‘You can learn from mistakes’ is a well-known saying, but that certainly does not apply to the Swiss sailor Adriaan. He stranded with his sailboat on the beach in Den Helder last week. That led to a special image and lots of comments on social mediabut now it appears that it is already the second time that Adriaan does not arrive at his destination.
Exactly the same thing happened on Terschelling more than a week ago. A sailor from Groningen (name known to the editors) did not know what he saw when he saw the washed up sailboat on the beach. He got into conversation with Adriaan several times and immediately doubted the man’s sailing skills. “His outboard motor was broken and the rudder broke,” explains the sailor, describing the damage the boat had. “And he had no idea what he was doing.”
confused
The Swiss sailor has made a strange impression since his arrival in the harbor. “He stuck to everyone, kept asking for advice and was very strange and confused,” says the sailor from Groningen. In addition, he often changed plans. England, Den Helder and Morocco were mentioned several times when Adriaan talked about his next route.
That Adriaan wanted to continue his journey was not a good plan, according to the Groninger. In fact, he strongly advised the Swiss against it. “Everyone was worried about him,” he says. “I really thought this was going to be his death.”
Adriaan survived his journey, but a few days later he was washed ashore again due to ignorance. De Groninger hopes that he has learned from his mistakes and will no longer go out to sea. “This man is, as we call it, a daysailer. He must not go out to sea.”