After breakfast we immediately leave and it should become one of the most amazing sailing days in my life. We tack 52 miles towards north in between the islands and sometimes only have a few shiplengths to maneuver. Really exciting  – and challenging to navigate.

The Skerries get more beautiful as we go north and although most of the islands seem empty, one can find hidden little (or not so little) houses hidden in between the rocks on most of them. We are very happy to have met John with his SY Josin, a very well outfitted Ballad 30 . He is a very experienced sailor and gave us many tips for our trip of which all have been absolut marvelous so far.

On the island Koster we actually wanted to celebrate Bruno’s 16th birthday and go out for dinner but it seems like the whole island is closed. The only thing open are the footpaths – everything else is closed. And I thought it would be big party as it’s midsummer today ? – But the swedish people will celebrate on the next weekend it seems. Well. We cook and Bruno blows out the candles and next day it’s sailing again. We don’t have much time as we should be in Bergen on the 30.6. and that’s not too much time.

So we’re really happy that the light wind that was predicted actually blows with nearly 20 knots. Going against with a 30ft boat is not too comfortable but on the other side we’re doing 7 knots and arrive in Risør, Norway at eight in the evening.

The little town is really beautiful with it’s white wooden houses. – We’ll stay for a day as the wind will continue to blow from SW. Tomorrow it’ll be better and we’ll continue our way towards south Norway…

Since the way to the fjords is long and the wind is usually not in the right direction, we decided to split the trip in three legs. The first one to Gothenborg I’ll do with my old friend Wolfgang who also came with us across the Atlantic back in 2011. The second part from Gothenborg to Bergen, Norway I will do with Bruno who just turned 16 ! Then, once in Bergen Gui will join us with the two small ones, Moana and Kilian. Viola will join us later in Stavanger where Bruno will fly back to Berlin.

We headed out of Stralsund on the 8th of June with wonderful blue skies and light wind from southerly directions. As the wind was absolutely perfect, we decided not to stop for the night but keep sailing through the Øresund until we want to stop. We slid under the huge Öresund bridge right after sunrise and were pushed northwards with a steadily increasing current.

In the evening of the second day the wind went to zero. – So we pulled into a tiny fishing harbour called Skallbroken for the night.

Next day we encountered our first Skerries and also met some seals sunbathing on them. After a beautiful day sailing, we anchored behind the little skerry called Öckerö.

The last day we sailed into Gothenborg with a wonderful blue sky and perfect wind. Here the trip ended for Wolfgang and I did a bit of work on the boat (and in the “homeoffice”) while I waited for Bruno’s arrival on the 18.6.

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.

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.

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

I’ll start from the beginning: Last weekend it finally happened that two cruising families who know each other since ages via Email, Skype and Facebook get to meet each other in meatspace. I’m talking about the crew of the SY Ironlady or nowadays SY Marlin. Even before we began our own journey, I’ve been a keen reader of their blog and the first book they wrote about their own journey with kids: ‘Meer als ein Traum‘ was the trigger for us to go sailing. So finally we met in Flensburg to get to know each other and go on a little sailing trip with their amazing new yacht. The weekend was exhausting but totally beautiful and just as expected the kids immediately connected to each other and off they went blabbering in three different languages, running around with the dog, chasing sheep or producing chaos on bord. The big ones enjoyed the (chilly) breeze on their faces, the sea, the moving of the yacht – in one word: sailing. It was gorgeous. And hopefullly not the only meeting.

Back in Berlin, I immediately prepare to leave again. This time the journey is a little longer. Destination: Brisbane, Australia. Our ship the Suvarov has been in Redcliffe for several months but the plan to sell her with the help of a broker didn’t really work out. That’s why I chose to fly around the globe to tidy her up and take it in our own hands. I’ve just got two weeks but it should be possible to find a new owner – or at least a cheaper place to leave the boat.

After 1.5 days of air travel, Brisbane welcomes me with tropical-moist, warm air just after midnight. I take a cab to Redcliffe where our marina is located. Luckily everything worked out as planned and I find the deposited security token and our ship’s keys – I get onboard without having to climb fences or getting wet. Heh. On bord no surprises (good !!): everything is in it’s place, no bad stench, no little animals. Without searching, I find the lights in the dark. I sit down while my surroundings together with the ship’s smell remind me of past adventures and places. The soft hissing of the wind generator takes me away to lonely anchorages in the south seas… a torrent of emotions start to break down on me. Despite the exhausting journey I can’t sleep and start to search for a drink. Finally I find an old hip flask with some Whiskey in it. I grab it and sit down at the bow where I immediately catch sight of the constellation Scorpion….

Eventually my eyes get tired and I fall asleep having crazy dreams. I wake up as a tropical shower pours down on deck and I run through the ship to close windows and hatches. When viewed in daylight I can see a few little specks of rust here and there but nothing essential. Actually a lot less than I imagined. One fender lost it’s air but otherwise I cannot find any defects. In the afternoon I walk through the little town to get some groceries and have a look at the nearby beach. Back on board I start the engine which comes to life on the first turn – just as if we’d been getting into harbour yesterday. I’m amazed how well the Suvarov has taken the six months without maintenance. Hopefully a potential buyer will also notice. Tomorrow – hopefully halfway recovered from the jetlag, I’ll start working…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 !

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…

Now we’re left with four still quite big but legal pieces of hand luggage and wait for the plane…. Phew !! One step further… Although the whole last days still didn’t really sink in and everyone is running around with their feet in the air. It’s gonna take a few days for us to really comprehend what’s happening with us. But… all well. We’re on the way !! In ninety minutes we’ll hopefully be in the air above Brisbane and on our way to Bangkok.

Ok here comes: From Tanna, around NewCal towards Brisbane we travelled a total of 1238nm and it took us 219 hours to do that. This gives an awesome average speed of 5,70 knots ! Top speed (with a wave pushing from behind) was 9.9kn. The daily logs (24hours from noon to noon) were: 141, 144, 150, 126, 136, 142, 125, 130 and 123nm.

The wind on average came from SE with a force of 5. Minimum of S2 and maximum of S9 (measured: 42 knots). We never met more ships than on this trip. Out on the open ocean we met two fishing vessels, two tankers and one cruise ship. And during the approach to Brisbane we met another six ships. The drive up the river was a whole different story. We that we have stayed on tropical islands for these last years and never saw a real city… now suddenly we have to navigate a river with speed ferries zomming in and out, hundereds of ships anchored everywhere, buoys, moorings, jetties…. a lot of current. And everything is so bright ! And the eyes as well as the skipper who hasn’t slept the last 48 hours are a bit overwhelmed… But everything goes well, we find a nice spot to anchor and sleep the best sleep ever. The one of sailors who arrive in a safe harbour after a rough trip.

Oh. And I’ve got a little video too. It’s a bit boring but sailors might enjoy it anyways…

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:

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.

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…

Also this post marks the end of internet: in the next days and weeks on our final travel to Brisbane, Australia we will only be connected with shortwave radio. So no pictures in the upcoming days. – Sorry…

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…

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.

