Hey wonderful people, warm greetings from Elba. That means I am back at the same place I used to be 7 months ago. Only this time, it’s different because I know that I will leave again this summer, not knowing if I will ever return. So, I am making this a farewell tour, finishing up some stuff.
I had the most beautiful sail from Corsica to Elba and included a short video about that sail in this post. Although I had 60 knots (that’s 110 km/h) of wind the night before, the weather cleared up. There was almost no swell, and I had 13 knots of wind, and the Windpilot was steering just fine. I could even have a nap in the sunshine while sailing.
Some things had broken or worn out on my sail though. The outhaul ripped, and the tiller connection wore out. I stitched the outhaul, and my friend Bo, who is also the previous owner of Santana, helped me cut a new thread into the tiller connection. I started the last big project I had planned for this season’s preparation.
First of all, I picked up the bathing platform for the stern of my boat and am currently working on making it fit. I ordered inox-steel tubes to work on the arch at the back of the boat to move all of my solar panels out of the way. That turned out to be much more complicated than I thought. When I measured the different lengths, I couldn’t get it even, and it took me an entire day to work it out. Now the measurements are not correct, but at least it looks straight.
Next on my list will be the ‘simplicity,’ my old wooden folkboat that brought me here in the first place. It is still on dry dock in Marciana Marina, and I have to find a solution for it… probably a final solution. If I wanted to sail it again, I could definitely fix it up again, and I even have some ideas on how to make it more livable, but I don’t want to sail her again. If I sell her after fixing, I’ll get less money than I have to invest first. So, it only makes sense if somebody takes her for free and puts in the work. So far, I have not found anybody who wants to own a wooden boat here… Well, I’ll find out.
Currently, I enjoy having friends on the island, and it’s good to meet with them every now and then. The weather is mixed, and when the sun is shining, it is surprisingly warm. I love to ride my bike around the island.
The water is too cold for me to go swimming, but apart from that, the sunny days now are almost better than in summer. There are fewer people, and the temperatures still allow you to do activities. I do my best to enjoy the time, get the boat completely ready, and use the rainy and overcast days for office work.
My plan is to be around the island until the beginning of July and then start my journey west. If you’d like to sail with me, let me know; a couple of weeks are already booked.
Take care and all the best to you, Floh