Category Archives: Kids

Wind from south and to the airport

The next day really does get hot and after breakfast we immediately head to the beach again. After all these weeks with cold wind and rain we enjoy every minute of sun – and especially going swimming ! As we row back to our boat in the afternoon we count no less than 45 boats. After lunch, we decide to leave today as tomorrow we’ll have the wind against us.

Als wir nach der grossen Hitze lossegeln, ist der Ankerplatz echt voll.Raus auf die SeeEnge, felsige Fahrwasser.Ab und an passiert auch was...

First we sail a bit, then we run under engine. We head south towards Göteborg again and on the we we’ll look if we find a nice spot to maybe drop the anchor. We nearly decided to go into the marina as we finally spot a little beach on the little island Rivö just a few miles from G. – The sun is already gone and we drop the anchor in the last light in 6m water.

Geht aber NOCH enger ! - Und da parkt noch einer in zweiter Spur... (DHL Fahrer ?)Kilian eingeschlafenIm Juli sieht man hinter jedem Felshubbel Schiffe stehnWunderschönes Licht und Segeln bis in den späten Abend

Die Sonne geht langsam unter... Bei Ankunft, Gestern waren wir alleine...Beach day !Kilian im Dinghy-Schatten

Kilian is extremely happy in the water, although it is just about 20°. And for Moana the best is when I row her around in our little blue dinghy and she can tell me where to go.  To spend another night at anchor definatly was a good choice. But later that day when the first clouds appear, we move to the marina because we’ll meet friends from a time long ago. The too were sailing through the Pacific. Back then just the two of them in a small 26″ boat. Now they have two golden haired children and are searching for a larger boat to move aboard in about a year’s time. We spend some wonderful hours together, laugh about the past and dream about the future.

Grosse Marina. Lange StegeAm SpielplatzJuhuu !! Wir sehen die crew der SY Ninita wieder !Die Kinder verstehen sich sofort - trotz unterschiedlicher Sprachen

The future … Yeah. Gui will fly back to Berlin with the two small ones… The destination is Rügen and that’s another 200 miles. I will sail these with Viola together. That isn’t exactly as it was planned but it will be better for everyone. We’ll meet again in Rügen and spend some more days at the beach together. Kilian is still too small for these longer distances as he just started crawling and walking a few days ago and that is not a good time to be ona a moving boat.

Auf der StangeMoana unterhält Kilian im Cafeund dirigiert uns was am SpielplatzGui und die Kleinen fliegen zurück nach Berlin

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From Norway back to Sweden

On Sunday we wait until the wind eases a bit and leave the little island Flekkeroy in the afternoon. As we round the northern tip, we shift the genoa and try to get comfortable under our cockpit roof.

Abfahrt noch mit dunklen Wolken, aber etwas weniger WindSchleicht sich ein Kreuzfahrtsschiff um die EckeUnd drängt uns ganz an den Rand des FahrwassersLeuchtturm Oksøy, letzter Landkontakt in Norwegen

While sailing out, a cruise ship sneaks up behind us and forces us to go higher on the wind. But soon it is past us, we leave the lighthouse Oksøy behind and set course 110°. That should get us just past the south-east tip of the traffic seperation area north of here. Also it’s a convenient course as it will take us out of the counter current sooner and we hope to enter the NW setting current somewhere midway. We have wind from WSW to W with five to six beaufort. That is a bit more than was announced and we rapidly leave Norway behind.

Mit 6.5kn raus in den berüchtigten SkagerrakNorwegen verschwindet bald am HorizontWenn wir SE-Ecke des Verkehrstrennungsgebietes passiert haben, fallen wir etwas abStrömungsverhältnisse im Skagerrak

But the wind against current situation creates really ugly waves and a few hours later Moana gets seasick. Kilian also wakes up and so Gui tries to keep lookout in the cockpit while I am in the forepeak changing diapers. One should be well on the lookout around here as there is a lot of traffic and some ferries are really crazy fast.

The trip doesn’t start too nice. We have too much wind and the kids keep us very busy. – But what could we expect ?

Es wird etwas ruppiger und rolligerMoana verträgt das leider nicht gutSchlaf-VersuchRasende rote Rennfähre

At some stage both little ones fall asleep and it is a bit easier on the watch. Dozens of freighters, tankers and fishing vessels pass us on the starbord side. All coming from the baltic and heading down towards the english channel. During the very short phase of semi-darkness, between midnight and about two in the morning, a cruise ship is coming towards us and passes close by.  A bit north of Skagen, in the early morning we meet the only other sailboat. We did have mobile reception while sailing past Skagen from a distance of about 12nm and then again from 22nm west of the swedish coast. Quite irritating to suddenly receive messages in the middle of nowhere with no land in sight.

