Caught a Fish – Sushi Tonight!
1st Oct, 2014
The first night at anchor in Brindisi was fine. But then the coast guard came and told us we couldn’t anchor AND we couldn’t windsurf AND we couldn’t come into a free berth at the town quay – despite the fact that there was an Austrian boat tied up there that had asked and been (more...)Arrived in Brindisi, Italy – No Wheels on My Wagon
26th Sep, 2014
Well, we made it to Brindisi! As it turns out, we did have the motor -sail the whole way, for two reasons: The winds were very light, so it would have taken us forever to cross if we just sailed, and A couple of times we did turn off the engine, and straight away (more...)On Our Way to Italy – One Wheel on my Wagon
24th Sep, 2014
Today is calm and sunny. Finally we have filled up with fuel, and are on our way. Forecast looks reasonable for the night, though we will have to negotiate some wind bends to get south to Brindisi. The wind is starting at SE but then as we approach Brindisi in the morning it will veer (more...)Tried to Leave Montenegro
23rd Sep, 2014
Montenegro offers duty free diesel when you check out. That saves 50 cents per litre, which is a lot on 2-300 litres. But there are two catches: You have to book a time slot in advance, as the dock is also used to refuel big boats that can take up to 200,000 litres – (more...)Montenegro – Land of Bombed Hotels
21st Sep, 2014
When I say bombed, I mean literally bombed. We have been in Montenegro for over 10 days so far. So what are our impressions? We love the countryside. The Kotor Bay is a huge fjord-like natural harbour with three butterfly wings joined together. It is quite dramatic and we have had some great hikes to (more...)A 900m Farewell to Friends
26th Aug, 2014
Across from Korcula we could see a big mountain rising up above the small town of Orebic. If you click on the map link above, you can see where we are anchored and also the town and mountain just north of us. So we decided to do a hike. The view from Life Part 2 (more...)Finally Made it to Vis
12th Aug, 2014
We tried twice when Mitzi and David (my sister and her husband) were here. In fact, we tried to go to Hvar and Vis, but each time we tried, the wind was either in the wrong direction, or non-existant. And, in any case, I think Mitzi, David and Emma had other ideas on how to (more...)We Just Can’t Seem to Leave Solta
11th Aug, 2014
After Mitzi, David and Emma left us, we filled up with some water, and then motored to the West end of Solta with Bagheera. There we drank some more wine and played some more ‘Brandy Dog’ and ‘Mexican Train’. And today, despite the ongoing forecast of zero wind, we thought we would try for Vis. (more...)Venice! We love you, we leave you
7th Aug, 2014
Wow…I am really behind on my Venice blog, but here it is. Find a comfortable seat! Not much text, but there are about 75 photos, including islands of Burano and Murano. After this blog post you will want to visit Venice, OR…. maybe you won’t need to go there anymore because you have seen it (more...)Life on Board Life Part 2
23rd Jul, 2014
Hello! I’m Heidi, Noel’s mum and, together with my husband, Elmer, we are spending a week as guests of Noel & Ceu on board their luxurious catamaran. Elmer’s marquetry picture features on their salon table. We are having a wonderful time. The boats is moored in the bay opposite the village of Seget Donji, close (more...)Lost without my wind vane……
10th Jul, 2014
We woke up in the middle of the night with thunder storms. We were about to leave our anchorage this morning and got another downpour. I collected so much rain water from our dinghy that is enough to do all my laundry now. (that is overdue) We left after lunch with a few clouds in (more...)Just another week in the life part 2
28th Jun, 2014
The thing about having visitors on board is that you have to make some preparations for their arrival. This time, however, those preparations were a little unusual! My son, Ben, and his cousin, Mac were due to fly in to Pula on RyanAir on Tuesday afternoon. So we stationed ourselves in Pula, not far from (more...)Up The Dalmation Coast
13th Jun, 2014
Ohhhh…the places we’ve been! We are picking up from May 23th. After we left the National Park of Miljet we headed to Korcula. Very cute Medieval town with many narrow little streets and the waterfront lined with Restaurants and shops. We anchored in a nice bay just south of the town. Korcula is also (more...)What a night! …
13th Jun, 2014
The forecast was for calm winds. And when we set off from Rovinj at 10pm last night it was, indeed a flat calm. At least we tried to set off. Ceu was working on the various blog posts all evening. But then, as we tried to leave, our anchor chain got jammed and needed some (more...)Made it to Pula!
