Windelo Owner Testimonial – Christoph and Wanderlust

Nov 29, 2025

Sailing in the Wake of Magellan – A Bluewater Story

Discover the inspiring story of Christoph, proud owner of the Windelo 50 Yachting “Wanderlust.”

Between the Greek Islands and the fjords of Norway, Christoph shares his journey toward sustainable bluewater sailing — a true Windelo owner testimonial where performance, innovation, and eco-responsibility meet at sea.

A dream set in motion

The journey towards the boat of our dreams is often not as straightforward as you might imagine; sometimes you need a little helping hand. For Christoph Nelles, owner of Wanderlust – a Windelo 50 Yachting, that helping hand came from his son.

“In 2020-21 my son was 21 years old and he was trawling the internet looking at catamarans for his father,” Christoph explains: “He came across the Windelo 50 and he said ‘how do you like this one?’ Initially it didn’t appeal to me but the more I went into it the more I was convinced – and the rest is history.”

Choosing Windelo: Performance meets purpose

Christoph had long dreamt of sailing around the world and at the time when his son stumbled upon the Widelo, he was in search of a yacht suitable for making this dream trip. He is an experienced sailor and had previously sailed on a Privilege 585 catamaran. “The Privilege was a very solid, luxurious boat” he explains, “but for the trip I had planned I wanted something faster and lighter but still with a bit of luxury. I’m not a racing type but I like to sail fast and light wind performance was also important to me.”

“The reason I wasn’t blown away by the Windelo when my son first showed it to me is because the styling on the first few boats was quite different. After the restyle, I really liked their look. I was also really impressed by the layout with the front cockpit and how safe it was.”

“I was always asking myself why most boatbuilders build catamarans with the saloon forward and a big cockpit aft. To me it didn’t really make sense and I therefore felt that Windelo did it in a really good way by switching things around.”

“I have now sailed 10,000 miles in a year and it has really shone through that you feel safe and secure in this forward cockpit – more than that, you’re protected from the elements – not just bad weather but also from the sun.”

Eco-friendly power and quiet independence

Christoph was also drawn in by the eco friendly ethos of the company, particularly the hybrid electric propulsion which have worked very well for him, as he explains: “The electric concept turned out to be perfect for me. Generally I just use the motor to get out of the bay and then set the sails so the system worked very well for me.”

“It’s very rare that I feel the need for more power. Perhaps once off the Cape St Vincent against the wind and tide I felt I was pushing quite hard on the motors — and you also have the generator as backup for longer stretches, if your batteries are getting low.”

Mediterranean Adventures

Christoph picked the boat up in the spring of 2024, spending the season in the Med. “I love the Greek Islands so it made sense to head there” he explains: “I travelled there via Mallorca, Sardinia, Tunisia, Corfu, the Corinth Canal and then through the Greek Islands all the way to Turkey.”

“From there we headed back west via the Peloponnese the Messina Strait and then I did a solo sail from Sardinia up the west coast of Corsica then on to Marseille. From there I sailed back to Windelo’s base in Canet sorting out any issues that were covered under warranty.”

pexels-valdemaras-d-784301-2273664-1-uai-516x569

Solo Sailing

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Christoph ended up doing quite a lot of sailing solo and found that the Windelo was well adapted to this: “This boat is made for singlehanding. I’m not generally a solo sailor, I really like company but the thing about this boat is that when you are solo, it’s absolutely great.”

“Solo sailing is where the forward cockpit comes into its own because everything is to hand. I don’t call it the cockpit, I call it the bridge because it’s such a big working space.”

