Greetings from the Austrian Alps

[SkiprJohn]

Isn't Austria beautiful? Sound of music country. I spent a few Christmas vacations in Garmisch near the Austrian border. Great place to get that wintery feeling that goes along with the Christmas spirit.

The Davis Mark 25 is a great sextant even though it is plastic. It still works very well and if (heaven forbid) it should be dropped it won't bend. All mirrors and parts are easy to find through Davis. I did a Pacific crossing with one and swear by them.

Kind Regards,

JohnL

[GreyRaven]

Originally Posted by Windgeist

My wife is Austrian and we visit there almost every other year. Beautiful county!!!!! My wife and I had our first sail together on Mondsee, a lake between Salzburg and Linz.


and we got married here...Hohenwerfen Castle

Now, somebody tell me sailors are not romantics at heart.

I met and first went sailing with my wife on the Traunsee, two lakes further east of the Mondsee. She was teaching a sailing course for some little ones and I was taking a spinnaker course.

We decided to remain where we met and settled down on the Austrian “Riviera” and this most incredible place to go sailing.

We also were married in Schloss Orth, out on the water of the lake and near the boats we love. I’ve uploaded an image of that very old castle into my photo gallery.

Long live the romantics!

[GreyRaven]

Yet, before I asked her to marry me, I went sailing with her first - you know, to sort of check her out. We sailed from Mallorca to Ibiza and from there to the Spanish mainland and back on a little 30 ft. Italian job, tough as nails but with absolutely nothing on board. No water in the tanks (the tanks were fouled), no life raft, no VHF, no dinghy - just the boat, the sails and us.

On the return trip we were hit by a sudden storm between Ibiza and Mallorca with Bft. 10 winds and gusts of 11. There were no usable life belts on board so she remained below. I was at the tiller and she photographed what she saw… after lashing together all the fenders and anything else which would float as we were in “legerwall” – in danger of being swept onto land…

These images from her log, I have also posted. It was then that I knew she would be mine for life…

(It should be noted that on that afternoon/evening 5 people in our vicinity died in that storm. Most were washed overboard and lost. It was an afternoon which completely changed my life and who I am today).

[GreyRaven]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

Welcome aboard from a displaced Canadian. I know what you mean about the hurt of being seperated from your boat by a long distance. I to am a long distance commuter when it comes to my boat. will see it at xmas and then again at the end of June for two months. Only 18 months left in this contract. Thank god.

Thank you, Lancerbye, for the welcome.

I suppose that acquiring a boat is like having another child in the family. I must admit that I truly miss her. Yet, she is being well taken care of during my absence. An Indian gentleman by the name of Segar visits her weekly at the marina, keeps her clean, polishes everything, runs the engine, oils her teak deck and keeps her spic and span both topside and down below.

Perhaps it is the fate of some men to live their lives perennially separated from the people and things they love the most. In the end, however, it all comes together. It just requires patience and a great deal of faith.

Isn't that always the way, with women and boats?

Kind regards and I wish you a good sail at Christmas!