Rode Orm; a Laurin 32 ketch

[Manannan]

by the way how is the prospect of sailing on the Baltic this time of year ? are there a lot of brave souls sailing those cold waters now ? Are the Vikings still a brave bunch or are they getting a big soft ?  :D

[maxiSwede]

Haha, you'd be quite alone at sea this time of the year.  ;D

That said, a small but increasing number keep their boats in the water all year round and sail when the weather permits.  'Moi inclus'

[Manannan]

I would have not expected less from vikings.. :D It is so common to see boats hauled out at the first sight of a leave falling down on the ground !
Some miss out the most incredible sailing, a bit chilly, or may be a lot... but the prospect of a glass or 2... of a good old rhum upon arrival makes all that worth while.. But in a way, it perfect there is not too many of us braving the elements in those higher latitudes... that is what makes it so special.
So what am I doing my ass in my old armchair, let's go sailing...

[maxiSwede]

Manannan - where do you live? Are you a French Canadian?

I agree on those rare sailing trips at winter. A high, a light breeze and sun and all the anchorage to yourself...  ;D

[Manannan]

Home is whatever I say it is... even if it is just for today and I change my mind tomorrow  :D

Well my home is always temporary.. but for the moment it is back in the old Europe where I come from in the first place. Brittany

[Oldrig]

Well, Manannan, Bretagne is certainly a place with a fine sailing tradition.

I was living in France as an exchange student when Eric Tabarley won his first solo trans-Atlantic victory. (I guess I'm dating myself!)

Bienvenue!

--Joe

[maxiSwede]

Good point. I like the vagabond  philosophy myself. The reason for my curiosity is that my woman companion is a celt too, from Brittany.

[Manannan]

a little chauvinism here,   :D but Celts women are the best, tough breed, strong headed and quite imprevisible sometimes, but always straightforward, you can count on them anytime, they won't let you down.
hey, Oldrig, it is time for another visit in Brittany  ;D

[Oldrig]

Manannan,

Je n'ai jamais visité le Bretagne; seulement la Normandie. Mais j'étais en France quand Tabarley a traversé l'Atlantique pour la premère fois.

(I hope I got my French spelling right. With Windows, I had to switch keyboards.)

--Joe

[Manannan]

hi, Joe
One more reason to visit Tabarly's old playground. You probably will get along fine with your French, otherwise use your hands and shrug your shoulders a lot, that will work too  ;D ;D
Where you live is a beautiful area too, I spent around 3 months between MA and RI, refitting an Alberg 37.
Liked it a lot.

[maxiSwede]

It's been a while since my last update, so here it goes.

My house is for sale, the bizznizz is too, but that won't happen until late fall or during the winter. Those 'docklines are sooo hard to cut'... no fears, though. The process is ongoing and the BIG departure will take place next year.

Now to the positives; they are a few... ;D

In January I met a sweet woman companion who fully shares my passion for sailing. She has been participating in the 'getting-rid-of-all-shore-based-stuff-process' ever since. It's great to be 2 and 'nesting' in our boat/home

The plan for this year is to make another Baltic circle, and return to home port in the end of September(a friend of mine is taking care of the bizznizz for me). In fact we are ready to take off, after a few delays(of course!). One is the repair of the radar that has taken way too long, and then there has been some interest in my house that we have had to deal with.

And now a new delay - albeit easy to live with.  ;) I have been handed the opportunity to skipper a charter boat in Croatia for a week, so first mate and I will fly early in the morning and be back in a week. Turquoise water, crystal clear and warm is a nice treat for a northern guy like me.  8)

Hopefully the radar will be fixed by then and we will be able to cast off those docklines for a summer cruise.

Will update the blog as usual

www.sailblogs.com/member/rodeorm

and some new pics here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9218039@N06/

there's more to come

We would like to wish all the sailfarers a REALLY NICE summer on the water, or where ever you might choose to be.

Magnus & Isa

[Captain Smollett]

Cool deal, Magnus and Isa, on all counts (except having to wait on the radar).



Have some grog to prep for Croatian Adventure.

[Frank]

GOOD for you.Great pics too.Keep us updated ;)

[Tim]

Thanks for the update, the links and pictures. Have a great time in Croatia!

[maxiSwede]

Hi Guys,

first of all it's great to hear of the SCOOT plans. I 'll support you mentally from over here... 8)

Since mu last posting, we,ve made a week long cruise in Lithiuania. Very interesting, especially our time on the Curonian Sea. In four days we spotted ONE foreing boat. Yesterday afternoon we arrived to Vändburg SE Gotland (Sweden) after a sunny overnighter with a bit too light airs. Tomorrow we'll meet an old friend further north here with a sister ship (albeit 28 ft)

more 'stuff' on the blog

sailblogs.com/member/rodeorm

[maxiSwede]

Setting out for Latvia and Estonia today. Posted new blogg entrys and uploaded a bunch of pics though

Fair winds!

[maxiSwede]

or: 'poop happens'

We are stuck in a small village in Estonia, called Dirham, with a broken engine. It just didn't started and after some investigation was found to filled with water in the cylinders. Last Friday, a Yanmar mechanic from Tallinn, the Capital of Est. and I managed to get the head off. (Yup, quite corroded externally, and thus a beast to loosen every bolt from) He's now taken it with him to Tallinn for cleaning out and - hopefully - returning and reassemble on Monday or Tuesday.

If that doesn't work out, then it's due for a motor change, which could as well be done here, since it would be a fair bit less expensive than in Sweden or Finland for that matter.

BTW; the weather isn't that nice anymore either...   ;)

Life goes on, I haven't felt like updating the blog, but I will soon enough. we are not TOO busy here trying to make the days pass while waiting..

Cheers

[Tim]

 :( Sorry to hear, Good Luck, It's been fun following your blog

Tim

[Lynx]

When traveling I cannot always be at the best times for a location. I was at Monitour Falls, NY, not much water comming off the falls but I did see 3 deer crossing it. If it had been peak time with all the water comming off I would not have seen the deer.

Making the best of things is what voyaging is all about. I am sure something will happen good that you will remember.

[maxiSwede]

@ Lynx

Good point of course. There are always some positives, even in the 'eternal darkness' of engine failures.

All the people we encounter here are very nice and I've got a nice photo of my boat from a Coast Guard aeroplane while their boat gave us a tow to this harbour.

We couldn't make it to the harbour by sails, due to a narrow entrance (50 meters wide) and a headwind of about 2-3 knots.  Sometimes it hits the fan, First tow in 30 years of sailing for me, but the CG crew were really nice, did a good job and then offered us homegrown tomatoes (!)  How often does that happen on your side of teh pond?  ;)

Anyway, I talked to teh mechanic this morning, and hypothesis at the moment is that I 'got away' with 'just' a blown head gasket. The valves was fine, and the cylinders look good too. I certainly hope that this means that the Beast will work for a few years more... but we won't have the answer until its reassembled and has had a trial run. There just might be something else broken as well.

One week, on e day and counting... :P