Of course some of you will try to encourage us to stay and I really appreciate it but be assured: It was not an easy decision. And somehow we wished we could continue. But the time is not the right one. We’ve been sailing three years, crossed two oceans, lost one yacht, had many adventures, met wonderful people and were able to see and live in the amazing beauty of the South Pacific. It’s a good time to stop.

We also searched for ways to continue our travel or fast routes to sail back to Europe but nobody on board really wants to cross the Indian ocean and even less the Atlantic from south to north with very few and short landfalls in between. We all miss our family and friends a lot and – it has to be mentioned: Since our shipwreck we always have been very short on money which sometimes complicated things.

Soon we’ll try to go back in our previous lives but not quite yet: We still have some weeks left and want to visit Tikopia in the Solomon Islands and climb the volcanoes of Vanuatu. Later we probably will end up in Australia which seems to be the best place to sell a boat in the Pacific.

And just as we made up our mind, the South sea throws this unbelievable gorgeous island called Yanuca in our way. Together with the family from the SY Time Lord we’re the only souls around. The kids wander off and disappear for hours looking for crabs on the beach and investigating a lost resort hidden by the palm trees. We snorkel in the crystal clear water, see turtles and sharks. Dolphins swim and jump in the bay and in the evening we have a wonderful camp fire on the beach. And to top it all off, we experience a rare ‘blood moon’ as we return to our boats.

But still, today in the afternoon we’ll pull the anchor out of the coral sand and sail through the night towards the western islands. We try to reach Malolo Leilei (what a name !) in the morning and probably stay there for a week to celebrate easter and Violas 6th birthday.

Suva being the largest city in the tropical south Pacific is home to 50% of all escalators – namely: two ! There is also three or four traffic lights and a cinema. And today I will wander off to see ‘Rio 2′ with the kids.  Heh. After stocking up a little, we’ll probably be out on sea in a few days, visiting the island of Benga and finally arriving in Malolo Leilei where we plan to celebrate easter and (even more) Viola’s sixth birthday.

Also we made a huge decision and have changed our long term plans but more on that in an upcoming blog post.

They arrived yesterday, coming from Singapore and we immediately left Savusavu and dropped anchor in front of the Costeau Resort to go snorkeling. Their first impression is – well – quite good. Or rather: both were pretty speechless when they first dipped their heads under water.

And that’s just the beginning. Tomorrow we’ll continue to explore the local reef and it’s little fish and plentiful corals. If the weather holds up as promised, we’ll be sailing to Namena on Saturday. There the two will be shown the true, untouched beauty of tropical sealife. Expect some nice pics on our return !

After I did a lot of testing, the final changes I made was to replace two more hoses, clean and polish the old waterpump, getting two new impellers (also for the bilgepumpe !) and finally connecting both pumps in parallel to increase the waterflow through the engine. And it seems to work as during the last test-trip from Savusavu to the Resort, the engine DID NOT overheat ! Ok. I was only putting along with 1500 revs but still. Also one has to take the water temperature into account and that settled at amazing 31˚C (!!) during the last weeks ! With that temperature, all watercooled gadgets will run into slight problems. I borrowed a nice infrared-thermometer from Dieter and now I could verify that the engine indeed doesn’t overheat: After running for one hour, the cylinderhead measured 62˚C and the water coming from the exhaust 52˚C. All good.

And as usual: when one thing is repaired, the next one will break. Our next patient is just beside the engine in the bilge: the watermaker suddenly wouldn’t build up any pressure. I suspected a seized valve which I took out and restored. Then the pre-pumpe wouldn’t start anymore so now I have to figure out how to get all the air out of the system. Well, well… next project.

In the mean time the rainy season went into action and the first cyclone ‘Ian’ (upgraded to category 5) missed Fiji and went over Tonga. Right now the storm is heading south where it will disappear over colder waters. The next one is just about to form in between Vanuatu and New Caledonia while here in Fiji the weather slowly returns to ‘normal’.

The kids have a lot of fun walking through the forest and the hightlight-  the bath in the cool, fresh water will not end. One can actually swim through the two little pools and go right under the fall itself. Where the water is quiet, in the little ponds the kids collect prawns – which they set free again after a while. (Too small to eat. ;-)

After a extensive picknick we start walking back. When we reach the road, we call for a cab which will take about 40 minutes to get here. As the sun burns down on us and we see a river nearby, we climb down and follow the creek until we reach deeper water. Another nice, cool bath, yay !

It was a really nice little trip  – we should do that more often. Well – now that my engine project is on hold, I guess we’ll get out of the dreaded anchorage more often…

Nah – not really. We will putter down to the main wharf and clear out of Tonga alright but tonight we’ll still spend one more night around the corner in a quiet anchorage. Tomorrow during the day, we’ll set sails and go to Fiji.

So here are some more pictures for you, taken in the ‘main town’ of Vavau: Neiafu.

Also we’ll be without internet of course and have only our SSB connection. But we should be back online beginning next week when we arrive in SavuSavu.

On our way towards Tonga we ran into a front / through. As the thing really looked weird on our weather maps we prepared ourselfes for the worst – and pretty much got it. Luckily for us, the storm hit during daylight which is a lot less freightening than having strong winds in the pitch black night. Lucky for you too as you get some scary pictures (and maybe a video later on).

The front was clearly visible in the morning after breakfast and when it hit, the wind turned 180 degrees and increased to about 40 knots at which it stayed pretty much all day. After a few hours, the sea picked up and nearing the end of the storm we had waves reaching well above five meters. Despite the rough seas we still did 4-5 knots, going against the wind with the main and genoa in the third reef.

Slightly further south it was even worse. We heard of yachts that encountered more than 50 knots of wind just 50 miles south of our position.

The damage: one genoa sheet was nearly shaved through and again we made lots of water. The most of it in the lazarette but not as much as previously in the living quarters. The sunbrella cover of our Genoa was already slightly damaged from all the flapping during the light wind sailing and the storm did some additional damage. But it’s already down and we gave it to the local sailmaker to re-stitch it. It should be fine again in one or two days. We had to use the autopilot for a few minutes while we put in another reef. Although it usually keeps the course quite well it managed to do a jibe (!!) while we were sailing on the wind. A jibe with 40 knots is not very nice and it tore out the stopper of the track of the main sheet. But that I can also repair easily. The culprit seems to be a faulty connection on the autopilot computer – a common fault, we learned. I’ll look into that during the next days too.

Compared to the other boats that came into harbour during the next days, we did pretty well. Other boats had their sails completely torn, blocks destroyed, hailyards snapped, etc. I don’t like cleaning the boat after an incident like that but if that’s all – I can live with it. And of course we will again improve and try to stop some more leaks that we found on hatches, vents, etc.

To reach Vanuatu in time we would have needed stable wind conditions all the way and even without that low it would have been quite tight. So we again changed our plans, stick around here until the weekend and then we’ll sail towards Tonga. I guess the change is not for the worst as it somehow felt wrong to skip past those beautiful islands.

