It’s been quite some time since I last published here because there has been a very interesting development during the summer months.
As usual in summer time the heat is too much to do hikes here on Mallorca, besides it was a really busy summer full of work. We used to fly a lot of hours and we welcomed a lot of passengers on board our aircraft. That’s why I was not able to post any videos for the last few months.
Most importantly however was the development in terms of sailing. Remember, at the beginning of this adventure I used to create videos in three different elements: Air, Earth and Water.
My intention however was always to put my focus onto Water, namely sailing as the title most obviously indicates. So, what do we need for sailing? Well, without a doubt a sailboat.
For more than two years I tried to get my hands on a second-hand sailboat. Initially I searched online for different makes and models. I didn’t really know a lot about sailboats at that time, I just knew that they came with sails. Some say that this is generally the idea of a sail boat.
Anyway, as I searched the internet there were plenty of options. Big boats, small boats, cheap ones and expensive ones, too. Which one should it be? What was I actually looking for? My idea was to circumnavigate our planet on my very own sailboat so the boat should be big enough to live aboard but small enough to sail it single handed. I quickly turned my search to boats between 40 and 45 feet, some 12 to 14 meters from different manufacturers.
There were boats all over the place and the only way to narrow my search down was to limit the price. At first I thought 100k Euros would be sufficient to get a proper sailboat. For sure there are plenty of boats which are adequately equipped and well maintained. Most of the boats in my price range were built between 2005-2008 and came at 40-42 feet. Since I am quite picky when it comes to live-aboard sailboats there was always something I did not like. Either the layout was not what I was looking for or the mainsail was not what I wanted or the price was too high. After having seen several Beneteau´s, some Dufour´s, Jeanneau´s and Elan´s I realized that the boat I wanted does not exist. At least not in my price range.
And then it hit me like a hammer. How about I buy an old sailboat and do a complete re-fit. It would include several advantages. Not only would the boat have the exact layout I really wanted but as well would I get the chance to get to know the boat inside-out and maybe I could save some bucks. So naive…
I just needed a boat with a proper hull and engine. The rest would have to go anyway. So I changed my search criteria: old. Cheap. Maybe even run down.
Since I had all the time in the world I was in the comfortable position not to rush things. And so it happened that only this summer and rather by coincidence I found a second-hand Jeanneau Sun Magic 44, built in 1990.
This boat had a four cabin layout with two heads and a salon. It was located in Valencia, basically just around the corner. After I exchanged some emails with the owners I found myself onboard the next aircraft. One of the owners gave me a boat tour and we were even able to sail. Long story short, I proposed an offer and on the very next day I signed a letter of agreement.
I finally called myself a boat-owner, well co-owner since my friend Franz bought a share. That was a long awaited moment. With that purchase I was one step closer to reaching my goal of circumnavigating the world.
It’s time to meet: CELINA
What made me even happier was the fact that Celina was ready to sail and an immediate refit was not necessary. She came with brand new solar panels ( a total of 400 watts peak ), three new batteries, two new toilets, a new windlass, two sets of main sails, a spinnaker with two poles and a wind generator. Nonetheless I scheduled some maintenance weeks later that year to get her a new coat of anti fouling, new window seals and a new livery.
I hope you will like the video and don’t be shy to leave a comment below. Subscribe and follow my adventures.
Sailing Celina 