Emilien
I have been sailing sporadically ”420 sailing dinghies” as a kid in France and took sailing courses when I was living in Italy but my interest in sailing really took off after I moved to Sweden. In Sweden I bought my first sailboat, a 26ft Maxi77 called Beauty in 2017. The idea at that time was to sail her with my friends but I ended up sailing mostly alone. I knew the basics of sailing but I was far from knowing how to maneuver a 2 tons boat by myself. I learnt the hard way, learning from my mistakes, sailing further and further time after time and gaining more confidence after each sailing trip. After 4 seasons I sold Beauty and purchased La Niña, a 28 ft Maxi Fenix Dinette from 1981. The intention when purchasing La Niña was to have a boat more comfortable, still easy to maneuver alone and that would allow me to sail longer distances. I test sailed her the entire season 2021 in Sankta Anna Archipelago and down to Öland. In 2022, I met Maria and I decided to leave La Niña on land and sail with Maria’s newly bought Lady Helmsman Esmeralda that was replacing her Comfort 32 Bumble Bee. We sailed her to Stockholm Archipelago and Åland and next summer to Finland.
In 2023 with the project building up to go for a long sail and as we were not completely satisfied with the experience of sailing Esmeralda in strong winds and bigger waves (although she is a very fun boat to sail), we finally decided to sell both La Niña and Esmeralda and look for a boat designed specifically for ocean sailing. This is how we came across Lovisa.
Maria
My first time sailing was a fearful experience at 8 years of age or so. The family tested a boat for sale and neither of us were used to heeling boats, but my father was all in. After that, I have enjoyed the family holidays 4 weeks each summer out in the Swedish archipelago. I was also exploring bays as a child in my old wooden Optimist, and joined women’s 606 sailing when I was in high school. Later, I borrowed my father’s boats, including a Wasa 412 that he had for some time, which was really fun.
For 7 years, I lived in Bergen, and for a short period, my home was a Sun Odyssey. In Bergen, I was also part of the student sailing club, with access to Albin Express boats. A friend and I were out one week sailing one of those boats and got some practice into sealing leakages to keep rain water out – it rains a lot in west coast Norway.
While living a couple of years in Boston, I sailed small keel boats without a motor – a bit stressful at one point when I had brought guests who were to catch a flight in the evening, and the wind died…luckily it picked up again in time. I was also a member of a racing boat crew, but was a bit stressed about all the expensive boats that could be damaged. After my time in Boston was over, a friend invited me as part of his crew to sail from Scotland to Spain, which was a stretch of his route to the Caribbean. This included a 5-day sail over the Bay of Biscay, my longest stretch so far and a good experience before our own adventure. I really enjoyed night watches in the dark, in company of the stars and the sea, and I realized how exhausting it may be when every move inside the boat has to be controlled in the big waves, to keep balance.
Back in Sweden, I bought a Comfort 32 after one very hot summer (in Swedish measures at least), partly to be close to the sea. But then I rediscovered how much I love sailing and was out a lot with friends and family. A great experience with that boat, Bumblebee, was when my siblings with partners joined for one week of sailing in fantastic weather in the Baltic Sea, just after my sister’s weeding. I took up my childhood dream of long-distance sailing and started thinking about using the Comfort 32 on a sail to the Caribbean. Some people say you can use any boat (well prepared of course).
But in the end, I thought it would be better with a boat that had other planning (e.g. not a separate entrance to the rear cabin) and a newer motor. I ended up buying a Lady Helmsman. This is perhaps a bit counterintuitive for ocean sailing, but I also could not afford to buy a much more expensive boat alone. Just before I bought her, Emilien and I had met on a course about offshore sailing in tides, and we had talked about sailing together. He helped me get the boat in shape for the water, while we were also preparing Bumblebee for sale, and took care of his boat La Niña. Three boats is a lot of boats to care for! Eventually, boat work and sailing turned out to be something more.
Together we sailed the Lady Helmsman (we called her Esmeralda but never actually changed the official name from Lyftet) a couple of summers in Sweden and Finland/Åland and really enjoyed it. She is very fast and responsive, and the interior wood work by the previous owner made her probably the most beautiful Lady Helmsman there is.
In the end, however, we decided that with our joined budget we would be better off with a boat that was made for ocean sailing.