Category: Sailing

Welcome to the West Indies!

2018, Sailing, Uncategorized

So, picking up from where I left off with my last post, after a week’s worth of long days in Tazacorte getting everything prepared we were well and truly ready to head off into the wild blue yonder. It was really nice to finally be on the water and underway. The adventure of our Atlantic crossing had begun! We settled into a routine fairly quickly, running watches of 2 hours on, 6 hours off during the night (luxury!), then a loose hourly watch system during the day. Day 2 the breeze picked up to around 20-25 knots and for a couple of days we had a very lumpy and uncomfortable seaway with the boat lurching and slewing around. I was very glad that I’d prepared a couple of dinners in advance because the conditions weren’t very conducive to cooking. Not much sleep was had by anyone. Martin & Maudie sighted a whale on each of the first two days, but apart from that there really wasn’t much to see other than acres of blue ocean.

Time passed uneventfully until the evening of day 3 when we managed to break the top two battens in the mainsail. The following morning we dropped the sail so the lads could very deftly effect an innovative repair, (using a batten poker and bit a teak from the old nav station), which slowed us down for a bit. But three hours later we rehoisted the main with one reef and were back to full pace. Needless to say, we now have two beefed up new battens. When doing long distance ocean miles, everything is a scarce resource to be managed, whether it’s spare sail equipment, water, food, diesel or gas. Every picture tells a story and by the time we got to day 5 we still had two full water tanks and we hadn’t even run the water maker yet! We’d fallen into a regular routine: Eat, sleep, sail, repeat. Whilst feeling very virtuous about our frugal water consumption the reality was that daily showering had been just a bit too hard up until then. The only thing nicer than a hot meal at sea is a hot shower. Player comfort level started to improve.

It was day 7 before we sighted another vessel. We’d begun to think we were the only ones out on the high seas, but the cargo ship “Barbara” crossed our bow, bound for Amsterdam. The next afternoon found us in a breeze that was beginning to fade, so we kept heading sou’ sou’ west to keep in the pressure. With 13-16 knots it was perfect weather for the asymmetric spinnaker. We sighted another couple of yachts off in the distance not flying kites and it wasn’t long before we’d overhauled them. By day 9 the breeze started to crump. At times it seemed like we were headed for Buenos Aires. Not much wind and from the wrong direction, so a good opportunity to do some motor-sailing and make some water. Crew showers all round again.

Amazingly each day passes quite quickly and there’s really no time to be bored. After a few hours steering, a bit of navigation – including downloading & reviewing weather, reading a book, a bit of cooking and next thing you know, the day’s over. Martin and I also amused ourselves with brushing up on our celestial navigation skills. We’ve got good nav systems on board, including satellite phone and wireless, but in this totally electronic device-connected world that we live in today it’s quite nice to know that if all else fails you can still work out where you are on the planet with just the sun and a sextant – note to self, I need to do lots more practice of this!

So what’s it like living on board a yacht at sea for more than two weeks? A bit strange at times because you’re whole house is moving every moment of the day & night. Whether you’re on deck sailing the boat, in the galley cooking a meal, getting a weather report, doing the dishes, or brushing your teeth, the boat is constantly moving. Lying in your bunk, especially on the weather side, it feels like there’s a giant, maniacal, sadistic puppeteer overhead, randomly lifting the corners of your bunk whilst it’s being rolled from side to side. But the sound of the water rushing past the outside of the hull is quite soothing. You actually do get some sleep. You also feel quite disconnected from almost everyone else on the planet. Has Kim Jong Un started World War III? Has the stock market crashed? Who would know? And of course there’s never a dull moment with the Maudie & Martin show on board. Lots of philosophical discussions. I’m sure we’ll have all the problems of the world solved in no time.

We ate very well during the crossing. In fact we ate a lot. (I’m pleased to report that Martin’s tapeworm was well catered for). But because you’re up at weird hours of the day and night and because you’re always moving (even in bed), you seem to need more fuel. Martin was particularly handy in the galley, turning out dough for focaccia and homemade pizza, amongst other things. Maudie’s signature dish was the pumpkin and goat’s cheese risotto, whilst Fitzy’s Moroccan tagine went down a treat. I was also quite chuffed that the bread I made turned out to be quite edible. Margherita (the pressure cooker) was a terrific 5th crew member.

