....and the rest was 'Easy Going'

......indeed it was.

We lifted anchor in Porto Vecchio after breakfast, Saturday 29 July and headed towards Porto Torres, Sardinia, where I arranged a new meeting point with my family. A perfect sailing day. Bft 3-4, temperature in the upper 20ties, clear sky and a deep blue sea with scattered rocks and small islands in between. We took the Passage De La Piantarel along the Corsican coast which was easy during day and with light wind conditions but likely is difficult during night and in particular in heavy weather conditions. After a couple of hours we lost the wind and had to motor the rest to Porto Torres where we arrived late evening around 23h00.

Pelosa

My family arrived the next day and as Porto Torres has nothing to offer besides a large industrial/ferry port we left soon afterwards to Stintino, a couple of miles NW of Porto Torres.

What a nice little fishing town! Colorful houses surrounded by two fjord-like channels and a well protected port in front of it. After two days we moved further to the North to Pelosa between Asinara and Sardinia. Definitively, one of the best anchor places I have been so far. A turquoise bay, crystal-clear water, white sand beaches, with perfect anchor grounds in 3-5m depth and a marvelous view on Asinara and the North-western tip of Sardinia.

Sunset behind Asinara 

We kept Asinara, a natural reserve for which a special permit is needed, for a later visit and took the Passagio Dei Fornelli between Asinara and Sardinia saving us some 20 nm and motored along North-Western coast under light wind conditions to T-Fish's new home base, where we arrived after 271.3nm Friday 4th Aug.

Pta del Quadro and Capo Caccia on the way to the new home port

Paella Algherese - the Spanish influence in Alghero is obvious

Fertilia Sunset

Porto Conte

The remainder of our vacations we used discovering the new surroundings. This included several visits to Alghero, a visit to the Grotto di Nettuno - a stalactite cave, a butterfly farm and a visit to Sassari but also several day cruises to nearby beaches to escape the heat in the port. 

Indeed, excellent sailing grounds which offer a lot to discover in the next few years. 

A happy skipper (and a well deserved beer)

A Bumpy Transfer

As planned we headed towards the Bonifacio Strait in a North-Southern arc in order to avoid strong head winds from the Mistral which bent southerly into the Tyrrhenian Sea. With the main up we started motor-sailing under light wind conditions, however, still with quite some swell (2+ meters) originating from the more windy region. Sometimes I wished we would have chosen a more southern route in order to catch stronger winds which would have stabilized the boat.

Reaching Corsica after a Bumpy Transfer

The bumpy condition caused severe sea-sickness of my two crew members shortly after leaving Rome which forced me to stay awake the whole night. After about two third of the distance, in the afternoon of the 2nd day, we reached as expected the more windy region. With one reef in the main, we sailed T-Fish in Bft 5-6 and about 2-3m of waves 45 degrees towards the wind to the Corsican coast. T-Fish likes these conditions! Sailing at its best! Unfortunately, my crew was not able to share the fun.

As forecasted, we found calm seas and light wind conditions about 5 nm before the Corsican coast. The plan was now to go south along the coast and to cross the Strait of Bonifacio in the night for which a window of a couple of hours with light to moderate wind conditions was forecasted. However, my crew was wrecked (some throwing-up for more than 24 hours!) and I urgently needed some sleep, too. We therefore decided to get some rest and anchored close to Solenzara, Corsica.

The next day (27 July), after a well-deserved long sleep and extensive breakfast we motored towards Porto Vecchio. The 'window' of lighter wind conditions was gone! On the way to Porto Vecchio we already had Bft 7 of headwind (with gusts reaching over 8). No way to make the passage. We therefore went into the sheltered bay of Porto Vecchio waiting for better conditions. One crew had to leave there and went by bus and ferry to Olbia allowing him to reach his scheduled flight back to Rome just in time.

Storm cloud over the Strait of Bonifacio (seen from the Bay of Porto Vecchio)

Sun-Set over the Corsican Coast

The forecast showed favourable conditions for Saturday 29th July. In the meantime we enjoyed the lovely holiday resort of Porto Vecchio.      

Arrivederci Roma!

There are always mixed feelings leaving a place which served as your 'home-base' for a while. Leaving friends and a surrounding which you are well acquainted with is not always easy.

This time it is - finally I am getting re-united with my family and can occasionally enjoy sailing T-Fish in Sardinia/Corsica, one of the most attractive sailing grounds in the Med. Last but not least, I will be back in some 2-3 years allowing me to enjoy Rome and Italian lifestyle and to recover from the 'cold North'. No reasons to 'sing the blues' - not at all!

