Zanshin sailing off Nevis Sailing from St. Kitts to Nevis, the crew on Katzenellenbogen caught this picture of me sailing with the single volcanic hill on Nevis in the background.
Zanshin sailing off Nevis

Finally the full refit of Zanshin is finished and it is time for these web pages to once again be filled with a bit of life. After a lengthy refit after the ravages of hurricane Irma, Zanshin is finally back in the Caribbean and ready for further adventures.

“Zanshin” is a Jeanneau 57 model sailboat; with 57 feet (17m) there's a lot of room aboard for supplies as well as for people. She was built at the Jeanneau factory outside of Nantes in France, then shipped to Annapolis, MD in the USA where she was commissioned and from there I sailed down to the Caribbean, where Zanshin has been ever since.
Since then I've been sailing up and down the Caribbean island chain exploring the various islands for extended periods. I'm planning on going through the Panama Canal and heading into the Pacific for the long journey across the Pacific. Since the “barefoot route” around the world uses the warm tradewinds that blow to the west it means that heading back east is difficult and uncomfortable. Thus, once past Panama there's no going back and I'm enjoying my time in the Caribbean so much that I'm loathe to leave.
Since I single-hand Zanshin I like to avoid weather and seas as much as possible, which means that I'm most likely not going to sail the challenging route in the high latitudes going past the great Capes of the world - I'll use the man-made canals to shorten the journey.

Click for 2020-02-20 Blog Entry
Blog picture
This site has grown over the years and contains a mix of dated and new material, from manuals and technical details to stories and my daily blog. The blog is in actuality something of a daily dairy and I always post several pictures daily along with a brief description of my adventures (or lack thereof) each day.

Please enjoy browsing the site and, for those who find themselves sailing in unknown waters:

“Immer eine Handbreit Wasser unter dem Kiel.”
(May there always be a handsbreadth of water beneath your keel)

Random Site pictures

Sail GBR 5301C - Jigsaw Sail GBR 5301C - Jigsaw
(2015-04-27 15:33:26 NIKON D7100 with a "70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6" lens. [f/11.0, 1/125s] ISO 100)
Sail GBR 5301C - Jigsaw
Turk's head cactus This Turk's head cactus is an endangered and rare plant found on St. Martin and St. Barths; this one is on Ile Fourchue off St. Barths
[17°57'25.69"N 62°54'4.36"W ]
Turk's head cactus
Boats on the hard in Antigua Boats on the hard in Antigua
[17°4'4.45"N 61°53'3.21"W (facing SE)]
Boats on the hard in Antigua
Cleaned up anchor windlass The sensor on the bottom of the windlass uses a small magnet to close a reed switch; but the rust flakes from the chain stick to the sensor and prevent it from making a reading. The windlass needed a thorough cleaning and polishing to make it functional again.
(2017-02-18 15:25:14 NIKON D7100 with a "18.0-250.0 mm f/3.5-6.3" lens. [f/10.0, 1/125s] ISO 100)
Cleaned up anchor windlass
Sailing in the Channel Sailing in the Channel
Sailing in the Channel
Zanshin I winch The main genoa winch removed and in the first stages of cleaning.
Zanshin I winch
2019 BVI Spring Regatta racing 2019 BVI Spring Regatta racing
[18°20.5959'0"N 64°37.6069'0"W ]
2019 BVI Spring Regatta racing
Megayacht A Megayacht A
[17°0'45.7"N 61°46'20.85"W ]
Megayacht A
Becalmed going to St. Martin Motoring toward the island of St. Martin coming from the BVI - normally this is a difficult upwind passage against the waves, but I had a good weather wind and quickly motored the distance.
[18°8'54.46"N 63°29'23.96"W (facing E)]
Becalmed going to St. Martin
Sharpening Stones The 3 sharpening stones, from 1000 grit through 2000 all the way to 12000 grit (which is almost like glass). The black block on the bottom is used to prepare each stone before use, making a smooth and straight cutting surface.
(2015-05-12 14:58:32 NIKON D7100 with a "10.5 mm f/2.8" lens. [f/8.0, 1/100s] ISO 100)
Sharpening Stones
Taking finishing notes Taking finishing notes
(2014-05-01 14:00:05 NIKON D7100 with a "70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6" lens. [f/8.0, 1/320s] ISO 200)
Taking finishing notes
Fort Berkeley outer fortification The outer wall of Fort Berkeley with cannon emplacements.
[17°0'16.01"N 61°45'48.15"W (facing E)]
Fort Berkeley outer fortification
Click on one of the random site images to expand or click here to select new images. You can click on the little mark on the image to go to the page(s) where that image has been used.

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106288 views since 2017-01-29, page last modified on 2020-02-10.