Life On Sail

We stayed at Narbonne Plage for a full month, as it’s where the Oceanis 40CC was berthed. We gave up the berth and will apply for a new one in several harbors for next year, when we return from our sabbatical. We left on April 1st, 2025, at 7:30 AM, greeted by a beautiful sunrise as we exited the harbor.   April 1st was the only good day for departure this week, so we seized the opportunity. We managed to avoid the sandbar at the exit of Narbonne Plage harbor, which left us all smiles. Itinerary We headed to Cap d’Agde, not too far away—just over 16 nautical miles (30 km).   It should have taken a little more than 4 hours. However, we faced headwinds.   We decided to leave in the morning when the wind was lighter, which was safer for our first trip, but it meant using the engine along with the sails for the first few miles. We ended up zigzagging the entire way, doubling both the time and the nautical miles.   Our average speed was 3.7 knots, peak...

March 2025 overview This month marks our second-biggest spending period.   We purchased the boat at the end of February, and now March has been dedicated to refitting and renovation.                                    March 2025 details We bought a lot of consumables for the renovation, and more importantly, we needed a ton of equipment to upgrade the boat: a heater, wastewater tank, charging ports, an electric outboard engine, and more.   The list is long! March 2025 vs budget: We spent 10,000 euros this month.   Of that, 8,600 euros went toward refitting work just for March. In total so far, we’ve spent 9,100 euros on the refit out of our 20,000-euro budget. We still have some work ahead:   - The teak isn’t fully saturated yet and needs new joints (rough estimate: 250 euros) .    - We need to pay for porthole replacements (estimated: 650 euros) ....

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d put my life on display for all to see on YouTube, I wouldn’t have believed it in a million years. I enjoy sharing my daily life on Instagram, but it’s just 24-hour stories, often from a POV perspective, so I only show my face once every 10 stories or so. What triggered this decision? When we were in Hong Kong, we started watching YouTube videos of people living on sailboats and sharing their adventures. They came from all ages and backgrounds—not necessarily YouTubers at first, but they eventually became ones. It looked so 'easy' that we thought, 'Hey, we could make a video too!' If retirees can do it, it couldn’t be that hard, right? So, when we were stuck at the harbor due to bad weather and couldn’t work on outdoor renovations, I decided to make use of my free time. I dug into our archives to create what would become our first YouTube video.  It was tough at first. Digging through years of video archives wasn’t easy—especia...

We love walking, but when time is short or when we need to run errands, we wanted a means of transportation we could take on our boat. Bike or scooter? We were torn between a foldable bike, which would give us a bit of exercise, and an electric scooter, which is slightly more compact than two foldable bikes. Space is limited on our two-cabin sailboat! However, the scooter would require electricity to charge. We had electric scooters 25 years ago when we lived in Paris, so we’re familiar with their benefits. While on the road, we saw so many people using scooters that we finally decided to go with the same mode of transportation. Performance Both scooters are a bit on the heavy side. Mine is smaller, weighing 12 kg, and less powerful than Nico’s, but it still reaches 25 km/h with a 40 km range. Nico’s is faster and has a longer range, though it weighs 15 kg. I wanted the Xiaomi Essential, but it seems to have been discontinued—I couldn’t find it in any stores. So, I settled on an Ocean ...

 Nico's parents came for 5 days.  They arrived in the evening from Aveyron.  They brought us some stuff we forget at their house but mostly they came to give us a hand! We have just finished our first Youtube video at that time. We took advantage of the weeks of rain to force ourselves to work on the video. ( watch it here ) It was painful, but we were happy some people appreciated it.  Nico's mom's reaction: They did help us the rest of the week with sanding and fixing things around in the boat.  We went for a hike the day before their departure at the Gouffre de l'oeil doux.   It was a short week, but they will join us in few weeks when they are done with what awaits them at home.  They are taking back the car they left us so that we don't have to drive back to Aveyron.  We are now car-less, but it's fine we will be using the e-scooters from now on!

