Journey recap – Compass heading 180°

Leisurely sailing year 2022

December 31, 2022 Compass Heading 180° Comments 0 Comment

June 2022 marked the beginning of the fifth year of our sailing adventure. The past year will go in the books as a somewhat lazy year, sailing-wise. Our boat Aina spent her fourth winter afloat in Crete, in the marina of Agios Nikolaos. One of our crew kept her company during the stormy Cretan winter, while the other worked in cold and snowy Finland. News of war, disease and inflation depressed everyone’s mood. For balance, we enjoyed the summer in the warm Ionian, detached and stress-free. As long-term travellers, we sometimes get tired or even bored of travelling – as funny or downright criminal as that may sound. But cruising is a lifestyle just like any other. It’s life, and it comprises different phases. Continue reading

Merry Christmas 2022!

December 24, 2022 Compass Heading 180° Comments 2 Comments

Watercolour painting of a sailboat made of snow, and two snowmen sailing it

Another Christmas is here. This year, we will acquaint ourselves with Italian Christmas traditions onboard s/y Aina. From the culinary point of view, they seem particularly agreeable. The weather has so far been quite settled, dry and pleasant. Continue reading

Ionian to Aegean – s/y Aina’s year 2021 in Greece

December 31, 2021 Compass Heading 180° Comments 0 Comment

When our sailing journey began in the summer of 2018, we never thought we would be staying very long in any country. But we’re still in Greece after more than two years! This winter will be the third that our Aina rests in a Greek harbour – this time in Crete. We hope our readers can wait for future sailing plans patiently, as they are never revealed even to us until the very last moment. Continue reading

The Strange Year 2020 – Sweat and Social Distancing

December 31, 2020 Compass Heading 180° Comments 0 Comment

At the beginning of the year 2020 we delved into boat projects aboard our sailboat Aina. At that point nobody knew that the world was about to turn upside down. Greece went into total lockdown in March, but we just kept on working. Read more about our time during the spring lockdown in Messolonghi! Continue reading

Wishing You a Peaceful Christmas 2020!

December 20, 2020 Compass Heading 180° Comments 2 Comments

The crew of sailboat Aina wishes all of our readers a cosy, warm, peaceful Christmas! We will celebrate ours in the pretty town of Galaxidi, Greece – just the two of us, at home in our safe little nest. The lockdown will continue in Greece until early January, at least, so I guess we’ll not potter too far from home. Maybe we’ll cook something resembling traditional Finnish Christmas dishes, and enjoy long walks along the hills and pine forests, and the views over the sea and mountains. Continue reading

Looking Back – Recap of the 2019 Sailing Season

December 30, 2019 Compass Heading 180° Comments 0 Comment

Just like the previous New Year, I decided to write a little summary of this past year, along with some scientific statistics at the end. It feels incredible to have made it this far, and to be travelling still, when it’s been a year and a half since we left! Both of us and our boat still in one piece, the money not quite run out, and various plans for next year already springing up. And the places we’ve seen! In May we crossed the Bay of Biscay, sailed along the Atlantic coast of Spain’s Galicia and then Portugal. There we decided to turn towards the Straits of Gibraltar. We made it to the Mediterranean in July, and in August we were hopping along the coast of Sicily. In September we crossed over to Greece, and there we found our next winter base. Continue reading

Six Months Recap and Christmas Greetings!

December 24, 2018 Compass Heading 180° Comments 0 Comment

Our journey began in June this year. That means we have now sailed slowly, and not particularly surely, towards southerly latitudes for more than six months. Having reached such a milestone, many sailors like to draw a summary of the highlights, measure how well their expectations were met, publish statistics about their journey and so on. It’s a good idea, so why not give it a try. Continue reading

on Kythira – a Bend in the RoadGlad you enjoyed it, thank you!
on Kythira – a Bend in the RoadThank you for this. Love it!
on Merry Christmas 2022!Thank you! Have a lovely winter!
on Merry Christmas 2022!Merry Christmas to you both from the crew of Temptress. Enjoy your winter adventures
on Sailboat bottom renovation | Part 1: SandingThanks for quick reply, my thoughts are same, start using the chemical paint removal till we reach a surface that we can paint over.
on Sailboat bottom renovation | Part 1: SandingHi Cornel, we're really not experts on this, but you'll probably find the original gelcoat under the layers of antifouling if you remove everything. On our boat the gelcoat had been peeled off completely, probably because of blisters. You might be fine painting new antifouling on top of old if you can find out what's been used before. Or keep removing layers until you find one that sticks, and paint over that. If you need to remove all paint, I think using chemical paint removal might be the best way.
on Sailboat bottom renovation | Part 1: SandingHi there, We bought a boat this summer, and it looks like we need to strip all antifouling layers next season. Here and there, some patches of antifouling are falling off in places reveling some darker paint/surface underneath. The main question is how do we know if the boat has been epoxied before? I am thinking that at some point someone used a different antifouling and now it's just falling off. Cheers, Cornel / Finland
on Winter in Messolonghi – Boat Projects and BBQHi Mario, we're thinking of staying in the Aegean side next winter. But Messolonghi is a very nice town and there's a small but friendly liveaboard community in the marina, definitely recommend because of that. Not sure how the marina business is nowadays, though, but they've been pretty quick to answer emails in the past. It was very affordable when we were there, and the facilities were fine. https://www.messolonghimarina.com/
on Winter in Messolonghi – Boat Projects and BBQHi, We are thinking to winter in Messolonghi, some months on the water some on yardh Do you recomend? Do you go to pass this winter to? Thanks.
on Jump to the Peloponnese: Pylos, Methoni and KalamataAmazing !!!
on Nidri, Lefkas – and more waiting!Not heading home this year. Probably overwinter in Messolonghi .

Compass heading 180°

Sailing Adventure Towards Warmer Waters

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Category: Journey recap