After Sete we sailed to Canet-en-Roussillon. A convenient harbor with good chandleries, a little water taxi and free bikes to explore the town. On July 6 we were at anchor off Porto de la Selva in Spain. Here we received our first guest from Lexington. Patricia and Glenn stayed with us on the boat for one night and had a great time. Part of the attraction of this adventure is that it is an opportunity to make new friends and deepen existing friendships. It is a real pleasure to share this adventure with the people we like. For lunch we anchored in a little bay and had a swim while Martin and Vincent hiked the hills. We dropped Glenn and Patricia off at Roses, a beautiful, efficient and fairly priced Spanish port. 

Roses also marked the end of the trip for Vincent and Martin. We rented a car, drove to Barcelona, and explored the Catalan city. Barcelona had gorgeous architecture, I especially enjoyed Casa Batlló. Gaudi might have been the most creative architect that ever lived. On June 11, Vincent and Martin left for the airport. Both Ruth and I felt lucky that our grown sons still found time to spend with us. Together with our sons, we checked out a new boat, well, new to us… . We sailed the boat for 180 nautical miles at an average speed of 5.5 kts. In the first week of our cruise we had operated all key systems and on the whole, everything worked very well. We anchored twice, and with the help of the Dremel, we improved the lock on the windlass.  By grinding some scrap metal, we created a stainless-steel collar to keep the locking pin in place.  Camino sailed well; with the right wind, she is slightly faster under sail than on the motor. She handled well in six Beaufort winds; we made 8 knots in a strong breeze.  Engine, battery systems, radio and navigation are all working fine. 

On May 29, we came back to Marseille. Manu had fixed the Volvo and repaired the generator. He had also broken the one and only key to the entry hatch of the boat. Luckily, we found an excellent locksmith in Marseille, we brought him the broken key and the lock and the next day I picked up the lock with four new keys. I spent a year of my life learning how to speak French, a dubious investment of energy; now however, that effort is paying off. I love the interaction with the locals and even though my language skills are crude, I can understand everything, and I mostly get my point across. 

At 10 am on June 2 we set sail. We had 400 liters of diesel, 750 liters of water and four gas tanks on board. Vincent and Martin joined us for the first ten days of the trip. At 31 and 30 they are strong, competent men. Having a capable crew was a nice way to start our voyages. 

The first day we had strong wind gusting to 25 knots, we reefed both the main and the genoa, heeling over as we cruised at 8 knots, very close to the maximum hull speed. Camino sailed well. She had a very reassuring movement as she sliced through the azure waters of the Mediterranean. 

That evening we docked in Port Gardien at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where Vincent van Gogh painted his best painting: “Fishing boats on the beach”. “Best,” in this case, is defined not by expert or popular opinion but by the fact that a copy of the painting is hanging in our living room back in Lexington.

We had a nice dinner at a local restaurant and the next day we sailed on to Sete in perfect sailing conditions. Smooth ocean and a fair breeze on the beam of our lovely vessel. I am writing this as we are leaving Sete on our way south—before the end of the week we expect to be in Spain. 

Sietse and Verena were the first of the next generation to tie the knot and they had organized a romantic wedding at the family summer house on the edge of the local lakes (Reeuwijksche Plassen). They had decided to invite the entire family from both sides, all aunts, uncles and cousins, an unusual and generous decision. It was the first time in 14 years that our sons, Ruth and I, were in the Netherlands together. 

We also used the opportunity to make new table leaves for the boat and to buy safety gear and supplies to caulk the deck. 

The blue leather on both steering wheels had been freshly polished and gleamed in the morning sun. The stern of the boat was a uniform white. Thanks to some fresh gelcoat the previous scratches were no longer visible. We were packing up to go to a wedding in the Netherlands and after four weeks of fixing and cleaning, we were leaving the boat in ship shape. The center part of the outside table was freshly sanded and had a coat of teak oil. One of the side leaves was in the back of the car, we will remake two of them in solid teak while we are up north. The perfect stern, the leather clad wheels and the shining teak table will make a good first impression for anyone stepping on board. 

