GOZO,,,!!!

After our quick exit from Sicily anticipation was high
with the next planned port being our goal of Gozo,
with a favourable wind and slight sea all was well,
hmmm, too good to be true, by sunset a wild vibration
had formed from the prop shaft,,
few hours of inspection and we had narrowed it down
to being something cought around the prop,,,bugger,,
we limped into the nearby port of
Empolducle for a first light inspection with snorkel and mask,
a mucky comercial port and murky water was not the most inviting.
Still needs must but luckily as we moored this
orange python looking thing appeared from the stern,
quickly wrestled by Malcolm and myself we
pulled around 15 meters of this 4 inch diameter
rope from under the boat,
with some testing all seemed fine and we were again out and on our way,,
loosing just 4/5 hours.

Our new eta to Mgarr, the port of Gozo was looking like 18.30 perfect for a celebration beer or two. Anticipation was once again high as we arrived as expected all showered shaved and ready for a few cold ones,,,,,nice.....

Marsala Sicily

After a gentle evening in sardinia time and wind dictated pushing on to Sicily,
a leg of around 180nm, the port of Marsala was elected as our stop which would be just for fuel and a restock of the larder.
Marsala is the town with the largest population in the provice of Trapani. It lies on Cape Boeo, otherwise known as Cape Lilybaeum, at the westernmost tip of Sicily. Well known for the locally produced sweet red wine.
Having previously visited its not the prettiest port around or the sweetest smelling, but it is the first in Sicily for provisions.
After a short 3hr stop we were on our way again.

Carloforte - Isola San Pietro

After saying our goodbyes to Mallorca and Palma it was time for the 300nm leg to Sardinia, Thursday was just about as good as we could order on the wind and 11am saw Malcolm and myself head out for the two and a half day sail,
Typical Med weather provided some reasonable
wind during the afternoon with next to
nothing at night, with watches sorted every 4 hours
a reasonable sleeping pattern was formed.

Very quiet on deck with very little shipping
and a half moon gives a stunning insight into the warm night sky
with stunning sunrises and sunsets a mind could wander into infinity,

Carloforte was to be our landfall.
Located approximately 7 km from the
South Western Coast of Sardinia,
Carloforte is a picturesque fishing village located on
Isola di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Island).
World renowned for its tuna fish,
Carloforte maintains the intrigue of an ancient village with its pastel-coloured houses and cobbled streets.

Mallorca For Sunday Roast

With a not so good forcast and strong wind warnings it was a 4am departure and off to Mallarca for much anticipated Myra Sunday lunch and a chance to catch up with the Monroes,,
The wind as expected picked up around 10am after a stunning crimson sunrise, it was soon blowing around 30kts picking up a good size sea, Pete once again slipped quietly into his well rehursed coma while Malcolm and paul caught up with thier beauty sleep on deck,, right on que as the snoring started a fine size wave introduced itself, for a startled awakening of our sleeping beauties,,,

Mallorca soon appeared and we were met by Andreas, all moored by 5pm and off to Banyalbufar, the pretty hillside village on the rugged North West coast, which is home to the Monroes,
As expected the beer soon started to flow and a fine catchup evening was upon us.
Sunday saw a slow start as the cobwebs from the previous evening were showing no signs of an early departure,, even a brisk swim in the pool at around 15deg was shocking but not lasting,,
The mouthwatering feast expertly prepared by our hosts Myra and Wilton soon filled us and an early evening sleep was beckoning.
Monday and all rested and refreshed Myra, Wilton, Paul and Zoe joined us for a brisk sail around the Bay of Palma. .. flat sea and 20kts , fantastic,,

Crazy in Ibiza,,,,,Yeehaa

Calpe and mainland Europe behind us it was off to the Balearics,
The party island of Ibiza being the first port of call at some 70nm,
a relityively relaxing sail,
Pete was still working hard on his disturbed gyros
with the aid of sea sick pills he slipped gently into a coma,
awakening as the sea calmed for our port entry at around 10.30,


Tiredness and a slight hangover from the Calpe evening kept us from exploring the nite life in the buzzing marina, still we are all getting on a bit now,,,,,,
Next day we checked out the old town and visited the Castle,
No not a buzzing Ibiza nightclub but the actual Moorish Castle
set high on the port entrance, protecting the natural harbour.
NICE!!
The evening was soon upon us and a film night was chosen,,
hmm! so all was well in the party town, probably>>>

