Cowes Yacht Marina...

...is now temporary home to Jennifer and her crew until at least May 16th. It took us 122 hours to cover 725 NM from Porto, 56% of the trip under sails only!

The distance between Cowes and Amsterdam, our next scheduled destination, is 250 NM. Lasse would like to make one overnight stop in Dover on the way in order to make the next part of our trip as comfortable as possible. We can expect strong head winds when we leave Cowes and head out in the Solvent and later the English Channel.

Our marina is offering first class service to all its visitors and is conveniently located close to Cowes city center. It is still off season here - perfect for me who likes quiet places! It is easy to get around and to book a table in one of the many nice looking eateries in this town. After a hot shower at the marina club house, Tore and I had a traditional fish & chips meal in a pub next to the harbor.

Happy S/Y Jennifer crew members..

...after sailing nonstop from Portugal for 5 days and nights. We are all still best of friends! Shown here is Lars as duty officer at the helm and next to him off duty Staffan having his morning coffee. In the background: the Isle of Wight.

Time to raise Union Jack...

...by captain Lasse before we reach our anchor place in Cowe marina.

Isle of Wight...

...a first glimpse from the Solvent. From this point it will take us about 3 hours (14 NM) to reach Cowe, our destination today.  Today's weather: 14C and sunny.

Biscay meal service...

...onboard Jennifer. Somehow I ended up in her galley as master chef and meal coordinator. All crew members seems to appreciate my roller coaster cooking efforts, sometimes at a 20° angle. In order to keep my balance I work barefoot. A wet towel on the counter top helps to keep food and plates from taking off when Jennifer starts dancing.  My cabin mate Tore assists me in the kitchen.

Due to our missed stop over in Spain we have to make full use of what is available onboard for six days without shops at sea - fantasy & creativity are

key words. A well fed crew is a happy crew!

For those interested, here are samples of hot meals prepared by me and served on our Bay of Biscay leg:

May 9:  Ministrone a la Biscay served with hot garlic bread 

May 10: Pasta a la Biscay with Staffans secret tomato based sauce

May 11: Today's soup a la Biscay, mushroom soup fortified with Portuguese vegetables 

May 12: Potato gratine and salad by Tore and tuna fish gratine by Staffan

May 13: Swedish style "Pytt i Panna"

For all dishes: Staffan's secret spice mix.

Jennifer crew presentation 6

Our captain and owner of Jennifer, Lars "Lasse" Hässler, was a lawyer in Sweden and had just completed his clerkship to become a judge when, in 1988 aged 42 , he decided to give it all up to go sailing. He sold his apartment and his car, emptied his bank account and bought Jennifer, a Bénéteau Oceanis. But he set it out as a business, determined to make a ten-year circumnavigation pay for itself.

In his book "Occupation: Circumnavigator" he describes how he made the venture pay for itself through charters and paying crew and how it enhanced the experience. 

Lasse feels that he is really enjoying a privileged lifestyle at age 73 and he hopes to be able to continue sailing with Jenny at least another ten years. Up until today he has logged some 230.000 NM, equal to seven around the world trips. He has completed two full circumnavigation.