Of course we also discuss what we’ll gonna do for the Cyclone season but I guess it’s too early to write about it. You know…. plans can change…

The dinghy is on deck, everything prepared, the tanks are full… Now we’re having lunch and then we’re off.

I don’t want to write about Europe right now. I’ve started getting my thoughts on paper but it’s so crazy, the life here has so little to do with the life we live in Polynesia, it’s really hard to even find things to compare. But I’m 100% happy to be with my family again and it feels good to see all friends after two years. Speaking of: there’s someone weaiting for me, I’ve gotta go.

The evenings I spent on the internet looking for spare parts and stuff we need, organizing the trip and trying to get in touch with friends. Oh I hope, somehow I could manage to see them all. So anyway, my schedule is Berlin for the first days, then to my family in Austria. The third week of May I should be back in Berlin from where I leave on the 21st towards our home in French Polynesia.

The trip with the speed ferry only takes a little more than half an hour and we get picked up by car. The ride along the coastline has some magnificent views and we soon enter cook bay and continue towards the center of the island. Here we pick up the birthday girl and her sister Heilani who spent the day at a horse ranch. The energy of the soon to be 12 year old seems to be endless as we first drop her off at the jazz dance class before we finally get to their beautiful little house. The garden is typical for the area and has mangos, papayas, bananas and of course cocos and underneath all that green we see chicken and rabbits enjoying themselves. The weekend on the ‘countryside’ is a perfect change for us as we finally stop thinking about the Rancho Relaxo but have endless talks or (try) to repair an old motorcycle.

The time passes rapidly and sunday in the evening we’re back in Tahiti. Monday morning we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by the amazing number of TWO austrian ships: The ‘Chi’ arrived from the Tuamotus and the ‘Optimist’ came back from Moorea to do some last minute repairs before finally leaving for Fiji.

We’ve talked to many people, asked for prices and looked at used masts but it seems to be a fact: The Rancho Relaxo can not be repaired by us. We have tried to be as objective as possible but in the end that’s really difficult. The Rancho Relaxo is not just an object but our home and we had many thrilling and beautiful moments together. Saying good bye will be incredibly hard but a repair would cost us more than we could expect to ever get back by later selling the boat. After all we try to see the positive side of this: The market for used boats is really bad right now and we’re what you could call at the end of the world. So it is right here that we have actually good chances to find a new yacht. This and the financing of this new boat is what we were focussing the last days. And in both areas there have been extremely positive developments !
It seems quite surreal but only two weeks ago we were on the reef and thought that we would loose everything. Now it seems as if we will continue our journey with a new boat in the next year. This is possible because we have the support of both our families and they not just approve of our lifestyle but encourage us to finish what we started. Many friends helped us and want us to continue our journey. And that is exactly what we will do, although it will not be with the Rancho Relaxo of the Seas – and it will mean more work for us in the future. But that should not take the fun out of it and we are extremely happy about these amazing developments of the last days !!

So we took the bus around midday and arrived at Pirae at 13h. We walked past the village and asked our way through towards the Belvedere, a small restaurant at 700m where the actual trail will start.

It took us quite some time to get there and the walk on the paved road was quite exhausting but once on the trail I removed the shoes and we finally walk through nature. One of the better things is to walk barefoot and feel the moist, stony, muddy ground. The beginning of the trail follows along the side of a valley until it reaches the ridge on which it stays for quite some while. Actually most part of the trail is right ON the ridge with both sides being quite steep and usually leading a few hundered meters down.

Just before nightfall we reached the first hut on 1400m and we had a nice dinner with Couscous, vegetables, soup and coffee. The night was chilly and windy and we were glad that the backpack Zac got from the SY Ustupu would fit perfectly into the empty windowframe. That way it was much more comfortable and after having fun with our headlamps and the long-exposure mode of the camera, we slept until eight in the morning.

On the second day we continued our way up through the clouds and a wild, dripping wet rainforest full of fern trees and with everything covered with moss and lichen (old man’s beard). The air is damp and completely saturated and the scene might change on the next corner after which we might find ourselves out of the clouds and surrounded with pine trees and walking on dry grass.

After a short stop at the hut on 1800m we leave our backpacks and continue towards the summit. The path gets slightly more difficult and we reach the peak shortly after midday. A little snack and a few photos later we’re already on our way down where we soon again find ourselves surrounded by the clouds. Unfortunately those are now over-saturated and it starts to rain around us. It will continue to be wet until we reach the end of the footpath.

That of course means that a big part of the hike downwards is quite slippery and gets very tricky as much of the ground is composed of red clay. But we reach the Belvedere just before sunset and are very lucky to get a ride down to the village. And as we already know the polynesian way, we’re not surprised as one of the guys who is riding with us in the back of the pickup truck offers to get us to the marina. He just has to get back home and get his own car. The local people are extremely friendly and helpful and are not shy to drive two dirty, sweaty aliens around the island.

All of the above photos were made by Zachary Shane Orion Lough. You can find more pictures on his website.

And it was a good decision ! The camping site was wild and lonesome – the beach of Puerto Chino is completely isolated and we had it all for ourselves. Only us, plenty of animals and the sea that smashed it’s waves onto the beach. The most beautiful music to fall asleep.

The kids had lots of fun with the white/grey sand and with the big waves that were fun to play with. We climbed the small hill nearby, searched the surroundings for animals and watched the pelicans feed their young ones.

On the way to the beach we climbed up the volcano and saw the lagoon in it’s crater and we visited the station where they care for the giant turtles. On the way back we stopped at a giant tree with a house in it’s twigs. – There is also another room down in between the roots. One has to climb down a ladder through a hole. The kids loved it ! – And we had a great weekend AND Gui could test her surf board. More pics on that in another blog post…

We pay a visit to a beauty saloon and the captain looses about 0.5kg of hair and looks like a human again. Viola also gets a haircut and her nails done and Gui enjoys a pedicure. Now we go back to the hotel and have a nice dinner together with Gui’s father.

Next day we start our search for a competent optican to get new optical sunglasses for me. The last pair, I got anew in the canaries but lost them while crossing the Atlantic ocean. As we’re already here, the kids also get their eyes tested and everything is ok !

The city itself we don’t like too much. Although we used to live in big cities the last years, right now we’re quite overwhelmed by the noise, the dirt and the stress in this city. Ok, we didn’t visit the nicer parts of Panama City but still, I’d rather do without air conditioning but hear the birds sing and the monkeys howl in the djungle, instead of the constant honking in the city. The traffic is actually quite amazing: Despite us being quite used to the latin american way of driving, the way the buses plow through the streets is still frightening. It’s a fight for every place at the traffic light and people in smaller cars better stay behind, otherwise they’ll loose…

Back in the marina, we meet Dieter and Silke from the Tamora, who felicitously prepare for their passage tomorrow. I’ll be on their ship as a line handler and Gui will go with the Kira on the same day. The kids will spend two days on the SY Mares in the mean time. Beside the Mares is a free space now: Laura Decker also took her SY Guppy into the Pacific. And I’m reading on the web that our friends from the Hitch-Hike-Heidi started their voyage back across the Atlantic. The Roede Orm reached the mainland of Europe again and the Chiloe is about 600nm away from Uruguay.

