Short documentary trailer by DNR-Productions

Short clip I assembled myself while at anchor… I was so bored. This has nothing to do with the work of DNR – (You can tell!)

Another self-made clip on my voyage from Lisbon in Portugal, to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria (The Canary Islands)

Johannes and I have sailed through the night from Dover, hoping to reach the Netherlands, however we’ve since turned in at Zeebrugge, Belgium after slow progress, annoying wind direction (N to NE) and heavy seas. Tomorrow we sail to Flushing, The Netherlands, where I may enter the Dutch inland waterways. Winds over the next several days are not favourable, running to NE, making progress difficult… Johannes has an important interview in Hamburg, and may depart the journey early, which will make the inland waterways an easy option for continuing alone.

Since I currently have no time restraints (other than financial) I may just dabble around, possibly into Amsterdam, and then the river Rhine. Currently this is all speculation, since I have no charts of the canal system, however I will not head back into the North Sea alone.

In other news, my phone has died due to waterlogging, leaks have appeared from nowhere, and Johannes’ tillerpilot also appears to have taken a fatal beating…

Other than cabin leaks, Constellation has performed incredibly well – We’ve surfed 4metre waves, running down their faces at 10kts over the ground, yet still the boat distills confidence and good handling. Ah, the sailing life!

nick.

I’m still fixing this section up, but feel free to view more photos on my Flickr site.

Apologies for the lack of updates… But I must admit nothing of any real interest has been happening of late. A lot of sitting at my computer working, and staring at my maps table thinking that I really should practice my tidal vectors.

I’ve also been spreadsheeting and pondering about the impossibility of it all… It seems I can work to make the money I need, but will not have spent sufficient time practicing, and may invariably end up killing myself along the way. Or, I can spend time practicing and not be able to buy the equipment to bring Constellation up to true ocean going ability, therefore letting Constellation become another ‘dream boat’ sitting on poles… I’m sure every prospective sailor has found themselves in exactly the same position, and as far as I can tell, there is not a lot you can do, except work hard and plan well… I’m trying.

I’ve noticed a pattern in these posts – First it is the dismal and the dreary ‘poor me, boating is so hard’ rubbish, and then comes the good news. Well, who would I be if I didn’t have a pattern? So, the good news is, Peter, another Australian who is stuck in Europe (metaphorically of course , sent me a really really nice postcard:

That’s Captain James Cook – I hear he’s a pretty good sailor, and might know a thing or two about tidal vectors. So Peter from Oxford sent me this postcard to wish me luck, and I guess also to warn me not to pick fights with Hawaiin’s.

Peter from Oxford wasn’t the only metaphorically stuck Australian who sent me presents this week though – He also wasn’t the only one named Peter with a kind heart! Pete & Jade from London sent some cash my way, so I could eat fresh vegetables (limes of course) this month, and keep up the good fight to paddle off this continent back down to Paradise Island. They just got married, which means Pete is also broke and may have had to forego Vegemite and Fosters rations for the next 12 months. Thanks Pete & Jade, you guys are really generous.

So, with the excitement of presents still stuck in my mind, I must get back to work, stoke the coal fire, drink a lime on the rocks and search eBay for a hat like Cook’s.

nick.

(I’m still attempting to garner pledges for my certifications: 5 Days remaining, $330USD pledged so far! More information at my Fundable.org page or here.) (Don’t worry, I’ll soon stop pasting this in my posts!)

Firstly, thank you Nathan for the christmas present, very kind and generous

This week has found me in Scotland and London on work… I still don’t know what to do for christmas, but to stop my burgeoning indecisiveness on whether to go back to Berlin, take a random ?Ǭ£5 flight to anywhere in Europe, or stay on the boat. At this stage I think I’ll stay on the boat for christmas, in anticipation of being there at the same time next year… Albeit in water. I’ll ready the decorations.

So, if anyone from the UK is nearby, do come say hello! I’ve had a few people say they’d come out for a drink next time I was over, and I apologise for A) the short notice, and B) the time of year… Yet 2006 has been my most chaotic period, and it appears it will continue as such for quite some time to come!

I will be on email till Monday morning, but once down at the boatyard, it is a lengthy walk to the top of a residential hill, where I ‘borrow’ somebody elses wireless internet connection for email, so I could be a little inconsistant on checking. My mobile number is +49 304 9784389.

If I don’t post again before the 25th, merry christmas to you all!

nick.