There is something noble about doing things yourself. Ruth and I worked as a team. On pier 6 we were the only couple who did this together. It was a big project to take on, we learned a lot, spent over 10,000 Euros and after 400 hours of cleaning and fixing, we have a beautiful boat. 

In two weeks, we will be back and set sail. 

"Un prix pour un Americain" is an expression in French and it means that the price is seriously inflated. There is some concern that people in Marseille are taking advantage of yacht-owners and certainly if they are American. It is one of the many things we must navigate. Sometimes the prices are indeed crazy, the chandlery wanted 20 Euros for one LED lightbulb, the same bulb was available on Amazon in packs of 10 for 18 Euros. One of the Lewmar springs on the forward hatch was broken, it is a solid plastic hinge with two coiled springs. We paid 180 Euros for the replacement. The cost for that part can’t be more than 10% of that price. 

The yacht market is an inefficient and fascinating place, broker commissions are a staggering 10%, yachts are often for sale for more than a year. Listing prices are high, and nobody knows what the real transaction prices are. YachtWorld has a worldwide monopoly on the listing of secondhand yachts, and they are completely focused on the brokers. As a yacht-owner it is not possible to list your vessel on their site. As we experienced with Cassiopeia, sometimes yachts that are listed are not really for sale. And then there are many yachts that should be listed but are just sitting in yards abandoned by their owner. The secondhand sailing yacht market is a few billion dollars per year, owners and buyers are often emotional and the lack of rational market dynamics all conspires to create further inefficiencies. Streamlining this market is an interesting opportunity. 

I like the smell of diesel; it reminds me of the many the wonderful sailing vacations we have had over the years. Beautiful anchorages and good times with friends and family. The diesel engine is always on when leaving and returning to port, marking the start and the end of good times. 

We started our diesel engine on Saturday morning. With Ruth at the helm, we left our slip and headed to the tank station where we filled up our port tank with 500 Euros of diesel and then we motored out of the harbor. It was a calm beautiful day perfect for sea trials. We put both the engine and the autopilot through their paces. We ran the turbo at 2,700 rpm and there was no black smoke! The autopilot worked well and kept us on course; when asked, it executed a perfect 360 degrees circle. We motored all the way to the two little islands in front of Marseille and by early afternoon we were back at our slip.  This was a major step forward and we felt pretty good, we decided to take the rest of the weekend off and go Aix-en-Provence, a beautiful little town just half an hour north of Marseille. We had a great time exploring its beautiful boulevards and back streets, browsing the markets, and enjoying the restaurants. The ice-cream shop did not just scoop a ball onto a cone, but rather they took their time adding small scoops of ice-cream to sculpture a delicious rose. We booked a room at the upscale “Couvent des Augustins” a converted thirteenth century old monastery in the center of town.  It was a romantic and passionate weekend, and we were fully unaware of the disaster that was unfolding back on our boat. 

The next morning, we got up and had our petit dejeuner on one of the street cafes in the main boulevard. We continued our sightseeing and arrived back at the boat late in the evening. At midnight we were back in our cabin and Ruth mentioned that the smell of diesel was overpowering. In the dark, my mind went through the various scenarios and soon I jumped out of bed, lifted a floorboard at the foot of the mast and shone my flashlight. We were shocked to discover that the entire sump was filled with diesel, more than fifty liters had spilled from the reservoir into the boat. There was no way we were going to sleep in this cloud of fumes and so shortly after midnight we were back in the car touring the local hotels, the third hotel had a spare room, it was a spartan affair with steel shutters and no luxury, but the bed was clean and the air free of hydrocarbons. 

The diesel tanks had been cleaned over the winter and apparently the cleaning crew had not bothered to make any of the tank fittings diesel proof. On both starboard and port, the diesel intake of the Volvo were missing their gaskets, screws were either the wrong type or lacking altogether and on the port reservoir the main hatch had a broken o-ring. It took four days to find the leaks, clean the diesel out of the hull, fabricate the right gaskets and make the whole thing seaworthy. In the process I learned that, when it comes to diesel, nitrile rubber is great and silicon rubber is worthless. What was wonderful was how the fellow captains on pier 6 came to the rescue, Bertrand lent us his pump to suck up the diesel, Nicolas gave us gasket material and Jamal supplied useful advice, the camaraderie is heartwarming, there are few communities that are so welcoming and friendly as those of fellow sailors. 