Well, we aren’t in the capital but still – Hhe drove very well and quite save. The other cars are cautious because the whole area around the marina is a big holiday-village with lots of golf cars driving around. So we got one of these electro-golfcars for ourselves and Bruno squeezed himself behind the stering wheel, replacing the captain and rode with us through the countryside and on the streets of ‘Casa de Campo’.

In the afternoon, Gui called us on the VHF. She left the marina at 04:30h in the morning to go to Santo Domingo where she received her visa for the U.S. (finally !) Thus Bruno drove us back to the marina, we picked up Gui and went to Alto de Chavón where we had a pizza and a beautiful view of the river. Of course he didn’t go straight but found a few ‘shortcuts’ through the field. Hehehe.

Oh .- and Altos de Chavón is actually not a real medieval village but was built in the 80ies. But still very nice.

Ah – and in the morning, the captain once more put on the diaper-shoes and cleaned the bilge. One of my favourite occupations.

Then it was downhill for quite a while, passing strange plants. I was just saying to Gui: “Look at that strange trees, they have yellow leaves.” When it came to me. Aaah ! There still is that thing with seasons. – It’s autumn !! *Pfew* Somehow we already ARE a little disconnected with central Europe, it seems. Then we saw another strange thing: A paddle-cactus-tree. Never saw such a plant – and actually I learned that it’s a highly endangered species and ususally only to be found on the Galapagos Islands.

Having arrived in the south, we payed a visit to the Hitch-Hike-Heidi which we last saw in Aveiro (Portugal). The kids had fun without end and the grownups had an endless chat. It was wonderful but way to short. We hope to meet again in Cabo Verde.

Yesterday there wasn’t much happening – but we got a visitor: Klaus from the Kira arrived to meet his parents. And since it was logistically better, he used the ferry to come over from Tenerife. He’ll spend two nights on board the Rancho Relaxo after which Tim will arrive with the Kira.

Today we had big construction works on our ship: five kids were playing Lego. Unfortunately I forgot to document the creations – but I was just too engaged.

On the way back towards the south we picked up Oskar who was windsurfing near the beach. Unfortunately we were a little too late and could not see him jumping the waves… But there’s a nice youtube video if you’d like to see what windsurfing can look like.

We were back at the ship in the late afternoon where my parents spent the day with Viola, Bruno and Oscar. Together they collected more wood so we could have a nice bonfire on our last evening together.

North of Santa Cruz we spent the afternoon at the beach trying the new watersport gadgets (masks, snorkels, skimboard) while we let the time pass. I was at the boatshop to get my ordered parts and then – well then I got the call from Gui that the plane could not leave Buenos Aires and she’ll try to get on to another plane soon. Hmmm. Ok. Tomorrow we’ll give it another try.

We spent the whole day in the park and also watched the shows of the Dolphins, Orcas and sea lions which were quite good.

On the other side – I can’t wait to see many of those animals in their natural habitat (no, not the sharks and orcas !) After the park we were at Dekathlon (a big shop for sport stuff) and got snorkeling equipment. Hehehe.

So we were driving with the car around the island and I have to say: it’s really one of the best things to happen to this island that the architect Cesar Manrique persuaded the government to disallow the construction of high buildings and the ban of billboards. So you only see nice little villages with white, cubic buildings. And I guess – hundreds – of roundabouts with flowers and cacti.

The destination of our cruise was Puerto del Carmen, where we were invited by Heidi und Udo – friends of Markus. And so it happened that when the sun set we found ourselves in a beautiful green oasis in the midst of black volcano slopes. The garden – which consists of hundreds of plants, a playground, small guesthouses, a pool and much more is setup like a labyrinth with little caves and walls made of volcanic stone. One is surprised that it took (only) 16 years of work to build that wonderful place with it’s many little details and I won’t even start about the house itself or the music-cave or the appartments. It’s just amazing. So after an extended tour through the garden of eden we’ve had barbequeue, endless chats – and for the kids a box of Lego. Truly a perfect last evening on Lanzarote !

To see more pictures (or make a reservation for an apartment), please have a look at the website of Heidi and Udo !

Having arrived, one thing immediately strikes the eye: About 50% of the people roaming these ancient streets have sore feet and either ski poles or long wooden sticks in their hand. Ah ! Claro – the crusaders ! (Or something similar…) Anyway. We immediately went into that famous big church and made many pictures of important historical figures, when Bruno, wo always has to explain everything whishpers into Viola’s ear: ‘You know – this once was a big circus !’ It was quite hard to retain the composure after that. My personal highlight: You know that little candles that you can inflame – a very romantic gesture to lost friends or family. Well those candles are ELECTRIC here and they switch on for a few hours when you put a coin in a box. See – the church is modern after all. Hehehe.

If we’re going touristic, we do it 100% so we hop onto one of those little trains and chug for an hour through that old city. There are maaaany orthopaedists here. Ah – I’ve already mentioned the thing with the sore feet… After a little break with some Jamón, Queso and cerveza, we miss the second to last bus towards the coast and have to run to catch the very last one. So in the end, we also got our part of hot feet.

Today I’m happy about the maaaany emails from family, friends and also some (until now) unknown blog-readers. That’s something that is really motivating: To get some comments and emails now and then. Otherwise one really get’s the feeling of writing the blog for oneself – despite the statistics telling a different thing.

And now we go (in that order) for a shower, shopping, picking up or new main sail and finally anchor-up. Where we go ? We don’t know exactly. But the next planned stop will be at the Islas Cies just outside Vigo. Internet access we’ll probably have again in Portugal… Sounds like few serene days are ahead.

In the following picture you can see our next destination – Spain (veeeery far in the background). Hehehehe.

Also we should use the beach-tramway for a trip along the coast. It goes all the way from the Netherlands down to France and connects all those cities along the sea. For only 5 Euros one can go and hop on and off as one likes.  – Could – as we will actually put to sea again tomorrow. It will be the last day with a suitable wind and we want to use it for our leg towards Dunkerque in France. From there we’ll cross towards England. An although the trip will be short – roughly 35 seamiles – plenty of shallows and the tide will make it interesting enough.

Also we’ll use the stopover in France to replentish our stores with beautiful french wine, cheese and lots of other goodies. You know – we’ll soon enter the culinary desert and although I’ll survive on Guinnes and baked beans, my family has to bring something so stay alive. Hehehe.

So if someone wants to meet up with me: Call me on my mobile, I’ll be free on monday afternoon ’til late night as I’ll stay until tuesday. – And it doesn’t matter how the exam turns out: I’ll have lots of beer. Hehehehe.

After our daily visit to the hospital, we went for a stroll with Viola’s beloved Ponies and watched the wind gusts drive the sand of the beach through the air.

In the last pic you can see our current home: the harbour of Glowe. It’s nice here ! – Really. The beach is beautiful and at least 10km long ! Although it’s a bit windy these days.

