11th June 2016: On our way from Cavtat to Mljet with a southerly F4 we had our first sail in Croatia, woo hoo! It was a bit rolly though and after 20 miles as the wind eased we had to give up, the wind angle and wind strength were not enough […]
Timeline
7th June: We arrived at the Croatian customs check in port of Cavtat with some trepidation bubbling within. We were running on empty after not a lot of sleep due to rolly seas overnight and we’d read some not very enticing reports about the officials there. First item to check off […]
Arrival in Cavtat, Croatia and Wall Walking in Dubrovnik
Otranto An overnight passage messes with our body clocks, especially when it’s just one night and we can’t get into a watch system rhythm, so we usually need a day of rest to recover. The harbour of Otranto was perfect for an afternoon nap – the sea was calm and a beautiful […]
Otranto and Brindisi
27th May to 1st June We are beginning to strongly dislike the Ionian Sea. Of the three crossings we have made, none can be described as having been enjoyable. The first was a dull slog where we only sailed a quarter of it, the second was beset with no wind […]
Ionian Sea Passage Making
What follows is a short summary of our favourite bits of sailing in Malta during May. We would definitely visit again if we happened to be passing. However, our planned route back out of the Med won’t take us that way. Although we’re now behind the boats who left MdR straight […]
Summary of Sailing in Malta
Mellieha Bay The landscape of Mellieha Bay is very different from that of the south of Malta. Gone were the soft, yellow cliffs and gently sloping fields to be replaced by a much more rugged and craggy terrain. The bay is huge – which presented us with a dilemma – […]
Sailing Malta – Mellieha and Comino
Birzebbuga Could this be our new favourite anchorage? Well almost….. We had a mostly uneventful motor down the rocky coastline from Rinella Creek. The swell picked up as we rounded the south of the island and had us doing a nodding dog but the distance wasn’t too far before we […]
Sailing in Malta – Birzebbuga
Emerald must have been saving up her breakages this winter. After the leaking rudder we have had problems with old petrol for the outboard, a perished outboard fuel line and worst of all…. a blocked loo! Just a few blogs ago I wrote how Colin had had his worst day […]
Malta – Rinella Creek
Thursday morning was mass exodus day from Marina di Ragusa – the first calm weather day since Saturday. We were in the first batch of departees at 6am when the marineros came on duty and could help us and others without a bow thruster to turn in the narrow gaps […]
Sailing From Sicily to Malta
Whew! Doesn’t time fly when you’re working hard? April has zoomed by with lots of activity in the marina as boats prepare to leave for their summer cruising. We had a long list of get-gone jobs – transforming Emerald from her static winter state so that we can head off for our […]
A Frenzy of Get Gone Jobs
Last summer we had to say farewell to Crazy Pony the dinghy whose glue had given up the ghost in the sun and heat. It was replaced by Crazy Horse, a slightly bigger model and this time made of hypalon fabric. Hypalon stands up much better to the sun than […]
Crazy Horse Has a New Coat
Our sailing-away life has been a bit marina centred of late and I was starting to get itchy feet for at least a few hours away from the boat. Hiring a car here for a last minute day out is just too expensive or too much hassle, so being limited […]