After the shake down at Cap Arkona we decided, that the boat needs to be made sailing proof. Everything fell out of its shelfs during these rough hours, and there was a significant amount of water in the bilge for different reasons. The boat needed it’s finishing touch. And so we stayed there at anchor, for four days straight. Best weather, super cold water. So after just two days of sailing we were back in building mode – not the worst place though.
The hardest part: Water ingress in the aft of the boat could not make it towards the central deepest bilge. Beause one of the aft bulkheads was not open. So water would stay there (underneath the gearbox) until it overflows. So we were trying to drill a hole in a place where you could neither hold the drill, nor could see anything. And of course we had to pump it empty first. Oily piece of shit! It was a full day of dirty dirty work in paradise.
Then benni worked on the rigging, sealed the aft cover-plates some more. We prepared the shelfs inside the boat to get netting all over them. And all the drawers got blocking ropes that they not open when heeling.
Then there was Valerie. At some point a small boat came around and anchored next to us. But it was not one of these big white plastic charter beasts. It was a small yacht with wind vane and it was apparently steered single handed by a young woman. After we were working on the boat a little more I decided to go for a shopping run. That meant, entering kayak, 10 min. kayaking against the wind, walking 30 minutes into the next village. Buying stuff, carrying it all the way back and another kayak ride. So I went by her boat and asked if she needed anything. I told her she should visit Benni while I am out shopping. And when I returned for sunset, we had her rubber dingy already docked to our boats side. Valerie is a very experienced sailor and actually even a sailing teacher. Not that Oskar didn’t teach us well, but she…. She had to teach us a lot… and still is. She crossed the fucking atlantic just because she wanted to do it. Right now she borrowed us maps worth maybe 300 Euro…. Mostly because she is worried we would be to cheap and just sail with open sea map. Yeah she was right…. That’s most likely what we would have done. Over the next days she was spending time with us often and at the 15th, she moved her boat together with us, around the corner towards Hiddensees west coast. That day we picked up Kristina – Bennis girlfriend. She arrived by ferry from Stralsund. While Valerie and me were doing groceries and eating ice cream, Benni was on a fresh water mission. In the end we all came together in the cockpit, had some supper and decided to go to the light house of Hiddensee, which is supposedly a thing you have to do. And beside from the fact that we have been eaten alive by Mosquito it was really nice.
