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 2020-02-19 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

Commercial Port at Point-a-Pitre Commercial Port at Point-a-Pitre
[16°13'16.97"N 61°31'47.63"W (facing NW)]
Commercial Port at Point-a-Pitre
Bernd and Carmen after the fireworks Bernd and Carmen in the driver's seat of "Mau" after watching the magnificent fireworks display to mark the inauguration of the new bridge in the lagoon.
(2014-01-25 19:25:05 NIKON D7100 with a "35.0 mm f/1.8" lens. [f/1.8, 1/60s] ISO 1000)
Bernd and Carmen after the fireworks
Cinnamon Bay beach Although it is cloudy, the beach is still an alluring goal in the distance
(2016-04-01 13:02:17 NIKON D7100 [f/4.5, 1/30s] ISO 100)
Cinnamon Bay beach
Reef life The reef and sea bottom off Pigeon Island abound with both flora and fauna.
(2014-03-31 09:53:35 NIKON D7000 with a "35.0 mm f/1.8" lens. [f/7.1, 1/125s] ISO 200)
Reef life
Setting up Ikelite housing Here I'm setting up the Ikelite housing and lens cap for the dive on the Rhone this day.
(2013-02-15 09:23:57 NIKON D7000 with a "18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6" lens. [f/5.0, 1/30s] ISO 800 Focus 0.79m)
Setting up Ikelite housing
Making LED lighting The disparate parts of the LED lighting strip for the cockpit area of Zanshin I prior to assembly. The Epoxy glue (and heat sink) is mixed and applied to the aluminum and I'm ready to attach the LED strips.
Making LED lighting

(2019-05-03 12:10:51 NIKON D850 with a "70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6" lens. [f/5.0, 1/2000s] ISO 125)
Sailing upwind past Virgin Gorda On my first big sail of the season I enjoyed a comfortable sail upwind to the North Sound of Virgin Gorda with periods of calm winds as in this picture.
(2013-02-04 13:05:50 NIKON D7000 with a "18.0-105.0 mm f/3.5-5.6" lens. [f/6.3, 1/160s] ISO 100 Focus ∞)
Sailing upwind past Virgin Gorda
Kids having fun Kids being towed around the anchorage.
(2014-02-16 16:07:02 NIKON D7100 with a "18.0-250.0 mm f/3.5-6.3" lens. [f/6.3, 1/800s] ISO 100)
Kids having fun
Grand Case street vendor A local artisan making necklaces to order.
(2014-02-04 19:37:26 NIKON D7100 with a "35.0 mm f/1.8" lens. [f/1.8, 1/80s] ISO 1600)
Grand Case street vendor
Calmos Cafe happy hour Happy hour with the dive shop at Calmos Cafe in Grand Case, St. Martin.
[18°6'14.68"N 63°3'17.47"W (facing SE)]
Calmos Cafe happy hour

(2019-04-30 11:29:09 NIKON D850 with a "70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6" lens. [f/5.3, 1/1000s] ISO 64)
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