2nd Jun, 2014
We set off this morning at 8:45am (wow – a lie in!) with the wind blowing 20-25kts from the north east. Since we wanted to go north west, that looked good to go. And good to go it was! With two reefs and a roll we were making 8kts eastward to round the tip of (more...)Sailing at the Crack of Dawn
31st May, 2014
Since Ben has booked a flight to arrive in Pula on Tuesday, we figured it was time to get ourselves in that direction! So, after our visit to the waterfalls on the Krka river, and with 130nm to go to Pula, we decided to press on. Unfortunately, the normal wind here is NW. And we (more...)Welcome to Croatia
21st May, 2014
Having checked in at Cavtat (pronounced Tsavtat) our first stop was at World Heritage Site Dubrovnik. We sailed around the corner and, apart from the bridge ahead, what we saw were lots of seagulls diving the water, and the water itself churning with fish. Clearly there was a predator or two down (more...)Arrived in Croatia!
13th May, 2014
Well, we made it to Croatia! We left Corfu in pretty calm conditions with both the jib and mainsail up, just about making 3.5kts. After a little while the wind disappeared totally and, when our speed dropped to zero we did put on the motor for about an hour. Sunset as we are leaving Corfu, (more...)Setting Sail for Croatia Today
11th May, 2014
Our strategy on leaving Turkey and dashing across to Greece was to get the south winds up the Adriatic before the prevailing and constant northerlies set in. Well, the tactic seems to be working! Today the winds have swung around to the south, and will stay this way until Tuesday night – just enough time (more...)2014 Ohhh Canada……
24th Apr, 2014
Long long overdue. Here is the update from when we left Finike end of Nov 2013 to returning again in March from Canada, Portugal and England. In that order! We celebrated the Winter months with much fun, friends and family. Christmas and Birthdays, Valentines and Snow……. (more...)Santorini
21st Apr, 2014
Welcome to Santorini. Easter Monday we departed from Astypalea at 8:30 am on very light winds with Spinnaker up. It was a great trip, ended up having to motor for a couple of hours,when the wind vanished. Santorini is not very anchor friendly, so arriving at sunset, we chose to go (more...)Our Big Fat Greek Easter – This is What the Cruising Life is About
20th Apr, 2014
We love visiting new places, but most of the time we are just another yacht bringing yet more tourists from whom the locals can extract some money. Sometimes it is ridiculous fees and charges – like the total of 300 euro to check in and out of Turkey – plus another 350 euro to get (more...)Greece 2014 – The medieval town of Rhodes
14th Apr, 2014
Having finally picked up our liferaft in Marmaris, and having paid our 90 euros to check out of Turkey, we set sail for Rhodes in Greece with some pleasant winds of up to 25kts giving us a great sail with one reef in. We arrived in Rhodes harbour and turned immediately to the (more...)It’s Good to Be Home Again!
19th Mar, 2014
Last night we arrived back on board Life Part 2. It is good to be home. The sun is shining, the shorts, sandals and T-shirts are out again,and life is good. Everything on the boat also looks good – apart from all the brown dust all over the decks that need a good scrubbing. So, (more...)A trip to Abraham’s roots
17th Nov, 2013
Bellow are the photos of the city of Antalya we visited for a day before getting on the night bus to Cappadocia All the gulets here had a pirate theme to them, with many of them having larger-than-life models of pirates to greet you as you come aboard. They also had fake square-rigged (more...)Cappadocia, Turkey
9th Nov, 2013
Cappadocia It looks like a fairy tale landscape of cones, pillars, pinnacles, mushrooms, and chimneys, which stretch as far as 40 meters into the sky. Ancient volcanic eruptions covered this region with thick ash, which solidified into a soft rock called tuff. Some made by nature and some by humans this place is full (more...)Gemiller to Finike-the destination
4th Nov, 2013
Welcome to Gemiler Island which is also known as the Island of St Nicholas. It was our next stop after Oludiniz. The Island is only 1000m long by 400m but with many remains of Benzantine dwellings, many churches and other religious buildings. Archaeologists believe that after his death on the 6th of December (more...)We Caught Our First Fish!