The breeze was up and down over the second week. We enjoyed some very pleasant sailing with a full main and goose-winged jib, romping along and making miles in the right direction. There were also a few frustrating times when the pressure dropped and had us heading away from our end goal. But most of the time we made the best of the breeze we had and kept our boat speed above 5 knots. All in all, we pretty much sailed most of the way from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean with very little motoring. I’ve got some video footage of us sailing, but the internet is so slow here, I don’t believe I’ll have the opportunity to upload it anytime soon. It’s funny how the waves never look as big on camera as they are in real life.

After 17 days at sea we finally sighted land and arrived safely in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua. Not sure which I enjoyed more, the journey or arriving at our destination. I loved every minute of our Atlantic crossing, especially the last day, (even though it seemed to take forever), which was good fun steering down waves with rolling Atlantic swells. A big thanks to Fitzy for all his pre departure planning and preparation which got us here without a big butcher’s bill. And a huge vote of thanks goes to Maudie & Martin for helping make our Atlantic crossing a safe, memorable and pleasurable one. As you can imagine the social experiment of having four people in a confined 48 foot space without alcohol for over two weeks ended abruptly on the night of our arrival. We celebrated our successful voyage with much gusto!

Fitzy & I haven’t been here for almost twenty years, so it’s nice to be back. I love the sense of history in English Harbour, with it’s collection of old naval dockyard buildings, complete with sail loft pillars. Some of the yachts here are simply amazing. So how many crew does it take to load the provisions onto a super yacht anyway? I counted 12 on deck on one yacht. There were probably more below. I couldn’t decide between the yacht with the swimming pool or the helicopter. It’s definitely another planet over here!

We’re now looking forward to spending some time exploring the region again. Hope all is good at your end.

Cheers,

Kate

P.S.Thanks Martin for sharing some of your images.

Following Columbus……….

2017, Sailing

They say “all good things must come to an end” and as much as we’ve enjoyed our time in the Mediterranean we can’t stay forever. The final chapter for this season has seen us depart the Med and turn south into the Atlantic. Our friend Tim N. joined us in Gibraltar before we headed off. Luckily the weather Gods smiled upon us for our trip down to the Canary Islands and we had good conditions with solid nor’ easterly trade winds of around 15-20 knots, settling in at 20-25kts, and at times a bit more. We ended up not venturing into Morocco, so three and a half days later we arrived at Lanzarote.

Six years of volcanic eruptions, from 1730-1736, wiped out many of the local subsistence farmers, creating an interesting lunar-like landscape with hundreds of volcanoes dotted throughout the massive lava fields on the island. About a third of the productive farming land was wiped out, but the Canarians are a hardy lot and it didn’t take them long to work out that the volcanic soil was perfect for growing grapes. They constructed curved dry-stone walls around each vine, to protect them from the prevailing northerly winds. We’re told each vine yields about one and a half to two bottles of wine per year. Something else that grows well in these islands is the rather weird-looking native dragon tree, the oldest of which is estimated to be 800 years old. Since medieval times the sap of this plant has been used for medicinal remedies and dyes, lacquers and varnishes. It is rumoured that Stradivari used “dragon’s blood” to varnish his famous violins.

Before we left the Med we’d been doing a bit of research on the Canaries and were surprised to hear how hard it can be to get a berth at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the biggest town on the  largest island of the group. Each year this island hosts the start of “the ARC” (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). About 300 yachts turn up to cruise in company across the Atlantic every November, the theory being safety in numbers. But how could a marina with 1250 berths (huge!) possibly be full three months beforehand? As soon as we arrived it readily became apparent. A large part of the marina is occupied by very small motorboats but there are also many, many sailing vessels that looked like they couldn’t sail outta sight on a dark night. There is a whole pontoon full of yachts that have been seized and impounded. Perhaps because they haven’t paid their marina bills? They certainly didn’t look very seaworthy! The expression “boat graveyard” comes to mind. Dreamers who had the big plan, but hadn’t quite got it together. When you’re talking to people around the marina the first question they ask is “when are you planning to cross?” Once you’ve travelled the 600 nautical miles down here you quickly realise there’s no going back, unless you want a total head butt against the prevailing trade winds. You’re committed.

