Electric winches can be of great help on a sailboat. This is especially true if the boat is over 40 feet (12 metres) long, as some issues can become quite heavy. However, this convenience comes at a price. Read more about that here

Nerdiness Quotient: 5/10 Time to head back to Bengt Falkenberg at Albatross Segel for some much-needed TLC for the mainsail and the "lazyback". Last year, it was the jib and yankee (the foresails) that received his care. Sailmakers have the professional expertise to ensure that sails are kept in the best possible condition. Bengt is a well-reputed competition sailor with extensive knowledge of sails, and since Bengt and Albatross Segel was the one who delivered the new sails to the boat in 2014, it made sense to let him take care of the service, even though there is a skilled sailmaker at Maritimt Kompani in Trondheim, which is much closer to us. The 'lazy bag', in which the mainsail is packed when not in use, is exposed to a lot of stress from UV light and the general effects of weather, wind and salt water. It now bore the marks of some hard years at sea, but with a good dose of TLC, it still have a few good years ahead of it. When new sails were fitted in 2014, the previous owner of

Nerdiness Quotient: 2/10 As a part of the preperations before winter hibernation the sails has now been removed from the boat. Last winter the Jib and Yankee was brought to the original supplier of the sails, now the main sail will be getting TLC by Albatross segel situated in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Nerdiness Quotient: 2/10 The sun-cover on the fore sails had started to deteriorate, so during the winter they was brought to the the sailamaker, Albatross segel in Gøteborg - Sweden, where they first came from. Read about it here...

Nerdiness Quotient: 5/10 Going aloft several times during the season is mandatory, so having steps in the mast is very handy. Read more here...