Caroline Meffert
Born on November 1, 1958 in Tiel, raised in a family with father, mother and a 2 year older sister. I spent my youth in Heemstede and Leersum (Utrecht). Later I moved to Delft, Voorschoten and Leiden. In my youth I got acquainted with sailing at a very young age. In my family there has always been sailing, my grandparents, uncles, aunts, even our ancestors could be found at sea for generations. During my youth my parents first had a Wibo and later we built a steel hull of a Dutch Dandy ourselves. My first sailing experience was with a very small wooden boat, a Piraatje with one sail. My second boat was a Vauriën, a wooden racing boat that was extremely suitable for sailing very fast. Everything I learned about sailing, was mainly by doing it myself and by what both my parents taught me. Unfortunately my then boyfriend (and later husband) did not share my love for sailing and I sold my boat. After my divorce in 2004, I met Fred (in 2008) and found the love of my life in him and also rediscovered my love for sailing. Soon we rented a Valkje for a weekend. That way I could get used to sailing again. The feeling was back soon: what is once in your blood ……..! When I heard from Fred that his plan was to leave the Netherlands in a few years and spend the rest of his life sailing in warmer places, I could completely agree with that. And so “his plan” became our plan!
Fred Gödecke
Born on September 4, 1956 in The Hague, raised in a family with father, mother, sister and brother. I spent my youth in The Hague and later moved to Alphen aan den Rijn. I only caught the sailing bug at a later age. In the early seventies we were introduced to sailing by friends. My then wife and I really enjoyed this and in 1989 we bought a Vivacity 24. Together with our two children we sailed all over the Netherlands with this sailing boat. We sailed a lot on the IJsselmeer, the Wadden Sea and the Frisian lakes. Because I wanted to move on, but my ex did not, we decided to sell the sailing boat. But it kept itching for me and I then started to focus on sea sailing. I obtained my sailing license I and II, Marcom B and CWO sea sailing. I sailed with the Zeezeilers twice to gain experience. At the same time I decided that when I would stop working I would buy a seaworthy sailing yacht and leave the Netherlands alone. Because I met Caroline, this plan became a common plan.
Kit
Born on July 29, 2014 in Hazerswoude-Dorp on a farm. My mother was a single mother, my father had already disappeared without a trace before I was born. I am a European short-haired cat, brown/black striped, 3 white legs and a white chin. My ears look like those of a Lynx, because they have tufts on them. I am big, strong and muscular and have beautiful big eyes. On September 12, 2014 Caroline and Fred take me to their house in Alphen aan den Rijn. I am only 6 weeks and 3 days old and weigh only 650 grams. They named me Kitty, because they had assumed that I was a female cat, but I knew better! On December 5, 2014 I helped them out of their dream by showing them that I really am a tomcat. That is how my name was changed from Kitty to Kit, which sounds cooler and suits me much better. Something about my character: I love to play and do all kinds of antics, including in the climbing net. Lying lazily somewhere, where I can look outside every now and then is my favorite thing to do. I also love visitors, I don’t really like cuddling, but I do let you know when I feel like it. I have become a real “sea” cat in the meantime. Living on a boat is no longer strange to me. I run back and forth across the deck, jump on and off everywhere and go exploring. My owners sometimes still find it scary and are afraid that I will slip in my enthusiasm and end up in the water. Well, I’m careful, much too cold and wet! With my owners I sail the world’s oceans and visit all kinds of (is)lands. Of course I stay on board. It is an exciting life, because every place looks different. I will keep you informed about my adventures!