PROJECT ÆGIR · EXPEDITION YACHT
PROJECT ÆGIR – LOGBOOK
Short updates about the project, website, fundraising, and the future expedition yacht for two people and one dog.
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I am not writing this text lightly.
And I am not writing it to complain, seek sympathy, or defend myself.

I am writing it because from the very beginning I said that truth and transparency are the foundation of this project. And now the moment has come when that truth can no longer be simplified or softened without ceasing to be truthful.

All along I said that the boat project was not just a dream.
It was a dream – yes.
But above all, it was a last hope.

To understand what it was a last hope for, I need to describe the reality in which this project was created.


The context in which the project was born

For a long time, I lived in a relationship burdened by a serious alcohol problem on the part of my partner.
This was not a short episode, a temporary crisis, or a fluctuation.
It was a long-term condition that gradually worsened and began to define our everyday life.

I myself do not struggle with alcohol.
On the contrary, for a long time I tried to cope with the situation, manage it, and find solutions, often at the expense of my own peace of mind and mental health.

For a long time, I believed that a moment would come when the problem would finally be addressed openly, responsibly, and with a real willingness to change.
That moment never came.


What I mean by a “problem with alcohol”

It is important to be absolutely clear here so there can be no doubt or misinterpretation.

When I speak about a problem with alcohol, I am not speaking about myself.
I am speaking about my partner’s alcoholism.

And I am not referring to:

  • a glass of wine on the weekend

  • occasional drinking

  • a so-called “Mediterranean lifestyle”

  • or someone “having one night too many”

I am referring to long-term alcoholism that gradually worsened over the years until it became a daily reality.

In the last months, this meant daily drinking, typically at least 0.7 liters of wine every day, with no breaks and no “dry days”.

This is not an emotional interpretation.
It is a factual description of the situation I lived in as a partner.


Attempts to resolve the situation

I did not ignore the problem. I repeatedly tried to address it through calm, open conversations. Not arguments, not accusations, but a clear acknowledgment of the situation and an attempt to find a solution.

My partner’s reactions followed the same pattern:

  • denial of the severity of the problem

  • defensive and often aggressive responses

  • immediate shifting of blame onto me (“BUT YOU…”)

  • avoidance of any concrete steps

Approximately 2–3 months ago, I was given a promise that the situation would finally be addressed.
I took that promise seriously and gave time and space.

During that entire period, nothing happened:

  • no doctor

  • no therapy

  • no plan

  • not a single concrete step


The breakdown of everyday life together

Around the same time, our relationship effectively stopped functioning.

For several months now, we have not slept together. I sleep separately, on the couch.
Not as a gesture, not as punishment, but as a direct consequence of a reality that had become unlivable.

Even this situation – which in itself represents the end of normal partnership life – did not lead to any effort to change on my partner’s side.
It was not a wake-up call.
It was not a turning point.

Life simply continued the same way.


The long-term pressure

Living long-term next to someone with an addiction means:

  • constant tension

  • walking on eggshells

  • weighing every word

  • knowing that any attempt at openness will end in conflict

This is not a short-term crisis.
This is a state that slowly but steadily destroys the mental well-being of the person who does not have the addiction, but has to live with it.


Why the idea of the boat emerged

It was in this context that the idea of the boat emerged.

Not as an escape.
Not as a romantic fantasy.
But as a last attempt to change the conditions in which the addiction existed.

I genuinely believed that:

  • limited access to alcohol

  • a complete change of environment

  • a shared goal and daily structure

could create space where the problem would finally begin to be addressed, rather than denied.

It was hope. Not certainty.


Why I now know it was not enough

Today it is clear that:

  • addiction cannot be solved by changing location

  • addiction cannot be solved by a project

  • addiction cannot be solved by the hope of a partner

If the person with the addiction does not want to start addressing it themselves, no boat, no ocean, and no isolation will do it for them.


Why it is no longer possible

Today, the situation is such that:

  • daily drinking continues

  • reactions to any confrontation are aggressive

  • promises remain empty

  • the psychological pressure is no longer sustainable

This is no longer something that can be “endured a little longer.”
This is not a phase.
This is a state with no movement in the right direction.


Why I am writing this publicly

I am writing this because I have always built this project on truth and transparency.

I do not want there to be any impression that “a problem with alcohol” means that I drink.
I do not.

I am describing the reality I lived in as the partner of someone with an addiction, and that reality was the main reason why the boat became more than a dream – it became a last hope.

