Yessssssssssssssss!

Made it home. I arrived saturday the 15th around four in the afternoon.
I'm very happy, tired, and reliefed. But foremost, I'm proud I concluded my adventure.

Sailing of the coast of Texel.

Definetly Den Helder

Save inside the marina

Gibraltar-Fowey

I asked my mom to post the last message. I thought that some of you might be getting a bit worried about me.
What was the crossing like? Well it was 19 days of calm before a storm, and 36 hours of terrible storm. To give you an idea of the first 19 days, I have translated the text messages I sent my family when I had coverage with my mobile phone. And I had already prepared a post, which I wanted to post near Finisterre, but this time UMTS did not work. Vodafone kept insisting that my dongle was allready in use!!!! Grrrr.
16/09
Passed the Gibraltar Strait!!!. I was rather nervous but it was perfect! Bye Maggie
20/09
Am now passing Cabo de Sao Vincente (south corner of Portugal)! Only 900 miles to go. Till now hardly any wind, so I am not breaking records. All is wel, have not been seesick. Bye
28/09
Hello, all is still well. Till now only light winds, and during the night a lot of fog. An now near La Coruna. Just over half way. Hope the second half is quicker. I am not seasick, manage to eat a lot and get enough sleep/rest. Bye Maggie
28/09
Am nearer to Finisterre than to La Coruna! But definetly past Vigo

28/09
My speed is 1.8 knots. But it is 100% in the right direction! Bye Maggie

28/09(this is the text I wanted to post when I was within UMTS reach, but I had trouble with Vodafone.)

A little bit further,

A little bit further. By now I have made it to La Coruna. I am sailing right along the coastline, and am officially past the halfway point!!! I’m not making record speeds, there is hardly any wind. I haven’t even had to consider reefing!!!. Usually I sail along at approximately 1.5 knots. During the nights, when the wind dies completely, I have to decide between using the engine, or accepting that the current sets me back a couple of miles. Till now I have used the engine 45 hours, which I find rather acceptable. My diesel supply will only allow me to use the engine for 100 hours, and I need to save some hours for entering the harbor in Fowey.

The last couple of days have been very mysterious because of the weather. Low hanging clouds, no wind, and beautiful colored skies. During the nights it was very humid, and rather thick fog. Rather scary. On the AIS  I can see large cargo ships at a distance of 2 to 3 miles, but when I look outside, I see none. So the last couple of days I have mainly slept during the day, and kept a lookout outside at night. I am particularly afraid of fishing vessels. Most of them do not have an AIS transponder, don ’t keep a proper look out, and sail rather fast. Till now I have had two almost collisions with fishing vessels. Both cases I was on deck, and able to change course at the very last moment. I’m sure that they had not seen me at all.

I have been able to avoid getting seasick till now.  But just to be sure I have taken quite a few seasick pills. There are hardly any waves, but there is a lot of swell. Inside you feel you are in a rollercoaster. Because ocean swell has long waves, it is a slow roll. So no smashing into things like I did on previous crossings.

Seen so far:

1x whale

1x school tuna (+/- 30)

3x jumping dolphins (+/- 20 per time)

I have watched all my movies and television series, listend to almost all audiobooks, it is time to get home.

See you in England.

06/10
Do not worry about me. All is well, just a little too much wind. Had to wait for the wind to go down to be able to enter the harbor. 10 miles to go. Am very seasick.

Like I said, the last 36 hours were terrible, lots of vomitting, high waves, I had reefed the genua to a small sail, backed it, and was still doing 6.5 knots!!!!

I am very happy I have reached Fowey, and actually I don't have the engery to type a longer post. I'm fed up, I am eager to be home. A little over 400 miles to go. Compared to the 5000 I have already travelled it's just a short distance.

I am leaving tomorrow morning.

  Maggie arrived safely in Fowey.

The wonders of UMTS

The wonders of UMTS. I am sailing along the Portugese coast, in the Lisbon area. I can actually post a message!!!
All is fine, but this crossing is not going to be in record time. I have not been seasick, and during the nights it has been calm. Yesterday the Portugese Trades really started. Today I am making great progress.

Will let everybody know when I arrive in Fowey.

