Start 2023 – Joline comes out of winter storage – refit for the new season
April 2023
A long sailing season lies ahead of us –
How to Arrive
As in the past two years, we'll be departing from Düsseldorf Airport. We'll be leaving our house and car behind in the care of our daughter Celine.
We booked our flight with Tunisair, but we found ourselves on a Ukrainian plane belonging to the Sky Up group. We were sitting in the front row, but we've never experienced seats this narrow. Luckily, there was one seat left free in our row of three, so we could leave the middle seat free and at least have a little armroom.
winter camp
We chose the Yasmine Hammamet Marina in Tunisia as our winter storage location for our boat. Firstly, because of its convenient location along our route out of the Mediterranean, and secondly, because it would have been possible to take the catamaran out of the water there. Joline is technically fit and will therefore stay in the water. We decided to prepare her for the long crossing in Lanzarote and apply a new antifouling there.
Joline survived the winter safely moored in the Yasmine Hammamet Marina – the winter dirt mixed with Sahara sand covers the entire ship – now it's time for a major clean-up.
The protective tarpaulin – supposedly the best available on the Tunisian market – wind and weatherproof – obviously didn't make the cut.
The blue fibers can still be found in one corner or another days later – despite intensive cleaning.
The tarpaulin's biggest enemy was obviously the sun - and that in winter... - in the shaded areas it still does its job...
Refit
Actually, there are only a few small things on our list, but a boat has a life of its own and so there is a lot to do before we can set off.
During the technical check, Bernd discovered that the chart plotter was no longer working and we were not getting a GPS signal. An intensive search began in the innards of the technical equipment. In the end, it turned out that the winter storms had interrupted the electronic connection, which was easily remedied.
Our dinghy sock is also being made fit again and is getting a good dose of air.
The outside helm station is being upgraded with a radio – this is mandatory for our planned participation in the ARC – but it will also prove very useful on the next crossing. We now have radios at the inside helm station and at the outside helm station.
Our crew for the upcoming first crossing to Tangier is coming on board – Dietmar from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Josef from Vienna and Mehmet from Düsseldorf will accompany us on the journey.
