The most beautiful picture of Arka!

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of March were “warm emotional“! Those words do fit perfectly.

Jaap and Harco sailed Arka! on this sunny Saturday to the harbor where Arka! will be surveyed the 11th of March. After weeks of storm and rainy days, there was almost no wind and a glorious sun.
While the men sailed with Arka! , enjoyed Anneke and I at Wierhooft the feeling of spring, showing her premature face a bit.

And then… Didier and Josette, the first owners of Arka!, who did a tremendous and impressive job on her, came all the way from France to say hello to Arka!

We paid Arka! a visit together and to be honest? We did not keep it dry on our cheeks! Afterwards we did eat “bitterballen” in Enkhuizen. Didier & Josette are “big” in our eyes, while sailing to the Antarctic in 10 months vise versa with Arka! and sailing to cold places like Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard. While we stick to simple things as “bitterballen” after 10 miles on the IJsselmeer.

We did see all those beautiful pictures of Arka! in Patagonia and the Antarctic. Fantastic, impressive, soo wonderful. Those colors, but especially the courage of Didier & Josette!
We saw films about Iceland and Svalbard and to our surprise, we did get a copy! So we can see the films again and again. And an original photo of Arka! , that was published in a sailing magazine.

We also saw pictures af LAFKO, the new boat of Didier and Josette. As beautiful build as Arka! , with the same amount of love and attention.
It is emotional for Harco and me to sell Arka! and especially to stop sailing, but fortunately… nobody can take this “warm weekend” from Harco and me.
Thanks to Jaap & Anneke and Didier & Josette!

Harco en Jaap leaving Den Oever	Waving to Anneke and me
Didier & Josette waited for years to meet Arka! again. Even after they launched LAFKO. But here they are! This picture speaks for itself.	Didier is taking his time to look at the differences made during the years.

Josette loves the idea that the plates on Arka! are still the same, as so many other things. Even the knots at the end of some ropes.	Like in the old Arka!-days?!
That leather looks familiair!	Photo-albums of Arka! in Patagonia and Antarctica
Didier, Josette and Harco with photo’s	Talking about the Arka!-albums
Filled with material like this!	Josette sailing in the Antarctic
Didier explaines with great enthusiasm	Patagonia grass
This kind of pinguin lives in a cave	Arka! on a lonely planet
Didier shows the best anchor places	More stories about Arka!
Josette and her pinguïns	Sailing Arka! into the ice
Icy mountains in a mirror	Arka! on icy anchor
The most beautiful frozen picture of Arka!	Beautiful sandy beaches

Josette & Didier on spinnaker

Didier & Josette: “Goodbye, we meet again!”

Photo’s, films, icy stories, tears and laughs… a very “warm” weekend due to Arka!