Creative Mind

The catamaran wants to go to Palermo and Sardinia.

Katey — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 13:32:31 +0000

The fashionable island of Panarea.

We are anchored in a beautiful bay on Panarea, and there are more catamarans than monohulls, and yet very quiet, Marco does not want to leave here yet but in the afternoon we leave for the largest island of the archipelago, Lipari.

Chocolate Bay is anchored right in front of the entrance of a small harbour, we don’t intend to stay, just leave the ship to visit the cozy town, but it was so nice that we get stuck there, ne nice limoncello spritzz (as I make it on board, almost so delicious) and some Italian antipasti and delicious Parma ham, that’s all it should be.

Marco had thrown the anchor of the dinghi without fastening the rope, hilarious with clothes and all and feel with his feet if he liked it, no, that’s something for tomorrow morning when it’s light, at least I’m lying flat from laughing (mss do those 2 cocktails have something to do with it?).

Do we continue the sailing trip?

We found anchor in the morning and now we can leave for Palermo, so back to Sicily.

So we stayed in front of the harbour all night, yes, we leave early anyway, but actually nothing for us to do such a thing 🙂

All day on a motorbike but I always say, That’s my kind of sea, so flat the sea, like a lake.

Palermo and Sardinia.

After 12h arrived in the bay next to Palermo, a bit bumpy, not so easy to disembark with our Pralinneke so we eat a fish on board the bbq. We count again how long we have to sail to Sardinia, 40 hours, oh, better to leave because on Sunday they give a bit too much wind.

Sailing to Sardinia!

Loving Katey & Marco.

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Sicily Street or Messina Aeolian Islands

Katey — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 12:52:25 +0000

Chocolate Bay from Greece to Italy (Sicily Street or Messina Aeolian Islands)

Ciao bella, that’s how I wake up, Marco let me sleep all night so he can sleep for a couple of hours himself and then we finally arrive in Sicily. We anchor in the bay of Giardinna Naxos and visit the old town of Taormina, very busy after a few days at sea so we didn’t stay that long.

Sunbathing on a catamaran is the sky…

Once we arrived back at Chocolate Bay we enjoyed the sun, swimming in the clear blue water, how quickly you get used to rest, without the hustle and bustle of other people.

Before dinner we disembark with our little pralinneke (for those who don’t know him yet: it’s the little one of the Chocolate Bay, not so big!).

In Italy you have to eat good pasta so we go to a fancy restaurant on the beach with palm trees, a bit of Ibizastyle, love it. A delicious seafoodlinguini with a good glass of wine and good company, voila.

Pralinneke is waiting for us.

For our dinghi, our Pralinneke, we had to pay 5 euros deposit, yes other country other rules for sure, we will have to get used to that, but when you get there and they ask for another 5 euros (ne weird Italian) they don’t succeed with our zenne, the Marco has made himself a bit wide and he took a step back anyway, ciao, we won’t come back here anyway, like we are.

The sailing trip will be continued.

I was very tired (and I think lazy too) so we crawl right into our bed, I sleep really well, Marco has to get out at 5h, the sailing trip continues to The Street of Messina and the Aeolian Islands.

15 knots against the wind, so some bobbing again, alleluja sea sickness pills, and after a couple of hours of bumping and mocking it gets quieter and we arrive in the street of Messina, we shout if we can pass the canal and we immediately get a go! Yes!

It’s a blissful sunny day so enjoy it again, it’s busy in the canal so pay attention, we even see 4 serious warships passing by, should we be scared?

And you don’t have to swim here, there are so many swirls and currents, and that’s 1000m deep here, wtf?!

We sail to the Aeolian Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands, we have seen the Stromboli erupt from the island of Panarea, chic shops there, cool bars and restaurants, a bit of bohemian chic. We eat good but very expensive and there is almost nothing on our plate so we get a bit of a smile, laughter is healthy and that’s how it feels, even on pill day because then I’m not the happiest because then I’m not allowed to drink hey;) But I really didn’t have a nice non-alcoholic cocktail, Plaice, yamaz, Salut!

