Gaining confidence

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Donnerstag, 10 Mai 2012 | english

Provisioning for rural areas in Canadas North Channel

When I came into LaSalle last fall it was not for a visit. I was forced to stop where I was about to fly by at night. None of the people here might have noticed the german boat motoring up the river in sunset. Maybe I would have send out a position report using the shortwave radio when I passed Fighting Island and some of those reading this website might have seen the name „LaSalle“ next to it until the next report drags their attention away.

But I had to stop. The engine broke, the voyage came to a stop. I thought this would be for a few weeks, then, facing the fact that I was looking on what would become full rebuild, it turned out taht I was facing the end of the adventure. Gus, who always welcomed me with a „Guten Tag, wie geht‘s“ in his english accent, put it in the plain logical way: It is a technical device so it is supposed to failure. But I was not prepared to have that happen. Weiterlesen… »

Just a thought away

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Montag, 19 März 2012 | english

View over lake Zurich towards the Alps

Among other historic town parts, one of the most beautiful insights to Zurich gives a walk along the Limmatquai. The street follows the Limmat which flows out of the Lake heading north into the city. Framed in walls of stone there is not much left of a natural river but with medieval buildings surrounding the shallow and crystal clear water it is a walk through history.

As many rivers in the past and today have been used for transportation in early days the Limmat was an important route for merchants too. They used „Biäschen“ a kind of small boats to carry goods down the way from Zurich towards the Aare River and to where it continues into the Rhein. The latter still is an important inland waterway for central Europe where barges carry goods from maybe Rotterdam or even Hamburgs huge container ports inland.

Pauilinchen waiting at Detroit River. Foto: Ben Bright

But a traveler can not use the Limmat anymore. Gates, controlling the water level, block the way for boats today and only allowing the connection to be virtual. So it does not carry goods anymore but thoughts can still travel on it.

It‘s about a thousand miles to go from here and about four hundred meters (1200 ft) of hight difference until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean sea level. But sooner or later every drop of water ends in the North Sea to mix with water from all over the world. Maybe some of it takes its way across the Northern Atlantic Ocean and meets the currents from St. Lorenz River. Much of this water comes from across Lake Ontario, down Niagra Falls and out of Lake Erie.

This way the water filling the lake in front of Zurich is somehow connected even to LaSalle in Canada, where my boat „Paulinchen“ wintered a few footsteps away from Detroit River while I was looking over the Lake here in Switzerland.

The winter is almost over. And as spring is on arrival in Canada and Europe it became time  to think about heading on with my trip into the Great Lakes of North America. It will be the  third attempt to follow what is called the Great Loop.

Podcasting about sailing

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Sonntag, 4 Dezember 2011 | english

Screenshot www.segelradio.de

As some might have seen on my german Website and in Facebook I startet a new Web project last week. The „Segelradio“ wich is directly best translated into „sailradio“. It is an idea to create a platform for podcasts about sailing. Besides the content I pruduce the main concept is that others who are interested in joining this idea can put their own podcasts here and together we build a variety of formats and topics about sailing i different „podcasts“. As it is my passion cruising is my focus in that program. But I am sure to find some people beeing more into different topics like racing, boatbuilding or whatever else settles around sailing, travelling and sailors. Weiterlesen… »

Segelradio? – Podcast!

Improvisiertes Podcaststudio an Bord von Paulinchen

Während mich die Collaborrativerockers vor einigen Monaten in Port Dalhousie interviewt haben, ist uns im Gespräch eine Idee gekommen: ein Podcast von und mit Seglern.

Der Gedanke damals war, einfach mit eine Flasche Rotwein aus der Bilge mit anderen Crews über das Segeln zu klönen. Über Reisen, Abenteuer, Zollvorschriften; eben den ganz normalen Alltag an Bord. Diese Idee hat mich seit dem immer wieder beschäftigt und ich habe lange überlegt, wie man das praktisch umsetzen kann.

Die größten Herausforderungen waren: Nicht jeder ist als Gesprächspartner für so einen Podcast geeignet, und die meisten meiner Gespräche werden vermutlich auf englisch sein. Die Lösungen: Ich mach diese Podcasts einfach auf Englisch, wo mein Gegenüber englisch spricht und auf Deutsch, wenn es auf Deutsch geht. Je nach Gesprächspartner werde ich Reportagen, Interviews oder Portraits machen. Mit anderen Worten: Das Format ist weitgehend offen. Weiterlesen… »

Film: Ostseesegeln

Fest im Naturhafen Utlångö

Vor kurzem fragte mich Lina Nagel von der segeln-Redaktion nach meinem „Geheimtipp“ in Sachen Charterurlaub auf der Ostsee. So recht konnte ich mich allerdings nicht entscheiden, was ich da als Tipp geben sollte. Bis mir heute ein Zwischenstopp auf meinen beiden größeren Ostsee-Törns 2005 und 2009 wieder einfiel. Die Schwedische Insel Utlångö liegt am nördlichen Ausgang des Kalmarsund. Ohne GPS ist die Einfahrt zu dem hervorragend geschützten Naturhafen allerdings kaum zu finden. Es gibt reihenweise Durchfahrten, die nur wenige Zentimeter tief sind. Man muss daher einen kleinen Umweg durch die Schären nehmen. Zu finden ist das Inselchen bei etwa 57° 26 Min Nord und 16° 40 Min Ost.

Und wo ich schon beim Rückblich auf den Sommer 2009 bin, dachte ich mir, ich kram noch mal einige Videos vom Törn hervor: Weiterlesen… »