Cruising

Inajeen - Time for the big departure!

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Article published on 03/12/2022

By Gilles Ruffet

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published inn°187jan. / feb.

purchase

One year since the purchase of their catamaran, a Lagoon 42, Soize and Benoît have cast off for good from their berth at pontoon 16 in Port-Leucate. The world is now their oyster!

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Who: Soize and Ben
Where: Setting sail from the Med
Multihull: Lagoon 42
Facebook: @Inajeen

It has been a year of preparations, reflection, training, classes, and we have also done a lot of work transforming the boat and adding equipment. All we had to do was to train for our new life as sea nomads! We have sailed 2,800 miles in the Mediterranean over the last 6 months. During this time, we’ve discovered some beautiful places, without ever going to a marina but only from one anchorage to another. We therefore hope to be up to the challenge of longer distance sailing. After this beautiful Mediterranean cruise, we headed back to the northwest, trying to escape the storms that were starting to develop everywhere. At the end of August, we were back on the pontoon for a few days for the last time, taking the time to finalize the preparations for the real big departure and to start our circumnavigation. We also had to repair the gennaker halyard: Ben had gone up to the masthead to dismantle the anemometer, which was not working anymore, and he noticed its poor condition. We also had the rigging checked by a professional, especially the gooseneck which was threatening to break. The reefing sheaves had to be repaired and changed too. We also had to complete some formalities, notably the files for the CCMM (Medical Consultation Center) in Toulouse, and with the coastguard at Cap Gris Nez for an Atlantic Ocean crossing declaration. We also enjoyed some aperitifs, lunches and dinners with the friends we had the pleasure of meeting during this interim period in Port Leucate. At the beginning of September, we finally left our place on pontoon 16 for the big adventure. I had not really expected it, but I must admit that I cried a lot when we passed the beacons at the port entrance. So many emotions! A strange mix of feelings, both a deep and real sadness to put even more distance between us and those we love, our children and our friends. Yet at the same time the joy and pride of achieving our dream.

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