Party mitten in der Nacht, irgendwo NW von SkagenWir haben hier echt Mobilfunkempfang !Endlich mal wieder ein Sonnenaufgang auf SeeLand in Sicht !

In the early afternoon we arrive in Slubberholmens, a beautiful little anchorage, friends of us suggested. While entering, there are only (?) four other boats. It is warm and tomorrow it is supposed to get really hot. So we eat a sandwich and quickly inflate both dinghy und SUP and head for the beach ! The children are immediately happy and play with the sand in the fingers, in the water and explore the island. We spend a wonderful afternoon at the little island and head back to the boat when the small kids get tired. The tension of the at times agonizing trip falls of me and as we paddle back to the boat we realize how full the anchorage has become. We eat and soon fall into the beds.

Der Anker fällt in 9m glasklares Wasser, die Sonne kommt raus.LandfallBlick hinausBlick zur offenen See und zur Einfahrt, die Dragon steht rechts um's Eck

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Back south again

Right after dropping Bruno off at the airport, we head out and sail past the north tip of the little peninsula that is home to Stavanger on the inside and Tananger on the outer, westside. Today we have wind from south so we sail a few very sporty tacks and enter the little, very sympatic harbour.

Fjordcruiser coming very close while we try to stay as close hauled as possibleThe girls lie in bed with boat heeling and rolling in the wavesMarkerTananger Gjesthavn

Again we find ourselves a bit in a hurry as the next stretch of coast is the one with the ‘dangerous waves’ marking and there is this gigantic low between Iceland and Scotland and it’s coming closer fast. So next morning we head out again as soon as we see the wind change more towards the west.

Sailing with the roof upEntering the skerris west of EgersundThe nymph greeting the sailors...IMGP1084

The ride is bumpy and for a while Moana gets a little sea sick. But in the evening we are glad that we are a bit further south and again in the beautiful Egersund. This time in the marina – laundry needs to be done and we’ll wait until friday for the wind to ease a little bit. Then we’ll try to round the next little peninsula and hope to make it to Farsund. We’ll see how our plan works out. Uh. Let’s check the weather again….

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From the Hardangerfjord back to Stavanger

It seems that the closer one is to Bergen and the deeper in a fjord, the more it rains. – After two days with only very short breaks of sunshine we decide to leave and sail southward again.

Leaving the rainclouds behind usIMGP0730Everybody staying inside, dry and warmIMGP0783

The rainclouds are soon left behind and as we get closer to the open sea, the wind picks up. Soon we’re sailing with more than six knots again and the kids stay below to play, sleep and eat. The whole day we sail out of the Hardanger fjord and in the evening we arrive in Haugsund. Moana and me take a little walk while little Kilian is about to go to bed.

Reminders of The ferry at the charging stationHaugsund, looking northHaugsund, looking south

Everywhere in Norway we see the trails of the oil industry: oil rigs, gigantic working vessels and cranes… but also the clean future: in some cities a third of the cars is electric and even the fjord-ferries and small cruise ships are electric and can be found at the charging station when night comes. Even the large cargo vessels and cruise ships have proper cleaning systems and run without leaving a dirty yellow-brown trail in the sky. When the dirty money from the short oil boom is invested wisely, this is possible…

In Vikevåg harbourAt the beachA beautiful little beach (water: ~16°C)Moana, fascinated with plants and trees

Another short stop we make in Vikevåg, where we are lucky with the weather and also find a small beach not far from the fishing harbour where we tied up. From here it’s only a few miles to Stavanger where Viola will come on board and we’ll be all six on the boat for a few days.

Through the skerries towards StavangerIn the very noisy city harbour (Vågen)...with concert and night clubsViola arrived

In the ‘city harbour’ it is a bit noisy as it’s the party location of Stavanger, it seems. Also this harbour is completely unprotected to the west wind (that blows 90% of the time ;-) So next day we move the boat a tiny bit to Børeviga. Viola arrives at midnight from Berlin and next day we celebrate Gui’s birthday.

Beautiful wooden houses in the city centerKilian having fun - standing. :-)Colorful houses and cafesThe family is all together for Gui's birthday

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Bergen – Os – Rosendal

Gui, Moana and Kilian arrive at Sunset (~23:10h) in Bergen and after a Night at the Brygge and a little stroll through the neighbourhood, we move the Dragon (that sounds very nice ;-) … to a little Marina a bit south. There we have easier access to the boat as here in the city center we’re tied up to the harbour wall and at low tide have to climb up truck tires. The marina is also way more quiet and … there is a little artificial beach close by.

Bergen at nightBrygge, in between housesCity centerMarineholmen Gjestehavn

In Bergen (the city oif rain) we had really hot days with up to 27°C and so we actually spent an afternooon at the beach (beside Marineholmen Gjestehavn). But next day at noon we already wait for the pedestrian bridge to open, we want to see the fjords….