These islands have a strong link with Columbus, as this was where he stopped before heading west, into the great unknown. Remember, in 1492 many people still believed the earth was flat! There’s a good museum at the old Governor’s house where Columbus is believed to have stayed, with lots of info about the three trips he made to the Americas. They’ve re-created a below-deck replica of his cabin, but I wonder if it was this homely in reality. Sadly, Columbus died alone and dejected still believing he had discovered the western route to Asia. Another interesting museum is the Museo Canario with its section about the indigenous “Guanche” people. Before the 15th century these islands were populated by people thought to have been Berbers from North Africa, who were pretty much obliterated by the Spanish conquest. There are assorted exhibits of mummified remains complete with hairy skulls, which are curious, if not a little gruesome.

Approaching Santa Cruz de Tenerife you see a massive white structure guiding you towards the harbour entrance. It’s not until you’re on land that you can appreciate the enormous white wave of the Auditorium. Can’t help but wonder if they didn’t draw some inspiration from the Sydney Opera House. Tenerife is also famous for great trekking in the lush mountains of the north, the majestic volcano of El Teide and the lovely hill towns of La Laguna & Orotava. I had the delight of hiking from Cruz del Carmen to the hamlet of El Batan in the rugged Anaga Rural Park. Quite spectacular scenery through one of the oldest laurel forests on the planet. In the old days they used to grow flax to produce linen here, using the large amounts of water that flowed through the ravine to power the mills. It seems amazing that today anyone stills ekes out a living in this beautiful but isolated environment.

Further south, standing at over 3,700 metres, Mount Teide is the highest mountain in Spain. Apparently about 4 million people come to visit El Teide every year, and it is a popular place for cyclists doing high altitude training. Unfortunately the day that we visited the cable car wasn’t running as it was too windy, (have I mentioned they get quite a bit of wind around these parts?) but the scenery driving through the National Park made the trip worthwhile. Also love the distinctive Canarian architecture in the small towns featuring ornately carved wooden balconies and doorways with colourful exteriors. Intriguing to see the water filter of yesteryear featured in some of the old houses. Just drip water through volcanic rock & voila, pure filtered water! They’ve been doing this for centuries. So why do we persist with the waste that is bottled water?

So, we spoke to other yachties and locals, and we knew a bit about the “acceleration zones” around the Canary Islands. To quote the pilot book: “when brisk northerly winds meet high volcanic peaks they have no option but to go up and over or divide and funnel around and between the islands, increasing in strength. These can push the wind force up by 25 knots in a matter of 200 metres”. Yup! Who’d have thought that round islands have corners? But when the wind hits the extremities of the island there is a very pronounced local effect. We’d seen a bit of it around Lanzarote, Fuerteventura & Tenerife, but our approach to La Gomera made for some exhilarating sailing! Fitzy later remarked that I should have taken a photo of the spume coming off the waves, but at the time taking photos wasn’t exactly front of mind. Especially with the local fast ferry arriving travelling at 31 knots! Nonetheless, La Gomera turned out to be one of the highlights of the season, so well worth the effort to get there.

This was the last place where Columbus loaded up with water and supplies before heading off to discover the New World. The church where Columbus and his men purportedly prayed before they sailed away can still be found amongst the small, quaint streets of San Sebastian. Apparently, after Columbus, La Gomera didn’t really have much ongoing contact with the modern world until the 1950s when they built a small pier opening up the way for a ferry service. Today this place is a Mecca for hikers and nature lovers. The ecological treasure that is the Garanjonay National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. It’s intensely green forests are due to a combination of the mist, high humidity and constant temperature all year round. Walking along the densely wooded trails of lichen-covered laurisilva trees you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve been transported onto a set of “Lord of the Rings”. The forest is an absolute delight, but before you know it, you round a bend for another jaw-dropping view. The park is meticulously managed with even the fresh water supply appearing to sprout from a tree. As one of the local walkers remarked to me: “es muy especial y preciosas”. It is very special and precious indeed. Absolutely stunning scenery.