We’re hosting visitors on our boat this weekend, and it’s a wonderful breath of fresh air after the bad weather and renovation work! First, Fabienne and JM came from Albi. They have a holiday house in Leucate, not too far from Narbonne.   Now, we have family from Toulouse visiting—Christelle and Didier—who also have a holiday house less than 1 km from Narbonne-Plage. Christelle and Didier stopped by and even took us out in the evening.   We went to a nearby town where Didier’s friends were playing.     We had so much fun—it was really great to get away from the boat for a bit. The next day, Nico’s brother Fred, his wife Steph, and their kids came to visit.   They were on a weekend getaway from Toulouse, not too far away, so they made a detour to see us.   We had lunch together and enjoyed coffee on the boat before everyone returned to their busy lives.  

After coming back from our wonderful weekend in Leucate, the weather was so nice that we decided to sail the boat. It was our very first solo sail, just the two of us. We took the boat out without any issues. Nico mastered maneuvering out of our marina slip. We successfully avoided the sandbank at the harbor entrance. This time, we went all manual because Nico wanted to test the sails. He’s been trying to fix the mainsail and made some adjustments to the halyard, but the bearings still need to be replaced. I was steering while he worked to hoist the sails. We started with the genoa, and everything went smoothly. I’m learning to luff and bear away for the first time. I still struggle to feel or determine where the wind is coming from. It’s tricky to luff and then hold a steady course to maintain speed. Nico shouts directions using everyday words instead of proper nautical terms, which is frustrating since I’ve started reading maritime guides to learn the right vocabulary.   Next, we...

 This is the first official stopover of our sabbatical from the boat.   (Well, we went to Gruissan, but that didn’t really count! 😊) Our friends from Albi came to visit us on our boat—they were our first visitors! They heard we were in Narbonne, so they stayed at their vacation home not far from Narbonne Plage this week-end, so they invited us to join them in Leucate. We happily accepted. The weather had been dreadful ever since the in-laws left, so a little getaway was very welcome. We’d been to Port Leucate before to check out boats, but we’d never explored the village itself. It’s a charming, vibrant place, especially for a winter month. Everyone was gathered at the town square, enjoying a drink as the sun finally made an appearance.    There are some highly sought-after restaurants and patisseries just around the corner. The village has a Parisian vibe but within the setting of a tiny, colorful community. Fabienne and Jean-Marie prepared a wonderful vegetar...

 Coming back to France, we had to set up new bank accounts so that that we can splurge during our one year sabbatical.  I hate to have so many bank accounts, but we could still end those once we finish our sabbatical year.  Revolut I don't have my own personal account in France! So I decided to have my own and opted for the trending Revolut. The main point is that it is TOTALLY FREE! And it was so fast to set up!  I received my Debit card withing a week. Use my referral link  https://revolut.com/referral/?referral-code=lulujump!MAR1-25-VR-FR  to create your Revolut account! Pros: - Multi-Currency Support: Hold and spend in over 150 currencies with competitive exchange rates, great for travelers or international use. I'm used to having multiple currency at HSBC so it's good having something familiar here in France although I don't think I'll hedge any currencies at this point.  - Low Fees : Free ATM withdrawals (up to a limit on the Standard plan), no f...

When buying stickers for your boat, you need to consider more than just whether they’ll stick for a long time. For a boat, the stickers must be waterproof, resistant to salty water, and UV-resistant. Brands like 3M and similar ones can handle the job. Most of these types of stickers come with a warranty. It’s been weeks since we started prepping, and we’re leaving the berth for good in just over two weeks. That doesn’t leave us much time to order boat name stickers and have them delivered to the harbormaster. I was in a bit of a rush and ended up doing this late at night—honestly, the worst time to make decisions. I didn’t browse many websites, maybe three at most. C-stickers Luckily, I stumbled across the c-stickers.fr website, and the offer was straightforward. They specialize in stickers for stores but also for boats, so they’re weather-resistant. The stickers are made by Oracal, 3M, or Mactac and come with a 5-year guarantee. Their customization interface is super easy and clear:...