Good day, good day! It’s from sunny Brittany I write this blog post, where we are preparing the boat for sailing again – after a long winter where she has been waiting in harbour.
The winter has been mild, and the harbour is well protected, so everything is good with the boat. The new deck anti-slip paint job, finished last summer, still looks good and it is still grippy.
The planned sailing takes us from Brittany over to Plymouth, and then up the English channel, through the straights of Dover and up the coast of Holland, over the top of the Fresian islands to Germany and the Elbe river. There’s a town there called Brunsbüttel which is the start of the North-East Sea Canal, or better known as the Kiel Canal.
The canal is 50 nautical miles in length, and is usually a very nice experience. There are places to stop en route, and best is to do the passage on two separate days as it is a lot of time under engine. It’s worth it in many ways as it cuts about 600 miles off the route to Sweden, and saves you having to sail all around the North of Denmark.
The boat is in good condition, and there is a new permanent crew member on board: an autopilot! This is the first time an autopilot has been installed on this boat, after all the sailing over the years I finally decided to try it out. It means you can now read a book on your watch instead of sitting at the helm. We keep the manual helming for when there are nice conditions and the steering is interesting or fun.
Anyhow, the planned date of departure is not far off, so I will keep this blog post short, and get back to work preparing the boat instead. Hope to see you on board! I am looking for crew for this trip as well.