 

Our last stop for the season was Tazacorte, on the island of La Palma. This is the most western Canary Island from which you can clear Customs & Immigration before setting out across the Atlantic Ocean. Loki is now out of the water and securely tucked up behind two ginormous breakwater walls and we’ve really enjoyed having some time to explore what’s here. This is an island of giant telescopes, volcanoes, 850 kilometres of awesome walking trails and bananas. Plenty of bananas! Apparently about 40% of the island’s workforce depend on the banana crop. At the heart of La Palma is La Caldera de Taburiente, “the cauldron of Taburiente”. The Lonely Planet states that: “It was first given the moniker in 1825 by German geologist Leopold von Buch, who took it to be a massive volcanic crater. The word ‘caldera’ stuck, and was used as a standard term for such volcanic craters the world over.” It is in fact a semi-circular ravine, 8 km in diameter and over 2000 metres from top to bottom. Very impressive! The highest point of the island, Roques de Los Muchachos, is a great place to view the soaring craggy peaks and cavernous gorges. It’s also home to one of the world’s largest telescopes. Being so far from major cities has its advantages when studying the night sky. There are some parts of the National Park that are full of forests of Canary pines making it a an absolute delight to walk in.

The southern part of La Palma is a different story, dominated by Volcan San Antonio and Volcan Teneguia, last erupting in 1949 and 1971, respectively, adding a few hectares to the island’s size. There’s an easy walk to the edge of the San Antonio crater, but thankfully no visible activity going on these days. The island’s capital, Santa Cruz, boasts more of the colourful waterfront houses with traditional wooden balconies that we’ve seen all over the Canaries. In the corners of some balconies there is still an enclosed space that was once used for a toilet, from which sewage would then flow directly down onto the street. Yucko!

We’ve been watching intently as events have been unfolding in the Caribbean with four hurricanes so far this season. A number of the destinations we are planning to visit next year have been severely hit. “Decimated”, “annihilated” and “destroyed” are some of the adjectives we’ve been hearing. We can only imagine how devastating it must be for the people whose lives have been torn apart by the destruction. I think we’ll need to do a bit more research before finalising next year’s itinerary.

So, having sailed over 2,000 nautical miles in the Med and down to the Canaries, it’s now time to head back downunder. We are very much looking forward to catching up with everyone upon our return!

Adios!

Kate

Ancient bikinis and flying Swans

2016, Sailing, The Mediterranean

Sicily was the place for us to catch up with family this year with Barb joining us at Marina di Ragusa, but before we set off on the high seas we took the opportunity to go inland. Tucked away near the medieval hilltop town of Piazza Armerina is the fabulous Villa Romana del Casale, which houses the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world. Now you might think it’s hard to get excited about a few small coloured tiles, but these ones have been around since about 300AD. There are more than 3,500 sqm of floor tiles, and they are extraordinarily well preserved having spent the best part of almost 2000 years covered up by several metres of mud after a landslide. The villa is thought to have been part of a huge Roman agricultural estate belonging to a noble family. The mosaics depict incredibly detailed stories including scenes from Homer, great hunts and girls (nicknamed the Bikini Girls) showing off their decathalon skills with discus throwing, hefting dumbells, ball games and running. Even Fitzy thought they were good! (The mosaics, not the girls).

Our next stop along the coast was near Sicily’s biggest tourist drawcard, the Valley of the Temples. This 13 sq km archeological park has an assortment of temples in various states of ruin, but the most intact is the 430BC Greek Temple of Concordia, upon which the UNESCO logo is apparently based. The temple survived when others didn’t, partly because it was reinforced when it was turned into a church in the 6th century, but also because beneath the rock it sits on is a layer of soft clay, which dampens the effects of earth tremors. With any luck it should manage to survive a few more years yet! Heading west we stopped at Sciacca, famous for it’s thermal baths, healing waters and mineral-rich mud. Barb & I were certainly up for a bit of pampering, but alas it was not to be as the complex was closed for renovations/repairs. So we didn’t get to experience the “uplifting breast-toning treatment for 200 euros” (what a bargain!) as mentioned in the Lonely Planet. C’est la vie.