I'm still surprised that I am able to be on internet. Very curious how much it will cost me?
Bye for now

United Kingdom

September 16th I left for Fowey, a town close to Plymouth. It is approximately 1100 miles, and the first part is defenitely beating into the wind. Along the Portugese coast there is always a norderly wind. I am counting on a passage time of at least 3 weeks, but possibly longer. It all depends on the weather and the number of depressions that pass. Just to give you something to read on my blog, a post with pictures taken by others.

Photo Milorad Cakara

Hope the crossing is as relaxed.
Photo Milorad Cakara

Foto Coby Oskam

Foto Coby Oskam

Gibraltar

The first night I slept tightly, but in the morning I woke up to a trembling sound. It really startled me. It sounded like it was directly next to my boat. I ran outside to see what was going on. An airplane?????????
It turns out that I am berthed 50 meters next to the landing strip.

Really just 50 meters.

And especially for my dad I took this picture. The road to the border crosses the landing strip. So if a plane lands or takes off, they close the road. When the plane is gone, they open the road again, simple as that.

Road crossing the landingstrip.

Because it appears to be impossible to buy a belt for my autohelm in the Med, I have ordered 2 via internet and had them delivered to my brother. He then send them to Gibraltar. So full of excitement I headed towards the post office the firts morning. Before I had left the pier, my fellow cruisers informed me that it was a bank holiday. This belt is cursed. Tomorrow I will try again. Would be nice to have an autohelm when crossing to England.

The rest of the story; no, no belt the next day. On the way back I stopped at the chandlery, and asked if they had one in stock. Yesssss, they have one. Initially, I was a little cheap, and told the salesman that I wanted to wait till tomorrow and see if my package would arrive. As soon as I was outside I thought, with the luck I have had with this belt, someone will buy it this afternoon, after no-one has asked about this belt for 5 years. So I immediately turned around, and bought it. It only took a few seconds to install the belt. As I turned ot on, the fuse bust. I dismantled everything and.....fuse bust again. Hmmmm. New problem. So I took the entire thing apart again, and it is an electrical problem again.Some saltwater leaked onto the print via the buttons. The autohelm is definately broken. The next morning my package arrived. So now I have 3 belts for a broken autohelm. Sigh.

But there is also lots of fun stuff in Gibraltar. The rock.

Donkere wolk boven de rots.

It is a bit chilly here, and very damp, with a cold breeze. For the fist time in months I have worn long trousers. 

Long sleeves!!!



Why do they keep turning their head?

In the rock there are caves, not as nice as the one in
Slovenia, but still fun.

Ibiza-Gibraltar

A 389 mile crossing, so very doable. The last couple of days, rainclouds passed over Ibiza. Now I can get used to the (bad) weather I am heading for slowly.

Dark clouds above Ibiza town.

During this crossing I have tested my patience, but I didn't pass completely. Like I said, it is only 350 miles, but the first two days I was beating into the wind, force 6. Tacking is not Madame Curie's strongest course. So I only advanced 50 miles per day. After that the wind turned, it was a soft breeze, force 3 during the day, and force 0 during the night, directly from behind. Downwind is also not a very fast course for Madame Curie.  gAnd because the autohelm has not been repaired I have to steer all the time. To get some sleep, I drift during the night, and continue sailing in the morning. Because of the eastbound current (0,5 to 1 knot), I'm set back a couple of miles towards Ibiza. The last 4 days were terrible. Because large amounts of water evaporate from the Med, this water needs to be replaced. Most of this water is replaced via the strait of Gibraltar, so the eastbound current south of the Spanish south coast is 1-3 knots. Only during spring tide there is a change of having an westbound current in the strait. If the wind is west, then the current is against me 24 hours a day! So if I travel at a speed of 3 knots in the right direction, I will do.........

Oh only 24 miles per day!!!!! This because I have a current against me of on average 2 knots. Normally my morale is boasted when I have the current with me. But I didn't get a favourable current. Bummer. So eventhough I used the engine quite a lot (okay, 10 hours per day the last 3 days, but I really ran out of patience) I only travelled 30 miles per 24 hours. Frustrating. I had kind of underestimated the effect of the current. Of course, this whole current thing is explained in the pilot, but I didn't read the pilot until during the crossing. Maybe this is better, this way I couldn't get depressed in advance.

