At the first attempt, MichHölzen and his sailing colleague Laurenz Schlüter stand in front of closed gates. You are too late, the NOK lock remains closed for you. A forced overnight stay in the next port is pending. But the next day it starts. Nine hours NOK - and then the North Sea is waiting. It will be exciting. The two sailors have now arrived in the Netherlands.
A start with obstacles - the eleventh part of Michael Hölzen's Bootschaft-Segel-Podcast. Simply click on the play button with the arrow, and off you go. Or download the audio file using the selection menu on the right in the player so that you can listen to it later. The next part will follow in the coming week
And here it goes directly to Michael Hölzen's "Bootschaft" page with the option of subscribing to his podcast there or directly on iTunes
To the background:
The Berliner MichHölzen has been a passionate sailor for 15 years. It all started on the Wannsee, the first capsize, but also the first excursion on your own bow with a just acquired inland license - “priceless”, as he says. After that he never let go of sailing with all its facets, step by step he broadened his horizons.
This summer he and his friend Laurenz Schlueter would like to sail a very special trip that they have long dreamed of: around England. The two men are freelancers and can take a three-month break for the trip.
Podcast author Michael Hölzen
The problem: Hölzen and Schlüter do not have their own boat. And they don't want one either. Charter, borrow or sail somewhere is also out of the question for them. So what to do
Without further ado, Hölzen and Schlüter make a decision: You will become a temporary boat owner. In other words, only for the duration of the trip. In concrete terms, they buy a yacht shortly before the start of the trip, which they want to sell again immediately afterwards.
Will that work without ending up with a big hole in your wallet?
"Almost all sailing enthusiasts shook their heads when they heard about the plan," says Hölzen. And also various boat dealers to whom he presented waved them off. He did not let that confuse him.
In the meantime, Hölzen and Schlüter own a used First 30 from Beneteau. In just a few weeks they want to set off on the big trip.
As a full-time radio journalist, MichHölzen regularly reports on the trip in his own podcast called “Bootschaft”.
Podcasts can be listened to on the way to work, on the way to the ship or at home in the evening or at the weekend on the sofa. Or on a rainy port day in the boat cabin.