Story - SalingAlone

Gale or Sturm?

21. June 202411. June 2024 by Reinhard Kramm

Gale is part of the risk while sailing the world. Gale guarantees clicks on YouTube, surrounds the sailor with the aura of a hero. No wonder this word is used so often. But if you really get caught in a gale, it changes the ship and the sailor massively. ‘Sturm’ is wind with a speed … Read more

Arriving

15. May 202414. May 2024 by Reinhard Kramm

They say the journey is the destination. But what happens – after having crossed two oceans and more than half of the world – when you finally arrive at the destination of your dreams? I’ve met Patrice and Bill twenty years ago on the Larapinta Trail in the hot centre of Australia. It was the … Read more

The day that got lost

26. November 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Dates are one of those things. For example, sixty-eight times I have outlived the date on which I will die one day. Although this day has an existential meaning for me, it remains in the dark for the rest of my life. But now there was a date on which I could not possibly die. … Read more

Reefs and Volcanos. Sailing alone across the Pacific Ocean. Part 4: In Tonga

11. November 202310. November 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Can I sail a reef system with wind alone and without a motor? How does it feel to cross submerged volcanoes that reach up to 30 meters below the surface? My route: from Samoa to Niuatoputapu and the Vava’u archipelago in Tonga.

The spell is broken

8. November 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

For eight weeks in French Polynesia, I was enchanted. Landscapes I’d never seen before, friendly people, unspoilt nature. When I arrived in Samoa and Tonga, the feeling of flow changed. Suddenly everything becomes difficult and tedious. Why? Is that also part of travelling? Apia harbour in Samoa. I’ve been waiting three hours for the harbour … Read more

Gale and doldrums. Sailing from Bora Bora to Samoa

13. October 202313. October 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Life goes differently than my planning. Actually, I wanted to sail to Penrhyn, the northernmost Cook Island. Instead, I end up in a Doldrum area, a stationary zone with no wind. New plan, new course. And instead of doldrums, now gale is predicted. Will I find shelter in the middle of the open Pacific? Or do I have to go through it? My route: from Bora Bora via Suwarrow to Samoa, in the middle of the Pacific.

Travel and discovery – in the age of tourism

13. October 202312. September 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Is there real encounter? Discoveries? Can I travel without being a tourist? As an occasional traveller, I feel like a fool. Strikingly different. Quirky, with endless time on my hands. Is it worth this humilation? Dominica, Caribbean. I am standing on the arterial road of the capital. At some point a minibus is supposed to … Read more

Sailing alone across the Pacific Ocean. From Panama to French Polynesia

14. July 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

My longest blue water trip so far; 35 days at sea. I am sailing solo on Reykja, a 35 year old steel yacht. It goes through the Panama Canal to Hiva Oa, French Polynesia. The distance is about 8000 kilometers. This part of the Pacific is remote, I don’t see a single ship during the whole time. But many other things.

Oh how beautiful is Panama

7. June 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Panama, that is colorful birds with garish whistling tones. Panama, that is shameless extortion by immigration officials, high canal fees, latent criminality. Gladly I left, never to come back. But for three weeks I was happy to be in Panama. “Who is your agent?” is the standard question in the marina. No normal traveler, the … Read more

Bushwalking Dominica’s Jungle. The Video

27. March 202321. March 2023 by Reinhard Kramm

Almost nobody knows Dominica. That makes this Caribbean Island an “insider tip”. Half of Dominica is supposed to be rainforest, jungle. There are active volcanoes. Steep mountains. And a trail. You can walk the entire island yourself. This is my outdoor project: I will bushwalk Dominica’s jungle.