We enjoyed some time at anchor out at the Egadi Islands before heading in to Trapani. The best way to see the old town is by foot, admiring the many Baroque buildings and narrow streets, following in the locals’ footsteps during the evening passeggiata. All too soon it was time to farewell Barb and set off for Sardinia. As we were sailing out of Trapani harbour a large Italian Coast Guard ship was coming in. We couldn’t help but notice the dozens of Africans crammed on the aft deck, presumably plucked from the water somewhere off the coast nearby. I can only imagine that these are people who just want a safe place to live and a secure future for their families. We couldn’t help but reflect upon how incredibly lucky we are, to have the freedom we have to be able to do the things we are doing. How lucky are we to be born in the right country?

An overnight sail took us across to Santa Maria Navaresse, on the east coast of Sardinia. We planned to be in Porto Cervo for the Rolex Swan Cup (hoping to race, although not with Loki), so had some time to hire a car and drive up to the Gorropu Canyon. We enjoyed a very pleasant hike into the gorge with its spectacular limestone cliffs towering up to 400 m above us. Going north along the coast the impressive massif of the Supramonte dominates the landscape. There are various bays strewn with grottoes and crystal clear beaches. Just had to stop for lunch along the way and enjoy the stunning torquoise waters at “the swimming pool”, le piscine di Molara.

As luck would have it we met up with a Norwegian yacht, “Concerto”, whilst we were at anchor in La Maddalena Archipelago National Park and managed to secure crew positions aboard their friend’s 65 ft Swan, “Coeur de Lion”, for the Swan regatta. It was an absolute priviledge to sail with Bjorn, Peder Lunde (4 times Olympian – gold & silver medalist, and Whitbread Round the World skipper!), Einar, Hendrick, Daniel & Jorgen. Those Vikings sure know how to have a good time! Thanks guys for a great regatta, it was terrific fun. Local photographer Gianluca Muscas captured some nice images of us from the water too.

With 112 entrants, the regatta included races for the maxis (90 – 115ft), mini maxis (60-80ft), Grand Prix racers, S & S’s, Swan 42 One Design and the World Championships for the Swan 45s. What a fabulous sight! Seeing all those beautiful yachts roaring about the picturesque coastal courses. Most of the time I was simply too busy enjoying the racing, so not many images from me I’m afraid. But I’ve included here a few images from one of the world’s best renowned yachting photograhers, Carlo Borlenhgi, who was there shooting the action each day. I particularly like the shot showing the maxi, Highland Fling (115ft) having a bit of an oopsie with her spinnaker! Being at the regatta also gave us the opportunity to catch up with our friends Oguz & Nihal who flew in from Turkey to enjoy the festivities. A great time was had by all.

Now Loki is all packed up and ready for another winter, this time at Gaeta, about two hours drive south of Rome. We are about to head homewards and are very, very much looking forward to catching up with dear friends and family upon our return. Thinking of you all. Keep well & stay safe.

Ciao,

Kate

 

 

Postcard from Venice

2016, Sailing, The Mediterranean

After putting Loki back in the water last month, and being joined by Alan W, we headed down to Venice to spend some time there before heading across to Croatia. Upon our arrival we did a quick run up to San Marco, dodging a cruise ship, vaporetti and various other craft, because it’s just so good seeing Venice from the water! The marina we stayed at is located on Certosa Island, just 15 minutes by vaporetto (waterbus) from the heart of Venice. It’s a non-residential island hosting only a marina, a boutique hotel and assorted goats, rabbits and chickens. A little oasis away from what the locals refer to as “the Bermuda Triangle” (the area between San Marco, Rialto and Accademia), where all the Bermuda short-wearing tourists congregate in their masses. It’s fun watching the crewed gondolas regularly zipping up and down the Certosa channel on their training runs.