OH NO,,!!! The Boys are In Town

Saying our farewell to Mar Menor for the short hop up towards Alicante
to await the arrival of Paul Monroe and Pete,
our would be sailors imported especially from the UK for the trip from Santa Pola,
to Mallorca, with a few initial nerves concerning sea sicknes the crew was bound for Calpe,,
our new lillywhites were oiled and ready to go,
with a fine 'Malcolm' breakfast inside them the
calm seas prevailed and all was well for thier introduction to med sailing,,
the boys were kept busy with the light and variable winds to start,
and ever changing sail plans,,, ha ha,, the afternoon breeze soon settled down for a constant direction from the SW and some rest was at hand,
the anticipation of making the port of Calpe seemed all too much for Pete, who deployed his lunchtime burger,, all in aid of feeding the fish,,,,
Calpe looks like a mini Gibraltar with the large rock peninsula standing proud in the evening sunshine,, the pretty port is sure to hold some treasures,,, so all showered and fed with fine pork chops and roasties by our steely eyed chef Malcolm its off to explore,,, great!!

Mar Menor (The Inland Sea)

La Manga, Home of the late eighties football training camp for the England squad and all the anticks that went with it, now gently occupied by quietly behaved british and spanish tourists alike this thriving town nestles the edge of the Mar Menor, an inland sea of around 12miles long by 4 wide, protected from the open sea by the long built up sand bar which forms the subbase for the towns.
The only entrance being via a small canal of some 3mt deep and 50mt wide, with a lifting bridge for the sailing yacht access. unfortunatley the bridge only opens twice daily at 10 am and 7 pm for around 5 mins,,, lucky arrival then at 7 pm on the numbers for us,,, no judgement just luck!!
Two days on the free waiting pontoon with wi-fi and electric, with lots of freindly bars and restuarants,,,,, fantastic,,,!!!
Within the Mar Menor itself there are many anchorages surounding the shores and islands,, nice spot,, more time needed,, shame we only have one lifetime,,

Fuengirola,,,,,Nice!!

Fuengirola, A very short leg of around 12nm,
which, sadly, was to be the drop off point for
Lorna, back to blighty via Malaga,,,,
Still hopefully its been a great couple of weeks,
seeing all from Albuferia with the 'Sanders gang'
and Kersten and Millsy, through Gibraltar and
on into the Med, with some great,
interesting ports inbetween.
Fuengirola being one,
from a sleepy looking town a fine
cultural spread appeared with
everything from typical
English bars to the beautiful
traditional Spanish style.
The port itself was lined by classy restaurants adding to the ambience, how very pleasant, basking in the warm Mediteranean sunshine just put the top hat on it.

Posh Marbella

Marbella,, Late morning out of Gibraltar,
bound for Marbella, a short leg of about 20nm,
fantastic wind just off the back of 15-20kts gave us a
comfortable 8kts over the ground, arriving in a few
hours to the stylish Port of Marbella.
Not being sure of how the town had
faired over the years of UK tourism,
a thorough inspection was made, hmmm!
Turns out it has faired well with stylish
bars and upmarket shopping, well kept and
clean streets, a pleasant surprise, with cheap
beer and tapas too,, Fantastic!!

Med entrance THE ROCK

Early start out of Rota for the 70nm leg to Gib,
wind all over the show, so kept us busy changing the sails around,
by late pm no wind and engine on for the final entrance through the Straits,
an interesting stretch of water,
'tide hunting' kept a steady 3-4kts of flow behind us and
Gib was upon us by 21.00, after a little english jobsworth
from the dock inspector a berth was finally sorted
and time to explore the very swish
'Ocean Village' complex which surrounds the superyacht drenched port.
The following day Malcolms friend Linda from Malta met us with her daughter Jo,
who is based in Gib with the Royal Navy,
very handy as she gave us the full tourist tour of the
'Rock' including the Monkeys, Caves with their amazing accoustics and the Resistance tunnels.Thanks Jo!

Surprising Rota

Rota, nestled in the North West corner of the Bay of Cadiz
was to be our next port of call, a shortish sail of about 35nm,
Fish fancied for tea, so rod deployed and right on key
the reliable old Pilot fish appeared,
shortly followed by a fantastic 10lb Bass, even better,
settled into the port of Rota by the late afternoon the fish prepared and scoffed,
tasty,, lightly seared with garlic, ginger, tomatoes and peppers,,,
washed down with a cold beer, nice!.
The town of Rota was a great surprise,
hiding within its tiny traditional Andalucian streets,
beautiful small squares with bustling bars and
restuarantes were aplenty. choices, choices.

