To be or not to be sailing. The answer was simple. Get the boat ready and go out sailing to make sure the rigging was set up right. We also got a good taste of Port Leucate and did a few projects. Mickey oiled the teak and I secured the roof dodger snap-on...
Galopin has the honor of welcoming Mickey for a few days. (He's my step-dad & my brother's father). He's been asking about Galopin and and wanted to visit the area. Mickey is pretty curious, so he's fun to go about discovering things. I also finally pu...
The test results are in. I passed 2 out of 3 sections. Passed the navigational and the general questions, but failed the tides section. Luckily I can redo the part I failed at a latter date. I take a break from sail related things and visit a documentary f...
Episode 16 takes you into the realm of my sailing studies, The Science Of Sailing. Just a few more days left before my Swiss Maritime license exam, I do the most to cram, but also get a real understanding of navigation, charts tides and much much more. We ...
The winch saga continues in Episode 15, Good & Bad Winches. For a boat so well maintained, it was a surprise to see the winches had been so neglected. But it's all part of my Winded Voyage to get familiar with winches and their functionality. I took so...
The wicked winches of the West, East, North and South. They're all around Galopin! There are 9 winches in total that needed a good service. This episode will give you a look into winch servicing. We will also take a quick break and visit the the city of Pe...
In Episode 13 (lucky 13), I went looking for spring sails and found a happy green egg. It was Easter weekend, so this little green dude was hanging around Port Leucate, popping his head around the landscape. I did do a small project of installing a GPS Nav...
In this episode we are sailing through swells of Swiss bureaucracy. And that's just the information we need for the theoretical exam. You'll get a good idea of what Swiss sailing class is all about, and learn about "The Rule Of Thumb", which is an actual n...
More projects in the hands of pros for Galopin. The water heater gets replaced and the water circuit explained to me. As well as getting a liferaft and changing bulbs to LEDs. The wind was howling for several days, but Galopin stayed steady.
Please make y...
The Man Who Loves Perkins is back. This time David guides us through a full tune-up of my Perkins 4108. He's incredibly thorough and demonstrates he is truly passionate about engines. It's also a demonstration of how to service a Perkins 4180 diesel engine...
Episode 9 stars my Perkins 4108 and David, The Man Who Loves Perkins. But before that we take the road from Geneva Switzerland to Port Leucate in the south of France. I'm accompanied by my tunes plugged into a old car radio tape deck and meet up with David...
In Episode 8, I let go of the life I've know for the past 15 years. It's a personal episode where you'll see where I lived and what I've done. Basically, I'm leaving my home and lots old stuff behind and bringing only what I'll need for my Winded Voyage.
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In Episode 7, it was my first time alone on Galopin for a few days. You'll see that I took full advantage of my new little domain. The sound system was up and the shots were flowing for my first night aboard alone. The town of Port Leucate is also pretty e...
In Episode 6, me and my brother start sailing school to get the maritime license. A requirement to register boat under Swiss law. Meanwhile Galopin awaits its new sailors, so we go down to the south of France for a few days to clear out the boat and spend ...
So we've found a boat. A 1981 Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40. It looks great, feels right and the price is within budget. Next step is to have the boat inspected by a certified boat surveyor. One with Swiss certification due to our passports. Our broker recommended ...
Episode 4 brings us back to the south of France. The furthest south possible, as we have rendez-vous with several brokers in coastal towns just across the Spanish border. A beautiful region lined with long empty beaches which must be packed with people in ...
Winded Voyage, Episode 3 takes us to the south of France so we can have a look at real boats I saw online. It's about a six hour drive from Montreux Switzerland to Palavas-les-Flots, my first destination. I scheduled meetings with different brokers and a v...
In episode 2 of the Winded Voyage, we go to Italy to look at hot new boats an everything else about boating at the Salone Nautica Genova. Just a four hour drive from Switzerland, I thought it would fun to look around at new yachts. A full day adventure goi...
Here we go, Episode 1 of Winded Voyage. Launched the day of my 55th birthday. My Winded Voyage starts with me looking for my boat, which was what convinced me it was possible to get a sailboat and just go for it. Because there are thousands of boats out th...
Just about everybody at one point or another has had either the dream or the passing notion of getting on a boat sailing into the sunset. So why not follow an ordinary middle aged guy who finally goes and lives the dream. After thirty-five years in the ad ...
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