Ruth suggested that we invite some of our newfound friends for dinner, and Bertrand and Nicolas came over for a meal. Bertrand is a brilliant engineer who used to run a textile equipment company in Lille. When he is in the south of France, he lives on board his 50 ft Grand Soleil from 1998.  Thanks to his meticulous maintenance, Imagine is in excellent shape. I always had a special place in my heart for good engineers, Holly, Ralf and Ian come to mind among the many great people I have had the chance to work with. I just like the can-do attitude, the willingness to approach everything as a solvable problem.  Nicolas is a gregarious generous ex-pilot who is one of the key reasons that the boats on pier 6 form such a strong community. 

Ruth once again outdid herself. Even though the kitchen on a boat is very basic, she nonetheless pulled off a spectacular five course meal:

• Amuse bouche:  Fig tapenade on crackers
• Starter: Mache salad with shaved asparagus and pistachios
• Main course Cod chowder with coconut 
• Intermission  Cheese and bread
• Dessert  Poached pear in white wine and cardamom. 

Accompanied with a white and red Chateaux Neuf du Pape from Janasse and domain les Courlandes. Even the French were impressed, Nicolas wondered why I was not even larger than I already am… 

There is no doubt that the easiest way to go sailing is to buy a brand new million-dollar yacht, outfitted to your specifications and delivered to your favorite sailing area. There will still be some minor issues, and most of those will be covered by warranty. This is not the path we took. Whipping Jacques’ boat into shape so it will allow us to receive guests required at least 400 hours of work. Mostly because it takes so much time to find out what the underlying problems are. After three days of struggling with the electric toilet on starboard, Ruth took pity on me and decided that a manual flush was also acceptable. 

The kitchen sink has a saltwater foot pump which allows us to use sea water for washing hands and dishes, thus preserving precious fresh water. The foot pump was not coming back up as fast as it should, so I figured the pump was old and needed to be replaced. We drove to the other side of Marseille to pick up a new pump and a few days later I installed it. Still the same problem. Perhaps the hose between the pump and the seawater inlet is plugged. I undid everything again; this time I did not close the seacock and water started gushing into the boat. I guess nothing wrong with that hose, as I quickly closed the valve to stop us from sinking. Maybe the faucet is plugged, said Ruth. This is perhaps a good time to point out that my wife does not have an engineering degree from MIT, nor does she have a master’s degree from Stanford, in fact she never took a single engineering class during her university education. She was right though, there was a little plug of crud stuck behind the plastic spout at the end of the steel faucet. Once cleaned everything worked fine. So the new pump got uninstalled, old pump got back in. Now we just have to return that brand new Whale Gusher Galley pump and maybe ask MIT for a refund. 

Even with three steps forward and two back, we are making progress. Two out of the three bathrooms are now in ship shape. The new ceiling in the front bathroom looks great. And once I discovered there was a pump guard that could be cleaned, the sump pump started working again. On port side we serviced the Jabsco manual pump, and it is like new. We also fixed the broken hinge on the door and changed the showerhead. The bathrooms are ready to receive royalty.  

Manu and his team are repairing the Volvo engine. 3,800 Euros for a new Turbo and general maintenance. That should give us a reliable diesel engine for the entire season.  After installing a new Rudder Reference Unit, Ruth and I successfully completed the dock site calibration of the Autopilot together. Next week, once we have our new turbo, we will do the sea trails. 

 Fixing a sailboat in the south of France is a wish come true. I love the intellectual challenge of fixing a complex machine and a modern sailboat is complex. There are a host of plumbing, electricity, computer, and mechanical systems. It is a romantic notion to believe that I am a gifted engineer who can handle all of that, who knows how this will end, but it is sure fun to give this a try. If we succeed, we will be rewarded with a reliable boat that we know in and out. The Oceanis is a wonderful platform for a relaxing sailing vacation. It has easy access to the water for swimming while at anchor and there is a lovely main cabin that can easily host eight for dinner. The yacht has three cabins with double beds and each cabin has its own bathroom. There are more sleeping places in the main cabin and during the summer it is perfectly enjoyable to sleep outside so we can easily accommodate up to eight people. With two head sails and a large main it makes for a terrific sailing platform. 