Farewell party on T-Fish with friends

My friend Marco helping to exchange the light bulb of the deck light 

The last days in Rome spun away with last boat preparation, provisioning, and farewell parties. A good friend also invited me to his house in the Castelli region with a awesome view down to Rome, allowing me to escape the heat in the port and enjoying his pool and BBQ while waiting for the strongest part of the Mistral to pass through.

Watching the arrival of the Mistral from the Castelli regions - view down to Rome and Ostia

We finally decided to leave port in the evening of Tuesday, 25th July. When cast off and motoring along the pier all friends in the port blew their horns as a last farewell.

Just before the port exit, a port authority warned us to leave because of the still existing large swell (about 2 m) which was breaking at the port entrance. Watching the incoming waves for about 30 min, it seemed that there is only every 2-3 min a larger breaking wave rolling in. This should give us sufficient time to exist the port in between.

Thus we waited for a big one and gave it a try. And of course and following Murphy's law, another 'big one' rolled in and starting to break right when we were at the exit. I went full throttle and took the wave at a right angle. T-Fish jumped through the breaking wave and landed with a big splash.

Off we were....

Arrivederci Roma, ci vediamo!

Transfer Strategy

The plan was to leave Rome Monday 24th July but Murphy hit again. In fact the week-end would have been perfect for the transfer with favorable wind conditions from SE to S and SW.  However, as one crew member will only arrive Sunday evening from Germany, we planned to leave Monday around noon.
Unfortunately, a Mistral is building up over the Golf of Lion during the week-end which will release its strongest force through the Strait of Bonifacio into the Tyrrhenian Sea Monday and Tuesday. This would mean some 30+ knots of wind and 2-3 m waves directly on our nose which of course is a 'No-Go'.

Strong winds from W cover the Central Tyrrhenian Sea caused by a Mistral over the Golf of Lion: GFS Forecast model (Copy from www.windfinder.com)

Looking at different forecast models, we developed a strategy which will take us a bit more of time but nevertheless ensure a fast and safe transfer.

The plan is now to leave Tuesday 25th July morning around 08h00 and first head to NW and change course towards W with the rotating wind staying at the same time within a channel of moderate wind conditions.

Mistral over the Golf of Lion with jet effect caused by the the Strait of Bonifacio (channel between Corsica and Sardinia). (copy from www.windfinder.com)

We will carefully watch the forecast models and if needed, adapt our transfer strategy accordingly.

Done - Project accomplished!

After many working evenings and long week-ends, I finally finished the teak deck restoration project on T-Fish. As promised here some pics: 

In total, I used some 1200 new screws and teak plugs, injected about 2 liter of epoxy in the screw holes and after deepening and cleaning most of the grooves, I refilled them with about 25 cartridges of caulk. After that the deck was sanded three times with coarse and fine grain sanding paper.

Key is to have professional tools available! My main tools were a cordless drill with a special driller to deepen the holes for the screws, an oscillating multi-tool for cutting off caulk, for deepening the grooves and for sanding some parts which are difficult to reach and a professional orbital sander.

I am very happy with the result. Ok -  I confess, there are here and there some parts which look 'less-professional' but I have also seen sloppy and careless craftsmanship delivered by professionals. This includes the deck renovation done by a professional company some 10 years ago when they not only used lousy caulking material which already started dissolving after 3-5 years but also have not exchanged many screws/plugs or applied new caulking without completely removing the old one. 

Doing it myself, at least I know that the deck structure is completely sealed and protected. With occasional smaller repairs the remaining teak should last another 7-10 years.   

T-Fish now needs an intensive cleaning and polishing which she will get in the next days before heading to Sardinia.

Greetings from a very happy skipper!

'Big Apple' - for a change

No sailing over the Pentecost vacations this year due to the on-going boat project which is progressing slower than originally anticipated. Basically, I have one month left to finish the project (which should be 'do-able') before sailing T-Fish to its new home base close to Alghero on the beautiful island of Sardinia.

After almost 2 years on T-Fish I will move back to Brussels for a new job assignment. Thus, my life as a 'live-aboard' is coming to an end, at least temporarily until retirement. The new home base will offer much more attractive sailing grounds in close vicinity and is well connected to Brussels allowing short visits over long week-ends.

We spent Pentecost vacation in NYC and took a 'big bite' from the 'Big Apple'. Indeed, very exciting but also very exhaustive. We walked Manhattan North to South and East to West, averaging at least 15 km a day, exchanging sightseeing and shopping which one cannot avoid having girls.

