Dear readers,

Happy New Year! How long do you actually say that? Five days into 2024 and most good intentions are almost forgotten. The turn of the year invites us to look back, which is usually accompanied by an outlook on what the new year will bring and how we can optimise our lives. For sailors, these wishes for the future are often linked to projects on the boat. Now that the days are getting longer again and the temperatures will eventually rise, preparations for the coming sailing season are also starting. Urgent tasks have to be completed by the crane date anyway. But then there are always things on the list that can be ticked off when the boat is afloat and are rather nice to have. Nevertheless, if they are done beforehand, the first weekend in the water can be used for a short trip instead of extending the winter storage work to the water berth.

More time on board and on the water is always at the top of my wish list for the new season. Often enough, invitations to round birthdays or other celebrations at the weekend come up in the summer, which you would actually be happy to attend if they weren't in the summer and also in the best sailing weather. The weekends and holidays go by faster than expected. Every day with good weather needs to be utilised. And if the preparations for repair, maintenance and renewal have been thorough, then in the best case scenario the toolbox can stay in the back box during the season and no repair stops will interrupt the sailing pleasure.

I lean back and relax a little with these wishes for the future, because I already successfully implemented one good resolution in autumn: I reworked the antifouling for the first time at the beginning of the winter storage period. It did take me a little longer than estimated, two days instead of one. This was also because I did the work alone this time. Tina, my wife and co-owner, is pregnant and should stay away from toxic dust and solvent vapours.

• Guide: Replacing antifouling, repairing damage to the hull

We're going to be parents at the start of the new season and are really looking forward to it! This makes resolutions and wishes superfluous; our lives will change, even without us having to make plans. But I've already made one decision: I'm going to take longer parental leave in the summer. This will also give me more time on board. In the past ten years, four weeks of summer cruising at a time was the maximum. Now I suddenly have several months at my disposal. So much time! But what to do with all that freedom? Sailing around the world, round the Baltic? We deliberately decided against fixed planning and extremely ambitious sailing goals. With a child on board, the focus should be on having a good time on the water. Whether it's the Swedish archipelago or simply anchoring off Rügen, the main thing is to be on the boat!

• Parental leave under sail - how the Erdmann family experienced it

As an editor in the Test & Technology section, I naturally have a few projects in mind to optimise life with a child on board. A protected space under the sprayhood, which is also secured against falling when the boat is in position, a leeward sail on the saloon bench, which could fulfil the same function below deck. The latter would also be very useful without youngsters. Then, of course, additional storage space is needed, for a pushchair, for example. I have also been told that an odour-proof waste bin could be beneficial. Countless other solutions are conceivable for any challenges that may arise this season. But without having any prior experience with a baby on board, I can't yet judge exactly what we will really need. A colleague, who has sailed many miles with children on board himself, recommended that I simply set off first.

So we will start the sailing season in peace and quiet. Without a fixed sailing plan, with plenty of time to perhaps optimise something on board. But don't get stressed. The underwater hull is already finished.

Michael Rinck,

YACHT editor

PS: The second episode of our new podcast is now online, by all means listen in !

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