To be a sailor often means to be also prepared for changes. As I had published (now knowing a bit premature) in June, that finally another big sailing trip to the Canary Islands aboard a brand new Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440 is upcoming, I have to postpone this venture with great sadness. It would have been so great to sail with my dear friend and skipper Wilfried, a fact I regret very much!
Also, this trip would have been so much fun and certainly a most interesting: Tackling upwind the Western Mediterranean to pass Gibraltar Strait would have been a new thing for me. Sailing long stretches upwind is something most of us aren´t s much used to, especially on the “barefoot” trips which are more vacation than “serious work”. Well, also, I was also most interested in experiencing firsthand what it was like to sail the “Orca waters” of Gibraltar approaches. Is this whole topic really so much worth the attention and – in places – the frenzy agitation? I guess I will have to check this out on a later occasion …
The part from the Bay of Gibraltar down to the Canary Islands would have been most exciting as well. I know that Skippy was trying hard to get our boat insurance expanded so that we could have a dash to the African coast. This would also have been a new, most interesting thing for me. For the trip, I already had a basic fishing equipment at hand to try and catch a Tuna or other fresh fish … so much adventure ahead, so much exciting content to be produced! Now it´s gone, for the time being at least: Work is coming up, much, much work which and in a market in recession, this is priority of course. But …
Alternative: Winter sailing the Biscay and the Channel
No so fast, young man! There is at least a faint alternative coming up. Not as glamorous nor as long (and certainly not as recreative) as the Canary-trip, but indeed adventurous and most certainly as well very instructive: As Boot Duesseldorf is nearing in January, you know it, the world´s leading boat show, it will the Excess 11 catamaran of my company that has been chosen to be the boat on exhibition. This catamaran will be finished around end of October, start of November in the shipyard in the French Vendeé. Somebody has to deliver this one. It seems, the lucky one is me.
So, Les Sables d´Olonne, my dear love, we will meet again in a short time. Here I am, becoming master of this boat and getting assigned command, responsible for her safe and sound journey to at least the Netherlands where we will take down the rigging and a second crew will steam her upriver Rhine to the venue of the boat show. That means: Sailing the catamaran North through the Bay of Biscay, transiting the English Channel to the Netherlands. Biscay and Channel in winter … well, certainly a very interesting task!
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