The last lap for Darwin200

After two years and 43,000 nautical miles, following in the footsteps of Darwin and the Beagle, the beautiful ship, the Oosterschelde was nearly home when I arrived in Falmouth, ready to sail the "victory lap" from there back to London. You can see the whole adventure here: Darwin200 | Journey of Discovery | Global Voyage Launches 2023. I loved Falmouth. It's one of the largest and deepest natural harbours in the world and has a wonderful maritime history, along with smiley castles and smiley people dishing up "rolled ice cream!".

The maritime museum was full of treasures like this jet hydroplane - The Hustler - which set a speed record of 285 mph in 1967. Or "Father's Day", the smallest boat to sail across the Atlantic. Because it is only 5 ft 4 ins, the Captain could never stretch out fully and always had to sleep curled up!

Surfing had its own exhibition, including this Damien Hirst "Butterfly Board" and the longest longboard, which can give a ride to 15 surfers at once!

This made me smile - it's worth a read - I think it's the best tea-towel I've seen in a museum shop!

On Sunday 20th July, we all ran up to the headland to see the Oosterschelde coming home.

Delicately docked in the shadow of the maritime museum - and in front of a cruise ship - it was wonderful to see friends and fellow sailors from earlier stages of the marathon journey. Fergus was in the Galapagos with me and Sheila was my bunk buddy on the very first leg out of Plymouth.

And there was an engagement too. As soon as Matt got on board to meet Imogen, she went down on one knee and proposed. (He had a ring in his pocket too!)

Before the welcome home party, Stewart (McPherson) took us on an historic tour of Falmouth - to see the place where Darwin boarded a stagecoach and set off for London. (He couldn't wait to get off the ship - he wasn't a great sailor). And, further down Market Street, it was touching to see one of the original Barometers commissioned by Fitzroy, captain of the Beagle and the founding father of what we now call the Met Office.

The voyage of the Oosterschelde made it into the news - I will add the BBC links when I find them but here's a couple of the Sunday papers with a great photo of the ship from the Darwin200 photographer, Tom, who was in a small boat in the bay. It also made me happy to see the big photo in the Observer was one I took of the ship alongside the Moai, in Anakena bay, Easter Island. I'd forgotten I gave it to the press team last year 😊

The next morning, bearing in mind we were heading for London, the winds were set fair and the waters were calm as we slipped out of the harbour and past St Anthony's lighthouse.

It turned into another lovely day, with a beautiful sunset - and we made good progress at 7.5 - 8.5 knots.

With a long steady run ahead of us - there was not much for the White Watch to do - until Daan decided we should set the ropes on the new "tent" we'd need to put over the deck in London. We had to lay the old and the new out, on either side of the ship, and measure all the old ropes, so we could cut the new ones and learn how to splice them and do the sailmaker's whipping to stop them fraying at the ends.

Although things were calm with us, as we got up to the Isle of Wight we had three "Pan Pan" calls. They are one step down from "May Day" calls and signify that a person or a vessel needs urgent help. The Queen Galadriel was a tall ship taking on water and with pumping difficulties. Although we were very close, two lifeboats reached her first. One took all the students off the ship and the other helped her into port. And we heard later that the other two yachts, one of which had been dismasted, were both OK too.

Oh - and we had common dolphins to keep us company almost all the way ...

The Sea Cadets came alongside and made us all smile by playing the Dutch National Anthem (very loud), because they'd seen the Oosterschelde's ensign and knew she is registered in the Netherlands.

The weather gave us a bit of everything - quite a lot of clouds, a little rain and a wonderful sunrise! Generally, though, it was calm and sunny and everyone enjoyed the deck. Here's Angie and Richard; Diana reading; Monika singing and Frank, followed by his son Lucas, who is one of the crew, and then with his arms around both his sons, Felix and Lucas.

And a great shot of two people who are usually on different watches and not on deck together! Jan Willem is the captain and Jenny the first mate - both amazing people.

Quiet days also give you a chance to go up the rigging to check the sails etc, so these pictures are a mix, but all taken by me. Where I'm looking up at the climbers - it is Sheila, climbing with Lucus. Where I'm looking down - it's my trainers you can see and that is me up the mast with Jan and Gerben, who is only 12 years old but has been sailing the Oosterschelde since he was five!

Once we had passed the white cliffs of Dover, and round and into the mouth of the Thames, the landscape and the traffic changed. I think I was lucky to catch a seagull on the channel marker - and to see the air-power assisted tanker, as well as tugs and two of the largest container ships in the world - with terrifying lifeboat launchers!

At Tilbury, a Pilot came on board for the run in to the Tower of London. I loved the "stop-go" lights on the Thames barrier, which made it look rather like queuing for the motorway tolls.

The weather was grisly / drizzly when we approached Tower Bridge Quay - so I've included shots from breakfast time the next day: glorious weather for the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh.

On the last day, there were four Darwins on board! The wonderful Sarah and Leo (Great-great-grand-daughter and great-great-great-grandson) had sailed with us all the way from Falmouth and Andrew and Lucy were with us at either end of the trip. Such a special way of lighting up the Darwin200 adventure 😊

This is the official shot of His Royal Highness's visit with all the supporters, sponsors and crew - including Vicky, the fabulous chef, in the front row! I'm towards the back, in front of the right hand tower, with the two captains, Jan Willem and Gerben, behind me and in front of Sheila, who is settled in the rigging.

The day the Duke of Edinburgh came was a carousel of press and TV events and interviews and the ship welcomed back many of the Young Darwin Leaders to share their stories. The two guests in green Zoological Society of London t-shirts brought a first edition of "The Origin of the Species" with them - a breathtaking and unexpected treat for all of us.

For me, one of the great thrills was the open ship day in London. Very many of my friends and family came on board and I was so happy to share the Oosterschelde with them - including a great environmental session with Rose McGowan (from Charmed and the "Me Too" movement) and her beautiful dog, Purlita, who made her first trip outside the amazon jungle to come to Tower Bridge 😊

None of us can quite believe that the two years of the Darwin200 expedition is over. Stewart and the team have achieved something epic which would simply not have been possible without his passion and momentum. For me, it has been a thrilling experience: learning so much about pressing environmental issues from the experts on board; sharing time with such a mix of people with a passion for exploration; and being lucky enough to build some sailing experience with the most generous of captains and crew and the gorgeous, elegant, Oosterschelde. There are rumours of more adventures soon, once she has been home to Rotterdam for some maintenance - and had a chance to take part in the Tall Ships festival in Amsterdam SAIL Amsterdam 2025 | Port of Amsterdam

I hope I see her again soon - and send love and good wishes in the meantime for all who sail in the Oosterschelde.