Hej! I’m Jennie, a Swedish-born adventurer, former New Yorker, food lover, and now… preparing for life as a full-time sailor.
Alongside my partner David (a lifelong sailor) and Jan the Cat (my 16-year-old, soon-to-be sea captain kitty cat), we’re in the middle of transforming our sailboat, Fernweh, into our future home. When David and I met, he already had a lifelong dream of going cruising. Around the same time, he bought Fernweh with plans to refit her and move aboard. I’ve always loved to travel and see the world, so when he told me about his plan, it felt like the perfect fit. I kind of just jumped in on his dream while also trying to make my own dream a reality.
Right now, we’re deep in the refit stage, replacing sinks, upgrading cushions, rebuilding the galley, painting inside and out, slowly turning a tired old cruiser into a floating home that can carry us across oceans.
I’m learning to sail and to fix things I didn’t even know existed a year ago, and we’re both (mostly me) still figuring it all out as we go. We haven’t left the dock yet, or even moved aboard, but every project, every small victory (and every curse word) gets us one step closer to a new kind of life.
This blog is where we share that process, the learning, the mess, and the magic that happens in between.
What You’ll Find Here
🔧 Refit Stories
The highs, lows, hacks, and hard lessons from transforming an old sailboat into a home built for bluewater cruising.
🍲 Galley Adventures
Real-world recipes made in a tiny, tilting kitchen, always with a focus on simple, healthy, delicious meals that work wherever you drop anchor.
⚓ Life Afloat
Honest stories about downsizing, adjusting, organizing, and slowly figuring out what it takes to live well on the water.
🌍 Cruising Logs (coming soon)
When we set sail, we’ll bring you with us, to the anchorages, ports, markets, and messy magical moments we collect along the way.
Why Fernweh?
It’s the name of our boat, and a German word that means “a longing for far-off places.” That longing is what brought us here: a deep desire to see the world, sail far, eat well, and live simply.
This blog is our way of documenting the whole journey, not just the destinations, but the messy middle too. From sanding fiberglass to provisioning tips, from our first nights on board to the meals we cook at anchor, Fernweh is a growing log of our life under sail.
Join the Journey
We’re in the thick of our slow transition from land to sea life, planning, prepping, learning, and occasionally cursing at boat parts. It’s not all sunsets and sea spray (yet), but it is honest, evolving, and curiosity-driven. This blog is for dreamers, planners, sailors, travelers, and anyone who’s ever wondered what it’s like to chase a slower, saltier kind of life.
Whether you’re refitting your own boat, dreaming of cruising one day, curious about life on the water, or just here for the cat pictures, you’re welcome aboard.
Subscribe, say hi, or follow along as Fernweh becomes not just our boat, but our floating home.
We’re just getting started, and we’d love for you to come along.
-Jennie, David and Jan