There is real camaraderie among the sailing crowd. Everyone is ready to help, lend a tool and give advice. Jamal in the boat next to us is working on his 400 HP Caterpillar engine, his boat has two of these beasts. Each of these engines consumes some 75 liters of diesel per hour at full throttle, that is the equivalent of some $300 per hour!! Jamal was quick to point out that all the speedboat owners learn to drive slowly after the first visit to the pump. He had completely taken the engine apart, rebuilt it and was now installing it back into his boat. I loved the rumbling of the engine as he was testing his powerful machine. The Mistral was blowing in the first week, with sailing not an option, one of the captains recovered an old guitar from the trash and was lovingly restoring it just to give it away, harbors are filled with people who like to do projects. It is mankind at its best. At the end of the dock was Nick in a classic Amel, the first evening we were in the port we were promptly invited for a drink. Ludovic and Florence joined and in less than 24 hours we had made four friends. People came in and out as we were having drinks and we met Eric, who sails a 42 catamaran and takes passengers on daytrips, and Serge, a surgeon who brought his own water, cheese, saucisson, and chips.

Not all interactions are friendly, the manager of Port Corbiere, Jean-Christophe Maunier had moved our boat since the last time we were there. He did not tie it off correctly and in the heavy winds in the intervening week the davit of the dingy on the stern smashed repeatedly into the light pole on the dock. The balcony and the piston for the backstay were bent as a result. Easily some 5,000 to 10,000 Euros in damage. There was no doubt what happened and to my surprise there was a complete unwillingness to take any responsibility, the guy flat out lied and said that all damage was preexisting. In France the people of Marseille have a poor reputation and are considered less honest, this port manager sure lived up to that. 

Mishaps happen, the friendly fellow sailors more than made up for a bent balcony. I love the activity in the port and the smiles of the people working on their boats. The south of France has a leisurely rhythm that is seductive. Shops and companies are open from nine to noon, then they close for two hours for an extended lunch and reopen from two till six. Ruth and I quickly, and wholeheartedly, embraced the art of the French lunch. 

We travelled towards Saint Tropez, and we stayed at Les Aurochs in Grimaud, a beautiful bed and breakfast with a few cottages. It is run by Rémi and Gerard who have a keen sense of beauty and style. They renovated the old house for two years, added landscaping and a swimming pool, and converted the house of the groundskeeper into two apartments. It was one of the most magical places we have ever stayed. In these beautiful surroundings we had time to think and decide what we were going to do. 

We worked on all three options in parallel. To recruit a crew to sail the Najad 405 from Normandy to the Mediterranean, we reached out to friends and family. Guust in Amsterdam was one of the first to volunteer. We found two surveyors to survey Cassiopeia, I had most faith in Tim Visser who owned a Swan himself and had significant experience surveying Swans. For about 3,000 Euros he was ready to give us a two-day survey and a comprehensive report in English. I also reached out to Renaud DuFer the owner of Cassiopeia and was ready to make him an offer of €410,000 for his yacht. Renaud was a wealthy Frenchman who had made his fortune in real estate. Recently he sold his house in Saint Tropez for 12 million Euros, not bad considering that was three times more than what he paid for it a decade earlier. We reached out to Jacques after we sent him a written proposal and suggested that we meet him for dinner in Avignon. 

We genuinely struggled with the decision; each option had its advantages. There was no doubt that Cassiopeia was the most beautiful boat. The Swan 65 was the original winner of the around the world race and its design is arguably the best the world has ever had. 

The Najad 495 from Marc in Normandy was professionally maintained. Marc had spent 300,000 Euros fixing up the boat in the last two years and it was in perfect condition, renting Marc’s boat would make for the most carefree sailing. However, getting the boat to the Mediterranean was a challenge, there were several news reports about orca attacking sailboats around Portugal. 