10th Oct, 2013
After dragging lures 3,000 miles across the Atlantic and catching NOTHING we had given up. But Phil who we met in Geberske Bay, persuaded us to have another go. So, in Marmaris we went into the Fish store and told him we wanted to troll and to catch. He picked out a rod and reel (more...)Gulf of Gocek and Fethiye
7th Oct, 2013
Wow….The places we’ve been! I will not be taking you to the sunken city on this blog yet. I have much to catch up after Dalyan river. We left Dalyan on October 1st with some clouds on the sky, on a calm but expecting wind and some rain later. We had an early 6:30 am (more...)Dalyan river cruise
30th Sep, 2013
We left the nice town of Marmaris just before lunch on Sunday Sept 28th en route to Ekincik. It was fun beating through the channel, tacking and dodging all the traffic in a nice breeze of 15kts. As we came around the headland, the wind vanished and we had to motor for a couple of (more...)Great sail to a great town Marmaris
29th Sep, 2013
We were leaving the ancient town of Knidos on our last post. Well, we have since traveled a few more miles and visited more beautiful places. We left Knidos on very light winds but perfect weather for the spinnaker. It was a short sail to our next anchorage, which took us to the little town (more...)Hot in Marmaris
20th Sep, 2013
Hot in Marmaris and becoming a Turkish resident The reason we paid a visit to Marmaris by traveling inland and not waiting to sail there is because we had a strategy. We needed to apply for Turkish residency and it takes 2 weeks to complete. It will take us now 2 weeks to sail around (more...)Blackwater in Turkey
17th Sep, 2013
About two years ago someone in Turkey had a bright idea. They were concerned about pollution from all the boat traffic, especially in the Marmaris / Bodrum area. So they decreed that henceforth every boat must collect all its black water (ie toilet sewage) and grey water (ie shower and washing water) in holding tanks. (more...)Bodrum and Datca Peninsula
16th Sep, 2013
On my last post I didn’t have the photos ready to show off the finished work on the table. While I was gone Noel was not just busy windsurfing. After Joshua left he was busy varnishing the table. We had a nice piece of marquetry that Noel’s dad Elmer, made for us, it fit (more...)Cleopatra’s Beach: So This is What All the Fuss is About?
9th Sep, 2013
Legend has it that Anthony and Cleopatra loved this beach, and so she had her ships bring over some nice fine sand for her lover. Or maybe it was Anthony who brought the sand over for Cleopatra. Or perhaps it was neither, and the sand is actually a local phenomenon. It seems the jury is (more...)My Canada Trip
9th Sep, 2013
It was really nice to go home in the Summer. For the last 3 years we always went home in the Winter. Winter is nice too, because you get to enjoy the ski hills, but I was just so excited to be back and admire the truly beautiful place we live in. I am talking (more...)The Anchoring Game – Another Variant
3rd Sep, 2013
Most of the time the concern is that the anchor doesn’t stay where you put it. Sometimes it is the other way around. We were all set to leave from Asin Limani. It was very calm, so we had the mainsail up already. The engines were checked. The instruments were on. It was time to (more...)Dodging Fish Farms and Oil Slicks
2nd Sep, 2013
After nearly a month at anchor in Teos Limani while Josh came over and learnt to windsurf, and Ceu went to the Big Fat Portuguese Wedding in Edmonton, it was good to get under sail again. In a nice following breeze we headed south for a brief visit to Samos again. There we managed to (more...)Anchor Watch!
