I was so happy when we finally reached the Canary Islands. I knew we wouldn’t find endless anchorages, but I was fine with one or two places to linger — some sunbathing, a swim or two, and plenty of time to catch up on work. I don’t mind working a lot. I just prefer to do it where other people go on vacation. Turns out, that wasn’t so easy. La Graciosa has almost no infrastructure.… Read More »Surfing the Canaries
When a weather window finally opened in January, we left Rabat, Morocco behind and set sail—450 nautical miles to the Canary Islands. The year hadn’t started the way I’d imagined. Morocco was colder than expected, and somewhere along our road trip I picked up a nasty bug that left me wiped out for more than a week. But once I was on the mend, we replaced the through-hulls and pointed Santana toward the open ocean… Read More »Reaching the Canary Islands in January
480 Nautical Miles of Atlantic Blue, Fatigue, and Flow Somehow, I’d picked up a nasty bug on our Morocco road trip. It started with a bit of aching here and there, and then hit me hard—knocking me out for over a week. I think I even slept through my birthday. You might’ve noticed it in the last video—I skipped diving in to plug up the through-hulls because I was still barely upright. But eventually, I… Read More »Offshore Passage to the Canary Islands: The Quiet Challenge
(Untie the Lines – S8E19) Here we go again—another boat job, another lesson. Back in November, after launching Santana in Port St. Louis in the South of France, I realized that the seacock for the head (that’s sailor speak for “toilet”) wasn’t working properly. At first, I thought it just needed a little convincing—it felt stiff, but with a bit of force it seemed to move again. Turns out, that was wishful thinking. The internal… Read More »In-Water Seacock Replacement: What Worked, What Didn’t, and Why We Did It Anyway
Sahara Road Trip, Part 3: A 4-Day Walk Into the Silence Where It Started Back in 2010, I went on a road trip in Morocco with a friend, my brother, and my dad.Thinking about it now, I realize: that was the only vacation my father and I ever took together after being a kid. Probably the last adventure he ever went on. That trip brought us to Merzouga, on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara.… Read More »Walking the Desert Again: A Return to Where It All Began
(Part 1: Dades Valley to M’Hamid) A Country I Thought I Knew After all the time I’ve spent in Morocco, I thought I knew what to expect. I’d seen the wide extremes of its landscape and was excited to share my favorite places with Nike. But as it turned out, this journey still had plenty of surprises for both of us. Nike had never been to Morocco before. But she’d done her homework—reading up, asking… Read More »Morocco Road Trip: From Snowy Canyons to Desert Memories
A Love for Adventure, Rediscovered Morocco is where I re-discovered my love for adventure. I’ve always dreamed of faraway places. As a kid, I devoured stories of wild expeditions—deserts, mountains, and uncharted roads. But when it came to setting out on my own, I never really dared to go all in. Sure, I’d gone hiking. I’d taken bike trips. I’d pitched my tent in beautiful corners of Europe. But nothing quite scratched the itch for… Read More »Morocco by Road – And Why I Almost Said No
Childhood Stories and Quiet Crossings I always imagined adventure would feel bigger. As a child, I loved stories about explorers—the wild west, the Amazon, the North Pole, and, of course, Africa. I wanted to read about people heading into the unknown, discovering things they hadn’t even known to look for. Now, when I find myself in some of those places, it doesn’t always feel the way I expected. Less like an expedition, more like a… Read More »Sailing to Rabat: Leaving the Med and Entering Morocco by River
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Changing the Plan Mid-Course When I first mapped out the journey west, Morocco wasn’t even on the list.In my mind, the route was straightforward: stop in Gibraltar or maybe La Línea, the Spanish town next to it, then find a good anchorage somewhere along the Spanish coast before crossing to the Canary Islands. I had been to Morocco before—several times. And from a sailor’s perspective, it had never felt like an easy place. Regulations, unclear… Read More »Sailing into the Unexpected: From Melilla to Morocco
Africa has been a dream destination for as long as I can remember.And for those of you who’ve known me a while, you know… it’s been a bit of a love-hate relationship. That’s why I’m especially glad that Nike convinced me to take the southern route this time—to sail along the African coast instead of hugging the Spanish mainland.Especially after seeing Gibraltar and Barbate on my last trip to the Canaries, this felt like the… Read More »We Actually Sailed to Africa
After sharing Part One of our full boat tour, here comes Part Two—this time, with a more honest take on what it’s reallylike to live aboard Santana, our Hallberg-Rassy Rasmus 35. As with anything in life, every decision comes with trade-offs. And boats are no exception. While Santana is a solid, beautiful, and capable sailing home, there are of course some downsides that come with the package. In this episode, Nike and I each share… Read More »What We Like (and Don’t) About the Hallberg-Rassy 35
One of the ideas that has always shaped the way I travel is this:I don’t want to be just a tourist.I want to stay long enough to really get a feel for the land and the people. Long enough that I can find my way around without a map or having to ask for directions.That, for me, feels like a good sign that I’ve truly arrived somewhere. But on this trip… that didn’t quite happen… Read More »Ibiza Road Trip: More Than Just a Tourist Stop
I thought I had sorted out the boom issue during the crossing. But after taking a closer look, I found a few more loose screws—and when I finally removed the boom while anchored, I realized it was actually broken. Luckily, I managed to find another screw with the same thread and almost the same length. While Nike went off to explore the tiny island we were anchored near, I stayed on board, removed the damaged… Read More »What Did I Say About Fixing Boats in Beautiful Places?