Jacques’ boat could be a lot of fun to fix up, but the amount of work was unclear, we estimated that it would take three weeks and 15,000 to 20,000 Euros. It might be much more. We proposed a 30,000 Euros budget to Jacques and all the money that was not spent on maintenance, we would pay in charter fees. We are also budgeting an additional 5,000 euros to cover the cost of new kitchenware, sheets, matrass, bimini etc. 

Renaud Dufer helped the decision by pulling out of the deal. It turned out that his boat was not really for sale, he already had plans with friends and family for the summer. Jacques accepted our proposal, so we went to Avignon and decided to give this option a go. The next day I called Marc and told him we would not be coming to Normandy.   

We now have three options:

1. Buy Cassiopeia

It will be an awesome summer, and the most beautiful boat that I have ever sailed on. Every time we dock, the boat will attract admirers. Friends and family will be impressed and it will be by far the safest yacht in a storm. What is less clear is if I will ever be able to sell it. This is a classic yacht. Most of the population prefers a floating condo rather than a real ocean going vessel. The number of people who can sail such a yacht and like the classic design is small and dwindling. It would cost around €470,000 to buy the yacht, the actual cost of owning this boat will very much depend on when it gets sold and at what price. The extra cost of the harbor fees that come from its size are easily offset by spending a bit more time at anchor. 

2. Fix the yacht of Jacques

This is the cheap and cheerful approach.  We put in work and end up with a good enough boat by spending €30,000 upfront. This will not be a boat that impresses anyone, but it will make a nice platform to sail and host our friends who are not too fussy. It is not clear that we can convince Jacques to do this, he would rather sell the boat at a discount and be done with it. 

3. Lease the Najad 490 from Marc

The Najad 490 is easy to handle, it is slightly smaller than the Cassiopeia and a very seaworthy yacht. We would have to sail it from Normandy in early May, crossing the Gulf of Biscay. We can then start our leisurely vacation in Portugal in June. At the end of October, we must return it to the South of France. This option is the easiest and will have virtually no boat maintenance.  

Cassiopeia is an aptly named Swan 65 which was built in 1975 and is currently being refurbished in Port Napoleon. The asking price is 490,000 Euros, she has been for sale for one year. Last year a German buyer offered €440,000, the French owner countered at €465,000 but the deal did not close. 

She is a beautiful boat, simple with no gadgets, no AC, no washing machine and most of the 15 winches are manual. There are three electrical winches: one for the main halyard and two for the sheets of the Genoa. Cassiopeia is a two master with a traditional ketch rig, two headsails an integrated keel and a keg hung rudder. The Swan 65 series are one of the most seaworthy boats that were ever built. These designs are legendary. Forty-two of these boats were built and most of them are still sailing. The Italians refurbished one of the sisterships, renamed it Translated 9, and are currently participating in the famous Ocean Globe Race, despite her age Translated 9 is doing extremely well. 

Coeur the Lyon is another Swan 65 sistership and it is owned by Bjorn. Bjorn told me that she is regularly sailed singlehanded and once she is in open ocean she just goes. He mentioned that the crack in the hull which happened to Translated 9, on the third leg of Globe race, did worry him. Both his boat and Cassiopeia have a wobble in the hull just below where the mainstays connect the chain plates. He checked the interior of the boat at this spot, which required removing all the carpentry, and did not see any problems. 

The Swan 65 is built on a solid steel beam and after 50 years this beam is prone to rust. It is the spine of the boat and so it is essential that it keeps its strength. The keel is attached to this beam and it serves as the foot for the main mast. Yann, its full time skipper, did mention that corrosion had been a problem on Cassiopeia and that he took all the rust of the beam the best he could and coated it in two part epoxy. 

The boat is on its third engine, a 200 HP Volvo diesel which was installed in 2003 and has close to 5,000 hours. With tender care, frequent maintenance and some luck might serve another 5,000 hours. The original engine was a 75 HP Perkins and the second engine was 130 HP Volvo. The engine is installed right on top of the keel below the floor of the main saloon. It is under the waterline which is a challenge for the exhaust. If sea water flows back into the engine then the engine will blow up. Yann, who had done most of the work on the boat, has installed two one-way valves to prevent the backflow. The top speed of the Volvo is 4,000 rpm and Yann typically operated between 2,000 to 2,800 rpm with a cruising speed of 2,500 rpm which results in 7.5 knots. Filling up the 1,358 liter stainless steel diesel tank costs €2,500.  There is a real incentive to hoist the sails! 

