We are under way again...
A lot has been going on since we took
possession of Vanille early this June, in Roses, Spain. First
we had to prepare her for the ocean passage, as many things haven't
been changed since 1992 when she was built and we were very fortunate
to be able to do that in our new friends' shipyard in France. The two
masts have been repainted, the standing and running rigging replaced,
the motor revised, all the electric furling motors and gearboxes
serviced and checked, all the winches had to be cleaned and checked
as well. Since Vanille consumes quite a lot of electricity, we
installed a wind generator plus two 100W solar panels and made sure
that the shaft alternator is functioning well. We had all the sails
checked as well and installed a second A.I.S. (ship radar) receiver,
that we hooked to a small GPS for offshore use. We went through
everything thoroughly, so hopefully, no unpleasant surprises will
arrive in the middle of a stormy, dark night and violent sea! After
spending few weeks back home this summer visiting family and friends,
beginning of September found us back in Europe and by the end of
September we were under way again, as our Visa in Schengen area
(agreement between most of the European countries as to permitted
length of stay) was at its end and one has to wait 180 days before
being able to return – too bad – we really enjoyed the little we
had seen of Spain and would have loved to spend here some more time,
as well as being able to cruise around some other countries in
Mediterranean sea. From Port Camarque we sailed to and stopped for
few days in Fornells, a charming, little village on the east coast of
Menorca, than on to more touristic Isla Formentera. We would have
loved to explore some more around Aguilas, a typical little Spanish
town. At the moment we are in Gibraltar, a tax free zone, full of
pubs and fish & chips. So far we are extremely happy with
Vanille, she is easy to sail and is way more comfortable then
Nikan, our previous sailboat – 4 m in length make also a huge
difference in the way a sailboat handles the sea. A bit like going
from driving a compact car to driving Mercedes! For the moment we are
still undecided and are juggling with different ideas as to where to head
from here. First probably Morocco, than......we'll keep you posted.