With 2 cars in La Rochelle. There were still some things to transport, e.g. fire extinguishers and our folding bike. We had to get fire extinguishers ourselves because we didn’t take an option from Neel that included various safety devices. We didn’t want 10 non-inflatable life wests as required by French law for the size of the vessel, nor did we want a 25 kg anchor, but a larger one. But because the options cannot be split and adjusted as needed, we ended up getting fenders, mooring ropes, anchors and now fire extinguishers ourselves.
If you break down with the new car, you can also risk using the old one. It has just passed the TÜV and is well maintained, at least the engine is 😉
However, once again we were out of luck regarding sailing. This was partly due to the weather, which was very unstable, and partly due to the fact that there is still a lot of re-delivery, repair and finishing work going on: On the side hulls, the cleats at the back and the handle of the bathing ladder were resealed so that rainwater no longer runs into the storage compartments there. The electricians were still there every day. The cause of flooding in the front bathroom turned out not to be a faulty pump but “only” a badly screwed filter. Now we know where the fuses for the pumps are.
Our life raft arrived and we secured it at its proper place:
The gas cooker was inaugurated. On the first day, the electric ignition did not work. Only on the second day did it turn out to be on the same fuse as the microwave.
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The typical problem of a designer kitchen: where to put the tea towel?
Or is it because we didn’t order a dishwasher?
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Note: everywhere in La Rochelle you see trimarans in different sizes
The washing machine has been inaugurated, it works. But in eco mode it doesn’t use enough power to really load our solar panels. The overcast sky was enough to keep charging the batteries. For a real stress test, I guess we’ll have to wait until the freezer, navigation electronics and water maker are working at the same time.
You can see from the clothes left hanging to dry in front of the life raft that our boat is set up for living and not just for holidays. That’s probably why Neel didn’t ask us if we wanted to exhibit the boat at a trade fair 😉
The next Neel trimaran, No. 15, is already moored in the inner harbour.
However, the extra solar panels are still missing here. We know the owner and he has taken our solar panel arrangement and ordered it.
Shortly before departure, Neel informed us that our spinnakers will probably not arrive in time for mid-April. The sailmakers have just accepted a large order for a racing yacht and all “normal” orders can no longer be processed. Why spinnakers ordered months ago have not even been started remains a mystery.
And then it’s back to Hamburg again.
Sleeping in the car at 2° C outside temperature.
