How to take a Mini across Europe

Categories: Black Sea · Cruising · Limanu · Mini · Mini Transat · Navigation · Odyssea · Racing · SailingTags: · · · · · Leave a comment

Once the excitement of buying a new boat faded away and my Pogo was safely resting in Marseille for the winter, I started pondering seriously about how on earth I would manage to bring it home, or more precisely, to the Life Harbour in Limanu. As winters tend to be long and mostly dark, they are perfect for adventure dreaming. With Google Earth opened in the cozy comfort of my home, I plotted different routes from Marseille to the Black Sea. And as it usually happens, it was just an email exchange with Marc, who graciously took care of the…

But then better things come around… (Part 2 of a long transitional post)

Categories: Black Sea · Cruising · Limanu · Mem Pas Peur · SailingTags: · · · Leave a comment

Alas, it took me more than a year to get going again and retie the loose ends of my sailing stories 🙂 Just before Easter 2016 I received a call from a person interested in finding out more about Mem Pas Peur. Since for the previous six months I had already spoken to more than a dozen potential buyers and travelled many times to show them the boat without any second calls, I did not expect much from this new contact. But in any case I decided to give the boat a thorough sweeping, which was required any ways after…

Never trust great deals when purchasing antifouling paint!!!

Categories: Black Sea · Cruising · Limanu · Maintenance · Mem Pas Peur · SailingTags: · · Leave a comment

Last May I was over-thrilled when my friend Constantin Lascu, who was taking care of Mem Pas Peur, called me with some very good news – that he found a great deal for antifouling and primer. I was already keen to give Mem Pas Peur a good scraping and adorn her with new layers of paint at the beginning of a new sailing season and thus, without checking any other offers, I accepted on the spot. The name “International” already sounded familiar, in fact there were a couple of jars already on the boat from her former owner, Marc (the French sailor…

As the old saying goes, “All good things come to an end…” – Part 1

Categories: Black Sea · Limanu · Mem Pas Peur · Mini Transat · Racing · regatta · SailingTags: · · · · · · Leave a comment

Such were my 2015 sailing season and my brief but rich experience of owning an excellent boat, Mem Pas Peur. But first things first. For lots and various reasons I haven’t been able to write a new piece in over a year. The last time I wrote something I was excited about starting a new sailing season with Mem Pas Peur, freshly painted on the bottom. Later I will also share a few thoughts about how to never trust a great deal when it comes to buying anti-fouling paint that should last one year (here). I had barely laid Mem…