Afer 8 days and 4 hours I arrived in Gibraltar.

But during this crossing I also had dolphins and small whales swin with Madame Curie for a longer time. And now you can enjoy the videos. The videos are a bit rocky, but these creatures allway swim with the boat when I actually need at least one hand for myself. The small whales (not really sure if they are really whales but they are a lot bigger than all the dolphins I have ever seen, more than 4 meter. Maybe you know if they are wales) were so close to the boat less than 30 cm, I could have touched them!

And also some regular dolphins joined my boat, and despite my frustration, this always makes me happy!!!

Left for the UK

In about 30 minutes I will set of to the UK. I am dispropotionally nerveus. Fingers crossed for this crossing.

Ibiza, a bit late

When I arrived in Ibiza, I clearly noticed that the other boats were a different class. They were more superyachts than "ordinary" boats. Ibiza has 4 harbours, and because it was allready around midnight, I decided to try the largest marina first. Their answer was very sobering: "For a boat like that we do not have a place." Well take that, as a proud owner of a smaller boat. So I tried the second port. Nobody answered the VHF, and I could see noboby, but there was still a spot available at the fuelpump. In the pilot it said that it was ok to berth there, as long as you leave before 0900. I actually needed diesel because I ran the engine so long, so actually it was very easy! The following morning I a guy from the marina woke me at 08:15 to tell me that the fuelstation was going to open. The motorboat that was berthed in front of me left very quicky, but I responded: "That's great, I need diesel". He was not expecting this answer, so he said: "Please wait a minute". After waiting for more than 45 minutes, I could actually get the diesel, and afterwards I berthed in the marina.

They have given a new meaning to expensive here. I had to pay 98 euros per day, water and electricity not included. A shower costs 3 euros, and a simple visit to the toilet sets you back 50 cents!!!. Ridiculous, no pool, no luxary, just an ordanary marina. Because the marina staff was not very trusting I had to pay a 200 euro deposit for 3 nights. With these prices, it will only be two nights.

After having relaxed a bit, I decided to try to deal with the battery problem. I measured all the voltages, remeasured all the voltages, took Nigel Calder's book out, no I'm not going to solve this problem. Ok, I'll start with the navigationlight. It took me a while to gather all my courage, to go up the mast. Well I actually only made it have way. I wasn't happy with the pulley and the rope I had used. The rope was very slippery, and I don't want to land on the deck. Maybe tomorrow, I'll come up with a better plan. So I went into town to look for the autohelm belt, and new batteries. Fortunately I found a shop that could order the belt, and had an exellent offer for batteries. The owner of the shop came to look the same day. Diagnosis battery 1: dead. Diagnosis battery 3: very dead. Apart from new batteries, he recommended that I buy a new charger as well. Hmmmm, I don't really have an option. As a bonus, he offered to go up the mast to change the navigation lignt. Oef, I don't have to go up myself!!! Unfortunately the belt could not be shipped, so I'm leaving without again.

After the second night ( the night at the fuelstation doesn't count, because it was free), I was still very tired, and I had not really seen anything of Ibiza Town. Because it was now september 1st, prices often go down, so I decided to ask the reception what the new price would be. 47 euro per night. Less than half. Well I'll stay a couple of days longer. I can now see the Ibizan nightlife. If you're on Ibiza, you need to go to a club. I'm not really a clubhopper, and really don't like loud music, so I decide to go to a very trendy club/restaurant/cabaret. Put on a dress, some make-up, completely ready to investigate the nightlife. The pricetag was also very trendy, well I don't think I will go to a club again soon, so let's go. Everywhere there were beautifull girls wearing high heels, and very short dresses, and earplugs to communicate. They escorted everybody to their table. There were also around 20 tough security guys wearing black shirts, and earplugs. I really loved watching people all night. But around 2 o'clock I thought it better to go to sleep. So I missed the "real" clubbing.

PS, my dress was way too long, just above the knee. All the others were wearing dresses that are so short it is impossible to sit down!!!

The marina where I was not welcome.





Ibiza Town by night.



Finally, the rock

Made it to Gibraltar!
Will say hi to the monkeys.