The sail south is nice in the beginning but soon we have a good amount of wind against us and with gusts up to 7 Bft, we are somewhat shaken and stirred when we drop the anchor in the little bay of Os. Twice Bruno has to pull up the iron again before it bites but then we finally fall asleep … with the raindrops drumming on the roof again.

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Unfortunately the rain stays and so we miss some good views of the absolutely stunning landscapes we sail past. The wind is slightly more favourable and we have decent sailing conditions everywhere but in the Lokksund where the wind is straight at us and the sound is too narriow to tack. – Also there is really strong currents and swirls in the more narrow part.

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After the Lokksund we don’t have to beat against the wind anymore and can relax a bit. We sail past two corners and behind a lengthy island appears Rosendal: mountains with still some snow, three waterfalls dropping onto lush, green hills… Straight out of a Bob Ross’ painting.

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We take a little stroll through the lovely, little village and get some salmon for dinner. The walk to the waterfall we move to tomorrow in hope of better weather.

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But today it rained nearly constantly and although I hurried up to the little waterfall with Kilian in the stroller, nobody really was into a longer walk in this weather. So we spend the time waiting for a hole in the clouds with books, paper and bingo. At the end of the day we did get a fat, double rainbow – which really made Moana’s day.

Tomorrow we will have to exit the fjord as Viola arrives on the 8th – in Stavanger – and we have to get there with difficult wind to sail, it seems.

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Short update

Six years have passed since the last entry…  A few things have happened since then, some of which might be told here later on … but first of all this reactivation is mostly for family and friends who wonder where and how we are. For all others who still might be reading this blog, here comes a very very short update:

Since 2014 we are landlocked again in Berlin. My wife became full time teacher and I started a company specializing in energy consulting (and we build our own ultra portable energy meters). Of course we’re still travelling a lot. Initially with an old camper van, until one time when we visited friends in Gullholmen, Sweden – the sailing fever hit us again. So sometime in 2018 we exchanged the VW van for a small Compromis 720.

Mit dem VW Bus in AlbanienIMGP9519Die Schummla (in Wiek, bei Greifswald)IMG_2782

And then … we got two new family members – first Moana (2018) and then Kilian (2021). So now we have a wonderful family with four kids (and two cats). The boat of course was a little to small so since 2020 we have a Carter 30, Bj. 1979 which we share with another family who are very good friends and neighbours.

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Or to put it short: Yes. We still are LosLocos. :-)

Posted in Berlin, Kids, LosLocos, News, Pics, Sailing, Travel | 1 Comment

Life returns

Half a year has passed since the last entry on our blog. That’s not exactly as I planned it. Rather the opposite is the case: I wanted to document our re-entry into western ‘civilisation’ just as I did with our journey. Often I asked myself why other sailors’ blogs turn quiet pretty much the same instant they arrive ashore ? Now I know the answer and it’s rather simple: There is no time.  The life on land is a busy one and sometimes quite depressing and that’s not something I want to document on the internet.

Fruehlingserwachen unter den HainbuchenDer erste bunte Farbklecks im winterlichen Grau

The question we heard the most often during these last months is: ‘And ? Have you settled in ?’ This question is asked without much thoght and unsuspecting that the answer might be a long and complicated one. Just as for the typical ‘How are you ?’: people expect a simple ‘Good/well/whatever.’ and definately not a lecture on the positive and negative sides of different lifestyles. So right now I could just write ‘Good.’ And all of you would be satisfied, wouldn’t you ?

Or do you really want to know how we are and what’s been going on these last months ? I guessed so…

The initial arrival was quite nice. Hugging old friends, knowing the surroundings and the neighborhood, meeting family and friends of our kids… All very lovely. But we also knew from other sailors’ returns that the actual arrival hits you after a few weeks and it’s not a nice one. It was just the same with us. It’s not that suddenly you realise that the journey and the free and wild life is over. It’s more subtle. The changes get you slowly.

One thing I miss the most are the intense, deep conversations we had with our sailing friends. It seems that the people on land are just too busy or too fearful to really dig in deeper. So the conversations stay on the surface and the essential parts of life mostly are kept out of focus. This is a thing that really makes me sad and it is something that one starts to accept after a while – although it really hurts.

Our kids took it the best, I would say. They really integrated themselves rather easy and fast and Viola had no problems at all to find heaps of friends and find herself to be one of the top students in her class. For Bruno it wasn’t that easy as he was rather slow when it came to reading and writing. He had done school on board in spanish and german but his new school was all english so this was a big step. But after a few months he also had settled in and is now gaining on the midfield in his class. His teachers are optimistic and tell us that by the end of the year he would be above average. Well at least that is no reason for concern anymore. Before arriving in Berlin we were quite nervous about school but it all seems to develop very well. The kids have lots of friends and frequent sleepovers and playdates and both are quite happy.

