Cafe Del Mar

I never really tested the Cafe Del Mar. At least not officially. I sailed it quite a lot, but I only blogged it once. So here it is again...

"Morning at the Cafe Del Mar"

What can I say? I like the morning at the Cafe Del Mar. No wait, - I love the morning at the Cafe Del Mar! It's such a luxury cruiser. It's fast, it's responsive and well behaved - and you can grab a coffee in one of the sun-chairs. If you ever need a relaxing get away, this is surely it.

Relaxing at the helm

Ofcourse she needs attention; Sailboats are sailboats. In my first Cafe Del Mar post I mentionen that it's kinda like a cruising version of the VO65. That's still true. Very lively; However the cruising gear is best in class.

Trimming...

Here's the upwards view from the helm. Huh! Who wouldn't wanna work with that? So the looks are great. Dutch does a great job when it comes to looks, but there's still work to be done. The thing is, there's really no option to work with the sailshape. There are sheets, and that's it.

Sails

However, I am convinced we will get sail-trimming sooner or later. It's just that there's little demand for that right now. We need more sailors in SL to create the demand for true sailtrim. Technically it is possible. It's not like SL can't do it. It's more like the boatbuilders in SL won't... 

The water is so quiet in the morning

Have you ever been out there in the early morning? It's truly magical. It's so silent. In the summertime the wind is usually lower at night; The sun is generating a lot of wind. So if you get out there early, you get the quiet flat water and the easy winds of the morning... Grab a cup of freshly brewed coffee and the rest of the world matters no more...

The obligatory shot with the Fastnet Rock

That's what the Cafe Del Mar is really great at, but it's not the only thing. There's also a genakker, so racing can be fun. Tactics both upwind and downwind.

Easy, even with the genakker

See? A cruising VO65-er! The difference is that it is really easy to handle. It's push-button sailing. One person can sail this baby while the guests are having a party. Which reminds me, I didn't see a MOB button. That might come in handy in case the party gets too wild and people fall over board.

Complicated

This? It's just a boat I met. It's approcimately the same size as the Cafe Del Mar. It looks so great and so much more complicated. I wonder why the sails are down?

My cup of tea

Nah, gimme this. Modern, fast and easy to handle. It's really close to a dream boat for a weekend  cruise. Not that it wouldn't do for two weeks in the greek islands, but bluewater cruising? I am not so sure about that...

Back at Tradewinds

And if you're not in the mood for sailing, there's always the option of hanging out in the sun-chairs. I'd call it lounging, but I couldn't find the radio; Lounging kinda needs a radiofeed with a nice and loungy touch. Pink Martini would be great. The drink isn't too bad either. I'll ask Dutch for a special version where the coffemaker is swapped with a pink martini dispenser... Cheers!