How to stay warm in the boat during winter
29 March 2009 | Falsterbo
Everybody, once we tell them we are living on the boat now during the nordic winter, keeps asking us the same question:
-'Isn't that very cold?'
So, here's the answer. - No it's not. It is, obviously, a bit cramped compared to living in a house, but also very nice and close to the elements.
OK, on this picture you can see our means of keeping the cabin warm and dry. A diesel heater that provides us with up to 4 kW using 2-4 liters of diesel per day.
We never yet had to run it on more than low flame, so we could probably have a nice micro-climate inside the boat even on Greenland at winter.
As a matter of fact, we did for a while play with the idea of sailing the old Viking route. Iceland-Greenland- Nova Scotia/Labrador and then southward along the US East Coast.
However, after spending two months mostly 'captured' inside the cabin, we definetely agree on going to the warm and nice parts of the planet instead...at least on e more winter just 'sitting' in the icy, snowy environment isn't THAT appealing at this point.
So here's the latest (beta-)version of our planned route, or at least the first stages of it...
Falsterbo to Thyboröen(Denmark) via Anholt Island, and then to Shetland Islands from there and with a really favorable weather window we might do the 170 miles trip from Shetland to Färöyar. Later to Scotland; Ireland, Brittany, Galicia (Spain) Portugal and Madeira and the Canary Islands. (Where hopefully our families can join us for a week or two)
Here we'll will need to make a choice between two alternatives. Either to Senegal and then Brazil, or to Cap Verde and then the Caribbean. We'll see....
As a matter of fact, we don't want to plan ahead more than absolutely necessary, since for us, a great part of the fun is to voyage with an open mind to whatever occurs 'en route'.
More to come, but first the boat has to come on the hard for a paintjob and some installations and preparations...