Finally, we took the time to record a proper walkthrough of Santana. Even though I’ve been living on board since April 2022 and have shared plenty of photos along the way, I never managed to film a full tour—until now. Well, Nike did. 😉 The video was shot in February in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, and we decided to include it a bit earlier in the Untie The Lines series. A lot of Nike’s longtime… Read More »Boat Tour: Welcome Aboard Santana
After spending a few days along Spain’s Costa Brava, I was eager to keep moving west. I had a feeling the weather would soon turn cold and stormy. Westerlies often barrel through this time of year, and when they do, leaving the Mediterranean becomes a serious challenge. I think Nike would have happily stayed a bit longer, soaking up the last warm days, but I couldn’t shake the urge to keep going—I didn’t want to… Read More »Sailing with a Screw Loose
Life aboard a sailboat has a funny way of flipping the script. One moment you’re sipping coffee while dolphins dance alongside your bow, and the next you’re elbow-deep in the guts of your Autopilot, channeling your inner McGyver. When you live on a boat, it’s never a question of if something will break. It’s when. This time, it was the Autohelm 2000 throwing a fit—again. I’d already shared in the last episode how it failed us mid-sail, and… Read More »McGyver Mode Activated: Life on the Water, One Fix at a Time
Anchored in Costa Brava, Spain, we soaked in what felt like the final days of summer. It was mid-November when we recorded this video, having just left Port Saint Louis du Rhône, escaping the heavy winds that were now approaching our side of the Bay of Lyon. We hurried to sail further southwest, eventually finding a beautiful little bay—calm, secluded, and the perfect spot to stay for a few days. The water was crystal clear… Read More »Anchored in Costa Brava: The Last Days of Summer
Isn’t it always a brilliant idea to kick off your first departure in months with an overnight passage? As I mentioned in my last article, I was eager to leave the Camargue and the Mistral region as quickly as possible. Getting stuck there for weeks—or worse, facing brutal weather—wasn’t exactly part of my plan. We set off in light winds, which soon faded to nothing, leaving us drifting. And then, just before sunset, the wind… Read More »A Rough Start: Of course, it didn’t go as planned
There are two types of wind in Bouches du Rhône: none or too much. The week I spent working on Santana in Port St. Louis du Rhône in early November 2024 was the former—no wind at all. The days were sunny, warm, and felt like a wonderful late summer. Simply perfect weather to get everything ready. It was the calm before the storms that would soon roll through. Memories of Stagnation in the South of… Read More »Leaving Bouches du Rhône: The Calm Before the Storm
Here we go—still on the hard in Port Saint Louis du Rhône. Just in time, the package from Germany arrived with the watermaker, a reverse osmosis desalinator. This is my first project with Nike, and I want to have it installed before we splash so we can produce our own drinking water whenever we need it. Choosing the Right Watermaker Over the years, I did quite a bit of research and explored the available options.… Read More »Turning the Ocean into Drinking Water
Hey there, The new season of Untie The Lines just started last week, and I couldn’t be happier that Nike captured so much of our journey. Watching these episodes brings back countless memories—some vivid, others I had almost forgotten. It’s fascinating how many moments slip through the cracks when you’re constantly taking in new experiences. Preparing Santana for the Journey Back in November, we kicked off our journey in Port Saint Louis du Rhône, where… Read More »A New Season of Untie The Lines Begins