2nd day in my sailing tour to Sweden was all downwind sailing. It was fun to play with course direction and building up speed for surfing on the waves:
There was so much tailwind that I sailed with the engine down in the water. When put in “neutral”, it generates electricity from the stream of water. This way I could refill the batteries and recover the energy needed to get from Gedser harbour into the open sea.
Sailing seems to combine a number of outdoor sports that I really like: being carried by the wind and gently rocked by the waves feels similar to paragliding. Gliding down waves feels like surfing. Handling all the rope feels like rock climbing. On the bottom line, sailing feels quite natural to me.
My Touring Test went roughly through three phases so far:
Travelling all over Sweden (2020 May – August)
Domestic life in Skåne (2020 September – 2021 April)
Nomadic life in Southern Sweden (2021 April – September)
Five weeks ago I bought a sailing boat (Tanenui 28 catamaran). It makes no sense. I had no plan. I just felt like it.
Catamaran “Maru” and Kira, both prepared for travel in different ways
Events developed intuitively. It is clear now: The Touring Test has gone through its biggest change – from land to sea.
Mentally I feel well prepared.
Practically I am a beginner at sailing.
Tomorrow will be the first big sailing day, going from Fehmarn to Gedser.
Route and Weather Forecast
This year’s final destination is Simrishamn, Sweden, where I plan to stay over winter.
The other huge change in Touring Test is that Katerina will take care of Kira for a while. Mainly for Kira’s safety.
It feels weird to be alone on board now, without the furry monster.
Kira under deck, last Monday
Bringing Kira and the car to Lenggries created another opportunity to meet beloved people:
My mom Rita and Vivien, my daughter. What a great talk and walk in the park. Thank you for being so open for your remote dad, dearest Vivien!
My excellent friends Johannes and Gabor: thank you for bringing your light to the Isarwinkel. I am so happy that we met again. The same to Florentina and Dirk – welcome, new friends.
Besonders Katerina: vielen Dank für Deine beständige liebevolle Unterstützung. Und schöne Grüße an Kira.
Now I am finished preparing the boat. I had to install some communication cables for the engine, charged the batteries, checked the storm jib, mounted the SUP, stored the foldable bycicle…
Next I will enjoy a few hours of sleep. I can’t wait to take off tomorrow!
Footnote – here is a web page to track my course via satellite and to exchange short messages in cases where mobile phone reception is out of reach:
Eilmeldung: gerade bin ich für knapp 3 Tage in Lenggries (um Kira + Auto abzugeben). Danach geht es nach Fehmarn auf’s Segelboot und damit wiederum nach Schweden.
Wer hat Lust zum Wiedersehen am Donnerstag (28.10.) Abend ab 19:00?
Sorry für die kurze Vorlaufzeit. Es war eine sehr spontane Entscheidung. Details per Email / Telegram / Telefon.
Ich freue mich über jeden von euch!
Call for a quick comeback / farewell party tomorrow at 83661 Lenggries, Germany – if you happen to be around.
The e-engine test had a rough start: while I was still navigaing in the harbour, the engine would stop several times (problem solved now).
Accelerating is the same type of joy as with the electric car: silent, powerful propulsion.
The wind was not very hard but the waves were large enough to make Kira feel uncomfortable on deck. She liked it under deck, however. Simple solution.
Believe it or not: the hardest part was setting the main sail. I was not fast enough to set it before the boat turned sideways, which makes it impossible to set the sail.
Also a little plastic part slipped out of the mast. Quite hard to repair that on shaky water.
That’s why I practices anchoring. On anchor, the boat is always aligned with the wind. Easy repair, easy sail-setting. That cheat would not work on the open sea but it is good enough in the shallow Fehmarnsund.
Lifting the anchor was another challenge. I was lucky to wear gloves (one of the many similarities between paragliging and sailing).
On the way back we were finally sailing. The e-engine recuperated. That was the final test on my list for today.
Docking went easy. Just in time for sunset. Now out for a pizza.
Since that time I am guilty of neglecting this WordPress site her. I apologize to my friends who depend on this HTML channel.
I will try to share most of my public life via this WordPress site now, and re-post it on Telegram. Also there we have better means to discuss interactively.
Seit etwa einem Jahr blogge ich auf Telegram (URL siehe oben). Seitdem habe ich diesen WordPress Blog vernachlässigt. Es tut mir leid dass ihr hier so lange nichts von mir gehört habt, und ich versuche die meisten Neuigkeiten wieder hier mitzuteilen!
Schnellvorlauf:
2020 war für viele von uns das turbulenteste Jahr seit langem. Für mich kann ich sagen dass es das beste Jahr meines Lebens war. Große Veränderungen liefern eben tiefe Erkenntnisse. So weiß ich genauer als je zuvor dass ich auf einer Reise bin deren Ziel ich noch nicht kenne. Der Touring Test wird zeigen was das alles soll.
We had two days of rainy, stormy weather. The electric heater helps us drying in the kitchen hull. Kira could not wait to get onto the boat and under deck.
Nach zwei Tagen mit Regen und Sturm hilft uns der kleine Heizlüfter beim Trocknen. Die stärkste Stufe ist sogar zu warm. Und Kira ist inzwischen so vertraut mit dem Boot dass sich nach dem nassen Spaziergang möglichst schnell an Bord und unter Deck gehen wollte.
After 2 months of living in a real house I still kept many camping habits.
Still I still own mostly just the stuff which I brought in my car and I don’t miss anything.
So far I refused to switch on electrical heating but rather wear my comfy outdoor clothes at home.
The house offers some 5 rooms but I use only one, plus the kitchen and a bed.
So it seems like I am a nomad by heart. And I know now that I could well live in the space that a tiny home offers, if that was an option. Which increases my options where I want to live in the future.
Touring Test 