We found ourselves with crying kids and a wrecked car in the middle of nowhere… But the kids soon calmed themselves and the police and the tow truck soon arrived. The situation was resolved as this: In front of the truck was another truck and in front of that was an Audi Q7 that was somehow pissed off by that truck driver so he cut in front of it and slowed him down. The truck behind the Q7 was only going about 40km/h (!!) while the second truck (the one in front of us) arrived with 85km/h and had to switch lanes and jump on the brakes and that was when we got crushed…

But in the end nobody was hurt – the car is still somewhere in south Germany and we arrived in Berlin at about four in the morning – driving a new Mini Cooper. The driver of the Audi Q7 actually escaped – but the police is searching for him.

Bye, bye Machina – we had a lot of fun together. Have a good time in car-heaven – you’ve deserved it !!

Well, we had the most wonderful time in Argentina. Nice meat, saucages, cheese from the Barrilla, many hours in the pool, lots of nature and silence. Beautiful nights with a sky full of starts. During the day Campari Soda, building an Arcade Joystick for Gioco, Building little ships out of bamboo, etc.

Now that I’m back in Berlin and alone (until now), I’ll fokus on getting back into the Amateur Radio materials, reading some more books and updating this website. Some pics – the rest will be in the Gallery soon:

Well, we’re still doing preparations. I’m on the way of getting my Amateur Radio License and when I’m not reading sailing books, I try to improve the webpage or we’re doing journey planning. Speaking of. Here’s a temporary link to our planned route. Later on I’ll link the finished page somewhere on the top of our site here. Beware: all dates and coordinates are still subject to change and of course, everything more than one year ahead is pure speculation… And as I’ve said before: Maybe we don’t have the guts to sail through the Gulf of Biscay, we’re back in Berlin before the year ends… ;-)

Oh and btw: A happy new year to all readers !

The trip was short and without any events – it’s actually just around 3-4 miles, with one lock underway. The best part was after arrival at the Marina Lanke, sitting in the cockpit with candle light and Rum while listening to Robert’s crazy stories about trips with his Alpha or tall ships going through the North Sea and the Atlantic. Whew !! I wish, we could have sit there the whole night. But in the end it was getting a little chilly…

Ah ! – And to settle a bet: Kevin Costner’s ship in Waterworld was a Trimaran. Sorry, Wolfgang. ;-)

Together with Michael I was strolling the exhibition halls talking to sailmakers and looking at shiny new boats.

What else ? There wasn’t much. See for yourself ! ;-)

Honestly I don’t really know what to do there. But maybe, I’ll meet some interesting people ? Who knows. I’m gonna post, if I find something interesting…

So und nun noch ein paar weitere Bilder unserer Kanalfahrt am letzten Wochenende:

Eigentlich bin ich zu muede um noch viel zu schreiben, aber ich wollte das nur mal eben verkuenden.

Wir sind also von Stettin am Sonntag los und ueber Schwedt die Westoder hoch, dann den Oder-Havel Kanal nach Oderberg, wo wir im Schlick bei ca. 1.40m Wassertiefe ‘geparkt’ und uebernachtet haben. Wir haben im uebrigen ca. 1.70m Tiefgang, eher mehr. ;-) Am Montag weiter durch das sensationelle Schiffshebewerk in Niederfinow und ueber Eberswalde, Oranienbug nach Berlin, wo wir bei einem Seglerverein Unterschlupf gefunden haben und nun ein Winterlager suchen werden. Noch schnell ein paar Fotos. Spaeter schreibe ich mehr…

Die Reise beginnt Freitag Abends nach einer abenteuerlichen Zug- und Taxifahrt nach Ueckermuende. Abenteuerlich insofern, als:

1. Die S-Bahn mal wieder nicht faehrt und wir in letzter Minute, voll bepackt ein Taxi zum Bhf. Gesundbrunnen nehmen muessen
2. Es nicht moeglich ist am Bahnsteig ein Ticket zu einem vernuenftigen Preis zu erstehen
3. Dies auch IM Zug nicht moeglich ist und wir dann (offiziell !) gratis bis Pasewalk mitfahren duerfen
4. Der Zug Verspaetung hat und wir somit unseren Anschluss nach Ueckermuende verpassen
5. Sich das Grossraumtaxi nach Ueckermuende letzten Endes billiger als der Zug rausstellt

Hehehe. Tja. Reisen mit der Bahn ist selbst (oder gerade) in Deutschland eben auch ein Abenteuer.

Irgendwann kommen wir dann also doch an, bringen die Kinder ins Bett, noch ein Bierchen trinken und fallen in die Kojen.

Am Samstag zuerst mal etwas Enttaeuschung, da kein Wind vorhanden und Ueckermuende unter einer Nebeldecke begraben ist. Als wir dann aber endlich doch fertig zum Ablegen sind, lichtet sich auch der Nebel und so koennen wir (mit dem Schiff) in die Stadt zum Einkaufen fahren. Erst um 14h geht’s dann wirklich los und irgendwie ist’s wohl auch gut, dass wir so getroedelt hatten, denn nun haben wir auch Wind zum Segeln. Schwubbs warn wir schon draussen am Haff und fahren im Zickzack durch die recht hinterlistig aufgestellten Stellnetze in Richtung Oder-Muendung.

Die Nacht von Samstag auf Sonntag verbringen wir in der netten Marina Ziegenort. Am Sonntag geht’s dann weiter die Oder hoch nach Stettin. Am Anfang noch unter Segeln, spaeter schlaeft dann der Wind ein und wir starten den alten Benz, der uns bei T-Shirt Wetter die Oder raufschiebt. Die Flusslandschaft ist wunderschoen ! Stettin selbst besteht leider zu 90% aus Hafen und geschmacklosen Nachkriegs-Bauwerken. Irgendwo verstecken sich auch vereinzelt ein paar nette Haeuser im Zentrum, doch der Grossteil der Stadt ist nicht sehr schmuck. Die Aussicht ueber die Flusslandschaft geniesst man am besten aus der Mastspitze. ;-)

Weil das Wetter mitmacht und wir’s noch nicht so eilig hatten, machten wir noch eine kleine Runde bis zur Bruecke, wo wir dann mit Mast nicht mehr weiterkommen. Als Liegeplatz haben wir dann die Marina Goclaw ausgewaehlt. Nix los, ein netter Hafenmeister empfaengt uns (‘Alles keeein Problem !’). Wir haben ein nettes Abendessen, klaren das Schiff auf und machen uns via Strassenbahn und Zug auf, zurueck nach Berlin. Hier kommt nochmals eine kleine Absurditaet der Bahn zum vorschein: Das Ticket fuer 5 Erwachsene Personen nach Berlin kostet uns 20 (!!) Euro. Pro Person also schlappe 4. – Das Strassenbahnticket, um dann von Berlin Alexanderplatz nach Hause zu kommen kostet mit 2,10 E mehr als die Haelfte. Das macht Sinn, oder ?!?

Zusammengefasst: Es war eine der lustigsten Fahrten mit der RR. So schade, dass wir nur ein WE unterwegs waren. Mit dieser Crew waere ich sehr gerne eine Woche oder laenger gesegelt !

