Browsed by
Tag: Cruising

Winter planning in Greek summer

Winter planning in Greek summer

Comments 0 Comment

We left the island of Kefalonia to sail to the Greek mainland. Along the way we anchored for one night on the island’s southeast corner, and continued in the morning towards the town of Mesolongi. We made landfall at dusk. Mesolongi is situated at the mouth of the Patras Bay, and surrounded by extensive salt marshes and lagoons. A narrow, dredged channel leads into the town bay, about a mile and a half inland. There are peculiar houses built on stilts on both sides of it, and many small wooden piers. Numerous bird species inhabit the wetlands, even pink flamingos, of which we saw a great big flock with our binoculars as we motored along the channel. Continue reading

Daysailing in Sicily – Palermo, Cefalù and Milazzo

Daysailing in Sicily – Palermo, Cefalù and Milazzo

Comments 0 Comment

August in the Mediterranean is hot. It makes you understand immediately, why a thing called siesta was invented here. On the northern coast of Sicily there was no wind in August, which made the days even hotter, while we motored from one anchorage to another. But the good thing about no wind was, that we slept our nights in peace – the anchorages in Sicily are not protected. There was always some swell even on a calm night, but at least we didn’t have to worry about our anchor not holding in strong winds. The water is clean and clear, even in front of big cities, so you can always go for a swim to cool down. Continue reading

Mediterranean Hop, Skip and Jump – to Sicily via Mallorca and Sardinia

Mediterranean Hop, Skip and Jump – to Sicily via Mallorca and Sardinia

Comments 0 Comment

We sat under the scorching sun in the Almerimar Marina, waiting for the strong winds to calm down, so we could continue our journey east. In Almerimar there was no sign of any winds, so it felt funny to think there could be 30 knot winds blowing on the other side of the cape. When the forecast showed only 15 knots, gusting to 25, we left. Continue reading

Galicia Cold, Engine Hot!

Galicia Cold, Engine Hot!

Comments 0 Comment

Ría de Arousa is the largest of Rías Baixas, on the western coast of Galicia. It’s surrounded from every side by high hills, and the shores are dotted with lovely sandy beaches, small towns and numerous harbours. In the middle of the ría there’s a large island called Illa de Arousa, with its pine forests and beaches. The most prominent feature on this ría is the incredible number of viveros, mussle and clam cultivation rafts. There are apparently about 3000 of them on this ría alone. All the little bays are full of them, and to get to the different harbours and anchorages you often have to go a long way around the large fields, unless you’re brave enough to weave your way through. It’s possible to do that, because they are anchored vertically downwards, but there are many of them! It’s not recommended to arrive for the first time at night – the biggest fields have light buoys in the corners but the rafts themselves are unlit. Continue reading

West Coast of Galicia – Ría de Muros and Ría de Arousa

West Coast of Galicia – Ría de Muros and Ría de Arousa

Comments 0 Comment

The weather in the northwestern end of Spain continued warm and settled. We left Muxia and motored in the calm. Of course, we could have waited for the winds to appear for a day or two, but in these parts you can often have too much wind. It’s very changeable in the Finisterre area, so we didn’t think it a bad idea to take advantage of the calm. Continue reading

Rade de Brest – Gunkholing in Calm Waters

Rade de Brest – Gunkholing in Calm Waters

Comments 0 Comment

By now we were supposed to be in Galicia, Spain. But apparently the Bay of Biscay has decided not to even let us there. The spring winds have been very changeable, and in the notorious bay it means it doesn’t seem to stay in one direction for very long. It will be a 300-360 nautical mile crossing. We are hoping to point our bow towards A Coruña, but are open to other options according to what the weather decides for us. That means we will be out at sea for three, maybe three and a half days, and the weather window should be at least a couple of days longer than that, so we won’t be caught out in something terribly unexpected. So far such a window has not presented itself. Continue reading

Binic, in Rain or Shine!

Binic, in Rain or Shine!

Comments 0 Comment

What a great time we had back in the homeland! Six weeks of celebrations – Christmas, New Year, meeting many of our old friends, neighbours and many members of our family. Those six weeks were packed with activity and socializing! It could have been overwhelming, after all, we had spent the preceding six months exclusively in each other’s company. But it felt great! Either we managed to infect our close ones with our cruising zen, or people just happened to be in their hibernating mode. Continue reading

Six Months Recap and Christmas Greetings!

Six Months Recap and Christmas Greetings!

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

Amsterdam to the Canals – Take Two!

Amsterdam to the Canals – Take Two!

Comments 0 Comment

Hardships and setbacks will not discourage a Finnish sailor. Our first attempt to travel south along the canals from Amsterdam had bounced off a closed bridge south of Haarlem, and although our first reaction may have been ”let’s forget about the canals and go out to the sea!” we were pretty soon back on track with the original plan. Heavy winds predicted for the next few days may have played a small part in the decision. Continue reading

North Sea Moods and a Beach Holiday in Borkum

North Sea Moods and a Beach Holiday in Borkum

Comments 0 Comment

We raised the sails as soon as we were out of the Helgoland harbour. Our destination, the island of Borkum, happened to be exactly where the wind was blowing from. The opposing current was right there to greet us. The current would naturally change direction every six hours or so, but even when flowing with us, it didn’t seem to affect our speed very much. Continue reading

Turning that wheel across the Southern Baltic

Turning that wheel across the Southern Baltic

Comments 0 Comment

Our boatyard visit in Gdansk was supposed to be a quick two week pit stop on our way far, far south from the Baltic Sea. We ended up staying for five weeks – partly because we kept having new ideas the whole time while observing the work in progress. The end result, a stern arch that accommodates a sizable array of solar panels and quite a lot of other equipment, is a piece of excellent workmanship, so the visit was definitely worth it. Now we should be able to produce all our electricity, without the need of sailing to marinas to plug in.  Continue reading

First Impressions of the New Cruising Life – and Gdansk!

First Impressions of the New Cruising Life – and Gdansk!

Comments 0 Comment

After a strenuous spring filled with boat projects, emptying yet another land based home, getting stuff for the boat and getting rid of land life stuff while working to save every last penny for our cruising kitty we were finally ready to cast off! No, the boat was not perfectly polished and squeaky clean, but it was ready to sail. Continue reading