Autumn plans

We have done a lot to learn how to sail. Together we are already up to around 10 different courses, plus a whole month on charter boats in Croatia, plus who knows how many books, blogs, workshops, and YouTube videos.

Even so, we feel a long way from confident and still feel like we are right at the beginning. I do not know how much it takes before you feel competent. Someone once told me it took them 10 charter weeks before they felt comfortable. I think that is very individual: I learn quickly when it comes to theory, but when it comes to putting it into practice I often fail at hand-eye coordination. I have simply never been much of an athlete. For Alex, it is more of a nerves issue: when she gets stressed, her brain switches off and she freezes.

On the plus side: physically, we are absolutely able to put our plans into action, but we still have a lot of mental work ahead of us. I hope that with time, practice, and experience, things will settle into place.

So training will continue soon. On 21 September we set off for Greece. We are taking the ferry from Ancona to Igoumenitsa. That crossing takes about 20 hours. On 26 September we will take over a Fountaine Pajot Belize 43 in Lefkas for 2 weeks. For the first 3 days, Sofia will join us. Sofia is a sailing instructor with Team Epic Navigator, the Greek sailing school where Alexandra already completed her catamaran training in spring.

In the second week we will then have a visit from Alex and Tom. We met the two of them on the SKS practical trip with JOJO. We are very happy to be sailing with them for a week, since they also have sailing experience and we will be a larger crew for once. That is something completely different from being “just” two people. It means the many tasks can be split up differently, and there is more time to recover between the work. We were a great team on the SKS and are really looking forward to seeing the two of them again. I am sure we can learn a lot from one another and will have a good time.

For the 2 weeks after the Belize, we will then be on our own with an Excess 11. I hope we will feel confident enough to take a bigger trip. If the weather plays along, we can then rack up miles and make the Ionian Sea our playground. In 2 weeks you can see a lot, and by the end of October there will hardly be any tourists left.

A few thoughts about these boats too. Both the Belize and the Excess are catamarans. After our test in spring, we have pretty much become catamaran fans: it is simply much better for Charly.

The Belize is a long-distance sailing legend. Quite a lot of them were built, and countless people have sailed around the world in one. Definitely a boat type that can handle any challenge of the barefoot route. This model is also well within our budget: we will find a top Belize in Europe that we can afford. The biggest drawback of the Belize is that the design is still from the last century. After our 2 weeks on the chartered Belize, we will know whether we can live with something like that. We were not that impressed by the 380, which comes from a similar era.

The Excess 11 is a different beast altogether. A very modern performance yacht aimed at a younger crowd looking for fun on the water. So basically, us.

To buy, the Excess 11 is miles beyond our budget, but chartering one in the low season is just about within reach. It is an exciting boat and may help us learn to sail better. But really, chartering this boat was a bit silly, since sadly we cannot afford something this modern. Still, you are allowed to dream…

*This blog post has been automatically translated by a Large Language Model.