APRIL 2004
We realise that it has been 5 months since we have written our “Telltales” to keep you up-to-date with our ongoing adventures, but as you know the winter season is not the most exciting… ….but still.
We left you in Cannes after all the racing
and with the intention to get to the Festival du Vent in Corsica.
Well, we never made it there. The weather simply did not allow
us, although we tried to cross the 100 miles to Corsica twice, on
both occasions we decided to return to Cannes instead of pushing
on. It is not my habit of returning to the same port, once we
have chosen the open water, but this time, conditions were simply
NOT what they are supposed to be….not even for November.
Since Marit was back in India for Polio eradication (it is almost
done in the world, so she looks forward to another challenge in
the next years…) I had asked two young people to join me for
the trip to Monastir. Michel, dutch and just finished his BAC,
and Benjamin, French and still in high school. So, a really young
crew, but we like to offer young people the chance to experience
something extraordinary. But still I like to control the
conditions in which we sail under these circumstances
We ended up staying in Cannes for longer
than anticipated, and although the weather was not that great, I
managed to get the guys at work and they redid the whole
guardrail section, sanding the varnish down to bare wood and
putting the new obligatory 7 coats on. So, I took advantage, I
guess. Of course they were frustrated that we could not get to
the Festival du Vent, but such is life. A week after the Festival
we finally could set sail and went straight to Bonifacio, on the
south tip of Corsica. The sailing was great, with huge following
waves under a full moon, 12 hours on the helm, one seasick and
the other not capable of helming under these circumstances,
simply great……… Those rare wintertrips…….
To get further down south in the direction
of Tunisia, we had passed the island of Sardinia in the last 4
years always on the east side…basically because it offers
more shelter, with the ongoing NW gales.. But this year the meteo
announced a constant easterly wind, and suddenly passing down the
west coast became a possibility…so we did not hesitate and
took it. We sailed down the gorgeous Sardinian coast, the
views of the shoreline are quite spectacular, but indeed with
only few harbors and shelter. The Fornicelli passage at the NW
tip of Sardinia is one for the books with only 50cm of water
under the keel and clear crystal blue water so you could see the
sand and the rocks. Alghero, Oristano, Carloforte and finally
Cagliari…. As usual in this time of the year we had the
whole sea to our selves and only had to share it with the
occasional fisherman, dolphin or shoal of flamingos !!!!!. Great.
And of course we got stuck again in Cagliari
for a number of weeks. But the Cagliarian friends took (as usual)
care of us, and made it worthwhile and time passed by too quickly.
Both young crew members were excellent cooks, the food
availability in Sardinia great and thus having diner became an
event and a surprise every day. And the DVD collection in the
store immense….so evenings passed by quickly.
We finally set sail to Monastir and made it
in one go. The last 50 miles directly into a 25 knot head wind,
so we tacked and tacked, while motor sailing. Beautiful sun, 20
degrees and we arrived in Monastir at three in the afternoon,
whitefaced from the dried up salt…I should have taken a
picture, but I was too quick to wash my face, for customs was
waiting at the dock, and I wanted to look presentable……(when
did that ever bother me before????) Such a salt covered face is
rare for us on Sylphe, as normally we are very well protected
from the spray on the aft, but since we were motor sailing and
thus pointing higher in the wind, the spray made it to the aft
position. The view through my glasses was reduced to zero within
minutes, I physically had to lick my sunglasses clean every 5
minutes, ….yes one does become thirsty after a while…..
But it was a glorious sail to close down the 2003 season with.
Yet another year has passed by and we logged again 4.500 miles in
the Med, and it was again a combination of exhilaration,
routine and adventure. To be continued……
And thus the “Tunisian connection”
(Ahmed, Khaled and Abdu) were awaiting us and took care of
showing Michel and Benjamin around in Tunisia. And I looked after
Sylphe. Especially as Marit would be “home” in 10 days.