Gibraltar

On Saturday the third of September, I left for Gibraltar. A crossing of 370 miles. I will let you know when I get there.

We're going to Ibiza

August 25th I left for Ibiza. As always, I left late in the afternoon. No autopilot, but is was going to be close hauled, so no problem. Since my last crossing, I have learned that it is a lot more frustrating to have no wind, than to have a little to much wind. The forcasts were predicting windforce 4-5, with a day of 6 in the middle. Windforce 6 is now problem for Madame Curie, so I left. A "seasonal low" was passing through the Med, and as long as I stayed rather south, I would miss the eye. So heading for Ibiza was more sensible than heading to the much closer Mallorca. Ibiza here I come. Just outside Cagliari there is a traffic seperatien scheme, this is a sort of highway in the sea. You are only allowed to sail in the indicated direction, or you have to move to the sidewalk (inshore traffic zone). Because the wind was to much on the nose, I had to engine for 45 minutes. Then I hoisted the sails and watched the evening fall in. After about 2 hours my
AIS gave an alarm; bad connection. This means I can still see the other boats, but I am no longer transmitting my position. Grrr. Disconnected all the connections, reconnected everything, and..... conection problem. Frustrating. Because by now it was completely dark, I had to give up and accept the situation. I will look again tomorrow. First some nice sailing. After about two hours I noticed that my navigation lights were not so bright. Hmmm, are my batteries empty? I was connected to shore power the entire time. Is my charger broken?  Quickly measured my batteries; 10 volts. I'll first run the engine for a couple of hours and then
I' ll see if the batteries are charged. As soon as the engine was running, the navigation lights were working, the AIS was working, and the alternator of the engine was working fine. Oef. Despite charging my batteries for 3 hours via the engine, and turning off the largest powerconsumer, the fridge, the navigation lights dimmed after two hours, and the AIS stopt transmitting again.

What are the odds of both batteries breaking down at the same time? It's probably just one. Take out the floorboards, disconnecting one of the batteries. Which one is broken? The both had the same voltage (they were connected) so I took a random change. In port this would have been very easy, but as predicted there was a windforce 4-5 so the boat was moving about, and I didn't want to shortcut the circuit. And if you batteries are not working, you don't have lighting in the boat either. So I was on the floor with a flashlight on my head trying to work it out.

This was the start of an experiment. One battery connected, engening for an hour, and then checking if the battery is charged. If I choose wrongly, it's the other battery that is still working. Right?

During the night I was busy with the experiment, on the one I could run the navigation lights for 4 hours, on the other only 2. Sight. Ok it's back to no AIS. After 4 hours also tha chartplotter stopped working. Dubble sight.

I ended up turning off everything, and during the night, when I need my navigation lights I ran the engine for 2 hours, and could then keep the lights running for an other 4 hours. After that I had to run the engine again. I did learn how much I have become used to the luxaries of a chartplotter, AIS, en the fridge and inside lighting.  The Red Dragon (my previous boat) didn't have these luxaries. The inside lighting was run on penlights.

I had to accept the situation, and tried to get some sleep. When I went on deck after one of my naps, I saw my navigation light blinking on and off. Oh no, loose contact. Four more waves, and that was the end of the navigation light. Fortunately I have more lighting, so I turned on the navigation lighting for when I am under engine, and ducktaped a very brigth flashlight to the mast to shine into the sail. The other boats must have thought what is this? But at least I was visible!!!

The day when the seasonal low passeed, gave me a windforce 7, but the waves were propotional, so it was okay. It was a very quick crossing, 380 miles in 103 hours. Around midnight I berthed in Ibiza. Rained wet and tired. For the first time in months it has rained, a short shower but it was right on my head!!. And then I fell asleep.

Cagliari

After arriving in Cagliari, after a few well deserved hours of sleep, I set out to find a nieuw autohelm drive belt. In one word; no way! Every store, dealer of shipyard I visited they gave the same answer, while shugging their shoulders "No drive belt on Sardignia, and we cannot order one because it's August". Aparantly the entire economie comes to a stop in August, everybody is on vacation. Everywhere you look, stores, restaurants, and rental agencies you see signs saying " closed because of vacation". After two days it became very clear to me I was not going to find a belt. I will have to do the next crossing without my autopilot. Bummer.