That hope turned out to be misplaced.
Admitting that is painful, but necessary.

Sometimes the strongest decision is not to endure.
Sometimes the strongest decision is to stop denying reality.


 

Final words

There is one thing that is extremely difficult to put into words.

It is incredibly painful to watch someone you love slowly destroy themselves.
Even more painful is the moment when you are forced to admit that you do not have the power to change it.

People struggling with addiction will always find a reason why they need to drink.
Stress. Fatigue. Emotions. Life itself.
The reason changes — the drinking does not.

You know that your partner loves you.
You can feel it. You can see it in moments of clarity.
But you also come to understand one brutal truth:

Alcohol is loved above everything else.

And when a real decision has to be made —
between a person who stands beside them
and a bottle —

the bottle always wins.

Not because you were not enough.
Not because you failed.
But because addiction does not negotiate.

And there is nothing you can do about it.

The only real choice left is to walk away.
To stop enabling.
To stop hoping that love alone will be stronger than addiction.

Either the person drinks themselves into destruction,
or — in rare cases — they are forced to face reality, usually only when external pressure appears, such as a legal or medical intervention.

Walking away is not abandonment.
It is not cruelty.
It is not a lack of love.

Sometimes it is the only remaining act of self-preservation.

And sometimes, the hardest truth to accept is this:

You can love someone deeply —
and still be powerless to save them.

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As the year comes to a close, we wanted to pause for a moment and simply say thank you.

Project ÆGIR started as a very personal decision — two people and a dog asking themselves whether it’s still allowed to try living differently. Since going live, we’ve seen something quiet but meaningful: people taking time, reading carefully, and following without noise.

This project was never about urgency or scale. It’s about intention, patience, and the willingness to try — even without guarantees.

Wherever you are spending these days, we wish you a calm end to the year and a new one with space for your own dreams — whether they stay dreams for now, or take their first small step forward.

Thank you for being here.

Pepíno, Renata & Hubert 🐾

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On Monday, we had a call regarding the website phase of Project ÆGIR.

It was one of those conversations that start with genuine enthusiasm.
The discussion was professional, constructive, full of ideas.
There was interest in structure, direction, long-term vision — exactly what you hope for when talking about something that is meant to become more than just a website.

And then I repeated something I had already shared before:
that the realization of the website depends on the successful outcome of the campaign.
That this phase exists only if the idea itself is supported first.
That at this stage, belief comes before invoices.

That was the moment when the atmosphere shifted.
The excitement cooled.
The questions faded.
And the final sentence — “Reach out once the campaign is completed” — quietly said everything.

I’m not angry.
I don’t blame anyone.
I understand that companies need to make money.

Still, it left me disappointed.

Not with a single company — but with a broader pattern.
With how often interest disappears the moment things are not financially guaranteed.
With how rarely people ask why before they ask how much.

Project ÆGIR is not being built to be fast, easy, or comfortable.
It’s being built because it makes sense.
Because it has a story.
Because it is rooted in values that don’t fit neatly into spreadsheets.

Maybe this makes me old-fashioned.
Maybe idealistic.
But I still believe there are people and teams who can look beyond secured budgets and fixed timelines — who understand that some things must be built slowly, carefully, and with conviction.

This project isn’t for everyone.
And Monday reminded me of that.

And perhaps that’s exactly how it should be.

— Pepíno

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From the outside, Project ÆGIR might look like “just another website”.
In reality, it’s slowly turning into something much bigger.

Right now, we’re building the foundation. The solid, boring-but-essential part that nobody sees — and that decides whether everything later will work smoothly… or fall apart.


Phase 1 – Getting the basics right

Phase 1 is about creating a place that feels trustworthy and real.

This is where:

  • the story of Project ÆGIR lives

  • the Logbook shows what’s actually happening behind the scenes

  • the Finance Log keeps things transparent

  • the Crew gets a face (and a dog)

  • supporters appear on the Wall of Fame

  • and user accounts quietly prepare for what’s coming next

No fireworks yet.
Just a clean, solid base that doesn’t need to be rebuilt later.

Think of Phase 1 as the shipyard phase: measuring twice, cutting once.


Phase 2 – When things start to feel alive

Phase 2 is where Project ÆGIR stops being “a website” and starts becoming a place.

Profiles get smarter.
Supporters get more visibility.
Subscriptions and merch appear.
And the whole platform starts to feel… social.

This is where the fun part slowly sneaks in.


Æ-book – our own little universe

Despite the name, Æ-book is not a book.
It’s our own community space.