IMGP3295Und die erste Biene macht sich ans Werk

And how are the grownups ? Well we didn’t have it that easy so far. During the first weeks we had a lot to organize (appartment, insurance, school, taxes, furniture, jobs, etc.) but that was all settled quite fast. More difficult for me was the fact that during our absence the development in politics, economics and society are still in the wrong direction and even picking up speed. So rather than getting more independet from the axis of evil (the five eyes) we embrace them with TTIP and CETA and at home ‘our’ institutions ECB, European Comission and IMF do everything to make the situation worse, to play everything into the hands of a few rich people while the big part of the population in Spain, Portugal and Greece is driven into poverty and unemployment. The news regarding the global surveillance through the NSA are not publicly discussed and the rather shy comission of enquiry that the german parliament put into work was dissolved during the first hearing when a double agent was discovered on the team. Business has to continue. Business as usual with full speed towards the abyss. These developments make me rather nervous (a huge understatement) and I’m quite sceptic when I look into the future. But here comes one of the most important learnings of our journey into the picture: Even when the future looks rather grim, we still know that a different life is possible. And we HAVE lived that life for some years. That gives hope. As does the awakening of Podemos in Spain or Tsipras in Greece. Maybe all is not lost yet.

Well now I’ve disgressed completely into the political arena. But well. Politics is important and the developements right now will have a huge impact on all our future. So. What have Gui and me done during these last months ? Gui was busy with her clothes label Coquito and travelled to Argentina in January to create the new collection. On the side she works three to four days a week in a little french restaurant here in Berlin. I started to work with my old company again. Back at the computer instead of painting the deck or working on the engine. It’s not exactly better work but it pays better and that is quite important for us right now. But still it’s not what I would want to do forever. That’s why I’m currently trying to establish a new company together with a friend. We’re still quite at the beginning but it will have to do with conserving and monitoring energy, focussing on small businesses now but going towards private households in the end. This is really fun and involves a bunch of skills that I really like to work with. Mostly electronics, electricity, programming embedded and web and also installing the equipment on site which gets me away from the computer at least one day a week. But the best is that doing this work, we’ll improve the human impact on our planet just a little and that’s great.

That all means that we both ususally work six days a week while our kids are in a full-time school. We meet only shortly in the evening then everybody is really tired. During the weekends we usually work one day each so there is no time to do anything together as a family. We were prepared that re-entering the ‘normal’ life wouldn’t be easy but we really didn’t expect it to be that hard. But still: spring is in it’s starting blocks and slowly one thing fits to the next and the outlook get’s better and better.

Many friends also asked me whether I would be writing a book of our journey ? Yes. I want to. Definately ! It’s just – right now I have no time to do that. And with two jobs and a lot of chaos around us it’s quite difficult to organize my thoughts and put them on paper (or rather on hard disk). But I have tons of content, a lot of good ideas and slowly the story is developing in my head – despite all the crazyness around me. So don’t give up yet and bear with me. It’ll be worth it. Promised !

But the best thing right now is that in two weeks we’ll be sailing ! YES !! It’s not gonna be the tropics but a little trip in Flensburg with friends will really be good for us. And actually – speaking of the tropics: I will be back soon. In three weeks I’ll have to fly to Australia visit the Suvarov. We’ll have to move her to a cheaper marina and also there might be two potential new owners having a look or a testsail. So please keep your fingers crossed that we’ll sell the Suvarov. That would definately cheer me up !

Posted in Berlin, Coquito, Kids, Learning for life, LosLocos, Pics, Suvarov, Work | 1 Comment

Final landfall

Sorry for the delay but there was just too much happening these last weeks leaving no time for blog updates or other forms of communication besides what was absolutely needed…

So here we are. Back in Berlin, the city we left with the Rancho Relaxo of the Seas just a little over three years ago. We relocated six (!) times during these last weeks, moving from appartment to appartment and back and forth in between Austria and Germany. And to intensify that experience, Gui flew to Colombia to have her very first Fashion Show with Coquito, then visited Paris to have a look at the children’s clothes fair ‘Playtime‘ where hopefully Coquito will be present next year.

The models getting prepared.Little beauties in gorgeous dresses...Fashion show in tropical climate. Nice.Gui and her models.

In the meantime I was working overtime to get back into ‘the machine’, getting registered as a citizen, getting insurance, enlisting and visiting the school of our children, organizing the transport of our few belongings that we left with my parents in Austria, meeting friends, finding a job, getting essential furniture and finding out why our stuff from the boat still didn’t arrive in Germany and and…. Believe me: the life in the south seas was a lot more relaxing.