Mazagon

The early morning calm of the moonlit inland waters
of Olhao and Faro saw us on our way to Mazagon,
back into Spain, for the start of our entry into the Med.
The 65nm leg was a pleasant sail with
light winds and small atlantic swell which
helped the healing process of Lornas disturbed gyros,,
Mazagon appeared as expected,
a modern port shielded by a 7nm man made sea defence along the coast up to Heulva, a large commercial refinery port,
not that you can see or smell it from Mazagon.
Evident as we get near the African coast is the influx of immigrant street traders selling all forms of tat,
not much of a problem, more like annoying flies.
With the wind being light and from the south a car
hire day was sorted and surprising
city of Seville was the spot for a visit,
35deg basking in glorious sunshine taking in the breathtaking historical monuments and structures it was hard to believe it was still April. Next day some rib deployment and rowing practice for Lorna,

Albufeira here we come

leaving Cascais after just one night, shame,
but the arrival of Lorna from the UK bekons us to Albufeira and a chance to catch up with Jane and Mark,
who recently moved from the UK to run their sailing school Learn 2 Sail,
into the brightly couloured port after 24 hours sailing it was off to Sharkeys bar
for a well earned beer and relax in the 24deg sunshine and await the imminent arrival of Lorna,
The moment soon came and the gang appeared around the corner,
a couple of wonderful days spent together, augmented with the appearance of some more friends Millsy and Kersten, who joined us for a short but fun trip to Villamoura,
another stunning port breeding superyachts nestled within fine bars and restuarants,
Kersten kindly invited us to her beautiful house in Loule for the evening, a cracking meal was presented,
A BIG Thanks to Kersten and the collapsing Millsy, from all of us, for such a wonderful evening.

Porto to Cascais

Glorious sunshine welcomed us into the port of Leixoes, at Porto, and an afternoon of sunworship was chosen, a fine looking beach bar was selected from the two available and a sunny perch was found,
unfortunateely the waiters and waitresses were all to busy with themselves so after a dry 15mins it was off next door to the immediatly attentive second choice.
after some sizzling in the sun it was back to the deck for the evening,,
Leixoes is the small marina in the huge busy commercial port of porto, probably not the first choice for a visiting yacht but in reality it was cheap and pleasant.
next day with the larder restocked Cascais was calling.
Cascais is a stunningly beautiful spot resting on the north bank of the entrance to Lisbon,,nestled in amongst the super yachts 'Inspiration' looked fine and dandy,,
All the books say its an
expensive stop off but we
found it one of the cheapest and, and the first bottle of free red wine from the welcoming capitanerie. FANTASTIC,,,

Viana Du Castello

With a few hangovers still around and a calm sea it was out into the sunlit bay for the short leg to Viana Du Castello, the first port of call in Portugal,,
with the change of lure on the so far unsuccsesful fishing rod
there was a hope of some fresh fish,
soon after entering the open sea the ratchet of the reel was off and we were in, a fine looking 'Pilot' fish was landed, similar to Tuna,
shortly after another and dinner was provided.

Arriving into Viana Du Castello we moored for one night alongside what appeared to be a peaceful quay by some modern bars and restuarants,,the beautiful ancient town in the early evening appeared void of any inhabitants, by 1.00am as we lay sleeping they all appeared, and what was a peaceful spot had turned into your crazy clubland, 7am we were up and off to Porto leaving the clubbers to continue into the mid morning with 'one more time' being played continuously.Nice,,

Cote De Morte, (Coast of death)

With La Coruna behind us and the final part of the Cote De Morte (coast if death) ahead we we entered the atlantic swell with NE 5/6 forecast..by midday it was a howling 35kts and the anchorage at Corme, in the 'Bajo De La Averia' was selected for a more comfortable roast from Malcolm and a relaxed night..
Thursday morning the wind was a little calmer and off the land so it was off to PortoSin.(chosen only for the name) at the Eastern end of Ria de Muros, a stunning fjord like entrance, surrounded with tree lined mountains and beautiful cove beaches.
Turns out there is not much 'sin' in Portosin, nonetheless a good spot for a few beers, tapas and a kip.
Friday saw the early (8am) trot out towards Bayona, a fantastic sail with a 18-20kts off the land, no big waves and a beam reach we were cruising at 9kts under full sail and Dolphins dancing around the boat . Bayona soon appeared through the jagged rocky guards ( Islas Cies ) enclosing the entrance of Ria De Vigo., which houses Bayona in its South Eastern corner.
This being the last port of call in Spain before Portugal and reported to be a great spot it was well worth a stop. After a quick re-stock of the larder and an early inspection of the town it looked like a cracking little place with interesting old buildings, squares and allys surrounded by bars and restuarants, oh no!!, ive heard this before,, bugger!!