Biddesehr:

Na da bin ich ja mal gespannt, was das erste Herbst-Wochenende so bringt. Zur Zeit sieht’s ja eher durchwachsen aus.

Hier die geplante Route fuer dieses Wochenende:

Und unsere geplante Reise nach Berlin. – Achso: Und wenn jemand Tipps hat von wegen guter/guenstiger Werft und Liegeplatz in Berlin, nur her mit den Infos ! Nicht zoegern.

Zu schade, dass wir nur zwei Tage Zeit hatten. Dennoch hat es sich gelohnt. Wir hatten natuerlich wie immer feinstes Wetter und guten Wind. Sind mal schnell von Ueckermuende nach Swinemuende und wieder zurueck. Eine kleiner Abstecher auf die Ostsee musste natuerlich auch sein. Und obwohl ich immer etwas zu viel ueber’s Wetter schreib, moechte ich mir doch die Anmerkung erlauben, dass wir wieder die richtigen Tage erwischt hatten. Denn am Sonntag baute sich ueber Norddeutschland bereits das Tief auf, dass heute und morgen im gesamten Nord-/Ostseeraum fuer Sturmwarnung sorgt.

Wir hingegen konnten mit voller Besegelung uebers Stettiner Haff gleiten, die Sonne geniessen und Spass haben. Jakob und David haben mir 2er Schnapsen gelernt, ich habe den Beiden die Segel zu bedienen gelernt und bald schon haben wir die erste Halse zu dritt gemeistert. Swinemuende gab mir ein Raetsel auf: Mehrmals hatte ich schon jemanden vom schoenen Swinemuende erzaehlen hoeren. Kann ich aber nicht nachvollziehen. Das einzige, mit dem Swindemuende protzen kann ist die anzahl der Gelsen und die ist wirklich enorm !! Meine Beine sehen aus wie Ribiselschnitten !

Derart zerstochen machten wir uns Sonntags auf den Rueckweg und sind sehr sportlich bei 5Bft durch’s Stettiner Haff in Richtung Ueckermuende aufgekreuzt. Katja und Gui haben fleissig gekurbelt, die Kinder-Crew hat entweder geschlafen, gedoest oder sich im Cockpit vergnuegt. War super ! Wir freuen uns auf’s naechste mal !

Ein paar Bilderchen gibt’s auch noch… Mehr kommen dann noch von Katja nach.

Wir waren zwei Wochen von 17.7. – 30.7.2010 unterwegs und sind an 8 Tagen 321,8 Seemeilen gesegelt. Das war auch in etwa, was wir uns vorgenommen hatten. Mittels Shiptrak kann man einige (leider nicht alle) unserer Positionsmeldungen sehen. Hier eine Karte, ich hab manuell in etwa unseren Weg eingezeichnet:

So und nun chronologisch mit vielen Fotos. Nimm dir Zeit, das wird laenger…

Vor der Abfahrt waren alle schon etwas nervoes. Zum Glueck haben wir noch immer etwas Baustelle und so findet sich immer was interessantes zu tun, waehrend man auf die gestressten Eltern wartet. Endlich geht’s los und wir gleiten im Schwedenschlitten mit Tine am Steuer nach Greifswald, waehrend Gui und die Kinder schlafen.

Bei Sommerwetter an der Ostsee angekommen wird erst mal alles verstaut und anschliessend fuer zwei Wochen gebunkert. Wir haben Zeit, denn wegen eines Festes an der Muendung der Ryke bleibt die Klappbruecke bis 13h geschlossen. Um Mittag schippern wir los, gleiten den Fluss runter um dann mit etlichen anderen Booten vor der Bruecke zu warten. Um 14h werden dann endlich die Segel gesetzt.

Wir starten mit zweifach gerefftem Gross und kreuzen ueber einen ordentlich aufgewuehlten Greifswalder Bodden in Richtung  Stralsund gegen NW-Wind mit Staerke 4 auf. In der Einfahrt zum Straelasund nimmt der Wind erst mal noch etwas zu , um dann aber auf 2-3 Beaufort abzuflauen. Nach etwa 5 Stunden Fahrt setzen wir Tine ab, die mit dem Zug nach Greifswald muss um das Auto zu holen, waehrend wir noch etwas warten, denn uns blockiert die naechste Klappbruecke, welche sich schliesslich um 21h puenktlich zum Sonnenuntergang oeffnet.

Am Samstag verabschieden sich unsere Gaeste fruehmorgens nach Rostock, um 07h Check-in fuer die Faehre nach Schweden. Wir sehen uns nach dem Fruehstueck erst mal das Ozeaneum an. Am Nachmittag gibt’s dann 16 sm Motorfahrt durch Fahrrinnen zwischen den Inseln Hiddensee und Ruegen nach Norden. Um’s Kap Arkona nach Glowe, wo wir nach einem naechtlichen Ankermanoever in einer grossen Bucht mit Sandstrand Freunde aus Berlin treffen. Zwei Tage verbringen wir hier am Strand, beim Ponyreiten, faulenzen, Daemme bauen und so weiter. Ein Rekord wird gebrochen: von Dienstag auf Mittwoch verbringen vier Erwachsene und fuenf Kinder die Nacht an board der Rancho Relaxo of the Seas !

Die Kinder trocknen mit vereinten Kraeften Geschirr ab un am Donnerstag um kurz vor 11h geht’s los nach Ystad an die schwedische Suedkueste. Wir haben Nordwest mit Staerke 3-4 und fahren also wieder schoen am Wind und wie im 1. Posting beschrieben auch recht flott in Richtung Norden.

Leider mussten wir in Ystad 3 Tage verweilen. Die Stadt ist zwar bilderbuchschoen mit ihren vielen Fachwerkhaeusern, netten Laeden, Cafes, Ateliers und den vielen, wunderschoenen Blumen ! Lieber waeren wir aber die Ostkueste weiter hoch gefahren.

Anhaltender Wind mit Staerken bis 8 Beaufort liess uns dann aber im Hafen verweilen.

Erst am Montag stechen wir dann wieder in See und fahren 33 sm nach Simrishamn an die Ostkueste. Hier finden wir einen Strand aus braunem Zucker und salziges, klares, 21 Grad warmes Wasser, das bei Lufttemperaturen von fast 30 Grad natuerlich das Bild vom kalten Skandinavien erst mal etwas unwirklich erscheinen laesst.

Am Mittwoch muessen wir leider kehrt machen und nehmen Kurs auf Christiansoe, eine der vier ‘Erbseninseln‘, die nordoestlich von Bornholm liegen. Obwohl das besondere Klima dieser winzigen Schaereninseln normalerweise sehr trocken ist, haben wir schliesslich leichten Regen, was aber den Aufenthalt keineswegs weniger schoen macht. Die Inseln verspruehen gerade im Regen eine sehr angenehme, ruhige Atmosphaere aus. Wir essen legendaer lecker Gegrilltes im Restaurant 200m vom Anleger. An der Hauswand stehd das Jahr: 1701. In diese Zeit fuehlt man sich fast zurueckversetzt. Keine Autos, keine Werbetafeln. Nur altes Gemaeuer und ein paar huebsche, kleine Haeuschen. Herzliche Menschen ueberall auf der Insel und die Crew eines grossen, schwedischen Schoners, der hinter uns im Hafen liegt feiert auf der Rueckseite der Insel eine Party. Eine richtige Pirateninsel – Leuchtturmbesuch muss natuerlich sein !