In beautiful AustriaAnd back in BerlinStreet artFirst day of school !

But compared to my last visit of Berlin where I was quite shocked by the ‘western civilisation’ – coming just from French Polynesia, this time it’s different. It probably is mostly owed to the fact that we all were very looking forward to being in Europe again, having access, money, a smart phone, running water, a fridge and shops that are around the corner instead of a one hour dinghy ride away. Despite all the stress, we all enjoy ourselves, are quite relaxed and happy with the city life.

Leaving the house early in the morning, excited and happyMy beautiful girls on the way to schoolThe welcoming of the first graders takes place in the historic cinema 'Babylon'.Every single new scholar is greeted by his teacher

Still, when I hear the wind shake the leaves I immediately search the sky for signs of bad weather, we don’t really know what to do with all the space in our appartment and all my clothes still fit into a cabinet too small to even qualify as a bedside locker. We enjoy seeing so many old friends and connecting with new people. The kids started school last week and although it’s a little tough for Bruno starting school in 3rd grade and in english, he does very well. Viola’s classes will officially start on monday and she cannot wait to finally go to a ‘real’ school. Heh.

The class 1cIn school...Playtime !Brain jogging

So on monday we’ll all leave home early in the morning… dropping the kids off at school and then I’ll be starting work in the office again. Funnily enough I also got a VERY interesting offer to deliver a yacht from Turkey to France. But I had to decline since all the other stuff going on didn’t make it seem clever to leave my family with all the chaos. But – hey – maybe again in spring ? Offers welcome !

Posted in Berlin, Coquito, Kids, LosLocos, Pics, Travel | 5 Comments

Arrived in dumpling-country

After 1.5 days in the airplane and endless airport-security fun we finally landed and were greeted by my parents who picked us up at Munich airport. We filled the car with our bags and drove to Austria where my sister already was waiting with a big meal including the famous austrian dumplings. Mmmmmh.

Arrived in Munich after 36 hours of flightThe family back togetherIn the car, on the way to Austriaand arriving at my parent's house

While the grown-ups were a big jet lagged, the kids had endless fun with their cousins and the brand new bikes they got. Today we’ll be at my grandmother’s place for a different kind of dumplings (with apricot inside). Hehehe. Later more…

First thing in the morning: getting fresh berries from the gardenAnd the kids get long awaited bicycles !Viola forgot how to ride a bike...but we're getting there.

 

Posted in Austria, Kids, Learning for life, LosLocos, Pics, Travel | 3 Comments

The last trip

Oh, the day finally has come. Today in the morning John and Nia from the SY Zeitgeist cast off our mooring lines and we left the beautiful anchorage in Brisbane centre. The timing was important because we wanted to catch the outgoing tide to sail down the 12nm to the river mouth and also because we wanted to arrive in Redcliffe during daylight.

Chillin' in the parkThe botanical garden - our garden for three weeks.Bruno at the playgroundViola in action

So we left at 10:45 with the high tide being at 11:20h. We sailed down through Brisbane in a beautiful, sunny but slightly cold day, took some fuel at the Rivergate Marina on the way out to the bay and started sailing just after noon. The weather was perfect: sunny and a steady 25-30 knots from WSW. We just flew up the bay and when initially we thought we would barely make it in daylight we actually arrived at 3:40h in the afternoon. Most of the time doing 7 to 7.5 knots with double reefed jib. Heh. Cool last sailing trip !

An Iguana in the middle of the cityNot afraid at all (both Gui and the Iguana)Shopping crazyness at Woolworth'sKangaroo meat (nice !)

In the marina (the second we entered in two years) it wasn’t too easy. We got a berth that was at the very end and in a small corner and maneuvering the 15t Suvarov into place took a few helping hands and long mooring lines over winches. But we made it !

Going to town with my beautiful ladySkyscrapers in BrisbaneIn the public libraryLast day at the moorings in the city

Now the Suvarov has reached her final destination, we’re in Scarborough Marina on jetty E1 and here she will stay until her next owner will take her out for a ride. Hopefully soon. And the los locos are emotionally a bit shaken and tired from packing and organizing all our stuff. But everything is in bags and suitcases and ready to go. Tomorrow we’ll clean the boat one last time and on wednesday at 2pm we take the plane to Bankok, then to Istanbul, then Munich. Yay !

Fast sailing in the Moreton Bayleaving Brisbane behindReally nice, really fast sailingRedcliffe, the final destination of the Suvarov

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Brunos third birthday on sea – and we start to move out

More than three years ago when we startet our voyage Bruno was just four years old. His very first birthday at sea we celebrated in Glowe on the german island of Ruegen, together with his best friend Victor. Now, his eight birthday we party in Brisbane, in the winter – but still barefeet and having a nice BBQ in the park.

