Valmik's Adventures: Starting to cruise down stream

Summary

Early in 2008 I bought a little, old wooden Folkboat called Valmik. I was going to spend a few months on repairs and begin sailing her around Europe, with Australia being the final destination. As my knowledge of boats improved, so did the thoroughness of the restoration. I decided to become very involved in every aspect of construction, doing almost all of the work myself: making my own sails, doing the fit out and all woodwork, splicing my own rig and wiring in the 12 volt electric circuit. Self-reliance, I suppose, is the goal. Follow the link to my photo albums for a detailed documentation of the work and some videos.

For a long time now, I have been striving to achieve my goals and begin an adventure. I had planned to complete a circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in the summer of 2015 with my wife. Unfortunately, this will not be possible and I went back to work. Valmik is ready to sail, however, and I am finally in a position to start enjoying her for what she was designed for. Of course there is a never ending list of modifications and enhancements with a small section for repairs. I will be sailing as much as possible and documenting my adventures on this blog.

My plan is to build up to a epic solo sailing Adventure.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Starting to cruise down stream

Well we had a lazy Sunday morning as you should, then cruised down river to the lovely Abingdon town. We had planned to stay in Abingdon for two nights because we like the moorings there and we really like the town. I managed to get a bit more work done and Kate checked out all the shops. The weather was windy and rainy on Monday so it was a good decision to stay.

Today we left Abingdon mid morning and started our cruise down river. I am sorry but I do not have many photos again today. I really enjoyed just chugging along down the river. To speed things up a little at the self service locks, Kate worked the locks as I helmed Aukje in and out of the them. She is such a lovely barge to handle once you get the hang of her.