The End?

Ship: Johann Smidt
Date: 17th of April 2025
Position: English Channel
Geographical Position: 50°18.4′ N, 000°12.2′ E
Etmal: 161 nm
Total: 13,800 nm

The wind has softened. The seas, once wild and unrelenting, now carry us gently forward. After six months adrift in this great blue world, the outlines of France and England in the Channel have begun to take shape on the horizon. And with it, the realization: The journey is nearing its end.

What began as a longing – a quiet pull toward the unknown – became our daily rhythm. We traded sidewalks for swells, roofs for rigging and the noise of the world for the language of wind and wave. Life out here has been stripped down and soul-deep. There’s no hiding from yourself when the sea is your only mirror.

Looking back, it’s a blur of light and salt and laughter. We remember night watches under constellations that stretched forever, the sting of rain and the warmth of sun-baked decks. Islands that rose like dreams from the sea. Kind strangers – sometimes also students – with stories like ours. Moments of fear and many more of awe.

We learned that time moves differently on the water – recurrently faster and slower. We became more patient. And, in a way, more ourselves.

Now, as Amsterdam grows clearer, so too does our awareness of the shift that’s coming. We find ourselves preparing – deep-cleaning the boat, checking the charts, planning our arrival. There’s excitement, yes: The thought of long showers, fresh fruit, steady ground and familiar hugs.

But there’s a quiet ache, too. An unspoken knowing that something is ending. That this freedom- the kind only found in the wide, wild open – will be harder to hold onto when the boat is moored for good.

This voyage may be drawing to a close, but it has left its mark deep in our bones. The sea has taught us to slow down, to listen, to trust. And as we step onto land once more, we carry its lessons with us like talismans.
We’ll return to walls and roads and schedules – but something within us will always remain untethered.

Some journeys don’t end when you reach land; they echo on quietly, beneath the surface.

Perhaps this is not the end, but the beginning?

Greetings:

Maja: Liebe Mama, Happy Birthday! 🥳 🥂❤️ Zu Deinem Geburtstag wünsche ich Dir ganz viel Gesundheit, Energie und Freude. Nur noch ein paar mal schlafen, dann sehe ich Dich wieder und Du kriegst Dein Geschenk 😉 Bis dahin, fühl dich von mir gedrückt 🫂 Hab‘ Dich lieb ❤️