Whether you are a salty sailing enthusiast or a couch adventurer, this channel is for you! It is about sailing the in northern seas and exploring and hiking the beautiful coast lines along our course. We share our experiences, the highs and lows, our passion for sailing, for different cultures and for local history.
We are Kathrin and Daniel. After our 3 boys left home, we realised that we no longer wanted to be caught up in the rat race. We craved something more, something extraordinary: so we transformed our beloved sailing yacht, Polaris Helvetica, into a live aboard cruiser, sold everything we had and slipped the lines.
Step on board and join our journey. Welcome aboard!
My favorite crew 😊! When I see all the Computerstuff I always wonder what you would do without it, even if you have hourly logbook entries. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to sail when it‘s pitch black. I hope that there is always a guardian angel watching over you. Thank you for all the amazing work and for taking us with you
Thank you Regi! The electronics are wonderful marvels of technology and great helpers. But, it is safe to have paper charts and manual records ready in case… I do admit, a reliable autopilot steadily steering through a rough night is a gift from heaven…
Thank’s guy’s. I as I go through a life of cultural appropriation, I now know that if I’m invited to a fondu I’ll have to do a figure of eight. Priceless information every episode.
Wonderful scenery and photography. Also because of your videos I am starting to plan to come North. I approve 100 % motoring thru inside waters and enjoying the views.
Loved the Scottish west coast - where I’m from - and enjoying the beautiful coast of Norway just the same. Thank you for allowing us to share your journey.
Beautiful video again. It shows that even with the best foreplan, and anticipation, one can not forecast everything. Very educative, and very nice pictures!
Thank you for teaching me the passage plan! I was using a mixture of different techniques I "invented", but yours is putting it all together and making it simpler, for sharing with the crew but also for me.
The wind in Lochbroom is either down the loch or up the loch, no matter the forecast the wind due to the hills just funnels down the loch one way or the other. Personally, from the Summer Isles I would have headed to Loch Ewe which is a massive natural harbour with some 'bomber' anchorages.
@@sailingpolaris We winter our boat in a small boat yard in Lochbroom and it is a hard one to work out what is going on in the loch for launching each season. Thanks for all your great content you have up, we have binge watched over the last 2 days. Have a look at my own channel for 'Sailing in Scotland 2020' video I have up.
I love these videos Daniel and Kathrin, thank you for sharing them. We live near the Moray Firth and swithered about buying an Oyster yacht years ago but I am now pleased we did not. But I do get to enjoy all your fabulous adventures vicariously, which is good enough for me 😊
Hello Daniel, congratulations for making a very domanding passage. I am looking forward to your navigations in Norway. How far North will you go? And where do you plan to spend the winter?
Hi Maurizio, thanks for watching the video. We are currently on Lofoten and plan to go up as far as Tromsø, perhaps further. The winter we plan to spend in a place 35nm SW of Tromsø at 69°N…
Ein perfekt überarbeitetes Boot. Würde ich sofort nehmen ! Absolut Hammer ! ❤❤❤ I love it ! In 5 Jahren würde ich Interesse anmelden ! Sie dürfen mich vormerken.
Melden Sie sich doch in 5 Jahren noch mal…😂 oder abonnieren Sie unseren Kanal, dann werden Sie erfahren, wenn wir einen Verkauf in Betracht ziehen werden…
Abonniert hab ich euch schon ne Weile !!👍👍ich finde die ganzen Details, alle Verbesserungen und was ihr gemacht habt an dem Boot klasse ! Sauber, ordentlich, detailverliebt, wohl überlegt ! Einfach klasse ! Das alles würd ich 1:1 übernehmen. Auch die großer Kuchenbude ! Richtig richtig gut 👍! Ich meld mich wirklich in 5 Jahren 👍👍👍
Another great video. Very informative. I am planning the same trip next year so looking forward to hear your experiences and learn from your adventures. Safe sailing!.
Gee - i love your videos and your work -your planning thought and preparation for sea are standards i hope to achieve - and we want to follow in your wake. Thank you again... your weather routing program ... is that Predict wind? What a wonderful chef..congratulations Kathrin..
Hi Dirk Thanks, I will pass your compliment on to the chef… if you follow our wake and are fast enough you might get a taster… 😂 The weather routing software I use is LuckGrib (for iOS and Mac). It is much cheaper than PredictWind as it is just a one off purchase, unfortunately for each device, if you have several. But it‘s quite reasonably priced. It has pretty much the same functionality as PredictWind which I have tried but didn‘t see much additional benefit. LuckGrib requires a bit more hands on work, particularly to import the Grib Files and creating a route, but once that‘s done it‘s easy. There is a great manual on www.luckgrib.com so you can read everything before jumping in. Happy planning!! And don‘t wait too long!
@@sailingpolaris Once again you are a SUPERSTAR and a fountain of great information and advice - many many thanks - I will delve into it. Safe sailing and good wind..
