Thanks for your comment and the little dose of Tasmania’s winter – that sounds absolutely magical! It feels like yesterday that L’Envol was at anchor in the Little Norfolk Bay. We will never forget your kindness and how despite the Pandemic, you opened the door of your home in Taranna to two strangers. Greetings from the Lofoten Islands in Norway.

Hugs, Carina and Christophe

This is the translation of Fannie’s poem from French to English:

Taking flight

I love the moment before, that frozen instant
The deep breath before the leap, the calm before the storm
The sigh of a kiss, the blush of dusk before night falls.

I love open spaces, the fragile borders,
The outline of the horizon, the pier fading into the distance,
The treetop, the summit, a door left ajar.

As we gaze upon these invisible thresholds,
We discover an opportunity, a future to be seized.
It is up to each of us to choose whether to take the step,
Whether to plunge in, sit down, or stay put.

It is in these gaps, these doorways of space-time,
That an idea may root, words can reveal it.
Unpredictable moments, spaces of freedom,
I dream of going where my thoughts are carried.

Glad to reconnect …. so you made it to Estonia, Carina’s first home!

It’s a glorious winter wonderland here in Tasmania right now… bright morning sunshine sparkling on Little Norfolk bay. Frost melting rapidly as the rays penetrate the crystals. Fruit trees dormant, reaching out to be pruned and Basil the cat sleepy inside the sunny window.

Recibido, muchas gracias (×2)! Hoy mismo vamos a enviar a ambos correos los waypoints .gpx junto con la leyenda PDF.

Fue un gusto conocerlos en Chile, cuando aún quedaba tanto por terminar la construcción del velero.
Lo vimos en su sitio web ledda.cl – el barco quedó hermoso. Bravo!

Un abrazo, buen viento y buena mar!
Christophe y Carina

Junto a mi amigo Hernán Correa del velero Patagonia, donamos 35 € cada uno a través de Paypal .Te van a aparecer 70 € en una sola donación.

Nuestros correos son: para recibir los archivos sin:

hhcorreav@gmail.com de Hernán
Y cpvsur@gmail.com el mío.

Abrazos!
Alejandro Aguilera Ledda Pettinelli y Hernán Correa.

En quelle période de l’année avez vous accompli votre périple vers l’Irlande et au delà ? Pour vos prochaines nav’, n’hésitez pas à partager vos données de navigation (vent/ mer/ etc.).

Christian

Thanks a lot for the donation! Love the fact that through your SV Little Breton we have a sister-ship in Port Stephens, Australia now.

As to your question, then just before I had L’Envol built, I did some field-work and participated in the Maree Haute ships gathering event in Brittany. You can see some of the photos here, including one Django 770 with a bimini: http://www.intothewind.fr/rassemblement-maree-haute/

We will email you eight HQ images of the biminis I had briefly considered for L’Envol. In the end I took a different way – a solid hard top with a door, which is much more reliable for a waterproof life aboard as well as safer for watch keeping.

For example, during our Indian Ocean crossing and in the North Sea the wooden door had been in place most of the time – couldn’t have done without it, L’Envol was a submarine! For milder conditions or when sailing downwind in the rain we rig a fabric door that allows better ventilation and easier entry and exit.

Photo of the wooden door:
http://www.intothewind.fr/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/P9190172.jpg
Photo of the fabric door:
http://www.intothewind.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/PB273173.jpg

I wish I could help out more with alternative bimini design ideas, but unfortunately those photos is all I have got, and no first hand experience. The hard top is the solution I know and can vouch for, but then again maybe bimini is enough for your coastal sailing projects. Good luck making the right decision! One thing is sure, Django 770 is a great little ship, but even better with a proper spray protection.

Cheers and happy sailing,
Christophe