FUCK


Alex keeps repeating: You must be the clumsiest women on earth!! I usually don't get what he means? But now it seem to be the time to admit it. Not only have I lost many lighters and packs of cigarettes, my Ray Bans and innumerable amount of clothes and towels in the waters of the harbor. Now this dirty little place is also the home of my precious Blackberry. My Dear Blackberry whom I love very dearly and have (had) a very intimate relation with.

Oh yes, I had already decided that I would throw this, last piece of contact with the materialistic world in the ocean, the day we're leaving for the circumnavigation, but not a single day before it! Buhu.. I rarely, or never, get depressions, but this morning was a heavy one. To wake up and having to realize she's gone. Nothing seem to interest me in these mourning times. Alex offered himself to get the scuba tubes on and dive for it last night when it happened. Though the idea sounded very tempting, I just couldn't let him face the terrible dirt and the dangers down there, 6 meters (20 ft) under our hull in the middle of the night. So I guess I just have to learn to accept the fact.

I'm a slave to my own clumsiness.

Can be reached on email until further notice. /Taru

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The ultimate brownie

Of course there was a cake on Alex birthday. Even though I can always find an excuse to swirl together a cake whenever, it's always more pleasant to do it for someone you love. He likes it simple, my man. And anything that comes with a rich taste of chocolate or peaches - so I made this simple, but oh so delicious, brownie - and as there were no white peaches to get hold on, I marinated the nectarines in fresh peach juice..

2 eggs
2,5 dl sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dl unsweetened cocoa powder
2 dl flour
100 g melted butter
(add some chopped and toasted walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts if you'd like)

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F), grease and flour a pan. Break the eggs into a large bowl and mix it with the sugar, whisk until fluffy. Add all other ingredients, butter lastly. Pour the batter into the pan and place in the oven for around 20 minutes. The cake should be fudgy and soft on the inside and crispy on top. Cut the cake while it's hot. Garnish with whipped cream, icecream or fruits. 


American measurements:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
3,75 ounces melted butter

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28 kilos (60 pounds)



Sorry for the bad photo quality.. This was the greatest tuna we caught, so far. Almost 30 freaking kilos it weight and filled up our fridge in a second. The funny thing was that Alex reeled this thing up with our thinnest rod and the smallest Rapala on 7 cm (2,7 inch) and he worked on it for around 40 minutes. Still I don't understand how the hell he got it up.. Nice one. /T

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Back home in Catalunya


We're back home on Spanish waters! The 150 n miles long passage across Golfe du Lion went pretty smoothly. Started with calm sea and around 10 knots of Southerlies, then we caught a 30(!!) kilos mega tuna, slept OK, woke up with 2 meters of waves around us and an established F6 with gusts to 36 knots. Good variation on that one. And can you imagine how glad I am to finally have nonstop service on the wifi?! We have realized a lot of things during this last trip. One is that we definitely need satellite connection through Inmarsat, aboard our boat for the circumnavigation. /T

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One night in Girolata




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This little boat's been following us..





From Corsica to the French Riviera..

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We've passed the test

Some pics from Southern France, Nice/Antibes/St Tropez/Porquerolles:
















It has been a wonderful vacation. Started off with a very intense 48 hour fiesta in Ibiza, sailed over to the romantic Italian island of Sardinia, spent a couple of weeks in the rustic world of Corsica and ended up back in the civilization on the Southern French coast. A perfect mixture of different worlds! Also it has been a good testing time to see how well we actually do this, just the two of us. To be away from the reality (as the reality has been so far, this sailing life will obviously be our reality from now on!), living so tightly together and to actually live the aboard life fully. As a matter of fact, we just met each other ten months ago so this was definitely what we needed to go through before leaving for the circumnavigation. And we passed the test, both of us I guess. (with some exceptions of smaller fights about how to really to take up the god damn anchor, how to handle a temperamental women's PMS in remote locations without access to a functioning wifi, who's in charge of making sure the boat is completely secured from things not flying around in the galley and saloon before sailing into rough conditions or how to in the smoothest way possible be able to combine a French temperament with a stubborn, Finnish sisu character in such small space etc..) So, what can I say, we're now officially ready for the next big adventure! From the bottom of our hearts, it really feels like this is what we were meant to do. Sail the world together.

The memory card on the camera is completely full with thousands of photos from these lasts two months and as soon as I have the time I will get some of them up here, along with stories from this trip. I hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as we've done! /T

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Happy B-day Mr Captain


This beautiful man is rolling over to his 37th year today. Celebrating it on the island of Porquerolles. Congrats my love! /T

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On the streets of St Tropez










St Tropez is, as you all might be aware of, one of the most glamorous locations and favorite vacation destinations of some of the worlds most celebrated, rich, Nouveau riche and/or beautiful jet-set people. No matter if you like the old, filthy rich man/young beautiful girl-kind of parties, this is one of the places in the world to be for the ones who want to see and be seen. As we decided to come here just after the season closings, the town is more tranquil compared to what it can be in the peak of the high season - but ever so less delightful to spend some days and nights in.

St Tropez was a fairly small and modest little fisherman's town all the way until the late 19th century. The exquisite coastline got widely recognized by wealthy French holiday makers after the second world war but the one bringing the International fame to the town was Birgitte Bardot and her film "when god created woman", by Roger Vadim. Miss Bardot as an icon is something the St Tropez restauranteurs and retailers have taken under their wings as a serious marketing tool as the whole town is covered by posters, videos, restaurants and even cakes produced with her face, name or style.

The picturesque town has it's own charming style with the über luxurious fashion shops, boutique hotels and jewelry shops placed one after another on the adorable little cobblestone streets, mixed with the bohem-chic or fancy bars and small restaurants around them. Wheter you come here for the glamour this town oozes of or not, this small piece of coastline is one of the most delightful areas to indulge in the Southern France's characteristic ambiance. /T

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In this very moment..





We're sitting here in the lounge of the fantastic Hotel Byblos, St Tropez. Live jazz, Himalaya tea and a calming ambience is what is offered. Perfectly relaxing and some time to catch up with work, with a wifi that for once works like it should. /T

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Sweet chicken

A very simple chicken stew: Pan fry chicken filet with some drops of olive oil, add some soya, curry, a pinch of salt, some pepper, some honey, a bit of cabbage, snow peas and freshly squeezed orange juice. Preparation time: Around 13 minutes. Perfect for those days when you need to make it fast and easy.

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