Take Her Home

After our little test drive, H. explained to me, with the same level of detail, the folding, derigging, mast stepping and making the Catri ready for transport. Again everything was recorded on video for later reuse.

On of the things that should really be done with care is the mast stepping. A lot can go wrong here. H. luckily invented a few tricks to make the process more safe.

Mast down process (4 x speed)

Defolded for better balance when stepping mast

Mast fixed for transport

H. very kindly offered me to stay over for the night so I could drive back to the Netherlands in day light. After a delightful BBQ with his family we go back to the Catri to pick it up and attach it to my car. Because the riding will be much better when the trailer is light, we put stuff like sails, rudder, daggerboards and other small stuff in the car.

Car and Boat ready for the big trip

The next morning we say good-bey and H. walks with me to the Catri. He really is a bit sad to let her go. When I drive away I'm all excited: although I've never driven before with such a combo, everything feels very light and easy and the first kilometres through Switzerland make me feel rich. I'm going to take her home!

Head out on the Highway...

At the German border I had to go to customs because I will have to import the Catri into the European Union. Luckily, H. had prepared the right forms and papers and except for the painfully slow and unkind swiss customs officer, everything went fine.

After a long drive with lots of traffic jams and 'Baustelle' I decided to make a stop near Bonn to have dinner and take some rest. I noticed I was pretty tired and realised it would be wise to have a short nap in the car before continuing the trip. Then I suddenly thought of the boat. Why not sleep in there? And so it happened that my first night on my new boat was on a parking along the highway.

That is a strange Caravan...

Not much room so keep in lane!

The night was a bit messy because of noisy truck drivers but it could not prevent a long deep sleep. When I climbed out of the hatch I was stared at by two kids with open mouths, standing besides their family Caravan. This type of Caravan they obviously never had seen before.

Home country (and naturally, it rains...)

After a long trip I arrived at Marina Muiderzand (near Amsterdam), where I had made arrangements for the boat to stay this season. In the pouring rain I took all the stuff out of the car and back into the cabin. Totally exhausted, I crashed directly to bed when I got home. It was quite a ride. 

But next week we will be sailing!