In a few years, the teak deck will need to be replaced. Standing rigging is new as it was replaced in 2022. The hull is currently getting three new layers of epoxy and then it will get its black antifouling. Perhaps the reason that she is getting three new layers of new epoxy is because it had osmosis in the hull. 

After ten hours we arrived safely in Port Camargue and the next day we cleaned the boat and made a list of things that needed to be repaired. 

The black smoke in the exhaust is most likely because the turbo on the diesel has seized up. When the motor gets above 2300 rpm the turbo is supposed to kick in and burn extra diesel. If the supply of diesel is increased without the turbo kicking in, then the incomplete combustion leads to black smoke and the carbon residue in the exhaust. Because the black smoke only happens at high rpm it is indicative of a seized turbo charger. 

The large electrical motor, that drives the autopilot in a Beneteau, was only partially installed. The bolts were too short and they had no nuts !!!  Furthermore, the rudder reference unit was installed incorrectly in a manner that caused it to break when the rudder went all the way to port. 

We discovered this the next day when we were docked in Port Camargue. We replaced the bolts on the autopilot engine and added nuts. Jacques glued the rotary rudder reference unit back together. It still needs calibration and fine tuning, we should probably buy an additional reference unit in case the glue joint does not hold. 

There are other things that need fixing: 

• The stern of the boat had an accident and there was substantial damage to the fiber glass. It needs sanding with 80 grid, two coats of Awlfair, more sanding, followed by a coat for Awlgrip High Build, then a coat of Awlgrip 545 Epoxy primer, sanding with 400 grid and then finish it with the AwlGrip topcoat. The total repair is five coats of material interspersed with sanding to make sure the end result is flush with the hull. 

• The attachments for the stern ladder are bent. Bending back the original welded fixtures will do more damage, so we should just install new attachment points. The best approach is probably to grind off the old attachments and to welt new eyes for the ladder. 

• The ceiling in the forward bathroom needs to be replaced because it is moldy. The sooner the mold is taken out of the boat the better because it is a health hazard, and it can spread to other parts of the boat. 

• Sump pump in the forward bathroom is too slow and needs to be fixed or replaced.

• The stern port toilet pump needs to be fixed as it currently is only pumping out and not able to pump water in.

• The electrical toilet in the stern starboard bathroom needs to get fixed. 

• There might be some damage to the hull in the front from the pole that we hit in Camargue, if so that needs the same repair as the stern hull. 

• The diesel engine needs lots of attention. Fuel filters, oil filters and air filters need to be changed, the turbo needs to be repaired and the v-belt needs to be tightened. While we are at it, we might as well change the oil. After everything is installed, we need to bleed any air out of the engine so it can run smoothly. Of course, the most urgent item is fixing the turbo charger. 

• For the Autopilot we need an expert to help us with the set-up/calibration. And we need to buy a spare reference unit.

• The door of the refrigerator needs its screws tightened. 

• The freezer is currently not working and needs fixing or replacement. 

• The port sheet to the second headsail is worn out in the middle, probably because it rubbed against the stays. It needs to be repaired or replaced. 

• The mattrass in the forward owner’s cabin needs to be upgraded so it meets Peachy’s standards. 

• The standing rigging needs to be checked for safety. 

• Install jacklines for safety of the crew during navigation. 

• The entire boat needs cleaning, especially the bathrooms.

• The teak deck must be cleaned gently with a soft brush and mild soap. 

• The sails need cleaning, there is some mold that requires professional treatment. 

• Cushions are moldy and need new covers or need to be replaced. 

• The bow thruster is a bit shaky and needs to be checked.

• If it is not too difficult it would be good to replace some of the mirrors in the bathroom, the edges of the reflective layer on the back are all corroded.

• The cylinders on the stern hatch need to be replaced

• Bathroom fixtures need to be replaced

• Wiring for the top light in the mast must be fixed so that the off switch works

• Airconditioning is currently not working, and it would be good if that is fixed.