Birthday cake with lots of berriesIn the parkExcitement !The gang

Together with our neighbours and their kids we have a big feast and only when we hardly can move anymore we start to walk back towards the botanical garden. But we go past it and into the city where the kids get a bag full of tokens and have endless fun at the arcade games. One hour they shout, shoot, steer and are excited without end. Then it’s time for cinema. We watch ‘How to train your dragon 2′ in 3D and of course it’s a huge success. After the cinema it’s only thanks to the endless sugar in their bodies that the kids can still walk back to the boat. It was a wonderful day and everyone falls into a deep sleep only minutes after arriving back at the boat.

at the gamesAnd Pacman also still exists !Moving our householdFirst of three dinghy runs

The Suvarov slowly get’s emptier. We packed nine boxes and filled them with endless books, kitchen stuff and Gui’s enormeous collection of fabrics for coquito. What’s still on bord has to go into our bags and on the plane. But we got an allowance of 120kg and 32kg of cabing luggage on top of that so that should do.

Posted in Kids, LosLocos, Pics, Suvarov | 10 Comments

The first days in Brisbane

The first days were cold. Incredibly cold ! We packed away all our warm stuff after the crossing of the Bay of Biscay – that was in August 2011. Nearly three years later now we search the boat for warm clothes and find long trousers, T-shirts made from wool with long sleeves and funny and colorful pipes that you can put on your feet. The kids find all that new stuff hillarious while the skipper tries not to remember the times, we had to use all those items.

The warm clothes come out after three years...Prepared for the coldAfter shopping at the 'big W'A little green in the city centre

Packed into our winter gear we enter Brisbane in search for more of these amazing ‘clothes’ and most importantly: shoes for the kids. Once equipped, we’re able to handle the temperature of Brisbane and our strolls through the centre and through these beautiful parks are more enjoyable.

The Suvarov moored at the botanical gardenBruno and Viola having fun in the parkYeah, that's really an AC/DC pinball machine !Winter bloom

We like the city. – Not that we prefer it to a tropical island but life is easy here. One can get high quality food around the clock and at every corner. Prices are higher of course and after filling one garbage bag during the 9 days of our crossing we can easily fill one a day now. Yay to the consumer-life.

Ella's pink ladyOcean going rowing boatThe tiniest ocean going vessel - for the *really* crazy ones !A vewi upriver from the footbridge at the botanical garden

Other than that we’re organizing the transport of our stuff, getting the boat ready to be left for sale with our agent, enjoying the company of John and Nia fron the SY Zeitgeist and spending endless hours using the fastest internet connection we had in years. Heh.

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A few more pics from Tanna / Vanuatu

A few more pictures that I couldn’t upload when we still were in Tanna. One of my favorites is Viola with the parrot. Enjoy !

Unser Ankerplatz in Port Resolution - 250 Jahre nach James CookDer 'Yacht Club'Zwei Holz-Statuen am Eingang zum DorfEin Teil des kleinen Dorfes

Ein neues Haus wird gebaut...100% Naturmaterialien, 100% recycling-faehigKosten: 0$ (alles waechst in der Umgebung), Dauer bis Fertigstellung: ca. 1 WocheFussball am Fusse des Vulkans

Riesiger Bayan Tree - wer versteckt sich da ?Haensel und Gretel ?Die Dorfschule wurde beschenkt mit zwei grossen Tueten Material aus dem Bauch der SuvarovClaus, Bruno und eine Backpackerin - unterwegs Richtung Yasur

Ein Arbeiter kommt uns aus dem Wald entgegenUnd hat einen bunten, zahmen Papagei mit dabeiDer fluestert Viola irgendwas charmantes ins OhrDie kleine Piratenbraut macht ganz auf lieb

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Volcanic activity

Yesterday the time has finally come and at noon we started to walk towards the volcanoe. The ‘road’ leads through thick, lush jungle and a few villages and after about 2-3 hours, we arrived at the entrance to the volcano national park. Our lucky kids got a ride up the volcanoe while Gui and me walked up. All the time with loud rumbling noises and while the floor starts to shake. The earth underneath us is alive !

After two hours of fast walking, we arrive at the entrnce to the volcano national parkThe last few hundered meters up the volcano, the kids hitch a rideThe end of the 'road' - at the slope of Mt. Yasurbeautiful little houses at the slope

The volcano was at the lowers activity level (1) but still – the show was breathtaking ! The noise and the lava that was thrown through the air, the smell, the whole scenery. Quite awesome. ’nuff said, enjoy the pics:

On the rim of the craterA first look into the craterFascinatedThe crater of Mt. Yasur

Everyone getting ready as the sun is settingGui on the edgeAs it gets darker, the activity becomes more visibleA 'blob' of basalt on the ground

Lavaimpressive show after darkExplosions and lava flying through the airA highlight of our long journey

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Tanna ! Wow !!

