Dear Readers,

Blogging has somehow gone out of fashion. Today videos are edited. We do that too, occasionally. But who full-time (as editor at YACHT) has to do with sailing and media, Somehow I don't find much time for it. At least not at the moment, because I'm still in the middle of a new book project.

But we noticed, that we haven't really announced the story about the new boat yet. So here's another post.

Anyone who once had a catamaran, Somehow he can't switch back to a mono. We've heard this a few times and now we've experienced it ourselves. Upright sailing is one thing, but also to life “an Deck”, thanks to the deck saloon, We've really gotten used to it. That's why we've been keeping our eyes open for an affordable catamaran for a long time. Not too big, because we don't want to sail around the world with it, but have to limit ourselves to sailing trips during our vacation weeks in the summer. That's why the boat will always wait for us on land or in the harbor for longer periods of time and shouldn't cost too much.

Catamarans are becoming more and more popular. That's why prices, even for older boats, have risen incredibly in recent years. In addition, the range of smaller cats was manageable. A privilege 37 fell into our search pattern, an Athena 38 or even a Tobago 35. We even looked at one of them in Croatia, but those (in view of two heavily oiled engines and unpaid VAT) was too expensive. Over time we had to realize, that we probably can't afford a cat with our boat budget anymore and we've been looking more and more at monos again. Then we suddenly received a call from our two friends, which were already ours back then “Maverick XL” had sold. In the meantime they had also arrived back at a catamaran and were in Greece, where we took our parental leave in March 2022 had begun. Next to them was a smaller one, but newer sister ship put ashore, which should probably be sold in the foreseeable future: Eine Fountaine Pajot Mahé 36.

That same evening I booked a flight to Athens, took one of the (pleasantly cheap in the off-season) Rental car for the almost three hour drive to the boatyard. Even as I stood on the gravel space between the two hulls, sagte ich “Already. We take.” I had a good feeling about the boat from the start, so that the subsequent inspection is actually just “pro Forma” was. To see, what kind of construction sites were pending. Because the boat has been in the spring since it was built 2009 hasn't really been upgraded anymore. Everything was still “original” and a lot of maintenance backlog had to be resolved. But of course that was just fine with me, because I like this kind of work.

So it was quick in the spring 2023 another one “Parental leave” submitted – which is actually more with an almost two-year-old and an almost four-year-old child “unpaid vacation” is, to which the employer cannot say no. Having already been on the boat once in the spring, to clear it out and start the first renovation work, At the beginning of May we all went on the boat for two months. Without big plans and appointments. We spent most of the time in the Saronic Gulf and then sailed through the Corinth Canal to the western side of Greece, where the boat is now waiting for us on land.

Next year we plan to go further west. We have a rough one “Five year plan”, to explore the Mediterranean for a few years and then “around outside” via Gibraltar, Portugal and France to sail home, to Hamburg. And then? No idea. The Baltic Sea really appeals to us after more than ten years since the last trip. So it can be good, that we will then sail across your path there.

John