Hello and a warm welcome. My name is Chris and I live on the beautiful island of Mallorca.
I was born and raised in Austria in the last Millennium and ever since I was interested in action-loaded activities and sports in general. No matter if it was team sports like soccer or beach-volleyball or by myself when I rode my mountain bike from one peak to another.
It seems that water always caught my attention regardless of its physical state. In winter time I love to ski or I used to play ice-hockey with my friends. In summer time water always gave me enough playground to kite-surf, dive or swim.
Connected to nature…
I love to spend time outdoors. Already as a teenager I used to ride my mountain bike or I raced down snow-covered mountains on my skies as often as possible. Nowadays I enjoy one or the other hike.
Even when I moved to Dubai I could not let go of sports. Action-loaded sports like go-karting or kite-surfing or simply taking my Jeep into the desert were a regular pastime.
Mountains always were fascinating and had a magical effect. It took some time for me to realize what a mountain can give me but when I finally did it was awesome. Whether it was in Austria or Germany, Tanzania or here in Spain there was always a mountain that waited to be scaled. An ascend could take several hours and sometimes a peak had to be left untouched because of fog or bad weather. But once I got up there I was at peace and enjoyed every minute. Up there I found a place to re-charge my batteries.
Kilimanjaro…
Together with my childhood friend Heli I managed to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa’s tallest mountain. Some 5895m above mean sea level. At that moment we stood on top of one of the Seven Summits. Technically not really difficult this guided tour led us to the peak and back within one week. It was breathtaking how the scenery changed during that week. As were the cooking skills of our chef who, even at 4900m served a 3-course meal. Once on top we did however feel the lack of oxygen but the experience we have had will never be forgotten.
Here on the island of Mallorca there are no peaks with taller than 3000m above sea level but there are more than 50 peaks which reach 1000 meters or more. Sure, that doesn’t sound much but bear in mind that lots of them cover easily 1000m in height difference because your starting point is at or just a few meters above sea level. Additionally some mountains show various levels of difficulty and a hike should always be started with proper equipment. If you seek a bigger challenge try the long distance track from Port Andratx to Port Pollenca which covers more than 130 km with more than 6500m in height difference. Wikipedia shows nine sections depending on your speed. Bring water. Lots of water.
Moving to an island, in this case Mallorca, usually goes hand in hand with something new. As for most of the islands Mallorca is surrounded by water. A new playground for me. So what should I do with all that water? Swim? Dive? Kite-surf ? Yeah for sure, but all of this is not new to me. If you have a walk on the beach you will promptly realize how many sailboats there are. That in mind I started to think about becoming a sailor.
Sailing…
Exciting. Relaxing. Demanding. Diversified.
I started sailing by accident as one day I got invited to a trip in the bay of Palma. Of course I liked it that much that I decided to attend a sailing course. And one week later I got my first license. Together with a colleague from work I joined a sailing club as active member to sail a 39ft Beneteau Cyclades. Shortly thereafter we had logged already a few miles in our logbook and at the same time we got to know many beautiful areas around Palma.
That feeling one encounters while sailing means freedom for me. Out there with wind in my sails and water splashing against the hull makes me forget all the rest on shore. A feeling I usually had when I hiked. Apparently I needed to go sailing as often as I could. With friends or family and sometimes even by myself to learn something about single-handed sailing. It didn’t really take long when suddenly a question popped up in my head: how would it be crossing the Atlantic on a sailboat? Well, I asked Dr. Google.
I found lots of videos on YouTube, too and I had the feeling that there were more crazy people around than I thought. I could chose from several suggestions and found myself on the webpage from Matt and Amy. A young British couple circumnavigating the world on their 37ft boat Florence.
Nice…just another crazy idea which I needed: circumnavigating the world on my own boat.
Crazy idea, crazy plan. Welcome in my head. So I started to investigate: which boat would I need, how big, how much does it cost? How long would it take me? Which equipment?
One very important part of equipment is without a doubt a dinghy. Without you cannot go ashore if you are anchored in a bay. So I started to build a dinghy according to B&B Yacht design on my very own balcony.
My dinghy
Made of 6mm plywood I followed the construction plan step by step. A few months later I had a boat on my balcony. With champagne I celebrated its maiden voyage.
But of course the dinghy was just the beginning. What I was looking for at that moment was a sailboat which is capable of crossing oceans. Now, two years later I still look for a proper boat. In fact I already visited several different locations to check sailboats. There was a Beneteau, a Dufour, I’ve seen Elans and Jeanneaus but not a single one was to my liking. And that made me think. I saw boats which were either too expensive or were not properly equipped. What if…yes exactly, what if I bought an old version of a sailboat and do a complete re-fit by myself?
The next boat waits in Cagliari, Sardinia. It’s a Jeanneau Sun Magic 44. Could this one be my next project? Stay tuned and subscribe to my channel…
Youtube: SailingCelina ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC15wNE4L8caD8zuec3eLYig )
The adventure has only just begun…
Sailing Celina 