Crazy, crazy. It seems like an island out of a dream. Unreal. Too beautiful, too exotic. I don’t know where to start… we’ve only been here for a little more than a day. I’m still overwhelmed. And we haven’t even seen the volcano yet ! So… what happened ?

Mont Yusur, while sailing past the coast of TannaClosing in on Port Resolution, Mont Yusur as seen from the eastThe SY Kira and the SY Suvarov meeting for the first time (Tanna, Port ResolutionTraditional outrigger canoe at the beach

Well, our friends from the SY Elhaz said hello and goodbye and left for Port Vila – which made us quite sad. But next morning the SY Kira arrived and we had a good, long breakfast together that continued into a mid-day feast, followed by a walk through the village and a swim on one of the most gorgeous beaches we’ve seen so far. When the sun started to set behind the volcanoe, we brought Gui and the kids to the boat. The men were invited to drink kava with the villagers. People in Tanna are strict followers of the ‘Kastom’ and thus: no women allowed.

Traditional outrigger canoe at the beachThe bay is popular and the villagers have established a restaurant. Heh.local housingHey, SY Thor: Is that really necessary ? ;-)

Der Strand auf der Sued-Ost SeiteWhat a beach ! What colors !!mit Claus am StrandThe ladies going for a walk

All the grown up males gather on a little place in the village and start to prepare the kava by chewing the roots, spitting it in banana leaves , rinsing it with water and finally pouring the brown/greyish liquid in a little coconut shell. The kava here is a lot stronger than in Fiji as it is made from fresh roots and the traditional way. We enjoyed the ritual and the quietness that falls over the village after the first round of cava bowls went around. The sounds are from the waves and the wind to our back and endless zykades in the front, the sound of small, red glowing fires all around and a lot of loud slurping and spitting. The sky is full of stars, no bright lights disturbing our vision. We are welcome in the village and together with our friend Claus with whom we started the voyage three years ago. What a dream !

And although we’re anchored in one of the most historic places (James Cook went ashore in this bay, approx. 230 years ago) we’ve found internet: connected via bluetooth and mobile phone. Slow but steady…

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Flowers at the market

The colors, the odors, the beauty. Come with me to the market of Port Vila:

Nelumbo nucifera: the wonderful lotus flowerThe lotus 'fruits'Different arrangementUnreal... but that's how they grow !

The flower lady and some customersBeauty in the shadowjust beautifulThese flowers we often found in the jungle

More flowersThe market... I love these woven basketsMy beautiful girlin the market

Bruno found his favourite petyellow eyesViola is also too happy......but the crying, because she can't keep the lizard.

…oooh yeah. And I miss my good Pentax camera ! The photos could be so much better with decent equipment. Well, well…

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The Cabo Verde islands in the south pacific

We’ve only been here in Vanuatu for a few days and we have not seen anything beside Port Vila, the capital: for sure not the nicest part of the islands. BUT we’re absolutely amazed ! These islands are awesome ! We’re absolute fans of Vanuatu !! It’s soo much more relaxed than Fiji, it’s cheap, the weather is wonderful, the place is perfect. The people are cool, the men wear beards and hats and everybody tries to decorate himself with a touch of green/yellow/red for some rastafari look. It feels like being in Cabo Verde or Barbados. Really cool. I can’t wait to see more of this country…. It seems on saturday the wind will calm down a little and turn to the east, that should give us a good window to sail down to Tanna which is in the south-east, approx. 130nm from here.

Gui findet einen zahmen Iguana in Port VilaEin ganz zahmerViola beim Haarewaschenlittle punky princess

In the meantime Gui managed to get her visa for Australia – in record time ! I filled all necessary papers and sent them so we’re ready to leave – legally. And also we had first contacts with people – mostly from France – who are interested in buying the Suvarov. Everything seems to be going in a good direction.

The anchorage towards the northPort Vila - seen from the mastSoon, we'll be sitting in one of those again...Historische Motorboot-Schoenheit

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From Fiji to Vanuatu

So that now was our second to last trip with the Suvarov, ey ? It was a nice one, I have to admit. For the first time in a year we had pleasant, nearly perfect wind on that journey. And although the swell made the ride a bit bumpy in the beginning, we did quite well. We logged 131, 126, 122 and 127 nautical miles daily and the whole trip of 545nm took us just a bit more than 100 hours.

Ein letzter Blick zurueck auf die Inseln von FijiWir suchen uns eine Oeffnung und verlassen die LaguneKraeftiger Schwell sorgt fuer Kreuzsee, aber auch fuer traumhafte Wellen im Surfer-Paradies Fiji.Bruno and Viola planen ihr zukuenftiges Zimmer in Berlin

We also were quite lucky: we arrived in Port Vila at night but with good weather. The next day it started to rain heavily (we topped up the water tank in less than one hour !) and we had wind quite above 30 knots. Good timing !