We did the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan and Wall Street, Ground Zero, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, had a typical American pancake breakfast in East village, strolled through Little Italy, China Town and spend one evening in the 'Village' (Greenwich Village), enjoyed a Broadway show (Kinky Boots which was very good), walked the Central Park, spend one afternoon each in the MoMA and in the Guggenheim museum (very impressive), enjoyed one day on the hop-on-hop-off bus tour (which was disappointing), went on the top of the Rockefeller center during daytime and on the top of the Empire State Building during night, and visited the Radio City Music Hall (a tour which I can highly recommend) where we could watch the rehearsal of the Tony Awards just two days prior to the actual awards ceremony.
Of course my girls also insisted to have a took at the Trump tower. Further, we walked up and down the Broadway, Time Square, 4th, 5th and 6th Ave. and entered all shops of the grand fashion brands - you name it.....I was wrecked after that week!




When I was in NYC the last time, many years back as a student, I was keen living in this exciting city. Today it would be too hectic, too fast, too noisy, too crowded, too dirty, too expensive, and many others 'too's', too, for me. Certainly a matter of age, I guess.

What stroked me is the amount of plastic garbage we produced as a family in just one week. Unbelievable! Hey, chaps -  today we can do better! Here and there there are some signs of a change but only marginally. Likely this remains marginally as long as the right policies are lacking. Certainly, it is also a responsibility of each citizen but, as we experienced very difficult to follow living in such a throwaway society.


By the way, the ship anchoring in front of the NY skyline, is 'Le Grand Bleu', one of the largest private yachts once owned by the Russian oligarch Abramovich. She once anchored next to us on Capri island and now we saw her again in NYC. She has a rigged sailing yacht (I guess at least some 45 ft) on the port side and a equally large motor yacht on the starboard side which can be 'watered' by massive crane in the center within relative short time. An additional toy is a helicopter, normally fixed on the plateau astern. Apparently, it was just in use by the owners for a round of golf in a nearby golf resort and for a lunch in one of the fancy roof top restaurants downtown Manhattan.

The 'Old Lady' will shine again - soon!

In the meantime I have started one of this year's boat projects (see: 'One Year on T-Fish'), namely the renovation of T-Fish's teak deck.

First, I asked for various quotations for a new deck (teak or synthetic teak) and for a possible renovation. Responses were unsatisfactory, some only providing a fixed prize without explaining the different work steps but all recommended to install a new deck. None offered the renovation as an option, although some stressed that the quality of new teak will be by far less than the teak which was available on the market some 30 years ago.

I finally decided to renovate the deck myself as I still have more than 6 mm of teak left, saving me a lot of money at the same time. Certainly it is quite some work but there is no hurry and I can do it step by step using long summer evenings and some week-ends. The plan is to be ready before the summer cruise.

Here, the work steps which I follow:

- unscrew screws which are not covered by teak plugs
- deepen carefully the hole by a couple of mm using a special driller (Forstner)
- inject epoxy raisin with a syringe as a water protection for the sandwich
- screw in new screws with flat heads
- clue in new teak plugs with epoxy
- cut and sand the plugs

This needs time as there are some 800 screws (feels like much more).

Further work include:

- cleaning off old caulk (the work I hate most - some parts are really sticky but have a rotten surface caused by UV)
- sanding the the cavities and cleaning with acetone
- applying new caulk (filling cavities with caulk using a tube gun and flatten it with a scraper)
- after the caulk has dried, sanding the surface twice (course and fine)

Voila - here some pics of first results.

Lot's of work indeed but pleasant and really rewarding! Maybe I should become a carpenter in my next life!

Once the whole deck is ready I will provide some more pics.

Tajine Homemade

My wife recently gave me as a present an earthenware pot knowing that I love Tajine dishes. Here my first try which according to my 'girls' was a real success. Delicious! A kitchenware which will find ample of use!

Back into winter!

I just spent a long week-end in Brussels enjoying Belgium specialties (Belgium beer and chocolates - I left 'moules e frites' this time!).

Yes, I love Belgium beers even as a native Bavarian! Not so much the ultra-strong Trappist's beers but there are many excellent lighter beers. Have you ever had a Leffe Blonde! Lekker! Still strong but very tasty. Rightly, the Belgium beer has been recently added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (see: here).

I also love Belgium chocolates (who not?). The French/Belgium 'Chocolatiers' really master it to an art. It happened that the 'Salon du Chocolate', a sort of a chocolate fair, took place during this week-end which I took advantage of, not only in tasting this & that but also equipping me for St Valentine's Day. Exquisite pralines are always welcome by my 'beloved'.

