Bill
Part of the problem is having a schedule to maintain. Without a schedule one can sail when the wind is favourable and even in a direction in which it is favourable.

It 's amazing what a broken rudder can do for you... we followed your path but a month behind and we sailed probably 75% of the time - with great sailing in flat seas for the most part - until yesterday that is - motoring into wind and lumpy seas!

Hope to catch the favorable wind back to Bornholm in the morning and then on to the Kiel and back to the UK as wind/weather permits...


Bill

Bill Balme

Having sailed for the Baltic much later than intended, with commissioning jobs only half completed, we have had to deal with problems along the way. Fortunately, there were not too many and none serious although we did have to return from the middle of the N Sea because the alternator wasn 't charging.

We have now sailed (or motored) some 1600 miles through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland to St Petersburg and back to Finland and are presently gunk-holing on the coast of Finland East of Helsinki waiting to haul out here on 4 August.

We have had very little really good sailing. The first month or so was bitterly cold but since St Petersburg we gave had a heat wave, and still little wind!

John,
I think your previous thread was in the "Where is your boat" topic http://forum.oceancruisingclub.org/where-is-your-boat-at-the-moment/79-al-shaheen

Looking forward to seeing pictures of the gleaming paintwork!
Simon

Funny, I thought we had already started an Al Shaheen topic ages ago?

Anyway, Al Shaheen is undergoing a major re-paint at Fox 's Boatyard in Ipswich, UK. They have been working on her since November last and should have finished her by the end of March. However, she is getting there and is now due for launch on 7 May.

They have had to remove a lot of the Treadmaster deck covering to address the problem of water penetration of the paint layer. All the affected areas have been ground back to bare metal and then grit blasted, primed and then filled/faired, etc. The teak cap rail has had to be removed and some of the cockpit teak plus many of the deck fittings, pulpit, pushpit, stanchions, guardrails etc. A lot of work!

I visited yesterday and she is looking fabulous. She may be late but Fox 's have made a superb job of her. Their workmanship is first class. Haven 't got the bill yet......!

Am not looking forward to a trip up the North Sea until the weather warms up a bit, but we have to be in Kiel for 1 June!