I usually get up in the morning, put the coffee on the stove, turn on the computer and get weather forecasts, news and emails with a wobbly internet connection via the local mobile phone network while the water in the espresso-pot bubbles up (every other day I whip up a bread dough with my third and fourth hand simultaneously, but that’s another blog entry). This… Continue reading »
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2020
29
Mar
2020
24
Mar
Covid-19
French Polynesia has been in a lock-down for three days now. The rules are very strict: people must stay in their homes except for very urgent errands, cruisers are not allowed to go ashore, all water activities are banned, etc. We were able to get some diesel and petrol from the supply ship two days ago, now we are provisioned for several months and won’t… Continue reading »
2020
19
Mar
Article on Shipwrecks in Yachtrevue Magazine
A multitude of electronic gadgets make sailing appear so simple, but gadgets and apps cannot substitute seamanship–many underestimate the risks… Christian Feldbauer, Birgit Hackl: Trügerische Sicherheit, Yachtrevue, März 2020, p.2–4. In German.
2020
19
Mar
Uncertainties
Measures and restrictions are changing hourly now, nobody quite knows what’s going on between rumours and info. Yesterday we heard that the island nations further west had closed their ports for sailboats (Cook Islands, Tonga), this morning we got an email from a friend that French Polynesia automatically extends visas for those who need them and that sailboats need to stay in quarantine for 14… Continue reading »
2020
16
Mar
Corona virus
Unlike most people who live ashore we are not constantly surrounded by radio and television with hourly news updates. Sometimes we don’t look at news for long periods of time as it’s usually just frustrating to read what’s going on in the world without being able to change anything, so quite often we focus on the big and small worries of our little world here…… Continue reading »
2020
03
Mar
Gambier vs. Marquesas–Article in Blue Water Sailing
Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: South Pacific Passages Compared, Blue Water Sailing, Winter 2020, p. 14–18. Read the current issue online.
2020
01
Mar
Cruisers no longer welcome in Tahiti?
Tahiti used to be a very convenient stop-over for us: once a year we went there to do a gigantic provisioning tour, stock up on spare-parts for the boat and all other things that aren’t available out on the islands. There were several options to anchor, but over the last few years sailboats have been shied out first of Arue and now the big anchorage… Continue reading »