The downside of Belgium (and the Benelux states) is the weather pattern. Bad tongues even claim that the really bad thing with the weather in the Benelux is that in some years summer falls on a Monday. Well, I must admit that while living in Belgium we also experienced long and warm summer seasons and also the spring in general is nice and pleasant. However, there is definitively a difference in temperature. Although weather was't very pleasant in Italy recently with lots of rain and thunderstorms, but 10 degrees less is something you definitely feel! It even was snowing. Once in a while it is not a bad idea to re-calibrate your perception in particular if you are spoiled with pleasant weather most of the year.  All is relative, isn't it. Luckily, we are equipped with a fire place at our home which provides a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Terremoto

Italy is a seismic active region as frequent Earthquakes demonstrate albeit lesser in magnitude compared to other seismic active regions of this world. The reason is the so-called Apulian heel of the African plate pushing the Appenine, the mountain range along the Italian peninsula at its western edge towards the Alps. This scratching of the Eurasian and African plate generates strain which accumulates up to a certain point until it is released at once in a quake. Depending on the released energy the quake is larger or lower in magnitude which together with the local setting (e.g. the material of the underground and the buildings) is related to damage and casualties it may cause.

You probable have heard from the news that two days ago the Abruzzo region was hit again by a strong Earthquake while still not recovered from the devastating quake in August last year (24 Aug 2016). A hotel was destroyed by a avalanche triggered by the quake and people are still missing. The quake was also felt in the Rome area where schools and undergrounds where evacuated. Many of my colleagues felt it in their offices but not me.

It seems that my equilibrium sense has lost sensitivity since I am living on the boat and being swayed into sleep by the sea every night.

This definitely was not always the case as I still remember well the L'Acquila quake which we experienced in our flat in Frascati some 100 km away from the epicentrum early morning at 3:30, 6 April 2009. It felt like somebody starting a jack-hammer next to you. Very noisy and with a high frequency tremulousness.

It also happened that I was in Washington D.C., 23 August 2011 when the Washington quake occurred which somehow was a geological mystery (see e.g. here).  It felt totally different, much quieter, longer waves and you could see walls moving forth and back, followed by trembling noise caused by the glas fronts of the office blocks in Washington. Very scary!

 Let's pray for the missing people and wish the rescue teams all luck needed.
  

Norwegian Rakfisk

One of the advantages working for an international organisations is that you get to know different habits and traditional dishes of different countries from your colleagues.

Yesterday, one of my Norwegian colleague welcomed us back in office with a Norwegian Rakfisk which traditionally is being served at Christmas. Rakfisk is raw fish (in general trout - Rak-oerret), fermented for 2-3 months (from end of the fishing season to Christmas). It is being served with potetlefse a traditional Norwegian flatbread (which looks like crepe but is made of potato and flower), sour creme and fresh leek or onions. Yummy! Of course Linie Aquavite need to go with it, which - I guess most of you know - has to cross the equator twice! Skal!

One year on T-Fish

Rising sun over Porto Turistico di Roma

I am back on T-Fish after the Christmas Break and celebrating my first year as a 'live-aboard'. Well, at least as a 'kind of live-aboard' as I am still in occupation, and currently commuting between Brussels (where my family lives) and Rome (location of my current duty station). Thus, I am using T-Fish as a sort of a flat while I am in Rome.

There are certain advantages in doing this.

First, T-Fish offers all comfort of a small flat. There is  a sleeping room, a dressing room, a bathroom with toilet and a living room with a kitchenette. Hot water is provided through a boiler connected to the shore line power. As a boat originally from the 'North', T-Fish is also equipped with a built-in heating system which provides a warm and cozy cabin in cold winters days (yes, even in Rome there are some cold winter days with temperatures below the freezing point!). Further, when moving-in I installed a smart TV with a sat dish mounted on the pier allowing me to follow German news and sport events. Underway the TV runs as an entertaining media system, e.g. as a 'mirroring' display of the chart plotter or as a home cinema system supported by a large media library on a SSD which appears sufficient to circumnavigate the globe at least twice while continuously watching movies. Well, I have to confess that so far it was not used too often but it definitely is a nice thing to have in particular when weathering foul weather.

Second, T-Fish is well maintained and kept 'functional' while living aboard. Small repairs are done on the spot and it looks like that many appliances tend to malfunction lesser when continuously in use.   Thus, besides two major projects which I postponed for quite some time there are currently no open items on T-Fish's 'to-do list'.

One of the two major project concerns the cleaning of the underwater ship from remnants of the anti-fouling coating which built-up over the years, to apply a new osmosis shielding and to renew all sea cocks at the same time.
The second one, which has higher priority, is to sort out what to do with T-Fish's teak deck which is in poor condition now after almost 30 years. Should I get rid of it, seal the holes of the screws and just paint the deck? Or should I invest in a new teak deck which is very costly but certainly looks better. Alternatively, I could use a 'synthetic' teak deck but I am not sure, how these decks look after 15 or more years.
Anyway, I will try to consult some local companies in the vicinity of the port for some further advice. In case you know a good company in the Rome area, please let me know.

Happy New Year!

A Happy, Healthy and Successful 2017 to everybody!