The old city of Cagliari on the hill top

So I was back to being the tourist. The next morning I woke up early, just to avoid the most pressing heat of the afternoon, I took the bus to the old city. There I visitied the usual buildings. (I have become spoiled after visiting beautiful buildings during al my travels!) 

Amphitheater



Basilica

 But I also visited a very special museum. The old city of Cagliari is build on top of old Roman remains. Right in the middle of the city, underneath a church archeologists have vond the remains of the old city of Karalis. These remains have been made visible. You can see the road, the houses, and the sewage system!

The old city of Karalis under the "new" old city.

Visiting these excavations was the most exciting part of my visit in Cagliari.

Comfortable

I have not updated the website for way too long. But in Cagliari, I did't have internet on the boat, and I had to walk 20 minutes through the heat to reach an internet cafe. You can see why priorities changed.

Because the first night is always the most difficult, I usually leave around 4 o' clock in the afternoon. This gives me the opportunity to relax a bit, sleep a bit, and depart all rested. To show you how "wild" this crossing was, I have added some pictures.

Last corner of Sicily.

This is the wildest it got during this crossing. For most part, there was no wind what so ever. The wind varied between windforce 1 and 2 and it was a downwind sail. The second day, my autohelm autopilot broke!!!! I had taken it apart at least 10 times, resolderd the connections, reset the program via the dealers interface, and now it broke on something as simple as the drive belt!! And of course, this is one of the things I don't have a spare for on board. I'm always sceptical when it comes to electronics, but it was really the mechanics that failed this time.
Usually Madame Curie will keep her course under sail, except when it is downwind or broadreach. And of course I had downwind every day. So I was convicted to steering a lot of the time. At night time, when the wind died completely, I just drifted, so In could get some sleep. Motoring for a few hours was not an option, because underengine, you really need an autopilot. So drifting it was. As a result, it took me 136 hours to travel 274 miles, an absolute record for going slow!!!

But I was able to cook a hot meal every day, enjoy beautiful sunsets, and there were no nasty waves tossing me about. So yes, ik was very comfortable.

What a difference to the video's of the last crossing!!!!

Arrived in Cagliari

This morning I turned off the engine at 7 o'clock after berthing in Cagliari, on Sardinia. It was a very comfortable crossing, but it took forever. A more detailed acount will follow, but first I need a siesta!

Crossing to Sardinia

Tomorrow I will leave for Sardinia, 16th of August. Because my last crossing was rather uncomfortable, I'm not really looking forward to this crossing. Kind of strange, that the last crossing planted this little seed in my brain. I actually already looked into shortening my Atlantic voyage by making an extra stop in Lagos, Portugal. Let's hope this crossing is wonderfull, so I will no longer dread future long crossing. It is approximately 300 miles to Sardinia, but the currents are against me. So I think (and hope) it will take 5 to 6 days to arrive. The weather forecast are favorable, not too much wind.

I will let you know when I get there!

Sicily

Of course there is a lot to see and enjoy on Sicily. And, my parents have joined me for a couple of days. Before my parents came, I sailed south to visit Siracusa. Siracusa was one of the recommended cities in my toursit guide, so I wanted to visit this city. The distance between Catania and Siracusa is rather big, approximately 30 miles, so it takes me all day. I arrived around nine o'clock. Because I wanted to safe some money, I decided to take anchorage, I'd pull into the marina the next morning.

Rather windy anchorage.

The next morning it was rather windy. To makes matters worse, the wind was perpendicular to the town quay and the marina berths. Hmmm, should I go now, or wait for the wind to go down in the evening? If I wait for the evening, I won't be able to see the city, because I had to sail back to Catania the next day to pick up my parents. Hmmm. The flags do seem te be hanging down a bit in town. Should I sail over to the marina just to check out how windy it is there? Just as I had decided to sail to the marina to check, my neighbor came over in his dinghy. "Do you need transportation to town?". "Yes please, that would be great!". So I no longer needed to pull into the marina. (There was way to much wind for me te row my dinghy into town). Siracusa was lovely.

