A Sign of Life – and a New Boat
Dear friends, family and readers of this blog, You’ve probably noticed that things have gotten pretty quiet here over the last two years. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean I’ve given up sailing. On the contrary, I’m enjoying it more than ever.The radio silence has two reasons: That’s why I will continue this blog in a […]
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Mistral & Mini-Tsunami in Southern France
For the trip from Cadaques across the Golfe du Lion my father had joined as crew. This made me very happy, because on the one hand it had already been two years since we sailed together last time, then around Brittany. And on the other hand, I’m glad to have someone who can help me […]
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Back in Sailing Mode
After almost 8 months in port in Barcelona, I’m finally moving on! I cast off the lines at the end of June, trading my city life for life at anchor again. Before that, however, there was still some work to be done: among other things, we overhauled the engine’s water pump, replaced the diesel filter […]
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Quo vadis KlabauterShop?
This blogpost is not really about sailing, but rather about entrepreneurial issues. But maybe it is still interesting for one or the other reader. Not even one and a half years ago, at a time when Corona was still associated with a beer brand, I wrote a blog post about my life as a digital […]
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Boatlife and Sustainability
When it comes to sustainable lifestyles, travel bloggers and influencers are increasingly getting criticized (sometimes rightly so). And it is actually a good question whether it is good for our planet when young people jet halfway around the world for a photoshoot at a waterfall. Only to encourage their millions of followers to do the […]
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Barcelona
During my time in Mallorca my decision got more and more clear: I want to spend the winter in Barcelona. Initially I had planned to sail to Greece. But in retrospect, I’m very happy to be spending the winter in a large, international city and not on a small Greek island, where I don’t know […]
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Mallorca
In Germany Mallorca has the reputation of being a “party island”, similar to Ibiza for the British and Cancun for the Americans. Because of this cliché, I had never been drawn there before, although I had actually heard a lot of good things from friends. But, according to Mark Twain, travel is fatal to prejudice, […]
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Off to Ibiza!
After my brother Tom had headed back home, I was now alone on board again. I didn’t stick around in Alicante for long, since I was looking forward to the Balearic Islands, where I finally hoped to find some sheltered coves for anchoring. Unfortunately the wind – typical for the summer in the Mediterranean – […]
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Took a wrong turn? ahora in the Med…
When I cast off the lines in Hamburg a year ago, my goal was quite clear: off to the Caribbean. The plan was to sail to the Canary Islands via Morocco in summer 2020. From there in autumn to Senegal and Gambia and then in winter – after a stopover on Cape Verde – I […]
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Back to Faro
After two wonderful weeks in Rio Guadiana, it was time for me to sail back to Faro. The wind was favorable and since I had a haulout appointment for ahora at the end of June, it was time to raise the anchor anyway. We reached the anchorage just before Vila Real around noon when wind […]
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River Life
The Guadiana River is something like a retirement home for sailors around the world. This is at least the impression you get when sitting in Alcoutim in the café listening to the stories of the old salts at the neighboring tables. Quite a few have traveled extensively in their sailing life and have now bought […]
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Detour into Inland Waters
I couldn’t wait to explore the Rio Guadiana. I had heard so many people raving about it so that I didn’t want to miss out on this little inland adventure. The Guadiana forms the border between Portugal and Spain and is navigable for the first 30 miles or so. Under the condition that you fit […]
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From Tavira to Vila Real de Santo António
After a week in Tavira, I set sail again and headed for the mouth of the Rio Guadiana, the border river with Spain in the far east of the Algarve. Contrary to expectations, I did not encounter any problems in the border area, even though the border between Portugal and Spain is still officially closed […]
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On the road again…
After three months at anchor in Culatra, I couldn’t wait to set sail again. During the lockdown period, I got so used to being alone that after the week of social interaction with new and old friends, I was actually looking forward to a little rest. So I raised my anchor and set sail towards […]
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End of Isolation
With the end of the state of emergency in Portugal, Ilha da Culatra has changed quite a bit: the restaurants have reopened, tourists are coming from the mainland by ferry and some new boats have arrived in the anchorage. Among them were my good friends Ben and Elena from Beyond Elements. I also made friends […]
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First Steps Towards Freedom
In Portugal, the state of emergency ended last week. Although it will probably be a long time before the country can fully return to normality, I was very happy by these news. There are still conflicting information as to whether and to what extent sailing is currently permitted. However, I now really enjoy the freedom […]
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Corona Cuisine and More: Boat Life During Lockdown
It has been more than a month now that I am officially not allowed to go ashore here in Portugal. You might think that I would get bored in the few square feet of my floating home. Luckily, this is not the case at all: As already mentioned in the last two blog posts, I […]
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Transatlantic Training for Beginners
After some initial frustration about the ban on entering Portuguese soil, I already felt much better after the wonderful support I got from my neighbours here at the anchorage. Therefore I want to say a few words, why I’m actually quite happy now. My overall situation has not changed much during the last week, except […]
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Solidarity Among Sailors
Luckily, even as a solo sailor, one is rarely alone. At least not at an anchorage. As I am not allowed to leave my boat since yesterday, I am very happy to have a small “social network” in Portugal. Portuguese friends and other Germans in Portugal, whom I met during my trip, offered me their […]
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Trapped on Board – Now it Stops Being Funny
In my last blog post, I wrote about the fact that, although the situation here in Portugal is getting more serious, there are far worse places than anchoring out here. But an hour ago, the situation changed dramatically: I now have a curfew and I was threatened with arrest if I set foot on land. […]
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Self-sufficiency on board – Sitting out the crisis on my boat
Initially, I wanted to use the next blog post to report about the beauty of the landscape here in Algarve. However, in light of the latest news about the Corona crisis, I am instead writing a small report on the situation on board. I am currently anchoring in the South of Portugal in the Algarve, […]
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Costs of Cruising – Monthly expenses of living on board
Most people don’t like to talk about money… For me it also feels strange, but I do it anyway. Because one of the most common questions when I tell people that I live permanently on my sailboat ahora is: How much does it cost and how can you afford it? Just to clarify: No, I […]
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The sailing digital nomad – How I finance my on-board life
In the summer of 2019 I threw off the lines in Hamburg and have been living on my sailboat since then. In the last few months I have sailed along the European coast and I am currently anchored in the Algarve. Even though my running costs on board are significantly lower than in my “old” […]
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Summer(feeling) at last!
