Dutch sea sailors as well as family members, friends, and former colleagues.
In recent years, De Vries has twice participated as a crew member on other large sailboats in tough sailing races on the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and partly sailed a yacht back to Europe from the Caribbean. Last year, after a long search, he found the ocean-worthy vessel he had been seeking for a long time, sold his house in Wormer, and moved to a ‘temporary’ berth in the marina of Nauerna on the North Sea Canal.
Since the Zaankanter took early retirement from Tata Steel over two years ago, he has prepared and mapped out his entire trip online, ‘from port to port.’ As a meticulous planner, he saved the radio frequencies and phone numbers of all harbor masters, as well as those of hospitals, Dutch consuls and embassies, and stores selling ship supplies.
Of course, banking matters and insurances are arranged. And all required sailing licenses, permits, and documents are not only stored on the computer but are also kept - on paper - in a waterproof bag. And a spare mobile phone as well.
This summer he intends to use the southern Gulf Stream, favorable wind direction, and water currents from the western coast of Africa to the Caribbean.
He plans to make several dozens of stops during his trip around the world (four to six years?), not only to resupply fresh food, water, and fuel but also to ‘refuel and rest myself. And if it’s a nice harbor with a pleasant climate, I might even hang around there for a few weeks. I am in no hurry,’ he said recently.
De Vries expects to be in the Gulf of Mexico in about a year, near the entrance of the Panama Canal. ‘Then I have a big rest break of 100 days. Then I’ll take a KLM flight back for a few weeks to see how you all are doing,’ he shared with family members and children in the group chat.