La Coruna

Away from Ria De Ribadeo just before first light for the 75nm leg to La Coruna, with no wind to start but by 9am we were under sail with a nice breeze behind us.
After a relaxing sail we hit port around 8pm, and head out for some Tapas,
Turns out that La Coruna is a lively upmarket port with a bustling centre of beautiful buildings around picturesque squares and winding allyways stacked with restuarants and tapas bars, bugger,
With the winds forecast as strong north east for a couple of days, some exploring could be on the cards.

Beware Pirates

With an early evening departure from Santander to the next planned port of La Coruna we were off for the 220nm leg, wind was a breeze from the NW and all was set for a gentle star lit night with 6kts headway being made, We rested safe in the knowledge that any pirate attack from the Basque country would be met by our residend NINJA, (Malcolm sitting up asleep with his hat on).

Sun up and wind was now behind us and and increasing, by evening it was up to 38kts and so Ria De Ribadeo was sorted out as our place refuge.
All moored up by 10pm in the tranquil
waters of the first Ria,
The Rias are fjord like inlets along the coast and
with their backdrop of tree covered hills
are beautiful.
Punctuated by little fishing villages,
small resorts and fantastic sunsets,,

with a fine roast in us it was off to find some suitable watering holes, of which there seems plenty,, great,,

Northern Spain

Easter Sunday and we say our goodbyes to Hondarribia as we set off into the early morning for Santander or Gijon, ultimately depending on the wind, with a good forecast we may even continue to La Coruna.
Hondarribia was a great little spot for the first port of call in spain with warm hospitality from all we met and especially the team from 'TXIN TXIN', the local bar restuarante in the marina, Fantastic tapas, cheap beer, good music and free wifi, great!!
The white topped moutains now form the backdrop to stunning beaches and picture postcard villages as we make our way along this rugged coastline. As the wind picks up in the evening to 30kts, we decide to go into Bilbao and catch up on some sleep,
Next morning and an early start westbound, nice stiff southerly off the mountains is giving us 8/10 kts, Guinness hats on for the sunrise (a gift from a bar in Bilbao), and a nice breakfast on its way from the gally, turned out nice,,
good headway was being made untill the wind turned onto the nose at 15kts, Santander abeam looked welcoming to sit out the headwind, with the wind turning to the north on Wednesday afternoon it was a relaxing day to be had,
( no the cans stayed closed, amazing, were not that bad at 7am)

France behind us, YEEEHAA

Nice morning at first light and off for the 18nm chug to Spain, Hondarriba, promising to be a nice spot and well recommended, anticipation was up with a couple of days westerlys forcast we were in for two nights,
As we enter the port of Hondarriba it turns out its Good Friday, for the crew its GREAT FRIDAY as Sam gestates with our goodbyes to France on the left and welcome to Spain on the right. Although we did find some great people on our route through France,
Its a Happy birthday for one of our absent crew, Hilly, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY HILLY!! Sam says he misses you,,,
On early inspections Hondarriba turns out as anticipated, Nice spot,,,cheap beer and tapas,,,, Slight problem for Malcolm his Spanish beer glass had a small hole in it, with a fair amount of spillage seen,, Hmmmm.

Parked up and enjoying a couple on deck, its easy for the fellas to get distracted, as they watch some gentle aerobics or a pre sail warm up along the pontoon, nice!!

