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

“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 2017-05-12 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

Ortac finishing Ortac finishing
(2017-05-05 12:44:00 NIKON D7100 with a "18.0-250.0 mm f/3.5-6.3" lens. [f/5.3, 1/320s] ISO 100)
Ortac finishing
Spectra membrane Replacement Here the two pressure regulators and mountings have been loosened so that the pressure vessel can be removed.
(2011-12-23 13:58:21 NIKON D7000 with a "18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6" lens. [f/3.5, 1/60s] ISO 800 Focus 1.50m)
Spectra membrane Replacement
Aragon at Les Voiles de St. Barths Aragon's clean decks and fast speed are impressive.
(2015-04-15 13:49:01 NIKON D7100 with a "70.0-300.0 mm f/4.5-5.6" lens. [f/9.0, 1/320s] ISO 100)
Aragon at Les Voiles de St. Barths
Electric forward head on Zanshin 2 of 3 heads aboard Zanshin are electric while the last one, the backup, is of standard manual design and is operated by a hand pump rather than an electric motor and macerator. All of the heads have holding tanks.
(2014-02-17 11:09:43 NIKON D7100 with a "18.0-250.0 mm f/3.5-6.3" lens. [f/3.5, 1/80s] ISO 500)
Electric forward head on Zanshin
Groupers rocks Groupers rocks
[17°57'2.03"N 62°52'40.86"W (facing NE)]
Groupers rocks
North Sound filled for New Year's The North Sound has filled up quite nicely with boats small and large for the New Year's celebrations this evening.
[18°30'9.08"N 64°21'50.33"W (facing SE)]
North Sound filled for New Year's
Peacock Flounder This peacock flounder was difficult to see until it moved and then it's coloration didn't match the new location until after I'd taken the photo.
[18°7'2.95"N 63°3'23.56"W ]
Peacock Flounder
Capsized catamaran This catamaran capsized and it's mast was dragging on the bottom, Desi, Agathe and I went by to see if we could help and it turned out we could - I am in the picture and am about to dive on the mast to cut the lines and help pull the mainsail up (down) so that it can be righted.
[18°7'1.11"N 63°3'40.4"W (facing S)]
Capsized catamaran
Terre de haut panorama Terre de Haut panoramic picture seen from the top of Le Chameau
(2016-05-10 11:57:36 NIKON D7100 [f/11.0, 1/640s] ISO 100)
Terre de haut panorama
Extracting old oil The old oil is sucked up out of the generator using the manual pump.
(2013-03-27 12:43:34 NIKON D7000 with a "18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6" lens. [f/4.2, 1/30s] ISO 320 Focus 2.00m)
Extracting old oil
Sail SWE 102 heading to the finish line They are hard on the wind as they race to the finish line, which was another kilometer upwind of us.
(2015-03-07 11:27:03 NIKON D7100 with a "18.0-250.0 mm f/3.5-6.3" lens. [f/7.1, 1/800s] ISO 200)
Sail SWE 102 heading to the finish line
Jordan Series Drogue Here is the beginning of the construction process of the Jordan Series Drogue. The main line eyes have been spliced and now the 132 little parachutes need to be slipped over the line and sewn into place, one per meter.
Jordan Series Drogue
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