22nd Jul, 2013
Last night we did our first ever anchor watch. Those Crazy Winds had got us again. It started when we left the Greek island of Oinoussa to sail north east to Foca, Turkey. The forecast was for 14kts of wind from the north, so we had a beat out from the island, then a single (more...)Ephesus and West Turkey
14th Jul, 2013
Upon arrival in Kussadaci, Turkey, we were welcomed by a dinghy and e 2 marineros to guide us to our birth in the Marina, followed by another 2, to help with the lines. There I was ready to take the lines, gloves on this time, (before i knew the lines that lay in the water (more...)About to Arrive in Turkey
12th Jul, 2013
Well, we have had some fun through the Greek islands and will update you on those as soon as we can. But, right now, we are on our way to Kusadasi, Turkey, from where we will be making our way north to get to Izmir in time for Ceu to fly out, and Josh to fly in. We are sailing along in a pleasant 19kt breeze with a full main, and a storm jib! Just as we set out today we noticed a problem with the luff of the jib. Not wanting to risk another tear, we rolled it up and put up our tiny storm jib. Well, better than nothing, and we found out that the storm jib needs some adjustments to make it easier to put up. Will keep you all posted 🙂Leaving Greece
7th Jul, 2013
Welcome to Patmos Patmos is not a big island, but it is one of the best known. It was here St. John had his vision and wrote the apocalypse, and this is why Patmos is sometimes called “The Jerusalem of the Aegean”. Arriving in Patmos. No…not on this cruise ship! Noel and I walked (more...)Mikonos, Greece
1st Jul, 2013
Welcome to Mikonos, the island of Paradise! The most cosmopolitan destination in Greece, known for it’s long sandy beaches, clear waters and brilliant sunshine.And shopping…..ahhhh, the jewlery!!! Upon arrival in Mikonos we parked ourselves in a beautiful spot right in front of Ornos beach bellow, about 3km south of downtown. Nice sandy bottom, good holding. (more...)Crazy, Crazy Wind. What do you do?
26th Jun, 2013
Crazy, Crazy Wind. What do you do? I am increasingly convinced that the wind has a malevolent streak to it. Either that or it is just a prankster. Consider the evidence: From Korkoni we motored early in the morning in a flat calm to cross the gulf in order to visit the Diros Caves. The (more...)Cyclades, Islands of Greece
23rd Jun, 2013
We are now rounding off Cap Malea, on the way to Milos. Cap Malea is notorious for very gusty winds ( maybe that’s why they have all these religious monuments along the Cap.) Here we are rounding off Cap Malea with Captain busy watching the very busy sea traffic with the many ships (more...)Just Tied Up In Navarino Bay
14th Jun, 2013
After a great day visiting Olympia yesterday, we took advantage of some wind and had a brisk sail down here, but ended with three hours motoring as the wind disapeared. We are tied up in a small free marina (up for sale by the Greek government as part of the austerity measures). More news to follow.Peleponese coast of Greece
14th Jun, 2013
Noel has you all up to date on our travels minus some photos that were not organized yet. And don’t ask me what I do all day…because part of it is organizing photos and updating you. I even resize them all so they don’t take too much of your time to download!!! The rest of (more...)Olympia, Greece
13th Jun, 2013
A welcome to Katakolo, the main port for visiting Olympia. As we were arriving in Katakolo late afternoon. That day they had 3 cruise ships in. After a crazy med mooring again on the town quay it was time for a sun downer, and watch the busy docks with the people all getting (more...)Surfing Waves at 15 Knots and Drifting at 2 Knots
5th Jun, 2013
We decided to grab the weather and leave Malta on Sunday, at lunchtime. We will get back to Malta to visit Valetta another time. We set off with a Force 6 wind on our port quarter. Over time the wind built up to a Force 7 with 2 meter waves. With one reef in the (more...)Arrived in Malta!
1st Jun, 2013
Once we escaped from Port de Peche, we then did a 3-day tour of the south, including the Sahara Desert, with 7 other sailors, previously of Marina di Ragusa. We will do a full post on that, with pictures, in due course. Then we picked up our outside table (late, again) and some upholstery, (also (more...)