Hans and Jenny were from Germany. See Eule (German for Sea Owl) was their 40-foot Ferro-cement,
junk-rigged schooner. (Junk-rigged
means the boat had accordion-pleated sails, like a Chinese junk.) They built the boat themselves, with the
exception of the hull. They even cut
the trees for the masts in a forest in northern Germany. See Eule was what people refer to as a
survival boat. The cockpit was
enclosed, and the sliding hatch had a raised Plexiglas bubble. Standing in the cockpit, they could survey
360 degrees around the boat. They could
tack the boat, and even raise and lower the sails from within the enclosed
cockpit. In bad weather, they never
needed to go out on deck. See Eule had
many nice features. We both got a kick
out of the large chart table, which lifted to reveal Hans’ electric train set,
with its miniature cars and track.
Hans and Jenny sailed See Eule in northern Germany. They took her through France by way of the
canal system. They then spent time in
the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic. They were staying in Tortola for a year and a half while Hans
worked as Stores Manager for one of the charter boat companies. Jenny did some skippering on charter boats,
and looked after boats for absent owners.
She also took up sewing – play suits, tube dresses, bikinis – getting her
customers by word of mouth, and doing quite a good business.
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| Jenny and Hans |
December 16th (1981) was Hans’ 40th
birthday, and we were invited over for dinner.
Jenny made German goulash, boiled potatoes, salad, and, for dessert,
German chocolate pudding topped with white custard. Birthdays should be celebrated, so in January, as Ed was turning
37 on the 10th, and Jenny turning 35 on the 11th, I
decided to have a small birthday party on Tropic Moon. We also invited another couple, Susanna and
Gerd, who were mutual friends. I cooked
the dinner – quiche, fresh fruit salad, and beer bread. Gerd and Susanna brought over
champagne. Susanna created the dessert
– a butter crème torte, the kind she always made for Gerd’s birthday cake. She spent hours on it. The cake stood four layers high, with jam
for two of the fillings, and butter crème for the third. The whole torte was covered with the butter
crème frosting.
In February, Jenny and Hans found out they were
pregnant. They’d been trying for a
while, and couldn’t have been happier.
In April, Hans finished his job with the charter boat company. They hauled See Eule, and began preparing
her for passage. With the baby coming,
they were concerned about being in the Virgin Islands for hurricane
season. They decided to get south of
the hurricane belt, and have the baby in Curacao, a Dutch island off South
America.
I crocheted a baby sweater for the little one. I think I probably found the only pattern on
the island! It was fairly complicated,
with popcorn stitches, ridge stitches, a Peter Pan collar and raglan
sleeves. The only choice in baby yarn
was pink or blue. I picked blue because
I knew Jenny hated pink. Jenny was
working on her maternity wardrobe and had two dresses, two pairs of long
shorts, and a blouse finished before they were ready to head south. Her sewing skills came in handy.
(In case you’re curious, Mira Margarethe was born September
2, 1982, in Curacao. Mira had her own
swinging hammock on See Eule. While
Mira was still a baby, Hans and Jenny sailed See Eule across the Pacific Ocean
to New Zealand, where they settled.
Mira is now in her thirties, married, and with a child of her own. My, how the years do pass…)
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