So it seems we’re stuck in Port Vila for a few days since our next trip to Tanna is against the wind and I don’t want to head out into rough seas…

Die Kinder verwandeln den Salon in einen Spielplatz......und machen riesen Chaos. - Als ob bei dem Seegang nicht schon genur in der Gegend rumfliegt !Die Windsteuerung hab ich auch mittlerweile gut im Griff und sie steuert nahezu perfekt.Und das neu lackierte Deck ist mir eine echte Freude !

But right now I’m still waiting for the quarantine officer to come on board. It seems he’s busy with the cruise ship that entered that morning and keeps us waiting. Gui and the kids are on land, visiting the immigration office and later the Australian Embassy fur Gui’s visa.

Posted in Kids, LosLocos, Pics, Sailing, Suvarov, Travel | 4 Comments

Haul out and splash in less than one week

After our short break in Malolo Lailai (aka ‘Musket Cove’) our friends from the Time Lord had to leave. They wanted to haul out at Vuda Marina to check the hull for defects. We stayed for one more night but were too bored without the lovely norwegian family and decided to follow. First we made a little stop in front of Denarau where we dropped the anchor in 3m water in front of the Hilton Hotel. Next day we drove via Nadi to the Airport where I finally could get DHL to pick up my passport in Australia and deliver it to Fiji. Next day we left already to sail towards the Vuda Marina just a few miles to the north.

The gang: Viola, Jack, Ivi, Bruno. Ech one more lovely than the other.The Suvarov getting out of the waterBruno entertaining the workers while the skipper removes the windgenerator (that is in the way)Our home for 6 days. The Suvarov on the dry.

So finally we found ourselves in a marina – for the first time in … two years ! And man is that crowded here !! No space to breathe ! But as there also were ‘the french’ from the SV Elhaz in the marina and all the kids had so much fun together, we decided to stay for a few days. But on the hard: there is more room between the boats :-) and of course because we wanted to paint fresh antifouling. So we ended up in the travel lift and found ourselves again right next to the SV Time Lord.

Our poor friends found they had a lot to do on their boat: Huge parts of the hull had to be cut out. The previous owners never took care of the rust and so it developed to a point where the only solution is to just cut out and weld new pieces in. But a few weeks of grinding, welding and a sand blast later and the ship should be in good shape again.

Painting, painting, painting. The whole family at work (Viola doing the pics)The Skipper and the paint can: best friends.Bruno in extreme concentrationThe capitana happy to be nearly finished for today

In the mean time we cleaned our hull, grinded the old antifouling away, put two new layers of primer and new antifouling. I used a pressure washer to remove all that loose paint our previous owner put on deck, then took care of some rust and finally put three coats of primer on top. But sadly my immigration permit expires on the 7th of May (yes, today) and so we have to leave Fiji….  More infos to follow in a few days.

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Easter at Malolo Lailai

These last few days we spent together with Thomas, Susanne, Ivi and Jack from the SY Time Lord at the island of Malolo Lailai. One of the better places we’ve seen in a long time. Not soo much because the of it’s beauty – although most people will agree that it’s a 100% awesome, tropical island. For our liking it’s a bit too much on the touristic side. But it’s because of the Muscet Cove Resort that is totally geared towards sailors, that we like it so much. The former owner of the resort supposedly was a keen sailor himself.

So as a yottie you can anchor, pick up a mooring or go into the little harbor where you moore stern-to. There’s a little shop, showers, toilets and a bar on the little island at the end of the jetty. At the bar one can use the two gas barbequeues and the resort even provides for dishes – as long as one consumes an occasional beverage at the bar.

The Musket Cove Resort with the little marine and BBQ-island in the back.The jetty and the BBQ/bar-islandIn the cockpit of the SY Time LordIn Cloud 9 ;-)

The resort has a nice (saltwater) pool, there are lots of other kids around and in the evening the staff organizes a childrens dinner, followed by a cinema evening. So while the grown ups have a good time on the BBQ-island, the little ones have endless fun at the resort and in the evening all four kids sleep together on the Time Lord.

The bar at the reef - 'Cloud 9'The kids having funNonsense at the bow, coming back to the anchorageLittle crazy people...

With the Suvarov we made a little excursion towards the outer reef where the bar ‘Cloud 9′ is to be found. A floating, little heaven for surfers who enjoy the close by surf spots. Today our friends from Norway had to leave, to haul out at Vuda Point marina and do maintenance on the ship. Hopefully they can finish the work in time so we can sail out together in two weeks…

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