Diana Naindenel

After Patrik came home from Mexico we were terribly busy with preparing for our stay in Port St. Louis du Rhône, where we had booked a place at the wharf from June 12 till July 12. Working on Luna Azzurra, mainly    her hull, new antifouling etc.

Afterwards, we plan to sail to Corsica and further to Sardinia and return to Loano end of August/beginning of September. So we had to think about a lot…

In the end we left Loano on Saturday, June 3rd, instead of Wednesday or Thursday, as originally planned. Well, at least we were well prepared, had our dinghy with us, bought groceries, put the stuff we wouldn’t need in the garage and brought everything needed on board, like tools, CopperCoat, grinding and polishing stuff, spare parts….

And off we went, towards France. Our scheduled anchor spot was St. John-Cap-Ferrat. It took approx 8 hours, in sunny weather with bait of sailing, but mostly motor-sailing.

The next morning, after coffee, WOBBLES etc., we left at 09.00am, next stop Baie de Bon-Porte. It was a cloudy day, and mostly motor-sailing again.

After a VERY bumpy night (were awake at 03am), we continued to Ile de Porquerolles – one of our favourites! Since we left early, we arrived at Porquerolles already shortly after 11 o`clock. The weather was sunny and warm again. We chose the anchor spot east of the marina, which promised to be calmer than the one at the west side. Especially, since we wanted to stay for two nights (no bumpy night please!)

The next day we took the dinghy onto the island, grocery shopping and a nice lunch was planned at the restaurant L’Orangeraie, which we knew from last year! It proved to be worth to be called “magnifique” with an excellent service! Vegan choice for me available again 🙂

Our next anchor spot was planned at the Ile de Frioul/Port de Pomégues. Unfortunately, the bay was very small and already occupied. So we sailed around the island, to a place called Havre de Morgiret, Ile Ratonneau (same island actually). The Ile d’If lies just beside this one. It’s the one Alexandre Dumas’ book is set there, called “The Count of Monte Cristo”! How cool is that.

Patrik and I will definitely visit this island with the château d’If on our way back in July!

Our neighbours at the anchoring was a beautiful NORDEA 65′ sailing yacht with an Australian flag, called “SAGA”. She also presented a Swedish house flag. Perhaps, it was a Swedish-Australian couple sailing the Med.

The next morning – we were preparing our departure by hoisting up the dinghy – the Aussies came over and it turned out it was a Swedish couple, living in Australia. Two of the kids are also living there, while the third one lives in Sweden. They just bought their yacht in France and planned to explore the Côte d’Azur, Corse, Sardinia and Greece, before sailing back home to Australia. Very nice people!

We left around 11 o’clock and arrived in Port St. Louis du Rhône around 3pm. Since storms on Friday and Saturday were predicted, we had booked a berth until Monday morning. Better safe than sorry, right?!

The berthing turned our to be a catastrophe! Even with the “help” of the marina guys, we were drifting against other boats and to top everything the bow truster went on strike! Fu****!!!! It was hopeless and in the end we ended up at the quay, opposite the marina. At least our el cable is long enough to reach the socket the pontoon.

Well, the night to Friday was bumpy and windy and Friday itself grey and at least 20 kn winds. We went into town to look were our airbnb lies, where we would live for the next month. Plus looking for grocery shopping facilities. They are comfortably close to the apartment, luckily!

The apartment itself lies about 3.5 km from the wharf. Since we have our e-bikes with us, this won’t be a problem!

So, so far so good! Happy Weekend to you 🙂

Well, a couple of weeks have past since our last post.

I’m still settling in, and not and much is happening. Perhaps, the daily boat life has started 😃

Sadly, the weather is a bit unpredictable; from sunny and warm days, to stormy, rainy ones. It often changes several times a day, starting with a beautiful promising morning and two hours later you need a warm cardigan and socks, or the opposite happens. At least, I didn’t have to start the heater anymore (so far – fingers crossed 🤞).

When looking at the blooming flowers everywhere, spring should be at its best now. Seems like it’s still hiding itself somewhere very well. But apparently, everywhere in Europa it’s too cold and rainy, or so I heard.

Besides of grocery shopping, baking bread once a week and cleaning, I try my best to learn the language. Slowly, slowly it’s coming back and luckily, the people are often helpful. Especially, when they see that you are trying.

I also sorted some more of Patrik’s tools and stuff. A lot are remnants from the previous owner. It’s unbelievable, how much scrap I’ve found: Rusty screws, nuts, shackles, tubes with rock hard content, undefinable things 🤔 There is a box now waiting for Patrik to go through and decide if he really needs the stuff…..

He doesn’t know it yet, but I cut up his t’shirts, as a punishment, for keeping all kind of crap! 😜🤣                  Nah, this are old ones which will be used as rags, of course.

And then there is Fabio, a Swiss guy, also living on his boat. We met already a couple of years ago, then he was away for a while and now he’s back – with a “new” boat, two pontoons further away. With him I could drive a couple of times to Borghetto Santo Spirito (next town), where he knows a nice DIY laundry. Very clean, acceptable prices and open 24/7 – perfect!