Am Donnerstag geht’s weiter nach Nexø. Dieser Ort ist unserer Meinung nach eigentlich keine Besuch wert, ist aber der guenstigste Ausgangshafen fuer den Schlag nach Swinemuende in Polen. Und da das Ende der Reise langsam naeher kommt, brechen wir am Freitag bereits zur rekordverdaechtigen Uhrzeit von 10:15h auf. Vor der Kueste erwartet uns zunaechst Wind der Staerke 5-6, waehrend des Frontdurchzuges am Nachmittag werden es konstant 6 Beaufort mit Boen und einem ganz ordentlichen Seegang. Gui segelt unter zweitem Reff rekordverdaechtig schnell und immer hart am Wind die Wellen rauf und runter in Richtung Sued. Der Skipper kocht inzwischen ein Sueppchen um die verschlafenen Jungsegler aufzuwecken und um den schon etwas flauen Magen der Grossen zu entspannen. Als der Wind am Abend etwas nachlaesst uebernimmt wie immer unsere – noch namenlose – Windfahne ihren Dienst und spaeter laesst dann der Wind sogar soweit nach, dass wir unter Motor in die Nacht fahren.

Der Mond steigt genau ueber dem Aussenborder hinter mir aus dem Meer und verwandelt die verbliebene Duenung in eine Lightshow, die einen die Muedigkeit vergessen laesset. Waehrend Gui und die Kinder schlafen gleiten wir an mehreren Windparks vor der polnischen Kueste vorbei. Ueber Stunden ist in den Wolken das Leuchtfeuer der Greifswalder Oie zu sehen. Um 05:13h laufen wir in die Muendung der Swine ein und fallen nochmal fuer ein paar Stunden in die Kojen. Am naechsten Morgen gibt’s nach einer kleinen Wanderung nochmal Ostseestrand pur – erinnert irgendwie ans Norditalien der 80er Jahre. Am Abend geht’s dann durch’s Stettiner Haff nach Ueckermuende, wo unsere Rancho Relaxo fuer die naechsten Wochen bleibt. So das war’s nun auch fuer’s erste.

Die Rancho Relaxo of the seas in der Ystads Allehanda

Also die Reise war bisher sehr nett. Ueberraschenderweise hatten wir fuer den ersten Tag noch Gaeste mit – Ylvi und Tine, die uns in Berlin besucht hatten, sind noch einen Tag von Greifwald nach Stralsund mitgefahren. War sehr, sehr nett. Ich hoffe, wir koennen das irgendwann mal wiederholen ! Die beiden sind nun in Schweden und geniessen wohl die Ruhe am Vaenersee.

Unsere Route ging danach weiter, die Westkueste Ruegens hoch, ueber’s Kap Arkona nach Glowe an der Ostseite. Hier haben wir mit Freunden zwei sehr schoene Tage am Strand verbracht.

Vorgestern sind wir dann von Glowe nach Ystad gefahren, anfangs mit moderaten Winden, gegen Ende mit konstant ueber 7 Knoten fahrt. – Das war bisher unsere schnellste Etappe.

Und wenn ich noch rechtzeitig eine Antwort von Mike aus Neuseeland bekomme, dann schaffe ich es evtl. auch unsere Position via ShipTrak bekannt zu geben. Das waere natuerlich nett.

Ach ja  – und moeglich wird das Ganze durch den SPOT satellite messenger. Das Geraet werde ich dann nach dem Toern vorstellen – wenn es sich bewaehrt hat.

Was gibt’s zum Toern zu sagen – abgesehen vom Wetter, dass ich in den vorhergehenden beiden Postings bereits ausdruceklich als SENSATIONELL beschrieben habe. Also nach dem ersten Toern auf der Ostsee im Juni 2009 habe ich ja die Hoffnung auf einen Badetoern etwas verloren, doch die letzte Woche war schon beinahe Mittelmeer-maessig !

Nun also die etwas laengere Beschreibung unserer ersten Seereise mit Kindern. Gleich vorneweg – alles war wesentlich entspannter und einfacher, als erwartet. Die Kinder haben sich an Bord vorbildlich verhalten, hatten bis auf wenige Ausnahmen auch immer Schwimmwesten an, wenn sie sich ausserhalb des Cockpits aufhielten. Und natuerlich auch im Cockpit, sollte gerade kein Erwachsener daneben sitzen und ‘aufpassen’. Ansonsten haben sie immer wieder mal mitgeholfen, gesteuert, den Motor an- oder ausgemacht und natuerlich fuer gute Stimmung und jede Menge Unordnung gesorgt. Hehehehe.

Zu den besuchten Orten gibt’s nicht allzuviel zu sagen, da wir meist sehr spaet eingelaufen sind und so nicht mehr recht viel vom Land gesehen haben. Burgstaaken auf Fehmarn ist sehr nett – und ein U-Boot gibt’s dort auch zu besichtigen. Bruno fand’s allerdings etwas gruselig, weshalb wir im Schnellgang durchgelaufen sind. Daenemark ist wie erwartet teuer, aber auch sehr schoen. Allgemein muss ich sagen, dass ich vor allem von Schweden sehr begeistert war. Es sind die Details wie gratis Waschmoeglichkeit mit drei Waschmaschinen und ein nettes Cafe in der Marina, auch wenn diese wirklich klein war. Und in anderen, teureren Marinas wird kleinkariert mit Dusch-Muenzen rumgemacht und man braucht noch einen extra Schluessel fuer’s Klo. Waschmaschinen sucht man sowieso vergeblich. Tja. Ein paar Unterschiede gibt’s wohl doch… Dieser Umstand und auch unser derzeitiger Liegeplatz in Greifswald sorgen dafuer, dass wir beim naechsten Toern (17.7. -31.7.) wohl an die schwedische Ostkueste und nach Bornholm segeln werden.

Die Rancho Relaxo of the Seas war wieder einmal problemlos. Wir sind wohl ca. 80% des gesamten Toerns mit Windsteuerung gefahren, die sich trotz einiger fehlender Teile als echt brauchbar erwiesen hat. Natuerlich waere manchmal ein elektrischer Autopilot hilfreich, aber das wird irgendwann auch noch werden. Der einzig *gravierende* Mangel am Schiff ist das uralte Grosssegel mit der unbrauchbarsten Reff-Einrichtung, die ich bisher gesehen hab. Naja. Einen Toern muss es noch durchhalten, dann werden wir uns auch hier etwas vernuenftiges suchen. Ah – und in Sassnitz konnten wir mal kurzfristig den Motor nicht mehr ausstellen. Aber nach ein paar Minuten war dieses Problemchen auch beseitigt. Dafuer ist das Segeln mit dem Blister ein Traum ! Ohne ihn haetten wir’s wohl auch nicht bis nach Schweden geschafft. Natuerlich wird die Liste der Verbesserungen immer laenger, aber im Winter wird sich dann schon Zeit finden, um Batteriemonitor, Solar, Windgenerator einzubauen, die Elektro- und Wasserinstallation zu ueberholen und das Rigg zu veraendern.

