Sailing is a full time job

When I decided to take a career break to "just" go sailing, many, myself first, wondered how long it would take before I got bored and started craving the excitement of drug discovery. A year later: bored? Not once. I was recently reminded of this when I accepted a work assignment for the European community, convinced I had plenty of spare time. There is the planning. It starts long before casting off. Deciding where to spend the next season is not simply dropping a pin on a map and buying a plane ticket. First comes the reality check. Tahiti? Too far to reach in one season. Antarctica? Not with Capsula (although…). Wintering in Greenland? Not with a hull not built for icy conditions. Then comes the operational side. Besides checking that we have the right equipment and dealing with visas and insurance, we disappear into charts, cruising guides, blogs and sailing apps. We are not just looking for places worth visiting but studying every harbour and anchorage along the way: how to…