It’s a long way to the Caribbean, but we’re getting a little closer, aren’t we?

Loving Katey & Marco.

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End of adventure Greece.

Katey — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 10:40:25 +0000

End of our season 2019, end of our Greek adventure.

The last sweet greetings from Greece…

We loved the Greek people, we loved the beautiful nature, and the turquoise blue water, and, of the incredibly beautiful sunsets, we loved the Greek cuisine, and the blissful sunshine, and of our fantastic guests, we loved everything in Greece. Thank you very much for those 4 fantastic years of sailing our Chocolate Bay (and our pralinneke of course) in Greek waters. We left in Gouvia (Corfu) with some swings, even with 2 dinghi’s they escorted us out of the channel with the necessary honking, blissful moment, with a smile and a tear and a strong kind of connection between Marco and me, like OMG, we are really going to do this, that world trip!

But first on course for the Caribbean, on course for 2020!

Our first stop is Sicily, so we thought we had a perfect wind but the weather forecast isn’t right so too much wind and high waves (4m), I’m not really a favorite of such sailing weather, sailing is cool, I just took my first pill, ça va nu.

2 reefs in the headsail and 3 in the mainsail and still running 12 knots, a bit exciting, but the adventure has started.

Cooking was not possible (not even on a catamaran) so fortunately I had pizza, because you have to eat if you don’t want to get seasick.

At 21h I crawl into my bed to try and get some sleep in between that boil, at least until 7h in my bed, now Marco can rest until 11h and the rest of the day we are puffing, we can’t do much else.

The best moment is always when we see dolphins, we have a whole group swimming and jumping in front of our bow and next to the catamaran, a small species but they are with a lot, beautiful!

After many hours the wind and therefore the waves finally fade away and we eat a nice chicken stew and the rest of the day we enjoy the sun, the sailing and each other’s, blissful and relaxed.

What can you do to follow us if you miss us?

Buy a boat and join the Chocolate Bay 🙂 : rhyming and poetry are my … to light up 🙂

OF…like our FB page Sealux and Instagram Sealuxyachting. I’m going to blog and fly on our website Sealux.be from now on and the common thread in my stories will be the “feel good style” and “give me a smile style”. I will do my best to send you all positive vibes and it would be nice if you reacted to my blog so I know why I made you smile, and then I know you read it (I will reward my fans with peas and beans 😉

Good night and see you soon!

Loving Katey & Marco xxx

Het bericht End of adventure Greece. verscheen eerst op Creative Mind.

Back in Belgium! Bye bye Corfu!

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:23:41 +0000

The day we left in Corfu, just before we got on the plane, it started to rain. Perfect timing I would say, until the last day I had nice weather, on to the cold Belgium, but with a very warm heart and tickles in my belly. I’m incredibly excited to be back home, the little venteke’s face when he saw the nanna & the papouse again was worth its weight in gold, love him.

We’ve been home for 2 weeks now and I’m starting to get used to it, except…the hustle and bustle, the traffic and the mentality of many people here, yet again adjust, the Southern mentality is still different…. And yet … it is better this year than last year, I notice that the sun has shone a lot here too, I also feel that about the people, what does the sun do well hey 😉

I am especially happy to be close to the kids, family and friends (even if my animal friends do not forget), I like to be at home, and I’m home everywhere quickly, haha.

How would it be with my animal friends over there?

My little cats will grow up, and all the other cats and dogs will survive the winter again, with the good care of other animal lovers, I trust …

Sweet greetz from Greece, Katey.

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Summer in spring, where is winter?

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:22:10 +0000

Enjoyed our 5-day End Of Seasontour, sailing with good winds. From the heel of Italy in one piece sailed to Corfu, 1 straight line, what a captain I have! 16 hours of sailing, with a fair amount of wind and some waves… see movie 😉 but in real life those waves always look much bigger 🙂 Southern Italy, highly recommended, but Greece remains the big winner for us, in all areas.

