John Verschuijten
Teranga in Senegal
May 6, 2017
Captured on the Atlantic
May 27, 2017
A sailor's dream
With his blond curly hair and big smile he is an example for the Dutch man. On the first day in the harbour of Las Palmas we immediately noticed that he must be a Dutchman. He wasn't waiting for a bunch of new hitchhikers, but soon enough we grabbed his attention. We had more than a hundred questions and want to learn everything about sailing. That makes every sea dog twinkle with his eyes and soon we became good friends. Our basis knowledge about sailing is taught us by John.
A visit to John's boat made our representation about sailing boats a little bit unreal. From that moment we compared every other boat with this well equipped ship. This made us aim high, especially when you are trying to hitchhike. John wants to be completely self sustaining, even when he knows the price for that. Solar panels and wind turbine provide the energy, while a water maker converts salt water to fresh water. On board all the necessary electronic equipment is present, because as a professional skipper he knows the dangers of the ocean.
“Only when you can't solve it yourself, you will ask some advice, but otherwise, you do everything by yourself.”
Just like all the captains his boat is his sacred place. The expression about two captains on the same boat has the proper origin. Only when you can't solve it yourself, you will ask some advice, but otherwise, you do everything by yourself. John as well, he knows everything about his boat and won't set sail with a problem he can't solve. This is necessary because the boat is their home, transport and their dream. Sometimes they sail alone, sometimes with a full family, but most skippers have their soulmate who sails with them, searching for freedom across the oceans. They left the certainties behind, sold their house and live their dream, something we admire with great respect.
John shares his boat with Asha, the love of his life and also the name of the boat. Sounds like everything is perfect, but he already dreams about the next project. Captain Ron is not his example, but the beautiful ketch in the movie is his new dream. At the moment Asha, luckily only the boat, is already for sale to finance their other dream. Hopefully we meet John and Asha again in a couple of years, and maybe in their new ship.