The Great Escape

With the changing wind now with us we slipped the moorings and the clutches of Bordeaux and headed off into the evening for the trip down to Hendaye, about 140nm,, first port in Spain, fantastic, wind was up in the night and with 30 kts on the front quarter we were hitting 8/9kts, great, 20 hours later with a fine evening and still wind now with us we called into Capbretton, to complete the now short trip to Spain in the morning.
Capbretton looked inviting in the evening sunset, sporty into the narrow entrance with a 3 meter surf rolling through, all moored up and a few cold ones,

Lorna's short trip

With the wind still howling from the south we took our Medoc bound souls across the Gironde estuary to Port Royan, not a great day but gave lorna a nice sail,, still not quite sure on her left right port starboards,, sure she will catch on,,
Port Royan sits on the northern tip of the Gironde turns out it was heavily bombed in the war as occupied France, apparently the English appologised a few years back and built a new church, not the prettiest concrete architectural creation,,, still nice town for a few days,,,,and Lorna had a nice picnic,,,

Wind Bound In Medoc

With the strong southerly wind continuing
to blow against us,
we decide to stay put in Port Medoc for a few days,
Still, not that bad. The Medoc region of Bordeaux is home to four of the most famous appellations in France, Saint-Estephe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, and Margaux. The area known as the Medoc runs along the western bank of the Gironde estuary, covering a 50 mile (80km) strip from the city of Bordeaux to the Atlantic Ocean. The larger, southern section of the Medoc is known as the Haut-Medoc, and it is here where more fine wine is produced per hectare than almost anywhere else in the world.
Great, so with that in mind its off to hunt some down.

Medoc for some local wine

Another significant leg was to be completed today,
for two reasons, as the reaching of Port Medoc in the Gironde estuary would mark the 500nm, which is just about a fith of the way to Gozo, also the much awaited arrival of Lorna from Bordeaux station.
Another sunny but chilly day with reasonable winds saw us into Medoc for around 5pm, with southerly winds forcast again for the coming week we grudgingly accepted a stop for a few days,,

Still gave Lorna a chance to train for 'Total Wipeout,
and this was before the wine sampling?




The Medoc area on the south bank of the Gironde is famous for its red wine, bugger!

La Rochelle

Departing St Gilles around 6.30 am for the 55nm sail down to La Rochelle with light winds forcast and a sunny day expected, and what do you know, the weather forcast was right,,

slow progress but very pleasant in the warm sunshine,, allowing the tide to flood to give us plenty of clearence into the shallow entrance of the marina.
Routing to the north of Ile De Re, the long island just of the mainland and connected via a huge new road bridge. The height under the bridge was stated as 30m, but still makes you double check when you pass under with 16m sticking up, we followed the remains of a returning local regatta into the port of La Rochelle ( Port des Minimes ), which was a massive marina, home to some 3000 boats, plus visitors, after hunting down a berth on the packed visitors pontoon we settled down for a relaxing deck supper in the glorious warm sunset, with some local red plonk at 4.5euros for 5 lt we were all sorted.

Departing Ile DeYeu

After a peaceful evening in the calm tranquility of Ile de Yeu and the quite hospitable natives it was off for the relatively short hop to Sables d'olonne, wind was 20/25 kts from the south so very little headway was made, another diversion into St Gilles Croix, Port du Vie,, a small Vendee village located on both banks of the river 'La Vie'


On further exploration of the town a small local pub was found,, freindly bunch with a complete loon as the landlord,
we blended in well and as the beer started to flow the landlord Mechelle, became even more odd,, his false teeth on the bar and singing out loud with the beer tap as his mike,,, Malcolm started to let his hair down and after some dancing with a butchers hat followed by a serbian soldiers hat, they finally exchanged their false teeth,, A quiet day followed, with the wind and rain from the south it was a chance to clean up, empty the bocholinus from the fridge and get some clean washing,very good facilities in the marina.

Porn to Yeu

Great name for a website,,

Another early one with a beautiful sunrise saw us on our way from Pornichet to Ile de Yeu, gentle south easterly with clear blue sky, as we head out into the deeper water the Atlantic swell is now with us, very long shallow waves,


Nice and warm as we enter port, only one thing for it,,,couple of cold ones,,,nice

Shouty French Kids

Another early start with 70 mile to Sables d'olonne, wind forcast as North East 3 to 4 peerfect, but twas not to be, in reality South East 4 to 5 right on the nose, so diversion time to Pornichet. A huge marina (1000 plus boats), great name too,,,
Just after midday the wind dropped and a sleepy couple of hours followed. 4pm and all moored up in glorious warm sunshine, a massive sail training day was going on with lots of shouty french kids running around, canons were drawn but no neede to fire, quick restock of the larder and a couple of cold ones on deck to watch the peaceful crimson evening regain control,,