Corfu, Gouvia Marina, back in our home port, at home, what does that mean for you? For us, home here means our regular base, regular habits, famous people, our Greek friends, time to do jobs for Marco, for me ground under my feet, my scooter, wind in my hair, to my beach, to Kerkira, my town, our regular restaurants with our favo garcons… we’re still habitual creatures, and yet gipsy’s of the sea… We almost leave back to our other home, Brasschaat here we come. At home that means our kids and the smallest offcourse (I’m going to cuddle them up, friends and family, our big bathroom, grass, and of course my Monte Carlo (I’ll soon sit up there and I’ll soon smell back to horse instead of sea air ;)).

Do you know the saying “buy a boat and work yourself to death”? Well, we understand that 🙂 At least if you want to keep her (yes it’s a female our king would say) as good as new, we’re making her ready for the winter to leave her here in our home port, she doesn’t have to sail now ;). The Greeks already know Marco’s saying when they come on board to do something, yes yes, it has to look better than new;)). If you want to rent a luxury yacht with crew then you don’t want a boat dump, so nice and clean it is (you can hear our feedback anyway). So we still know what to do before we get on the plane, and our stomachs have to stay content as well so I try out some dishes for next season hey, mmmmm they say here, and still is mmmmm, think it’s good 😉

Sweet greetz from Greece,

Katey.

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Time flies when you’re having fun

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:20:41 +0000

What a word hey, FUN, funny… I love funny people, and we happened to have had a lot of them on board. So people who make a luxury trip with a catamaran are just great people;). They are repeaters, guests who are still allowed and want to come back. For me it’s important that I can stay myself, also tell a joke or do a joke. (I don’t have a keitoffe horn)

Highseason was fantastic at the Chocolate Bay, every week a different family who want to enjoy together on a catamaran, very cosy.

It was very tiring to “work” in that heat (especially cooking is sweating), and for those who don’t believe it, you should come and make a lunch for 10 people ;). The Marco said ne keer “allee badger here not so hot, that’s not so bad”, so I thought he should make the pasta, honestly better than mine (which has only fallen 2 times badly this year, haha, no more squid for this lady), so the captain’s pasta was very good but that was only 1 lunchke he (he jumped into the water anyway, cool down that trade haha).

But time flies, and it’s fun to work here in Greece, and the Ionian Islands are still the most beautiful for me, and also meet new people that we certainly in the winter will see again AND that as repeaters return next year.

Marco and I are now so well attuned to each other, thinking the same before it has to happen, while we have little time for each other this is a bit romantic, isn’t it? Our guests feel this vibe and it seems to feel very relaxing and safe but in the evening a little privacy for the two of us is also necessary, no matter how nice and sweet the guests are, honest is fair!

We’ve also had some experienced water sportsmen on board (where are those movies!?), with the necessary show, and ne perfect G.O. who will certainly have priority over a ticket for the big crossing next year 🙂

What also has stuck out my eyes are the beautiful bikinis and swimsuits, yes … I’ve already bought some more, I couldn’t stay behind anyway. Flo was won with at least 1 new beautiful one every day, 2 from the Bananamoon in Knokke, Chantal I’m coming off he 😉

Also September was great, especially now that we have a week off, haha, joke. All different couples, so sweet, and grateful! And I’m also grateful for the tips I got from Chef Jurgen Maene, he has a Gastro Pub together with his great madam in Ardennes, Gaspard, where we’re definitely going to eat from the winter!

I am also grateful for my husband, our Chocolate bay (with her Pralinneke) and Greece is and remains a great place to be.

And I will also be grateful when I have our family back with me 😉 but now….

SWEET GREETZ FROM GREECE!!!

Katey.

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The problem with the Volvo Penta instruments screens

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:17:55 +0000

In many cases with the screen problems I see in the Marina, sailors buy a new instument at + 600,- €

The Volvo Penta instruments are equipped with thin (1mm) double plexiglass, with a few millimeters of space in between. After only a few years, the first layer becomes brittle, yellow and difficult to read. Possibly you might even have some water between the two layers. You can remove the front layer with a sharp hot knife. As you can see on the picture below, the front layer on the right-hand has been removed.