I think the best time to see Venice in it’s full glory is very, very early. From Certosa the first vaporetto of the day gets you into San Marco at around 6:30am. There are no tourists about and you can stand at one end of St Mark’s Square with just a couple of nuns and a few dozen pigeons between you and St Mark’s Basilica as the sun rises behind it. At that time of day you can really appreciate the beautiful architecture of the surrounding buildings, including the wonderfully gothic Doges Palace.

You also see the city starting to wake up, with shirtless gondoliers hurrying from their moorings, a massive laundry barge collecting soiled linen from a fancy hotel on the Grand Canal (but then everything comes and goes by barge here) and the street vendors haven’t yet set up their stalls so everywhere is uncluttered.

Fitzy & I loved exploring Venice, visiting the Architecural Biennale, assorted galleries, various palazzo on the Grand Canal and just generally wandering around the picturesque streets and canals. The view from the Campanile tower is also terrific.

I played around with some black & white imagery to try and capture the sense of timelessness that Venice projects.

Sadly, during our stay in Venice Fitzy’s 91 year old Mum, Alma, had a fall and broke her hip. Her surgery went very well initially, but during rehab she took a turn for the worse and became ill quite suddenly, so Adrian and I headed back to Melbourne very quickly. We were all devastated when Alma passed away peacefully. Alma had a great life and has left behind a wonderful legacy with two terrific sons, two lovely grandchildren and a delightful great-grand-daughter. R.I.P. Alma, we will all miss you terribly.

After arriving back in Venice Fitzy completed some major repairs to the anchor winch, but before we set off the locals told us we couldn’t miss the Festa del Redentore, the largest celebration on the Venetian calendar. OMG they weren’t wrong! Every man and his dog were either on the water in Saint Mark’s basin, or along the waterfront to watch the huge fireworks display that goes on for 45 minutes and is really spectacular. Those Venetians really know how to party!

We have now left Italy and are in Croatia, making our way south towards Sicily. Hope all is good in your part of the world. We certainly live in troubled times, so keep safe and keep doing the things that you most enjoy. We are here for a good time, not a long time!

Ciao,

Kate

P.S. If you’ve subscribed to my blog and get an email reminder, don’t forget to click on the blue link at the very bottom of the email, which will take you to my blog page for all the images.

From caves and castles, to canals and gondolas

2015, Sailing, The Mediterranean

Since my last update we’ve been exploring the northern Adriatic, from Zadar to the Istrian Peninsula, then across to Venice. The Bondy brothers joined Loki in Zadar. Apart from being a lovely old walled city, Zadar lays claim to a unique waterfront with a couple of unusual art installations designed by local architect Nikola Basic. Firstly, there’s the world’s first pipe organ that is played by the sea! The structure is seventy metres long and has thirty-five organ pipes built under the concrete. The wind and waves push air into the pipe organs producing rather random, but nonetheless harmonic sounds. It’s really about hearing rather than seeing the structure, so people loll about on the steps enjoying the somewhat hypnotic effect.  A few metres from the “Sea Organ” is the “Sun Salutation”, a 22 metre diameter circle made from 300 photovoltaic glass panels. The solar cells absorb energy from the sun then convert this into electricity, which is sufficient to light the entire waterfront at night. Very smart. At sunset the installation switches on a display of bright, colourful lights (which unfortunately we didn’t get to witness), which is connected to the Sea Organ. All very trippy apparently. The weather was quite rainy for part of our time in Zadar and from here we headed to the outer chain of the northern Adriatic islands stopping at Uglian, Veli Rat, Ist, Ilovik and Mali Losinj. A couple of days out of Zadar the weather cleared up again and we enjoyed some lovely walks on the islands. Many of the villages we visited are virtually carless, but their waterfronts are arranged in a somewhat higgeldy-piggeldy way, so that every little fishing boat seems to have it’s own private jetty. Or, there’s a concrete beach, where people pay money to hire a sun lounge. No wonder overseas visitors rave about Aussie beaches. We continued to enjoy the local food, including some of a rather tender suckling piglet. We then farewelled the Bondy boys before heading north to Cres then Opatije, on the mainland.