• The diesel supply to the generator needs to be hooked up and the generator needs to be serviced. 

Jacques has a beautiful yacht; we visited a much newer 2021 Oceanis and it is clear that the older Oceanis has a much higher quality. The woodwork down below is gorgeous and the standing rigging is much stronger. The diesel engine in Jacques’ boat is as good as new with only 200 hours. 

The repairs are eminently doable, many of them are cosmetic, I think with 300 – 400 hours of work the whole yacht will be in excellent condition. With a “For Sale” sign it should be possible to sell it during the summer. 

Boats are female and even though we live in a woke world, I will say it anyway, just like a woman, a boat needs love and attention. If you take care of your boat your boat will take care of you. Neglect her and all hell will break loose, she will unleash a fury like a woman scorned. 

Jacques’ boat had been neglected for the last few years. Too busy with other boats and other activities. We had picked a calm day to leave port, the large storm from the previous days has passed but the ocean was still very agitated with waves from past winds. The French have a special word for this “La Houle”. The waves were enormous, up to 10 feet and it felt like the boat was climbing mountains. Despite the wide beam, the first few times the yacht cut through the waves without too many problems. A particularly large and steep watery mountain left our 14 ton vessel suspended in air. Gravity asserted itself and with a tremendous bang the hull of the 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 50 slammed into the ocean. At that moment several things happened which we would discover much later. It was immediately clear that we had lost our steering, and the autopilot was no longer functioning. 

We switched to manual steering and increased the rpms, black smoke started to billow out of the back of the boat, and there was a greasy carbon residue in our stern wake. 

We still had more than eight hours of sailing ahead of us before we would reach our destination. Smarter men might have turned around. 

We have a good friend in Europe who buys and sells secondhand cars for a living, he bought us a KIA CEED station wagon that was waiting for us when we landed. Whereas in the US the SUV has pretty much replaced the station wagon, in Europe they still command a sizeable market share and are very popular in Scandinavia and Germany. 

Driving through Luxembourg we arrived in Burgundy and then in Provence. What a beautiful part of the world. The Rhone River has created a massive fertile delta. The vineyards were sprouting their first green leaves, the berm of the roads had festive red poppy flowers and the landscape was dotted with the bright yellow fields of rapeseed. 

Late in the evening, we arrived at the country house of our friend Jacques who, among his many properties, owned a gorgeous estate just north of Avignon. The sprawling house came with a swimming pool, five bedrooms, several large living rooms, and a well laid out garden.

Leaving was more work than expected, we had to rent out house, change phone plans, sell the car, organize insurance, and pack. 

Facebook Marketplace proved to be great for selling stuff, the Ford sold in a few hours. Once we posted our house on Zillow we had several potential tenants calling immediately. We bought our international Sim cards from Airalo and international health insurance from GeoBlue. The largest challenge was changing our home insurance to allow us to rent the property.

To get the house ready for our tenant, we went through everything we owned. For each item we decided to: a) leave it for the tenant, b) store it, c) give it away, or d) throw it. Literally thousands of decisions, that process took weeks.  Our tenant wanted the use of our garage for his special edition Paris Dakkar 911 Porsche so we packed all of our belongings into Martin’s room.

Ruth cleaned everything and made sure the house sparkled. She truly is one of the most courageous hard-working women I know. We fixed a bunch of stuff, recoated the bathtub in the upstairs bathroom, hung a mirror, installed a fire alarm, removed the door that used to contain Max, fixed the kitchen drawers, dishwashers gas heating system and oven. I cleaned and organized the workroom for the first time since we moved to Lexington and we emptied and insulated the garage. 

Packing for a year long trip was different from our usual, pack light approach. Winter and summer clothing, formal and casual wear, sailing gear for both fair and foul weather, a full year of contact lens fluid and medicines. All in all, we packed eight bags (more than250 lbs. of luggage). Four large check-in bags of 50 lbs. each, and four carry-ons. It was the most luggage that we ever took on an airplane.  

Many of our friends wanted to say goodbye and our social life was more active in the last weeks than it had been in the previous 20 years. We had our medical check-ups; Frank had a minor elective surgery to tune up the family jewels and then we were ready to go.