So, off I went to the carpenter to have new doors made for the
main companionway, including windowpanes with sandblasted Sylphe
logos. Done in a couple of days and really the highlight of the
boat. We have the doors closed but can still see what is going on
outside, what a difference it makes. The carpenter did a great
job and now understands what I want, and if not, he allows me to
use the machines and his assistants, so there is always a way……….
Varnishing started, especially as the weather in Tunisia was
extremely mild. So, the boys flew back to Europe and Marit flew
in from India for the X-mas celebrations and New Year on Sylphe.
We snuck up in the boat for three weeks and
hardly left, reading, cooking, eating, and watching a collection
of 50 DVD’s from a neighboring yacht. The weather was lousy
and the holidays passed quietly…. Roland being sick in bed,
but he did find the opportunity to cook the usual X-mas turkey……..
January came and so did the sun. Marit was enjoying it to the
fullest and we were in shorts and bikinis by mid January………
ARRRGGGHHH
But Marit had to leave for yet another tour
in India, this time with a nice (wintersun)tan on her face (and
rest).
More varnish and some more returns to my
carpenter for some more woodwork, as I decided to also replace
the whole main hatch, the new doors basically obliged me. So,
days flew by, the weather being absolutely gorgeous, no spring
gales and very mild. Glad we were not in Turkey, like so many
others, as there it was horrible this winter, cold, wet and snow……
And speaking of snow….Marit had a big
birthday coming up by the end of February, so what plans to make……skiing,
probably the only thing we miss with our life on Sylphe. We love
water, even in a frozen form. Since Marit did her studies (some
years ago) in Geneva, she still has a whole bunch of friends that
still live and work there, not to mention the few that even have
chalets up in the mountains. Sokme mails and telephone calls
later arrangements were made and Roland flew from Tiunisia to
Geneve and Marit from New Delhi. To enjoy three weeks of friends,
skis, snow, chalets, a house to live in (!!!!!) and more. It was
too mindblowing. Thanks to Christine and Diego, Tim and
Anne, Jo and Kebret, Anton en Norma, Rob, Karen, Ann and the
others we had an unforgettable birthday for Marit. To be
continued…..
During our 4 month stay in Tunisia we sailed
a number of times, mostly with visiting friends or crews form
other boats in the marina. Ronald and his LJW-yearclub had a
memorable visit and encounter with Tunisia. Their 3 day visit was
spent looking for beer and wine, as all shops were closed for
religious festivities, AND looking for their lost luggage (compliments
from Tunisair). Rob and Margot spent a relaxing week (without
kids) onboard, ending up in hospital, but finally safely and
healthy joining the airplane for the return. And the journalists
from the French sailing magazine ‘Bateau” visited all
ports in Tunisia for a report on sailing in Tunisia and ended up
sailing on Sylphe for the day. They will feature Sylphe
extensively in a future edition. So, it was not just dull and
work, there was sailing and fun as well, as usual.
For now, Marit is again in India, finishing
her work for this year, by the end of May, and hopefully her next
assignment will be on another disease, other than polio. Who
knows, where she will be next time, when she will have to leave
Sylphe.
And Roland is just taking care of Sylphe.
Preparing her for yet another season and she is ready. A new
dinghy, new sun awnings, plenty of varnish, new cushions in the
cockpit, and more stuff that is less visible. So, onward to Malta
for the annual haul out and the antifouling and than on to
Croatia, where we will spend the whole summer, maybe we will even
make it to Venice this year…………. Till Croatia
Roland will go solo again, after his successful trip of last
year, he likes to repeat it with a longer distance……..
The weather in Tunisia has turned lousy and
already for ten days I am waiting to be able to leave for Malta.
It has been drizzling for three days in a row, with a fog hanging
over the sea reducing visibility to less than 300 meters, no
conditions to go solo-sailing without radar….. So, patience……..
We wish you all a good summer,
Roland and Marit
S/y SYLPHE