Find here the presentation of Maëlouna's trip.
In a few days, it's the big leap. We will cast off in November 2019 for Tunisia. As for the weather, winter is here earlier than expected. Caution should be exercised when navigating. To do this, we asked a skipper, Jean-Luc, to accompany us. With two children, we prefer to have a 3rd pair of expert hands to ensure a safe descent.
Heading for Tunisia
At sea, we must adopt at all times essential reflexes that will prevent us from an accident or major complications. With Jean-Luc on board, we will have more ease in managing the manoeuvres. We can also consider night sailing to shorten the time of the descent of the Mediterranean basin.
This departure is the beginning of our adventure, but we will not do any tourism on these first ships. As we want to get the boat out of the water in Tunisia to cool the interior and exterior, we will not waste time at stopovers. The time of the trip will really start in spring to discover the treasures of the Mediterranean.
Always something to repair
For the time being, it is time for the last technical checks. And it's not without surprises. The bilge pump was beginning to produce a suspicious sound. It was found that she was running away. An essential element of safety, we dismantled, cleaned, tightened and then reattached it with some difficulty. The sound is no longer there (it must have been blocked), but the leak is still present. We can do no more than replace it with a new one.
We also check all the valves one last time. And there are many of them! We completely resealed the windows last month. On this issue, we know we will stay dry. We replaced the old putty with Sika on the candlestick feet and guy plates for safety to avoid water infiltration.
Ensure safety and stewardship for the family
The safety inventory is done, so is the medicine chest. Water and supplies are on board. We have provided food for 3 weeks by promoting fresh products: eggs, cheeses, basil and other aromatic herbs in pots, apples, oranges, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash of all kinds. We have trained ourselves to make simple and delicious recipes at dockside that can be made again at sea without difficulty.
All we have to do now is to secure everything that could heel and become real dangers at sea. And above all to find the right weather window to really cast off..
See you soon for news of the departure!