Whilst on the mainland we thought we’d take the opportunity to go inland and headed for Slovenia. This is a seriously lovely country.  At times you could be forgiven for thinking you are driving through the middle of a Walt Disney movie, with quaint castles and churches dotting the countryside. From Opatije we drove to Lubiana, via the famous Postojna Caves. The caves are an amazing network of over 20 kms of underground tunnels and galleries formed out of the limestone karst. The caves were formed about 4 million years ago as a result of underground water flow from the Pivka River. A trip on the tourist train lasts for an hour and a half and covers only about 4 kms, but is well worth the visit. The nearby, 700 hundred year old Predjama Castle is also a must see, built into the side of a vertical cliff. We particularly liked the story about the “robber barron”, the knight Erazem Lueger, who was held to siege in the castle in the 15th century, but used to duck out the back through a maze of secret passages that his would-be captors didn’t know about. He’d travel to the next village to get cherries that had ripened earlier than those outside his drawbridge, then would confound his adversaries by throwing ripened cherries upon them whilst they looked at the unripened fruits trees around them. They thought it was the devil’s work. Unfortunately he came to a messy end when they shot a cannonball into his crapper and was literally caught with his pants down. What a way to go! We then went up to Lubiana and Lake Bled, to complete the Slovenian tour of dragons, caves and castles before heading to Zagreb to meet up with the Sollys.

Having met up with Ben & Kath we then all headed back to Loki to explore the inner chain of the northern Adriatic. We had some lovely weather and memorable moments in Krk, Rab and southern Cres. We had to repel boarders when moored to the town quay in Krk at 0050hrs! (Yes, we remember when we were young once too). At Jadriscica our anchorage book advised us that if we wanted to go to the shop for supplies we’d need to strip off first as the campsite was a nudist colony. Hilarious! I dared Ben & Fitzy to nude-up, but they were too shy. Thankfully we managed to get bread anyway. The Sollys departed the vessel at Artaturi, Losing and from there we headed up to Pula at the bottom of the Istrian Peninsula to catch up with Donald and Judy. Pula has been continuously inhabited for twenty-three centuries, so it’s no surprise to find a Roman amphitheatre smack-bang in the middle of town. But they also have a hip vibe with a nightly light-show featuring their waterfront industrial cranes.

Our final leg was “Goodbye Croatia, Hello Venice”. We managed to find a marina on Certosa Island that was four vaporetti (waterbus) stops, and about 15 minutes, from St Mark’s Square. When we arrived the weather was calm and there wasn’t much shipping traffic around so we couldn’t resist the temptation to sail up to the Grand Canal and St Mark’s Square. It was slightly frenetic with all the vaporetti, water-taxis, gondolas and whatever else running about, but we just had to do it! What a fabulous place for doing our boat pack-up and winterising. The last time we were there was 26 years ago; I’d forgotten how impossibly gorgeous Venice is. Lucky, lucky me……I spent my birthday there. We toured St. Mark’s Basilica (the mosaics are simply astounding) and the Doges Palace (one can’t help thinking of “The Merchant of Venice” as you traipse through one ornate room after another). I thought I saw Fitzy’s eyes watering whilst he was looking at the chastity belt on display in the armoury. Our timing also coincided with the Venice Biennale, so managed a visit there as well. As beautiful as Venice is, they still have their problems with high tides. I took a kayak tour of the canals and our guide told us they’ve spent 6 billion (dollars or euro?) thus far on a flood control system that doesn’t work. If it’s on your bucket list, go and see Venice before it sinks! An added bonus was catching up with the Sollys again one evening, complete with our silly hats!

We are now at Marina Sant’ Andrea, which is about as far north as you can go in the Adriatic. 45 degrees 45’ 70”N, 13 degrees 14’ 50” E is Loki’s home for the winter. After four and a half months away, six countries and 1819 nautical miles shared amongst 17 visitors, it’s time to come home! We’ve had a fab time cruising, but there’s nothing quite like home, so really looking forward to catching up with family and friends really soon.

Ciao,

Kate