Church in Siracusa

Ortiga, the old city of Siracusa

The next morning, not to early of course, I left for Catania to pick up my parents. Together with my parents I wanted to sail through the strait of Messina. In 2005 I had already gone through the strait with the navy, but doing it with my own boat would be really special.

The first obstacle was getting on board. I have become used to jumping from and on board, but for my parents I borrowed a passerelle. That turned out to be challenging enough! The first day my parent had a rough introduction to sailing the Med. The distances between ports vary from 20 to 30 miles. There was quite a lot of wind, seven beaufort, and we were all soaked when we pulled into Riposto.Berthing in the marina was very challenging despite the extra help on board. The weather forcast for the next day was not much better. Again to much wind. We switched to plan B, and visited Taormina, one of the most touristy city of Sicily. To get there we had to walk to the train station, take a train, and finally took a bus up to Taormina.

Amphitheatre in Taormina

While we walked through the ancient amphitheatre I had a strong deja vu feeling.I think I have been here before. Hmmm. Five minutes later I was sure, I was here in 2005! Rather stupid, all this trouble to get there, and I had already been there. I walked the city again, and tasted the local specialty: arranchini. I had the pistacchio variety.

The next day we sailed for Messina. The wind was a lot more pleasurable, but it was still a rather long sail. We arrived in Messina motorsailing around ten o'clock at night.The strait of Messina is known for its gusts of wind rolling down the mountains, and the eddies, so the most narrow part of the strait of Messina is only navigable for a small sailing yacht during slack. Fortunately slack was not too early, so I could sleep in till about nine o'clock. Around eleven thirty we set sail. Immediately after departure we were treated to a show of typical fishing boats. These special boats are used to fish for swordfish in the strait of Messina. 

A long extension, about one and a half boatlengths, protrudes forward. A guy with a harpoon sits there ready to spear the swordfish.

On top, four men sit to look out over the water to spot the swordfish. It was very impressive to see these boats circle in the strait. We could wave at them from very close by!

To reach the most narrow part of the strait we had to tack, but we could do almost the entire strait under sail. After rounding this electricity pole we navigated the entire strait. No weird currents or eddies, great wind, and a fantastic sail.

Proud that we had sailed the strait we continued to sail to the next harbor, Milazzo. Much later than planned we berthed in Milazzo.The next morning my parents left the boat. I think they had a great time.

Be careful what you wish for.

Be careful what you wish for.
Maybe it will happen.

A couple of minutes before I departed from Patras an Australian boat berthed next to me. I talked a bit with my new neighbors, and the skipper asked me where I was heading for. When the skipper heard I was sailing for Sicily he wished me a good crossing. I replied, that I was only wishing for a fast crossing. Well it was a very fast crossing.

Sure, I am happy I made it across, but what was the crossing like? Well I left Patras (Greece) around twelve o'clock, and that coincided with the start of a local regatta. So the entire afternoon I was surrounded by Greek sailing boats. To exit the bay of Patras we had to tack, and because Madame Curie is slightly slower than the other boats, I saw all the other boats at least once.  It was perfect sailing weather, and Madame Curie was doing between 4-4.5 knots. When night fell I was between the islands of Zakyntos and Kefalonia, and the wind eased off completely. So let's start the engine. After about an hour the wind returned. So I hoisted the sails, and returned to sailing!

Usually I sleep from about one hour after sunset till 10 AM. That means, I sleep for 15 minutes, wake up and check for boats and the weather, and go back to sleep. So actually I sleep about 45 minutes per hour. Because I was relatively close to land the first night I couldn't always sleep the full 15 minutes because of the many small fishing boats.

During the next day the wind increased to at least 6-7 Beaufort. A reef in the main, a reef in the genoa, and a reef in the mizzen. The wind was a little broader than close hauled. Madame Curie raced over the waves.

The waves were a lot higher than the wind suggested. During the day I started to feel rather nauseous. I had to hang on all the time, using both hands. At one point, as I was climbing down the companionway ladder a huge wave hit Madame Curie, and I smashed my back against the side. Since then, my back was hurting. The absolute low of the crossing came when I started to throw up all over Madame Curie. The big disadvantage of puking all over the boat is that as a single hander you have to clean it up youself! Even sleeping on the low side on the sofa was impossible. Because of the rolling on the waves, I was launched from the sofa. So I decided to place the matras on the floor. This way it was at least impossible to fall. 

