Distress in Greek Waters – Don’t Press That Red Button!
What happens if you end up in a distress situation in Greece, and call the coast guards? We tested, and lived to tell the story.
Not What We Had Planned
If you choose to cruise around on a sailboat, your life will be full of surprises. Often positive – apparently more positive than negative, if you still feel enthusiastic about the lifestyle two years on. But eventually something bad will hit you, something that will make you weigh your motives.
Sailboat project | Saloon Rebuild and Upholstery
Last time I wrote about our boat plumbing project. Our freshwater system was now ready and working, and the next phase was to rebuild the saloon that had been pulled apart. The old cushions were also ready for the dumpster (one was good enough for Anouk the marina dog’s bed in the cockpit) – we would buy new ones and upholster them ourselves. The settees would be rebuilt with only minor changes to the measurements. The starboard settee would slide out to make a wider sea berth, and the port settee would be a little deeper than before. The new water tanks had found their place under the settees, and we could add some storage on both sides as well.
Sailboat project | Fresh Water System – Tanks, Pipes and Taps
Now that most of the world is in lockdown mode, some of us have time to write about boat projects – and maybe some have time to read about them! In January, when we began our boat’s freshwater system refit, no one had heard of the Coronavirus. We were enjoying a nice Greek winter with sunny, warm days and cool, sometimes cold nights, and occasional rainy spells. The perfect time to work on the boat, especially if it happens to be of an older vintage with plenty of things needing improvement.
Successful Sailboat Project: Solar Energy and Self Suffiency
In the midst of busy boat projects you never have time to write down everything that goes on. Later on it seldom feels like a tempting subject, especially if there are interesting travel stories waiting to be told. But sometimes a perfect opportunity presents itself – like when you’re waiting on a Galician ría to get some engine service done, and it’s freezing cold and cloudy – so I decided on a little article about the solar energy system we installed a year ago. Besides, we now have a whole year’s worth of experience and insight. If you’re into technical stuff and boat projects, you might find this interesting – if not, travel stories will appear soon enough!
Rade de Brest – Gunkholing in Calm Waters
By now we were supposed to be in Galicia, Spain. But apparently the Bay of Biscay has decided not to even let us there. The spring winds have been very changeable, and in the notorious bay it means it doesn’t seem to stay in one direction for very long. It will be a 300-360 nautical mile crossing. We are hoping to point our bow towards A Coruña, but are open to other options according to what the weather decides for us. That means we will be out at sea for three, maybe three and a half days, and the weather window should be at least a couple of days longer than that, so we won’t be caught out in something terribly unexpected. So far such a window has not presented itself.
Turning that wheel across the Southern Baltic
Our boatyard visit in Gdansk was supposed to be a quick two week pit stop on our way far, far south from the Baltic Sea. We ended up staying for five weeks – partly because we kept having new ideas the whole time while observing the work in progress. The end result, a stern arch that accommodates a sizable array of solar panels and quite a lot of other equipment, is a piece of excellent workmanship, so the visit was definitely worth it. Now we should be able to produce all our electricity, without the need of sailing to marinas to plug in.
Boat Projects Start Again – with Another Big Bang!
I have read Stephen Hawking’s Brief History of Time. I know the universe started with a Big Bang, and as soon as it’ll be done expanding it’ll shrink again, and another Big Bang will follow. The same theory seems to apply to boat projects. Last year it wreaked havoc on our little boat, and we had to sweat for days and weeks on end to get everything back together. But in the end we had a much better boat than we started with. I’m really hoping that this spring we can pull it off again – on our new boat! During the Easter holidays we finally had time, and tolerable weather – it’s a rare thing for the two to happen at the same time during the Finnish spring – to delve into the boat matters and to take a better look at our projects.
The Crew – Clever, Skilled, Qualified
Planning a great sailing voyage is hard work. And it’s almost all new to us. Budgeting and planning, refitting and kitting our boat, safety aspects, charts, cruising guides, navigation electronics and programs, weather, tides, insurance, permits and qualifications, vaccinations, prescriptions, cruising routes, interesting places to see along the way… Not to mention the mental preparation! It’s really hard to imagine what it will be like to give up a permanent home on solid ground and move your whole life onto a floating home on the water. What will it be like to swap your safe, familiar everyday life for an uncertain future, your regular income for living off savings or odd jobs – and your monotone, wearisome life for complete freedom!
Compass Heading 180° Presents: s/y Aina
This is it! The moment you have all been waiting for! I’m sure all our readers have been anticipating this announcement as eagerly as the next sailing season! Here she is, the sailboat that will take us on our adventure. Next summer we will start our journey South – that’s 180°.
Sailing the Big Seas – Choosing the Right Boat
The first step towards the Great Journey has been taken. Last time I wrote about how we decided to put our plan into action. The first phase has been completed – we have sold our house and most of our worldly belongings. There are a million steps to go before we get to stand on the deck of our sailboat, waving goodbye to the cheering crowds on the dock. Firstly, we’ll need a boat. Secondly, we’ll have to be nice to our friends so there might actually be someone there to see us off! This time I will concentrate on the boat search, which might prove to be the easier task of the two.
Sailboat Projects – Well Begun is Half Done!
Actually, in Finland the saying goes “Well planned is half done”. As our boat is currently covered in ice and snow, there isn’t much work we can begin – but we sure can plan. As it happens, I’m very good at planning. So good in fact, that I have turned it into a way of making a living – I prefer not to talk about a career, because careers are something that successful and ambitious people have, and I’m just an ordinary person who likes to make plans. I like it so much I hardly ever stop planning. Sometimes I even make plans while sleeping, which is the best way of putting that time into some use, if you ask me.
Just add water
Sailing as it should be – and shouldn’t!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many does a video count for? I put together a little sailing video, hoping to show some of the joy and excitement of being carried by the wind, moving fast along the water.
On our way to our next destination, Hiiumaa island off the northwest coast of Estonia, we experienced some of the best sailing we’ve ever done anywhere, on any boat. There was a brisk southerly breeze and we were making good speed on our little boat. By this time she had acquired a large number of affectionate nicknames, most of them referring to her compact size, her pear shaped body, her respectable age, or all of the above. Nevertheless, she proved herself to be a true thoroughbred among sailboats, sailing solidly and effortlessly like a much larger boat. As the wind increased and the waves got bigger she just seemed to grow taller and heavier but remained as responsive to the helm as ever, letting us steer her with just a finger or two.
Like a fish out of water
We had only completed the first leg of our journey, and already we found ourselves stuck in a marina because of bad weather. I know these things happen all the time when you’re cruising, but seriously – in the first port of call?!