I also finally received the long awaited consignment from Letters Unlimited Inc., situated in the US. I’ve ordered tape to do the new waterline on the boat. We couldn’t find this specific colour as paint, so we’ll try with this one. According to them it’s suitable for boats as for cars. I definitely look forward to see Luna Azzurra after her make over 😍

From Amazon I’ve ordered a couple of things too. Among others I needed new toothbrushes (replacements) for my Philips Sonicare. And what did I find? Heads made of bamboo instead of plastic. They fit, but I haven’t tried them yet! I’m excited to test them, though, a bit less plastic in our plastic-flodded  world! 🌱

That’s about it so far. Patrik is coming home soon and we both look VERY forward for his return. It’s been a bloody long time without him on board 😊 *suck*

Not much has happened…. Yet, still enough to write a short post 😃

Everyday life has almost settled in. I’m busy with cooking, buying groceries every 3rd or 4th day (fresh salad and veggies mostly), baking bread once a week, tried to organize some of Patrik’s chaos things… Nooooo, I haven’t thrown away anything, but brought it to the garage for now.

I picked up a couple of deliveries at the marina’s office: The EPIRP has arrived (yeah!). And the Copper Coat (antifouling), which we’ll use in June/July, when we’re located in France, giving Luna Azzurra a make over 😍 i look very forward to that, especially polishing her outside finally. The matte dark blue with the old decor looks just disgusting 😬

We also ordered a new endless line (finally!), which has been professionally spliced and mounted! Grazie Beatrice 🙏

On the 19th a guy came and installed our new anchor lamp. WOW, I never saw someone “running” up a mast that fast… Couldn’t take him longer than 1 minutes! He was also the one who checked and set the rigging on Luna Azzurra before we came. A real professional, also thanks a lot to him!

Our new backyard looks a bit different than in Switzerland. Fishes are swimming around the boats (haven’t found out what they are called yet), and the flora under water has its own fascination. Are these anemones? Small fishies are hiding inside their tentacles and bigger ones are feeding on them. Really interesting and sweet to watch the underwater life 🐟🐚

I found a vegan mayo, by the way. And it tastes fantastico! Patrik will love it too 😋

Weatherwise it’s typical April. Some sunshine, but suddenly cloudy. A constant chilly breeze makes being outside still a bit unpleasant. But at least I didn’t have to start our heater in the evening for the last few days. I do hope it stays this way😉

Well, that’s all for now. Wish you all a fantastic weekend –  cheers 🥂…….and….ahoy ⛵️

Well, it’s been almost two weeks since I live alone on the boat.

I must admit the first 2-3 days were a bit scary, especially when it came to the weather. It was rainy, very windy – perhaps up to 25 knots – with nasty gusts in between. We even had a thunderstorm one evening. Then some sunshine, but due to the chilly squalls it was far from t’shirt weather. Yeah well, it’s still April, right?! 😁

The first nights were the worst, though. I suddenly heard noises like never before (or so I thought… 😮). Is there someone on deck? Is this one of our lines slapping against the mast, or a neighbour’s boat? (Turned out it was us, sorry folks…). Did the fridge always sound like this? And suddenly you remember all the horror movies….😱 I swear I would have heard mice fart, if we had some onboard 🐭 *hahaha*

Anyway, meanwhile I’m almost used to the new lifestyle. Although, it would be much more fun with Patrik around, of course. I managed to fill our fresh water tank, changed the gas bottle – in the dark, while having a Farinata di Ceci in the oven for dinner. Which turned out heavenly, by the way!

I also had a big cleaning day (the inside of Luna Azzurra) and went to the DIY laundry in town. The walk takes approx. 20 minutes, so it’s not too bad. The one in the marina is being modernised until May they said.

The weekends start to be quite busy in the marina. People start to get their boats ready for the new season, some spend a few nights on board and simply enjoy being here. It’s a relaxing atmosphere and I wish my Italian was better… I brought my school books and stuff with me, though. So studying the language is high up on my To Do list, promise 🇮🇹

Aaw, I almost forgot! Before Patrik left for his business trip, I modified the two mattresses, which we got from my mum and dad. They are of high quality and as good as new. So since my parents bought a completely new bed, they had no use for the old ones anymore! Great for us 😜 It took me two afternoons and bloody fingers (literally), but it was absolutely worth it! Lying in the bed now feels like night and day 😴🌙

Last but not least I got serious and started jogging. The harbour wall measures 900m. So running this back and fro, I get 1.8km, plus a couple of hundred metres to get there and back to our boat. Seems like a perfect exercise to me 😅

So let’s see what next weeks brings – except sore muscles. Better weather, I hope 🌞😎

Well, at the moment it’s simply home, not much sweet yet 😅

We’re very busy with organizing our new life on board Luna Azzurra. The tricky thing is to set priorities. But that’s exactly the hard thing, since everything seems important and needs to be done at once…

Two weeks ago we did a quick trip to Loano with a rental bus, getting everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – we plan to have on board into our garage. And boy, it is a lot….Patrik and I said more than once, we need a bigger boat… 😮

Tuesday, March 28, was the first of my very last three working days. What a strange feeling that was. Then, Thursday arrived and I had to say good bye to my working colleagues – not without sharing some tears 😢    In the evening we took my parents out for dinner, saying THANK YOU, for letting us stay with them for free!