“The sailing itself is so wonderful. There is a big difference between sailing a 59’ catamaran [such as the Privilege] and the Windelo 50. This boat just feels less powered up and light compared to that. In terms of performance, at times we have done 15 kn which gives you a good burst of adrenaline which I love – but it’s the light air performance that I love the most because you can sail in conditions when others are motoring. If it’s really light, I also sometimes run with the sails up and engines at a low power at 1-2 kW to generate a bit of apparent wind. That just pushes you along in silence. It’s amazing.”

windelo-50-yachting-bretagne-glenans-3-uai-1032x773

Following Magellan’s Route

Following his break in Canet, Christoph continued on his way down the Spanish coast all the way to Tangier. Again, he was solo and enjoyed some magnificent downwind sailing with his Parasailor spinnaker up, regularly hitting 10kn as he pressed on to Tangier in Morocco. Following this, he returned to the Spanish coast, where he was able to fulfil a dream. “I have always been obsessed with the explorer Magellan and it’s my plan to follow his route around the world. To do that, you have to start in Seville (Magellan started his successful circumnavigation of the globe from Seville in 1519).”

“I therefore decided to sail up the river from Cadiz to Seville. It was incredible. It takes you two tides but I had good winds and with the tide in mu favour I was sailing 8kn over the ground up the river. It was an incredible feeling to sail through rural Spain, many miles inland at the helm of a big yacht. At the end, and you finish up in the heart of Seville which is a beautiful city.”

From Northern Seas to Norwegian Fjords

From here, Christoph continued north, enduring some tough weather off Portugal but thankfully avoiding any orcas. He got a good weather window across Biscay before again sailing solo from Dieppe to Breskens. From here he struck north with a vengeance, heading to Norway and exploring the maze of islands and Fjords between Bergen and Stavanger. “Norway with good weather is one of the best” Christoph enthuses: “You feel like you’re sailing in a Swiss Lake. Surrounded by snow peaked mountains – it’s just incredible.”

Christoph has now tested the boat both in the extreme heat of the Greek Islands and the chill of the high latitudes. He has been impressed by the boat in all conditions, as he explains: “If the weather is bad, the boat is perfect as It gives you so much shelter with the forward cockpit and plenty of interior space. Meanwhile, in hot weather you just open everything up. I don’t have air conditioning as I decided it was just something else to go wrong and, as long as your at anchor and your boat is well ventilated, you really don’t need it. The boat works well in the cold too. I have diesel heating and when the sun comes out there is so much glass to let the sun in that it warms up really quickly.”

Life On Board: Comfort and Space

The layout of the boat has also worked well. Christoph opted for the U-shaped galley and this has worked a treat for him, as he explains: “Cooking is very important to me and my family so we took the U-shaped kitchen. I love this as it’s like a real big kitchen at home and for a 50’ catamaran, that’s great. On the other side of the saloon you have the big table that easily takes six so it’s great for big gatherings. The day bed is one of my favourite features of the saloon layout and all the guests love it. It’s just a great place to relax but also keep an eye on what is going on around you.”

“Beyond that, I went for the owner’s hull as opposed to having an extra cabin forward. I love that, It gives you lots of space and I really didn’t need an extra cabin so it works well. There is also a great sense of space down in the hulls. I’m almost 2m tall which is a real problem on many boats but not the Windelo.”

“For the guest hull, I opted to have the office set up with the two bunk beds in the bow. This works very well for me and it means that I have another full office and that works superbly. Plus the bunks are great. I’ve slept in there and it was really super comfortable.”

A Pause Before the Next Horizon

From Bergen, Christoph sailed westwards to Inverness before heading through the Caledonian Canal where he was very unfortunate in grazing a rock located right at the edge of the channel, damaging one of the rudders in the process.

“It was very frustrating because we were actually in the channel” Christoph reflects: “It was at this moment I made a big mistake too because you can actually drop the rudder without getting the boat hauled out but for some reason I had it in my head that I had to get the boat lifted out so I pressed on to Dublin where there was a good lift out facility. This was a mistake because the rudder then completely came apart on passage.

A few days later, a new rudder arrived from the shipyard — but for now, that is where my voyage has paused.”

From there, it’s clear that Christoph still has his sights set on wider horizons. His dream of completing a circumnavigation remains very much alive, even if unforeseen events have pushed that ambition to next year.

“I bought this boat to sail around the world and that’s still the plan and this is the boat for the job” Christoph reflects.