We left the marina in Lisbon at dawn to get out of the Tejo with the ebb tide. At the mouth of the river, there was hardly any wind, but a good 4 meters of swell from the northwest, which was caused by winter storm Sabine on the North Atlantic. The same swell that caused […]
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Porto to Lisbon
After three and a half wonderful months in Porto I headed out at sea again on February 4th 2020! As with my arrival in Porto, I was not alone on board on this part of the trip: Tania, an acquaintance from Freiburg, signed on as “First Mate”. She was spontaneous enough to book a flight […]
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Tchao Porto
A German proverb says: You should leave when it is at its best. According to this motto, I planned to continue my journey from Porto to the south. Yet, the farewell was not so easy. After three and a half months in the port of Matosinhos, I got to know a lot of wonderful people. […]
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The Peculiar Boatbums from Matosinhos
A short story about the community of liveaboards in a small marina on the Atlantic coast of Portugal. Dear friends, family and readers of this blog, the last post was a while ago. This is because I took a longer break in Porto to concentrate a little on my work. Sometimes, being in one place […]
WeiterlesenFisterra to Porto
On Tuesday evening, the Ahora crew (i.e. me) got reinforcements once more: Nienke, who I met two months ago in Friesland in the Netherlands, came to join me on board for a week. We wouldn’t have thought that we would see each other again so early and were looking forward to a few nice days […]
WeiterlesenAlong the Death Coast to the End of the World
Okay, I admit: The title sounds rather sensational. Especially because the last week was marked by sunshine and lack of wind. But in fact the coast here is called “Costa da morte” (Death Coast) and Ahora is currently moored in the harbour behind Cabo Fisterra (Fisterra = End of the World). The name is a […]
WeiterlesenAround Estaca de Bares and Cabo Ortegal
After a few days at anchor in the Rías Altas, I sailed Ahora to the port of Viveiro for two nights to cure my salad poisoning and to top up on supplies. In addition, after more than a week of body care with only salt water, it was nice to enjoy a freshwater shower again…. […]
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Finally: We are heading out!
After countless hours of working on the boat the time has come: Ahora and me are heading out to sea! I will try to more or less regularly report about the journey. If you want to know about updates, sign up for my newsletter: Newsletter Anmeldung * indicates required Email-Adresse * Vorname Nachname
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Es geht los!
Nach unzähligen Stunden Arbeit am Schiff ist es jetzt endlich soweit: Ahora und ich stechen in See! Ich werde versuchen, hier mehr oder weniger regelmäßig über unsere Reise zu berichten. Wenn du auf dem Laufenden bleiben willst melde dich am besten für meine Rundmals an: Newsletter Anmeldung * indicates required Email-Adresse * Vorname Nachname
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Anchor Windlass Maintenance (Lofrans Royal)
Ahora did not have a windlass when I bought her. This certainly was not a big problem in the Baltic sea, and the previous owner told me that he anchored maybe three times in the 28 years that he owned the boat. To me, it was clear from the beginning that I had to change […]
WeiterlesenBuying a Boat: Long Keel or Fin Keel
The question whether a long keel or a fin keel are the better option for a blue water cruiser is heavily debated in the sailing community. And interestingly, there seems to be a correlation between the nationality of the owner and the preferred choice. While in many German and French forums, a (moderate) fin keel […]
WeiterlesenBuying a boat: What size do I need?
When visiting boat shows or walking along the pier at a marina in the Mediterranean, it is easy to get the impression, that the minimal length of a decent boat for offshore cruising has to be at least 45 feet. Over the last decades, average sizes for ocean-going yachts have been increased significantly. When Ahora […]
WeiterlesenBuying a boat: Which Material to choose?
The first question when buying a boat is to choose the right material. Boats on the market are either made of wood, steel, aluminum, ferrocement or fiberglass. The goal is to find a material that is affordable, durable, and easy to repair and maintain. Here are my thoughts on this and why I finally settled […]
WeiterlesenThe Adventure of Buying a Boat
Now it’s official: I just bought a boat! But how did this happen? What was I thinking, and why did I buy this boat? Or even more general: Why did I buy a boat at all? I have been sailing for the first time when I was three months old, on my granddad’s boat in […]
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