To the Mediterranean in a 17 foot boat

Allow me to introduce my expedition boat: A half-open Terhi 520HT from sometime in the 70s. It is in a cheeky orange color and equipped with a 70 hp. outboard engine from the 90s.

The perfect boat to sail to the Mediterranean from Sweden.

No, it may not be the perfect boat. The perfect boat is our sailboat Anna Lisa, which we last year planned to sail through the European rivers and canals from the Mediterranean to Sweden.

Like so much else last year, that trip did not turn out as hoped, and instead it turned into a slightly different ocean voyage (I write about that trip in my latest book but it is unfortunately only in Swedish and Danish).

But instead of whining about what turned out to be nothing, I have now acquired the expedition boat “Mini Lisa”. Sometimes you just have to stop dreaming and take action instead.

In the expedition boat, I will sail through Europe’s rivers and canals, to finally reach the Mediterranean in Port St. Louis, not far from Marseille.

Back to basics

Is it really possible to sail all the way from Sweden to the Mediterranean in something that is at best comparable to a floating tent?

I am really happy with our Bavaria 36 which has pretty much everything in comfort. A sailing boat that has just sailed us safely the opposite way – from the Mediterranean and around Europe via the Atlantic. Now I have to sail through Europe and that’s a bit back to basics.

The water tank is two 10-liter cans, the stove has only one burner, and it is stowed away when not in use. There is no sink, no heating, no complicated electrical system and the toilet is ashore. There is virtually nothing beyond the engine that can break (I hope 😀).

Of course, I would have preferred to have sailed in our sailboat, but it would almost be a mockery to sail her back to the Mediterranean, when we had such great challenges in getting her out from Spain last summer. If my new orange boat should suddenly get caught in a lockdown in Europe I can live with it.

I think it will be a trip with great experiences, because that has nothing to do with how big the boat is. Perhaps rather the opposite.

If you want to see if my little orange boat can handle the trip (and if I can handle the primitive sailing life myself), then daily updates from the trip will appear on my Instagram @sailing_annalisa. In addition to some books, there will probably also be another movie or two on YouTube, but that will be much later.

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