Matras in between the table and the sofa.

The next day was not much better. Still a lot of wind, high waves, and me being nauseous. It was still impossible to cook. Much to dangerous. The only advantage I could see was that I was making great progress. Looking at the GPS made me feel better.

The fourth day was fabulous. The wind decreased, Sicily became visible, and I ate more than the first three days combined (all food which is thrown up in 15 minutes doesn't count). During the afternoon the wind died even further, so I engined into Catania. The next video shows that the sea can be a lot friendlier. The swell as a result of the wind the previous days is still visible.

To finish, a picture of a calm sea, and the Etna.

Next time a fellow cruiser wishes me a good crossing, I will reply that I wish for a comfortable crossing!

Made it!!!

Made it to Sicily.
It was a fast crossing.
I was very seasick.
I am very happy I have arrived.

Goodbye Greece

Goodbye Greece, I really enjoyed my time in Greece, and I am sorry I have to leave. I have met many wonderfull people, mostly fellow cruisers. Everywhere I have met helpfull and friendly Greeks. Goodbye!

Beautiful bays.



Save harbors?



Superb views



Amphi theatre in Delphi.



Ruins in Delphi.



Very modern bridge crossing the Korinth Gulf

Is this really Greece? Yes!!!

Midterm

Because I was ill on the real midterm of my trip, I changed the midterm to today. Today is the day that my trip is changing. Till now it was relatively easy, holiday feeling, just wandering about, no firm deadlines. Starting from tomorrow, everything will be different. Tomorrow I will start sailing back home. The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about it al lot, but today it became real. The practical side of things needed to be taken care of. Stowing al the gear below decks, securing al my stuff in cabinets. I planned the route to Sicily. Tomorrow I will sail for Sicily. Somewhere around 340 miles, which I hope to complete in just under a week.

Now the long voyages will start, wind on the nose, and long night at sea. Untill today I have covered approximately 1/3 of the distance. 2/3 is still ahead of me. I am a little nerveus, will it be harder than anticipated? Will I be dissapointed? How tired will I be? Tomorrow the real sailing starts.

It's kind of funny, the coming crossing feels very different from the crossing between Montenegro and Corfu. Emotions have a huge impact on my sentiment.

See you in Sicily

Arggggggggggggggh lost my anchor

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I lost my stern anchor. As was so proud of my solution to storing it on the railing. And the bow to berthing was so much easier than the stern to. And now I have lost my anchor. I wanted to visit Nafpaktos, a pittoresque little town in the bay of Korinth. The harbor is very petite, and is surrounded by a sort of city wall.

Inside these walls is the little port.

Once inside the walls, I threw my stern anchor overboard in the middle of the harbor, and pointed the bow towards the quay. In between a Greek yacht, and a local fishing boat I could squeeze in Madame Curie. A couple of local kids playing around helped me berth the boat. When I wanted to pull the boat of the quay I noticed the anchor was gone. How is this possible???

Because I added some extra anchor chain, I had used an emergency shackle. Apparantly I did something wrong, as the anchor is no longer there. Like this it was impossible to stay, so I immediately left the port, and took anchorage outside the walls. Would I be able to retrieve the anchor? Dusk had already set in, so right now was not the time. Would I  manage 4,5 meters deep? Should I rent a diver? What would it cost? What would a new anchor cost? I was pretty sure I would not be able to dive 4.5 meters. So I decided on buying a new anchor, which is probably cheaper than renting a diver. I had already thought of buying a new anchor because the one I had was a bit small. So now I didn;t need to debate it any more, a new anchor it would be. The only thing I am sorry I missed seeing is the castle on top of the hill overlooking Nafpaktos. The only thing I could do is get a picture from the distance. Tomorrow I will buy a new anchor.

Castle on the hilltop above Nafpaktos.

Sea sickness

For everybody that couldn.t believe I was sea sick in port.

Rather obvious not?

Glad to be back

I can watch Madame Curie while enjoying a drink.

Beautiful sunsets

Lovely bays

Taverna's with Greek food.

And lovely sailing.