Ach ja – hab ich schon erwaehnt, dass wir fuer den naechsten Toern noch Mitsegler suchen ?

Der Toern war genial – super Wetter, guter Wind, entspannte Crew !

Trip: Travemuende (D) – Burgstaaken auf Fehmarn (D) – Marina Gedser (DK) – Klintholm (DK) – Gisloevs Lage (S) – Sassnitz auf Ruegen (D) – Greifswald (D)

303sm in einer Woche, mit zwei Tagen Pause (ein Tag in Trelleborg und Baden + Fussball in Sassnitz).

Ein paar Fotos vorweg, spaeter mehr in der Gallery:

Samstag sind wir mit dem Zug zum letzen mal nach Travemuende gefahren, wohin wir diesmal nicht mehr zurueckkehren. Die Fahrt beginnt am Sonntag bei netten 3-4 Windstaerken und blauem Himmel in Richtung Norden. Wir laufen Fehmarn an und bleiben in der Marina Burgstaaken. Sehr idyllisch und viel netter als die meisten Marinas, die wir bisher gesehen haben. Highlight: U-Boot Besichtigung am naechsten Morgen !
Am Montag geht’s bei Sommerwetter nach Daenemark. Wir queren den Windpark vor der Suedkueste und laufen im Sonnenuntergang die Marina Gedser an (˜23h).
Am Dienstag machen wir uns zu unserer letzten Station in Daenemark auf: Klintholm auf der Insel Moen. Die Ueberfahrt laeuft bis auf die ueblichen daenischen Stellnetze, die uns immer mal wieder etwas ueberraschen recht ruhig. In Klintholm ist die Marina beinahe voll, wir erwischen gerade noch den vorletzten Liegeplatz.
Mittwoch setzen wir zum Schlag nach Schweden an. Primaeres Ziel: Ystad. Wir laufen unter Gross und Genua bei 4Bft. um die letzte Spitze Daenemarks und setzen dann den Blister. Den ganzen Nachmittag ‘rauschen’ wir mit gut 6kn Richtung NNE. Kurzfristig laesst der Wind nach um dann aber in Form von ‘isolated Thunderstorms’ wieder zurueckzukehren. Wegen des doch recht langen Weges entschliessen wir uns auf halbem Weg dann die Marina Gisloevslaege anzulaufen. Um 20h fahren wir unter Motor in die nette, kleine Marina. Wir sichern uns den letzten Liegeplatz und beschliessen nach nunmehr 184,3 Seemeilen morgen einen Pausentag einzulegen.
Die Kinder, denen unsere Fahrt bisher recht gut gefallen hat, werden sicher einen Strandtag super finden und wir wollen ja schliesslich keine Rekorde brechen.

Hier der uebliche Link zur Gallery mit ein paar Bildern unserer Ausfahrt:

Und natuerlich nochmal extra: Bruno als Kapitaen !! (Klicken zum Vergroessern)

Montag morgen kommen Florian, Sven und Peter mit dem Zug nach und die Reise startet nach ein paar Uebungsrunden unter Motor mit einem kleinen Schlag  von 22sm nach Groemitz. Am Dienstag geht es dann mit Sturmwarnung fuer Ostsee und teilweise mit drittem Reff in Richtung Daenemark. Wegen des doch recht miesen Wetters und weil wir mal wieder zu spaet aufgestanden sind, entschliessen wir aber letzten Endes doch, die Marina Burgtiefe auf Fehmarn anzulaufen. Keine Schlechte Entscheidung, denn am naechsten Tag koennen wir bei feinem Wetter und gut genaehrt nach Nysted in See stechen. Kurz vor der daenischen Kueste queren wir einen dezenten Windpark. Nysted selbst ist ein sehr idyllisches, verschlafenes Oertchen und wir bedauern, dass wir leider nur einen Tag in Daenemark bleiben koennen.

Am Donnerstag geht’s gen Sued nach Warnemuende, wo wir bei leichtem Wind eine gemuetliche Kaffefahrt unter Blister einlegen. Zum ersten mal steigen die Temperaturen auch mal ueber den (gefuehlten) Nullpunkt. Mann – warum ist’s auf der Ostsee nur immer so kalt ? In Schleswig-Holstein war fuer die vergangene Nacht sogar BODENFROST angesagt. WTF ?!?

Nach einem netten Abend “Heute hauen wir aber mal ordentlich auf die Kacke !” in Warnemuende geht’s am Freitag weiter Rtg. Insel Poel. – Denn es war ja Ostwind angesagt. – Tja, der Wetterfreund von DP07 hat sich hier aber wohl getaeuscht, denn wir haben feinsten West-Wind und kreuzen langsam richtung Timmendorf. Wo wir dann Abends bei ~5Bft anlegen und die Kite-Surfer am gegenueberliegenden (tollen !!) Sandstrand bewundern koennen. Hierher komme ich im Sommer sicher nochmal. – Aber hoffentlich bei Badewetter.

Am Samstag geht’s in einem letzten Schlag zurueck nach Travemuende. Die letzten Meilen mangels Wind auch unter Motor.

Wie immer waere man nun nach einer Woche auf See nun endlich im Richtigen Tempo angekommen, aber der Urlaub ist schon wieder zu Ende. Tja.

Kurz zusammengefasst: die Rancho Relaxo hat sich bewaehrt – kleine Maengel wurden unterwegs behoben (O-Ton Sven: “Es ist kein Stahlschiff, sondern ein Stahl-Gaffertape-Schiff”. Dank einer ausgezeichneten Crew haben wir auch die 7Bft am zweiten Tag ohne Schaden und recht entspannt ueberstanden und schafften trotz der kurzen Reisezeit von Montag-Samstag doch repektable 186sm. Der Blister ist Toll, und ueberhaupt wuerde ich am liebsten sofort wieder in See stechen.

Naechster Toern-Termin: Ende Juni  – mit Kind, Kegel und Michael Keith als Gast-Star. (und Co-Skipper. ;-)

Ausserdem noch zu sehen: Bruno und Viola am Spielplatz in der Choriner, Konzertfotos von Trans Am in Berlin, Abreise nach Miami.

Mein erster Toern als Skipper und ausserdem unser erster Urlaub ohne Kinder – seit ueber 3 Jahren. Heh. Und was passiert ? Natuerlich fliegen ordentlich die Fetzen. Hehehehe. Aber insgesamt eine tolle Woche. Traumhaftes Wetter, wenn auch mit sehr wenig Wind. Aber was soll’s – dafuer huepft man bei 30°C  gerne mal ins Wasser…

Anbei ein paar Fotos: