The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

Surfing Waves at 15 Knots and Drifting at 2 Knots

Current Location: Preveza, Greece
Current Position: 38 57.87 N 020 45.69 E Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 350 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

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 main (and later on, two), we were surfing down the waves at up to 15knots!  It was so smooth – all you heard was a whooshing noise, all you could see were stars and some phosphorescence dancing in our wake.

Then the wave would pass, the boat would slow down, and before too long we caught another wave, this time reaching 12 or 13 knots. It was pretty wild!

In 12 hours we had done 93 nautical miles. If only we could have kept it up, we might have even broken 200 miles in a day.

But  then at half past midnight, the wind disappeared. Gone.

One hour we did 8 miles. The next just 4. And then we were drifting along at about 2 knots, with barely 3 kts of wind. Not even enough to put up the spinnaker.

Over the next 12 hours we managed 40 nautical miles – and that only because we motored some of the way.

Gradually the wind built up again. We put up the spinnaker, and soon were stomping along at 5-6kts again until, once again, the wind disappeared and we were back to drifting and a bit of motoring through the night.

Then the wind picked up again, giving us a steady 17 kts (Force 5) for the final hundred miles but then, of course, dropped at the end, leaving us to motor into into Preveza at half past three on the third night, for a total trip time of 63 hours covering 347 nautical miles, and overall average of 5.5 knots, with about 8 hours of motoring in total.

And so we are back in Ionian Greece. We liked it here, so it will be good to chill out, do some windsurfing, and gradually work our way south and around the Peleponese and into the Aegean.

And the good news? The water is actually a bit warmer here – 23 deg. And finally it is warm! Today we were in the town with just T-shirts on. Maybe, just maybe, the water and the weather will finally be warm enough for swimming  soon. We are so fed up of these cold winds – having to wear sweaters and jackets all the time. Not what we signed up for! The Greeks tell us that it has been unusually cold here all winter too.

Pictures are on there way – oh, and I also added more info to our Home Improvements page.

Surfing Waves at 15 Knots and Drifting at 2 Knots

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 main (and later on, two), we were surfing down the waves at up to 15knots!  It was so smooth – all you heard was a whooshing noise, all you could see were stars and some phosphorescence dancing in our wake.

Then the wave would pass, the boat would slow down, and before too long we caught another wave, this time reaching 12 or 13 knots. It was pretty wild!

In 12 hours we had done 93 nautical miles. If only we could have kept it up, we might have even broken 200 miles in a day.

But  then at half past midnight, the wind disappeared. Gone.

One hour we did 8 miles. The next just 4. And then we were drifting along at about 2 knots, with barely 3 kts of wind. Not even enough to put up the spinnaker.

Over the next 12 hours we managed 40 nautical miles – and that only because we motored some of the way.

Gradually the wind built up again. We put up the spinnaker, and soon were stomping along at 5-6kts again until, once again, the wind disappeared and we were back to drifting and a bit of motoring through the night.

Then the wind picked up again, giving us a steady 17 kts (Force 5) for the final hundred miles but then, of course, dropped at the end, leaving us to motor into into Preveza at half past three on the third night, for a total trip time of 63 hours covering 347 nautical miles, and overall average of 5.5 knots, with about 8 hours of motoring in total.

And so we are back in Ionian Greece. We liked it here, so it will be good to chill out, do some windsurfing, and gradually work our way south and around the Peleponese and into the Aegean.

And the good news? The water is actually a bit warmer here – 23 deg. And finally it is warm! Today we were in the town with just T-shirts on. Maybe, just maybe, the water and the weather will finally be warm enough for swimming  soon. We are so fed up of these cold winds – having to wear sweaters and jackets all the time. Not what we signed up for! The Greeks tell us that it has been unusually cold here all winter too.

Pictures are on there way – oh, and I also added more info to our Home Improvements page.

4 Responses to “Surfing Waves at 15 Knots and Drifting at 2 Knots”

  • Wolf:

    Noel this sound like fun and just like Okanagan Lake. Wind Up, Down, Turn and so on. Keeps you active.
    Wolf

  • Heidi and Elmer:

    Wow! Sounds really exciting. This was a long trip. 23 degrees sounds pretty warm for swimming. Great to sail at night and see phosphorescence and stars. the weather has warmed up here as well.

  • Honeydew #1:

    Too bad it is so cold there.. Sure is nice here.. Sunny all day long 😉 haha. Sounds exciting. Love you both.

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