SLOW BOAT TO FINER [ WEATHER ]

Bavaria E40 owners Sander and Sophia Daniels cruise with their young family from the Netherlands to Mallorca v ia the infamous Bay of Biscay in search of better climes

- Sander Daniels

After buying the actual Bavaria E40 Fly that MBY tested in July 2017 it seemed only apt to write about our experiences of owning it in the same magazine (March 2018). But our first big test was yet to come as just a few months later we would embark on an epic 5,000nm cruise from Holland to Ibiza and back. My wife and I had originally planned a two-year sailing trip around the world back in 2013 but didn’t dare leave our jobs right in the midst of the economic downturn. So after buying the Bavaria E40, I decided to take 12 weeks off the following summer so that we could spend some proper time together as a family on our new boat. Not for one minute have we ever regretted that decision; the best memories are made when you push the boundaries and create new shared experiences together. I can safely say we did all that and more.

SCHEVENINGEN TO BREST

Despite six months of thorough preparation, we had only a vague idea of what a 5,000nm sea journey would actually be like, especially in a relatively slow boat such as ours. Our very first leg from Scheveningen (NL) to Brest was a passage of no less than 460nm and at a steady seven-knots, my wife and I completed the journey in 65 hours non-stop!

We divided the three-hour shifts of helming and sleeping between us and deliberately took it slowly in order to eke out our 540-litre fuel tanks. As a backup, I brought eight 20-litre jerry cans for a total range of 675nm.