Allgemein – Page 63

Sailing School

I have been sailing since the army kindly taught me during my twenties but living in the middle of Europe has severely curtailed the use of boats the last thirty years. I did however join a cruise with a friend in Croatia and passed my German “inland skipper” course which allowed me to take the family and friends out on a local lake.

When I decided it was time to “get back in to sailing” I took a look at the British and German systems and decided that the former seemed to be more “reality based” while the latter was perhaps more interested in “passing tests”. I therefore searched for a school offering British RYA courses but better weather than is normally to be found on the island. I was attracted to Go-n-Sail in Spain, particularly as they offer an instructor ratio of three students to one instructor and only have rave reviews. After a discussion with the school I registered for two weeks training with the target being my Day Skipper certificate. Most RYA certificates have a practical and theoretical element and in order to be awarded the certificate you need to not just prove yourself practically but also take a theoretical exam. Continue reading “Sailing School”

Folding Mountainbike (Paratrooper)

I am a cyclist. I have been cycling on my mountainbike and roadbike since 1998 when I cycled across the UK just to “see if I enjoyed it”. (I must have done – the next trip was across the Alps.)

Information_Sign Jon’s Adventures is a bike shop in Nesselwang in the Bavarian Alps. Jon is a qualified ski instructor and the business started offering guided bike tours in summer. Nowadays he concentrates on selling, building and modifying bikes to exactly fit his customers needs.

I bought a bright orange “Frenchie” bike as soon as Jon started building and selling them and used it non-stop, even taking it to China for six weeks. Most of the parts have been replaced as I wore them out but at least it still had the original frame.

And now I am off sailing and have to accept that, even with both wheels removed, a mountain bike just isn’t designed to fit on a boat. It was looking like I was going to be riding one of those funny little fold up things with tiny wheels and a strange looking frame. I just couldn’t see myself riding up and down mountains on such a bike but what are the alternatives?

It turns out that there is a solution that offers a no compromise mountain bike but which will also fit onboard. The answer is the Montague Paratrooper. This full size, foldable bike was designed for paratroopers and can be thrown out of planes and then ridden by a fully loaded soldier. It sounded like what I had been looking for. Continue reading “Folding Mountainbike (Paratrooper)”

Organising Life

Almost two years ago I wrote about the importance of organisation in ensuring that your adventure happens. I also mentioned the importance of keeping track of your research and the information you have collated.

moo.do logo As we near our D-day the pace of the project is picking up and the number of threads we are keeping track of is multiplying continously. Where we once had only one task – “buy boat”, we now have a list of almost one hundred jobs and tasks that are needed to get our boat up to standard and “ready to go”. One of those tasks is to register the boat and this has now spawned a further six tasks. Many of the tasks are delegated but we still need to keep track of who is doing what and expected or agreed deadlines.

Continue reading “Organising Life”

Marine Insurance

This is a subject I approached with great respect. My research in Internet forums led me to believe that the insurance market is peopled by evil, money grabbing scrooges who hide behind small print and set unreasonable conditions before they will even agree to consider taking a huge chunk out of your boating money.

sinking

This turned out not to be true.

Continue reading “Marine Insurance”

History of Artemis of Lleyn

In 1991 the original owner paid the deposit to Orion Marine in Falmouth for a Rustler 36 that was to become hull number 56, “Artemis of Lleyn”. In 1992 she was displayed at the Southampton Boat Show. Her first season of use was 1993.

Artemis in 1993 being sailed by Mr John Hodges (photo: Martin Turtle)

During 1995 she did a circuit of the Atlantic and cruised in the Caribbean. After that she was in the Baltic for three years and cruised as far as the Russian border in Finland to the East and the Aaland islands in the North.

Continue reading “History of Artemis of Lleyn”

Buying Artemis of Lleyn

I knew that I wanted to sail; that was the easy bit. The hard bit was knowing what I wanted to sail.

Two weeks on a brand new Dufour 350 with self tacking jib showed me exactly what I didn’t want. A roll threw me on to the chart table and it broke. The locker fittings broke as you opened them and we found some screws on deck at the bottom of the mast. And the noise of the flat bottom at the bow slapping the waves was awful. Four weeks on a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 37 were fun and most of the time I could actually reverse in to a marina, but deep down I knew I was looking for something else.

Dufour 350 in Croatia — AWB – exactly what I didn’t want

After 18 months I had read all the arguments in the Internet about sail area/displacement ratio, stability index and the angle of vanishing stability and was thoroughly confused. The only useful result of all my reading was that I was slowly getting a feel for what I should be expecting to pay for the boat of my dreams.

Continue reading “Buying Artemis of Lleyn”

Thirty Years Ago. The start of the Adventure.

Thirty years ago I was a young member of the British Army out sailing in the Mediterranean. I was actually meant to be in Germany protecting the free world from the Soviet menace but that was a very boring way to spend a summer so instead I was off sailing.

One night we were sailing west towards the setting moon and I was alone at the starlit helm enjoying riding over the seas that approached as looming black hills. The weather was perfect, the temperature just right, the boat perfectly trimmed and I decided that I was just going to remain at the helm and keep sailing west for ever.

Sunset at sea in Croatia — Sunset at sea

Continue reading “Thirty Years Ago. The start of the Adventure.”

My experience with a Garmin eTrex Touch 35t

I have been using Garmin devices for years to navigate to new places and to record my adventures. Additionally I use a Polar Training Computer to record my fitness training. Recently I updated to a Garmin eTrex Touch 35t partly in the hope that I could reduce the amount of devices I need and the complexity of my data aquisition.

etrex My first Garmin device was yellow and easy to find if I put it down or dropped it. Continue reading “My experience with a Garmin eTrex Touch 35t”

Navigation. And what do I do with my new found knowledge?

After a long pause I am returning to sailing. This year I took the RYA day skipper course and exam. A part of the course was about navigation and if you believed what you were taught then you could be forgiven for thinking that it was all about understanding the charts and pilotage notes and applying them.

Then I flew to Spain for two weeks sailing and the truth turned out to be a little different. In reality everything seems to be a best guess and the only truth is what you discover when you get there. Continue reading “Navigation. And what do I do with my new found knowledge?”

Getting a Second Year Visa for Australia

So you want to stay in Australia a little longer?

So what is this entry actually about? Well, some of us “work & holiday” backpackers end up liking Australia so much or not having any idea what else we want to do, be it back home or elsewhere in the world. After spending one year in Australia we think “Hey, I’d like to spend another year Down Under”.

Fortunately, for us, Australia has a visa which grants exactly that, another year on the same terms as the first working holiday visa (subclass 417). As I could find no help online exept a few unofficial websites that offered the visa (while wanting money for their help), I decided to write this article. Continue reading “Getting a Second Year Visa for Australia”