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PREPARATIONS AND PLANS

Hi friends

Today I uploaded a video on internet. It is self explanatory but a little clarification might not be out of place.

The praparations are now mostly done. Corona has caused a lit of disruption. I like to start my sail from a place with little marine traffic and close to open spaces. One such place and a beutiful one at that is Ålesund in Norway. At N 62° 28′ it is a high latitude place. The idea is to sail west round the Faeroe Islands and then south down to Saragosso Sea and spend time there until I run out of food in maybee November. Then to find a place to reprovision. Santa Maria in the Azores seams to be a good place. Few plans survive the first contact with the enemy but we will see.

I have a about 20 year old car that have not been running for over two years due to my bad economy. Our gouvernment have imposed a driving ban on her but I will try to start her tomorrow and try to get her past an inspection. Then I trail my boat to Ålesund. Frinds will drive car and trailer back to Västervik and when weather permits I be on my way hopefully within one month.

There is food and water in Exlex for about 120 days. I had hoped for more. Therefore my plan is to build a boat with better range when my economy so allows. In my spare time I scketch her. At present she is 7.2 meters long with a beam of 1.2 meters. Draft is 40 cm. She is a bigger wessel than I like on the positive side she has plenty of stovage and even a bunk for a small lady. There is also a flat space on deck 1.8 meter by 0.8.

She have a small 30X20 cm canard trimrudder that can be adjusted from inside.

She have a new type of ballasted centerboard 2.4 meter long that descends 20 cm to increase her stability a bit for windward sailing and help to prevent leeway.

It is of course a complication but life favors complication evolution is increadible complex. I might get away with it. Anywhay it is fun to experiment.

Thuse equipeded she can sail in 50 cm shallow water.

The centerboard in retracted position. She is 240 cm long 20 cm deep and lives among the stovage below my bed.
The ballasted centerboard in the down position. The Tufnol triangle is the lever that helps me to control her. The lever is controled from a slot in the deck with the help of a tackle and is immensly powerful. As with other centerboards when she hits something she automatically retracts.
The planned next Exlex is a Canoe Cruiser 7.2 meter long 1.2 meter beam 40 cm draft. She is rigged as a cat ketch. 4 square meter on the main mast and 2.5 on the mizzen. Empty 800 kilos 1300 ready for an extended ocean cruise. I know boats always comes out more heavy than the designer intends. Still it is an rough estimate, no calculations.

As always please help to support my research by donating on Pay Pal and Swish.

To those that already have donated. A great thanks it helps an old pensioner  a lot.

Regards Yrvind

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INSULATED FLOTATION SUIT

Yesterday the Mullion insulated flotation suit arrived from Bövik marin. In September 2007 when I and 19 year old Captain Grahn crossed the North Sea from Norway to Scotland in an old Albin Vega we where cought in a equinoxial storm. We had no heating it was could and our ship Maja leaked from abouve. It was the Chinese water torture. Fortunatley Bövik Marin had supplied us with the Mullion insulated flotation suit. That saved the trip. Do you also want to have comfortable voyages across stormy seas? Contact Bövik Marin and they can supply you with the comfortable  Mullion insulated flotation suit. Old leaky Vegas are cheap. For example today there is one on Blocket for 10 000 kronor and you are all set to escape the Corona virus in comfort.

Below me in the Mullion insulated flotation suit close to my beloved Exlex the pride of all the oceans.

It comes in a handy bag.

Besides reciving fantastic gifts and donations now and then for which I am grateful, I am working with the sails. I have healed Exlex about 45°. That enables me to step the mast and rise the sailes. That way I will be able to trim lazyjacks and and sheets.

The week after next I plan to travel to Stockholm and give talks at the boat show. Coming back about 15 of Mars it time to start making food for 250 days and fill Exlex whit it, well stowed.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind

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SUDDENLY MANY TALKS

Boat show time and departure is approaching, suddenly I am asked to do many talks.

Here is my agenda.

Friday 7 February time 17:00 Göteborg Båtmässan

Thursday 27 February time 18:30 Västervik Baumansgatan 4 for those working in the building.

Friday 13 Mars time 19:00 Oceanseglarklubben place Långholmen Members.

Saturaday 14 Mars time 13:00 Svenska kryssarklubben. Båtmässan Älvsjö

Saturday 14 Mars time 16:00 Båtmässan Älvsjö.

Best regards Yrvind.

 

 

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MATTRESS

Today I have with the help of a friend who has a car collected the orded mattress. The work on it seems to be very good. The mattress is symmetrical in many axes. Thuse I can flip it lenhtwise and sidevise as its gets dirty after many days sailing. Compared to my previus mattresses that had closed cells this one is very soft due to open cells. It can thuse soak up water. That is not good but, its a trade of. During last voyage I worried becuase the boat rolled a lot and I was sliding around on the mattress a lot. I thought that my muscles might not stand up to the wear. I hope this boat will roll less.  Now that I have rotating doors that can be vedged close I think that there will be no water entering the bedroom

Below pictures.

Me with mattress. Its big, long and wide.
It is a good fit. Exlex looks very comfortable.

More and more time are running out. Luckily more and more things are finding their place. The list of things to be done is getting shorter. The plan is to leave in May 2020 from Dingle Irelind like two years ago and sail to Porto Santo Madeira and fill upp with water and fruits. The original plan was sail south of Africa then east to land in south western Australia. Due to visa problems, for me, not coming by plane, I am changing my plan. I with the healp of a friend versed in burocrasy wrote the Australian Embassy here in Sweden. They said they did not deal with visas, therefore I had to phone Australia. They said that I had to phone because they had no email. I do not like to waste the little money I have on long distance calls. Surely there must be email in a country like Australia.

I got angry!

I decided not to stop in Australia but to continue south of Australia and south of New Zealand to Dunedin on the east coast. I realise that that is streatching it, that it is far to long for my small boat because I will have problems to bring that much food.

An other thing thinking about food. I do not have much money left for food. I hope that you kind visitors to my site will donate to healp me out – its also soon Christmas.

I am eager to get going. Also it is getting more and more dangerous to be in Sweden compared to sailing the big stormy Southern Ocean. This night criminals burnt two cars outside my workshop.

Me and one of the burnt out cars. My bicycle bottom left in the picture.
One rumor has that this is a vengeance from persons that do not like the police. Is that true? I do not know. What is true is that several more cars besides these have been burnt here in Västervik in the last few days.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.

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YRVIND 80

At 22 April I became 80 years old.
I am glad for that. During the past 80 years I have experienced a lot made a lot of mistakes and learnt a lot. The coming decade I will profit from that.
At an age of 80+ when most persons have stopped doing daring deeds I will go for a world record, a first. I plan to make an ocean passage in a yellow centerboard schooner rigged with balanced lugsails. The boat will be less than twenty feet with a draft less than one foot and there will be no selfstearing or autopilot. Also I will do it single handed unless a brave, petite girl will join the crew. That however will not make the venture less daring on the contrary. Will I succeed in this most difficult task? With your support my chances will increase so please use the donate button or Swish to 0706200550.
Help me make this new decade a great one for simple boats and simple life. Making a better world for us all.
Regards Yrvind…