We are currently living on Eidos a Catana 582 to sail around the world, learn from the people we meet, play with new ideas and enjoy life. We plan to invite old and new friends to join us for part of our cruising – people that share our passion for the sea, travel, outdoor activities as well our desire to always learn and create new things.
Our journey is not only about sailing, we like to spend time exploring new places and develop projects. We like:
- Enjoy quiet time at anchorages
- Learn about the place we are visiting
- Work on personal projects
- Stay in touch with friends and family not with us
- Read, write, think, cook
- Spend time with other cruisers
- Have a cold beer with locals
- Hike, run, bike, kayak, swim
- Visit places of interest in land
- Dive
We both have a “Patente nautica vela e motore oltre le 12 miglia” the Italian sailing license for leisure boats up to 25 metres , we have more than 20 years sailing experience, we crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, sailed down to NZ with an Amel Super Maramu, then sailed extensively the North Island of NZ and more recently sailed from Cape Town to Belgium on our Catana 582. We also sailed on a friend’s catamaran from Fiji to Vanuatu, New Caledonia and North Australia. We always maintained our boats our-self and we did most of the refit of our current boat our-self. However we are not professional skippers and we do not charter our boat, it is just our home and any friend on board is just our guest.
We ask any friend joining us to have a proper medical and travel insurance covering the risks related to offshore sailing and travelling in remote locations. We will not be responsible for any issue (due to medical events, security or accidents) that may happen on board or ashore during the time we spend travelling together.
For ocean passages we try to only have onboard friends with some offshore sailing experience and that are clearly aware and prepared to the life on board for this type of sailing. We love it but others may feel it to be very uncomfortable or dangerous.
For us safety come always first, for this few rules are very important on board, like wearing life jackets, use lifelines, having watch shifts during night and day, regular attention to weather forecasts, regular check of the boat, tidiness, etc.. Everybody on board is encouraged to participate to the planning activities and daily routine during the navigation and at anchor, however Carmine will always take the final decision on sailing routes, sails configuration, anchorages, when to leave, etc..
The boat has all the safety equipment required by law such as liferaft, lifejackets, epirb, etc. additionally we have radar, AIS transmitter, Iridium go, multiple VHF, HF radio, multiple independent GPS, multiple electronic charts, 4G booster for better internet access in coastal sailing, WiFi booster for internet at anchor.
Comfort is our second priority, Eidos has a generator (that we try to only use to run the watermaker and the dive compressor, about 1.5KW solar panels, six hydraulic winches, one electric winch, multiple laptops, very well equipped kitchen with fridges and a freezer, plenty of diesel, and much more. When planning a passage we try to choose the best possible weather conditions even if it requires to wait many days.
Typical day while sailing:
- participate to day and nigh watches. Typically for two consecutive hours you will be responsible for monitoring:
- the presence of any other vessel on our route looking at radar, AIS and outside the boat
- the presence of squalls in front of us
- any change of wind
- that we are on the desired route
- participate to shifts for all other activity on board:
- cooking
- cleaning
- have plenty of time to rest, read, enjoy spectacular sunset/sunrise and stars, listen to music
- when required participate to change sails. E.g. take a spinnaker on/off, change front sail, change reefing of main
Typical day while not sailing:
Contribute to the maintenance, cleaning and preparation of the boat for the following passage. However there will be plenty of time for:
- excursions ashore
- swimming, kayaking, paddling or fishing
- read, chat, learn new things
- diving when possible
- time by yourself on-board or ashore
Occasionally we will visit places where the boat cannot be left alone and we will need to make shifts to go ashore while others remaining on board, this could be also overnight. Carmine, if not on-board, will provide guidelines on what to do in case of weather changes.
For complete clarity we don’t look for paid crew and we don’t want to be paid for hospitality. We want on-board inspiring people that share our passion for the sea, able to enjoy their time while travelling with us, open to learn and with whom we can share experiences and who can become friends.
COVID-19
Because of Covid-19 we are currently limiting the presence of friends onboard, and when we will have friends joining us there may be additional precautions.