Van der Zee Yachting from Netherlands to America. On July 8, 2024, along with Bruce and Liz, I, Pim van der Zee, will sail an Elling E6 named Gecko across the North Atlantic to America.
I met Bruce and Liz at the Anacortes Trawler Fest. They passionately shared their story about their boat Gecko and their plan to bring Gecko to America. Since its purchase, Gecko has been in the Netherlands. Bruce and Liz asked me to assist them on this trip. In this blog, I will keep you updated on our journey.
At the beginning of June, Bruce and Liz arrived in the Netherlands, and the preparations began. First, the boat was taken to the Elling shipyard. At the yard, they added extra equipment to make the trip as comfortable as possible. This included Starlink (for a good internet connection) and a Flir Camera (a thermal camera to detect ice). Naturally, we also brought many spare parts, such as engine and generator parts, extra pumps, an additional anchor and chain, and much more. We could practically tow an Elling E4 behind us.
Safety was also a top priority. We have a new trans-ocean life raft, survival suits, flares, MOBs and POBs, and EPIRBs.
After much preparation, the time has finally come, and we are departing today. Our schedule is our own, allowing us great flexibility. The original plan was to depart for Lowestoft tomorrow, but due to the weather at the end of this week, we will head directly to Newcastle today. Of course, we have prepared a route, and a photo of it is attached.
You will read about our journey to Newcastle in the next blog.
