We are back! And it feels so very good!
Well I would have to admit that for me (Max) I was kind of frustrated to go, because after many years I finally wanted to have a summer in Innsbruck. – I know – very-first-world-problem. Still I was not hot for sailing, I was not feeling it. Sleeping on a bunk, no real toilet. For month to come. But hey. Isn’t this what you wanted max? I guess so….
After eight hours of car ride through france, with expensive PCR Tests at hand that we never had to show – we arrived at Port Chantereyene in Cherbourg rather late. Then literally ran to the boat and opened her up. She was in perfect shape.
- No smell
- No mold
- Nothing stolen
- No water in the bilge
- No Fotos (because it was night and we were to excited) -.-
Dog voice: “good boat….. you have been a good boat haven’t you” and I was literally rubbing Barfußes shoulder. Apparently last year’s three month of rainy late summer and fall season showed us every little remaining leak and we actually made the boat süperdry – or as Benni would say: Dry as a Martini. We were stoked. We could sleep in the boat – YES
We tidied her up, fetched the necessary stuff (it was raining and the car is 5 min. by feet). And went straight to bed.
This was the 12th of Mai 2021. Pretty much exactly one year after we were lifted with the crane in Berlin into the water for the first time.
I am writing on the evening of the 15th. The last three days were spent with:
- Cleaning oil that the engine lost last year from the bilge (heavy, disgusting work, mostly done by Benni – THX!)
- Testing the engine (took a couple of tries but then it ran smooth)
- Continuing with the self-build wind vane (getting close) (if you don’t know what it is, you should google it, magnificent piece of engineering)
- Planning future routes
- Re-Painting a part of the deck, that was not sufficiently painted last year in Berlin and was building up rust.
- And some errands, quite a lot of cleaning still, shopping and all that stuff that usually fills all the days.
We have four more days before we have to leave. But Europe’s weather seems to be stuck in some kind of fucked up April Fool. Nights with 6°C, constant stormy winds, days maximum 15°C. Constant westerl winds – but we need to go west.
And we thought “Return in late spring they said. It will be super warm they said” Big Pustekuchen. Let’s not start complaining. We could not have been luckier with the conditions we found the boat in.
Next stop Alderney 😉 Let’s hope the brits will let us in.