LOL! As soon as I saw the Termomix I thought - HOW ARE THEY USING THAT!! Ours forces wifi - and I was wondering about the measurements until I saw it jumping all over. How does it work for you onboard? We have kept ours at home but am wondering. Have fun out there!
Haha! It works great for us! So, when we changed Polaris over to an electric galley from gas we faced a problem: our electric cooker / oven only runs on shore power or with the generator. The solar charged battery (LiFePo4) run inverter cannot cope with that beast full on. So, we wanted redundancy and a possibility to cook with the inverter. And here the Thermomix works just fine, as does the electric kettle and the single ring induction plate. As we now have Starlink and before a SIM card router with an unlimited data contract, linking the Thermomix with Wifi is not a problem. So, when we‘re under way it‘s simple meals like Kathrin‘s curry, and when we have enough power she bakes delicious breads and the like (using the Thermomix for the hard and quick kneading). Thanks for watching!
spent 5 days on my sup a few years ago doing it, was awesome fun!! also sailed it loads off times as me my dad and my brother use to spend our school ho;;idays on our E boat sailing up and down it and sailing on the west coast, as we were all brought up sailing i miss it as havent been sailing for years now although it's going to change next weekend as im racing on a freands boat on the east coast where i live can't wate!!
I have travelled much of the world but Scotland is up there with the best places to visit. Paddling the rivers, lochy, Etive, Spean and Orchy are truly magical.
A fine video. Must be well over 45 years since I first did a Suilven circuit. Ascended from the south via the waterfalls of River Kirkaig then back via the northern side, after a complete traverse, back past Glencanisp Lodge back to Lochinver. A magnificent day out, sadly I am now too old to manage it again but the memories ( of several ascents ) still remain.
It‘s memories we build that count in the end! It was too hard for me too, and I am possibly a few years younger… but Kathrin enjoyed it tremendously despite it being a very tough hike. Thanks for watching!
Beautiful guys. What a lovely episode. Awesome narration and editing! Scotland is indeed a beautiful cruising ground and it has been even more sunny with the Swiss Navy in town for the last two years! ❤
Fabulous video :) I also did the Caledonian canal (many years ago) and loved it…there is, however, no way you would get me swimming in water that temperature…total respect on that one! Very happy to have stumbled onto your channel :)
Thanks for watching and glad you liked the video. Well, we are very divided between Kathrin and me when it comes to cold water swimming. I am in your camp… 😉
Another wonderful video Daniel. The Caledonian canal is rally beautiful. I missed it last summer, but I am making plans.. who knows? It was nice to see you enjoying the company of your lovely daughter. The same happens to me, too bad our children can join us too seldom.
Greetings! 🙂 I found the morning exercise with the coffee maker and the swimming with a winter hat in a cold water being the best moments of this episode 🙂 I will keep my sweater hat on when I go for swimming in a cold sea next time 😊 Much love to you all! ❤️ Fair winds!
Although, I'm wandering how long it took for the 11.5K running on shore. That's a lot of distance to cover. I can't do more than 1.5k in about 10 min, 3K in 20 min and about 6K in 40 min nowadays if I push my self hard. I had done about 10K in an hour when I was ~15. I'm just curious to know how far others can cover when they run together.
@sailingpolaris That's awesome and well done! Quiet inspirational too! 🙂 Thank you all for being! I look forward to see you all in the next episode! If you can manage please make some sunrise videos at sea 🌊 🙂
Lovely video, very informative and I enjoy following your nomadic adventures….do you have a medium / longer term plan I.e. it sounds like this season is Norway and around that area but what about the year after? Or do you simply plan the season during the winter? I am guessing you guys have a list of places you’d aspire to visit…..
Thanks for watching for your interesting question. We plan to stay in Norway above the Arctic Circle for the winter. Next season it‘s probably Norway again, depending on how we liked the winter. After that? Perhaps the Baltic? We don‘t know yet. But the Caribbean is definitely not on our list of places at the moment...
Scottish highlands and sailing ( not to mention walking and climbing) has to be some of the best in the world. Sailing particularly with the currents and tides. Norway would also e on my top list of sailing ( and hiking) destinations.
One of your best. Loved it. Unfortunately, it was a little too motivational. Even before I’ve done the Crinan (10 days to go) I’m already dreaming of ‘The Caledonian’ & a “real” sail to my “real” home; Danmark. I hate you 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Because we could… 😇 As we have left the UK and are now formally resident in Switzerland we could register her under the Swiss flag, (which is our nationality)… Not of any benefit from any point of view other than the heart…
I am awed by the amount of thought that has gone into your boat. I have one question, ... Did you consider converting to single line reefing, which would have taken only one clutch , rather than two? I converted my second reef to that recently and it seems to work well?
Thanks for watching and for your thoughts! We have the first and second reefs as single line. The third reef as a single line would end up with a very long reefing line in the cockpit and the boom is not configured for a third single reefing. The third reef with 2 lines is quite a common solution.
Im sure our paths will cross sometime & Norway seems a fine bet. Enjoy that amazing country - when I lived in Danmark (til 3 years ago) I went as often as the ferry to Oslo would take me.