Friday came and we drove to Luxembourg for the weekend, saying adieu to Pascale and friends 🥂🍾❣️ We had a really good time, not much sleep and too much crémant (as usual). And of course, it wasn’t a good bye forever….we’ll soon meet again!

Afterwards, only Monday was left. In the afternoon we made some vegan fish ‘n’ chips which we enjoyed with my parents. In the evening we had a lovely meet and greet with more good byes.

Then, Tuesday April 04, came and it was time to hug and kiss my parents good bye 😳😢  Well, naturally we’ll keep in close contact and they know where we are. Plus, Loano is quite easy to reach by train.

09.30 and off we were….towards our new life on board Luna Azzurra! ⛵️

So, here we are now! Meanwhile, we have re-organized the boxes in our garage (in order to make room for our car), started rebuilding the galley a bit, swearing, wondering – and worrying – how on earth all our stuff should fit onboard (still do, though). But generally very happy, enjoying being here, slowly adjusting to our new lifestyle with all its ups and downs waiting for us.

Only the weather gods weren’t very kind to us so far. Chilly winds, gusts up to at least 25 knots, rain and a thunder storm (Thor said hello 🐾), mixed with sunshine. Well, it’s April  and it does, what it’s supposed to do! 😜

A VERY HAPPY REMAINING EASTER WEEKEND EVERYONE 🐰🌷🐣🦋

On the home stretch until the tenants moving in today, a water leakage into our cellar was detected last week!! The water came from outside and miraculously found its way under the threshold into the cellar 😨

The floorer, Stefan, who’s plan was to do some minor repairs in this area (plus a new carpet upstairs in the house), discovered it last Thursday (March 09) and called me immediately. 

Patrik and I had the day off the next day anyway, in order to clean the garage and the balcony. So we met Stefan and examined the disaster! WHY, WHY, WHY, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE?? I really started to freak out!

Luckily, a friend of Stefan works as a carpenter, so he called him and with even more luck, he agreed to meet me on Tuesday morning (March 14)!

The cleaning of the house had started on Monday morning too. So there was quite some activity going on in the house, together with the carpenter who started his work on Tuesday morning.

He promised he could fix it until the evening, so it would give Stefan enough time to finish the floor before Saturday! Thank God!! 😅

I had a couple of worrying days, since I didn’t hear from the carpenter nor Stefan and I desperately wanted to know how everything worked out. But I assumed both were busy and I know Stefan since many years and knew I can trust him a 100%!

Thursdays afternoon came and Stefan finally called me! He had just finished the cellar and told me that everything looked fine – the water damage was fixed and the floor looked as new! *yeah*

Since the cleaning company had also completed their work on the same day, Patrik and I decided to drive to our house after work, to check out everything. 

We were more than satisfied! Going through the whole property, we were super happy to see that the painter, who did the walls did a marvellous job and of course the carpenter and Stefan did their magic! Thank you guys, you did a fantastic job!

In the end we both agreed that the tenants had no reason at all to complain about anything. They would take over a very fresh, clean and beautiful house. 

And we are absolutely sure that in no time they will feel completely at home 🤗

We’ve done it! Our house is empty! 🥳

A lot has been sold – most at a ridiculously low price – some things we gave away to friends and family and the rest went to charity!

Some furniture or deco things weren’t easy to say good-bye to…. But we were prepared for that. Can’t have it all, can you?

The storage box is in the cellar – luckily, our tenants agreed that we can have a small space behind the door – together with our bed frame, which we keep. In the box are our photo albums, some memories and of course the urns of our late cats, Gulliver, Thor and Odin 😿

I’ve made a collage with their pictures, which we’ll take on board…

From now on we’ll life with my parents until our definite move in the beginning/middle of April.

We’ll also do a quick trip to Luxembourg, mainly to say good-bye to our friend Pascale and bring her two glass cabinets, which she bought from us.

Then we’ll need separate trip to Loano, getting our stuff on the boat. We might loan my brother’s bus, which would be the easiest! We’ll see, though.

Ah, and by the end of March I’ll be retired….. 😲

Patrik will continue to work approx. 50% (100 days a year) for his company, so he’ll also provide for my pension. It actually is a sweet deal for him – and his employer!

He’s in the luxurious position that only he and another guy can do this job, so they simply couldn’t let him go (yet). This circumstance is the main reason we are able to fulfil our dream a few years earlier than planned. Him working is also temporary, maybe another two years or so.

Naturally, he’ll still have to do some business trips while I’m onboard Luna Azzurra. Which means I’ll have to learn all about it in record time. But that’s a small price to pay…. could be worse 😉

Well, our adventure continues, and it definitely doesn’t get boring! 😁 CHEERS 🥂