On the right-hand device only the back layer is left, now it is readable again, but the back layer is even thinner and more fragile.

The solution is to pour a layer of crystal-clear epoxy on the bottom layer.

On the right-hand device only the back layer is left, now it is readable again, but the back layer is even thinner and more fragile.

The solution is to pour a layer of crystal-clear epoxy on the bottom layer.

On the left pic only the back original layer,

on the right, the layer of epoxy is poured.

used material:

https://www.vosschemie-benelux.com/nl/product/epoxy-hars-giet-en-lamineer-hars-epoxy-hars-clear-a-b-set-2-9-kg

Below the finished devices , strong, scratch-free and UV resistant.

Better as new.

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Strange but true

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:16:10 +0000

Strange but true, yet enjoyable in the winter in Belgium, quality time with our children and our little guy, family dinners and… we have too many nice friends with whom we always have to eat and drink:)

Soon back on our boat, our Chocolate Bay, but now first a weekend in Dusseldorf with the two of us, romantic moments, and of course also a day at the Boatshow because we are invited to watch the new Lagoon 50, not that we want to replace our catamaran (it still looks like new) but can dream, huh?

From next week we’ll be flying in here again because then we’ll have a stand at the Holiday Fair in Antwerp to offer our sailing trips, especially our theme weeks in spring because the rest of the season is almost fully booked for 2018, to get a place in 2019 the guests will have to be there quickly, word of mouth is really the best advertisement:)

And another 2 weeks in February at the boatshow in Ghent, so we still know what to do, welcome everyone for a snack and a drink, also in Antwerp at the holiday fair, and free tickets available on our website, just send us an email.

During our theme weeks we also want to let another audience enjoy a luxury sailing trip on our catamaran, so a single week and yoga and spirituality seemed a good idea for our theme weeks.

I’m curious and looking forward to it!

Sweet greetz not from Greece,

Katey & Marco.

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Back to the Sun?

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:03:35 +0000

In the meantime my horse Monte” Carlo has received a lot of attention from me, and I from him. Luckily I now have someone who takes good care of him while I’m away because last year when I came back from Greece he was completely malnourished and he didn’t get his medication for his ‘cushing’ with the result that he couldn’t stand on his legs anymore after I had taken him away from my so-called girlfriend in a hurry, he couldn’t carry his own weight anymore because he had food in his stomach, he never experienced it before.

Luckily the Brasschaat fire brigade came to us a couple of times to help us put him right and after a lot of good care he is back to his old self.

Really a wonderful ride in the woods in the military domain, rain or no rain, all stress away from him and from me.
Usually it rains here, Amai doesn’t, but after rain sunshine comes up and we take the plane to Marbella, to get our wedding present from my beautiful sister and brother, who have a beautiful apartment there under the Spanish sun. Together with them a week of quality time, delicious tapas, lots of laughing and teasing and a lot of rest. Blessed enjoyed, gracias for the beautiful cado. Now that we are back in Brasschaat, the assignment is to stay positive and cozy, in the rain. Enjoying small things, trying to be the sun ourselves… Not an easy exercise, and yet it will succeed, with a big smile, not on our catamaran, not on a sailing holiday in Greece, but here and now!

Sweet greetz from us, Katey & Marco.

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Workmodus on?

admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:01:53 +0000

After having our new website up and running (feedback is welcome) and the bookings for 2018, we are back in the workflow.
We already have quite a few bookings for our word of mouth sailing trip, which are the best because then the guests would be satisfied, then they have a top sailing holiday, and that’s what we do it for.

Now that we are home we try to enjoy our little venteke as much as possible, once or twice a week we try on it and then he sleeps, blessed that smile when you get him out of his bed and then a little cuddle with the nanna and the papouse in the big bed. That should be more than that now.

Sweet greetz from us.

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