Think of it as a Project ÆGIR Facebook, but without the noise, ads, or algorithms trying to sell you something every three seconds.

In Æ-book:

  • people can connect, talk, and share

  • discussions actually stay on topic

  • supporters can see and find each other

  • and being part of the project feels… visible

Profiles won’t stay boring either.
Over time, they’ll evolve:

  • visual upgrades

  • badges

  • prestige levels

  • subtle “status” elements that grow with involvement

Not childish gamification.
More like quiet recognition — “you’ve been around, and it shows.”


Why we’re doing it this way

We don’t want a quick hype platform that burns out after a few months.
We want something that can grow slowly, naturally, and still make sense years from now.

Phase 1 builds trust.
Phase 2 builds connection.
And everything after that builds community.

If you’re curious — stick around.
If you like the idea — support helps.
And if you enjoy watching something grow from the ground up… you’re already part of it.

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It’s official: the campaign is live.
No turning back now.

And even better — we already have our first backer.
Someone out there believed in the idea enough to support Project ÆGIR with a very generous 25 CHF. And no, that’s not sarcasm. Every single contribution at this stage matters more than it might seem from the outside.

So: thank you. Seriously.
Being the first one always takes a bit of courage, and we’re genuinely grateful for that early support.

We hope this is just the beginning and that more people will jump aboard as the project unfolds. Step by step, wave by wave — that’s how expeditions usually start.

The course is set.
Let’s see where the wind takes us.

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This week was anything but quiet.
While it might look calm on the surface, behind the scenes things were moving… a lot.

Instead of sailing, drilling holes or breaking something expensive, we spent the week doing something far less romantic but absolutely necessary: planning. Proper planning. The kind that saves time, money, and nerves later on.

We mapped out the entire website structure – public pages, admin areas, finance transparency, Wall of Fame, user profiles, design system, and even things that won’t see daylight until much later. Not as a fancy mockup, but as a real, working architecture that can actually grow without collapsing on itself.

All of this was prepared as a solid handover for a company that’s currently our hot candidate. The goal wasn’t to impress them with buzzwords, but to show that we’ve done our homework and that this project is meant to last longer than the latest web trend.

On Monday, we have the call. We’ll talk tech, design, scope, and—yes—money. Then we’ll see if we’re on the same wavelength and if this collaboration makes sense for both sides.

No shortcuts, no half-solutions.
Just steady progress, one step at a time.

Stay tuned.

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and instead of recharging, we spent most of it typing, replying, comparing, and negotiating with several companies that might potentially build our website.
For the first time, it feels like a real favorite is starting to emerge — someone who actually understands that Project ÆGIR isn’t a “template job,” but a living project that will grow and age together with two people and one dog.

Meanwhile, we kept fine-tuning our own site.
A few new lines of code were born, a few old ones disappeared into the digital abyss, and every now and then we had that moment of satisfaction when things finally click into place and you think: “Yes… this is slowly turning into an actual ship.”

And then… the ads.
Our tiny digital flare sent out into the night, hoping to find people who genuinely care about what we’re building — not just curious passers-by scrolling their feed.
After six long days, the campaign finally went online.
It’s learning, optimizing, calibrating…
and now we wait to see who appears on the radar first.

So that’s the weekend.
Another small step behind us, many more ahead.
Project ÆGIR continues — slowly, steadily, stubbornly.
Exactly how an expedition yacht for two people and one dog should be built.

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After wrestling with words (and a certain four-legged editor who insisted on “more snacks in the story”), we finally finished Hubert’s full Bio in the Crew section.
It turned into a surprisingly emotional journey — part rescue tale, part comedy, part “How did this dog completely rewrite our lives?”

If you’re curious how a half-Shepherd, half-Labrador miracle from eastern Slovakia ended up steering the spirit of Project ÆGIR…
you’re warmly invited to read his story.

(Warning: may cause smiling, empathy, and a sudden desire to adopt a dog.)

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We spent the whole day — and the night — building the Logbook section and the “About Us” (CREW) page. You know that feeling when work is flowing, things finally click, everything looks clean and elegant, and you think to yourself: “Yes… this is it. We’re getting somewhere.” By early morning, slightly caffeinated and dangerously optimistic, we had a beautiful structure. Pages that made sense. Layouts that didn’t look like someone glued them together during an earthquake. We were proud.

And then came The Backup.

The plan was simple:
Click the button. Save our progress. Sleep like victorious heroes.

Well… the backup had a different opinion about our victory.

