A Life That Makes Sense
We have a small dinghy for running errands when in the archipelago, close to shore, etc.
As always, we wanted to save a little on the budget.
We found an “old but new” outboard. The previous owner never used it, except for a few hours—or so we were told.
After a good service, it runs perfectly.
.. to be a ship’s dog
Cava helped one of the “young ones” feel comfortable sailing in the dinghy.
Our end goal. Long term. Is to make our way to Palermo.
So we went scouting for a nice club to visit in some years time.
One of those special afternoons
After the long process of getting the oil pump fixed, we ran into trouble again. Luckily it happened when we were returning to our harbor.
Il Capitano wanted to practice tight-space harbor maneuvers—quite difficult with the old lady—so practice is, of course, important. While reversing, we heard a horrible sound of metal against metal and lost steering.
It turned out that the rudder had come loose from the actuator and was pressed into the propeller, causing damage to the rudder, steering, and worst of all, the propeller. We have filed the case with the insurance and have approval for the needed repairs. Fingers crossed that the axle hasn’t been damaged.
The root cause was poor craftsmanship in the assembly and mounting of the actuator and rudder axis.
All in all, we were lucky to discover this under safe conditions. And more we lear befor the next big trip the better.
.. but shortly, for sure!
Some places stay with you —some more than others, and for reasons not always easy to pinpoint.
To make up for the summer travels we lost (see previous posts), we’ve agreed to sail as much as possible – weather permitting – through fall and winter.
First on the list was as one-night stayover at Saltholm (wikipedia). It was a truly magnificent experience — from at nature perspective. Vast flat land with nothing but grass and water, and a stunning with of the Malmö and Copenhagen skylines at night.
We’ll be back!
…took us from summer holiday sailing to summer holiday alternatives.
On a small “let’s go bathing” in-and-out trip just around the corner from our harbour, MY Cava acted up.
You become quite sensitive to “not normal” sounds and frequencies. In a fraction of a second, the engine pitch changed, we lost power to the propeller, and we knew: now we are in trouble. We did not panic—but Il Capitano got quite busy.
We managed to drop anchor before running aground (the weather was calm). We were lucky to be close to our own harbour, hailed another boat, and were towed back.
The Chief Stewardess—at that time a.k.a. our designated rescue swimmer—had to swim to the other boat to get a line to them, as we were in shallow waters where they couldn’t reach us.
Very, very long story short: after almost eight weeks of trying many alternatives to get that one tiny broken piece fixed or replaced, we finally have the engine running again. (you cannot – we learned – get spareparts for our gearbox anymore).
Consequently, new plans were made for the summer holidays.
A long-awaited visit from Il Capitano’s friend, Sir D., and his missus.
A slow ride through the lock to the Trekroner Fortress just outside the harbour for a cup of tea.
A warm day—both in terms of weather and good companionship.
Thanks for stopping by.
We’ve been debating the pros and cons of an extravagant luxury appliance for M/Y Cava for quite some time.
In light of the upcoming days and nights spent en route to Palermo, and the occasional cruise with friends, we decided to buy a fridge. It is a bit of a challenge power-wise since we need everything running off the batteries.
We found one with good specs at a decent price compared to leading brands.