Presented to me by Bigdumboat and cheerfully Accepted!

 

 

I was asked to answer the following ten questions sent by Bigdumboat, who gifted me with the honor. In turn, I have nominated a few more blog/websites that are well worth visiting.

 

1.Introduce yourselves and the boat you are sailing.

Kate, wife, Fabio, husband, Beta, feline companion animal, live aboard a Columbia 29 designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built in Portsmouth, VA in 1965. We are sailing and living aboard when not busy dealing with bureaucracy and other land amenities (sigh!).

2.What’s the length, the draft, the width?

Her Lenght Overall is 28.5 ft, the draft is 4.5ft and the width (or beam) is 8ft.

3.What was it before? (Translation: What was its original purpose or function?)

She was a sloop once. I guess she was built as a family cruiser for the middle class. In the 60′ it was possible to sell a 29 ft. that sleeps six… People must have been very short back then… A previous owner had the brilliant idea to modify the rig and transform her in a cutter (with two headsails instead of the single headsail of the sloop rig) with strong rigging. That gives her a more bluewater character which was what we were looking for.

4.Did you have it built? (Challenge: make sense of this fuzzy question.)

I often dream about having somebody build a boat to my specifications. It’s still a dream.

5.What made you decide to live this lifestyle?

I was living and working aboard boats and I encountered crazy and happy people doing the same with the difference they were not actually working. I contracted the disease. Now I am doomed. I passed the disease to Kate. Now she is doomed. The disease does not spread to felines but Beta travels with us. So he is doomed.

6.What is your boat’s name and why is she called what she is?

The boat name is Tranquility. It came with the boat. I don’t know why she was called so but I love the name, and I think that is her true spirit (see question number 9). The only problem it is damned long, so every now and then we think about changing it into a short one.

7.Is there anything you really miss by living aboard a boat?

Municipal drinking water systems for Kate, a big book collection for Fabio. We don’t know about Beta.

8.What’cha got for power?

We have an electric inboard engine. Our range is very limited and so it’s the power, which makes for very tricky coastal cruising. It allows for manouvering in ports and approaching and leaving moorings. The rest is sail power anytime anywhere. What if there’s no wind? We don’t move. The more we sail the more the battery bank recharges itself.

9.How fast does it go?

We do 6.5 knots under sail in the best conditions. Under power… forget about it. A Tranquil mean of transportation.

10.Can I have a tour? (Translation: Can I come aboard and snoop?)

Sure! Watch your head…

 

Here the Cruisers/Travelers sites I nominate for the Liebster Award:

 

A journey for Driftwood : Three young men circumnavigating the globe, conquering themselves and the world

Ocean Partisan : refitting a 23ft yacht for sea

Uneven Tread : dreamer, climber, photographer

HIR 3 : Sailor from Croatia with circumnavigation project

Katie and Jessie on a Boat:aboard lovely louise

Plankton Every Day : citizen science and untethered living

Astrolabe Sailing : sailing, yachts, adventures and sailing around the world

Sundown Sailing Adventures : a chronicle of sailing journey and other adventures

Small World Big Dream : Kraigle prepares to sail

Questions for our Liebster Nominees:

 

Your task is to answer the following questions. Due to the different experience of the blogs nominated I tried to make some open question. Feel free to modify and adapt them to our story.  Have fun!

 

01. Where are you now? What did take you there?

02. What is home for you? where do you feel home?

03. Did you meet people like you? Do you feel you belong to a community?

04. What do you always carry with you?

05 What’s the thing you left behind that made you feel more free?

06. How your life would change if you can buy whatever you want?

07. What’s your favorite medium of expression?

08. What would make a huge difference for you now?ù

09. The time you thought you couldn’t make it

10. What keeps you going?

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If you like any of the question that Bigdumboat asked me feel free to add or swap them.