Instead of saving everything, it decided to take our lovely, freshly polished website on a one-way trip into digital oblivion. The moment it happened, there was that famous half-second of silence — the same kind you get when your phone slips from your hand and you still hope gravity will be merciful this one time. It wasn’t.

In front of us: an empty website. Behind us: hours and hours of work. And somewhere in the room: Hubert staring at us with that “I warned you about computers” face.

But the best part?
The glorious backup we relied on was as empty as a politician’s promise. A folder named “backup” containing absolutely nothing except disappointment and a mild desire to scream into a pillow.

So… we rebuilt everything.
Again.
From scratch.
While laughing, because what else can you do at that point? It was either laugh or start drinking at 7 AM — and honestly, rebuilding the site felt slightly healthier.

In the end, the whole disaster turned into something good. The structure is better now. Cleaner. More refined. And as strange as it sounds, the chaos actually pushed us to finish things we would’ve postponed.

Sometimes the digital sea has to swallow your boat before you build a stronger one.

And this temporary little harbor — this simple page where you’re reading this — is part of that rebuilding. Until the Indiegogo campaign gathers enough wind to carry the full project forward, we wanted to show that we’re not sleeping, not waiting, not hoping for miracles. We’re working. Step by step. Day and night. Fixing, improving, creating… and occasionally destroying everything by accident and starting again.

But that’s how real journeys start:
not when everything goes right, but when everything goes wrong and you keep going anyway.

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When we decided to launch our Indiegogo campaign, we honestly believed the hardest part would be explaining to the world why two people in their fifties and one dog want to buy a boat, disappear into the horizon, and share the whole journey with everyone.
 
We were wrong.
Spectacularly wrong.
 
It turns out that the biggest adventure doesn’t start at sea, but in front of a laptop, with cold coffee, bloodshot eyes, and Google Ads dashboards that look like the cockpit of a Boeing 787. And most importantly: Google Ads is convinced we are either absolute geniuses… or complete idiots. Nothing in between.
 

Battle One: The Conversion That Didn’t Exist

The goal was simple:
When someone clicks the “Continue to Indiegogo” button, we want to know. One click. One event. Easy.
 
Google said: absolutely not.
“Incorrectly configured,” it repeated. Over and over and over.
 
So we clicked, tested, deleted, recreated, cursed, refreshed, and refreshed again. And then the award-winning message of the year:
“No measurable tags found.”
For a moment I wondered if this was philosophical. Maybe Google was trying to tell us something deeper. Maybe none of us truly have measurable tags in life. Maybe happiness cannot be found in numbers, but within—
 
No.
It was just broken.
 

Battle Two: The Enemy Called Redirect

Then we discovered that our website is sometimes too smart for its own good. Whenever we tried to test the new indiegogo.html, the page immediately shoved us elsewhere.
 
Trying to capture it felt like trying to photograph a cheetah. You focus… and it’s gone.
 
“I commented it out, I swear! Why is it still redirecting?!”
Google, still roasting us: “Incorrectly configured.”
 
First signs of emotional damage appeared here.
 

Battle Three: The Missing ID That Wasn’t Missing

Then came the plot twist:
Everything was already in place.
The IDs were correct.
The tags were correct.
The structure was correct.
 
And Google Ads?
Still: “Incorrectly configured.”
One more time.
Just in case we weren’t frustrated enough.
 
Anyone who thinks digital advertising is boring is welcome to read this log entry and reconsider their life choices.
 

Battle Four: And Suddenly… It Worked

And then — out of nowhere, after days of debugging, screaming, adding tags, removing tags, and checking code like paranoid raccoons digging through the trash — something happened.
 
A small window appeared on the screen:
“Conversion test triggered successfully.”
Silence.
A moment of disbelief.
And then an explosion of joy loud enough to scare the neighbors.
 
It was like trying to clip a ski boot for an hour — and suddenly it snaps perfectly into place.
 
Victory.
Pure victory.
 

Battle Five: Real Backers

But in the end, this whole ordeal is not about tags, events, tracking IDs, or the psychological damage inflicted by Google Tag Manager.
 
It’s about finding real people — the ones who look at our story and say:
“Yes. I want to support this. I want to be part of it.”
Maybe there will be a few.
Maybe hundreds.
Maybe so many that we’ll have to buy a bigger boat.
(Please, universe, give us that problem.)
 
But now that the digital walls have finally collapsed…
…we can start reaching those who feel the same spark we do.
 
And that — finally — feels like the true beginning of our journey.
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