The distance from Agadir in Morocco to the Canary Islands is about 220 nm, so if we could average about 6 knots over this distance, we should be able to do the distance in about 37 hours. We arranged with the Moroccan Border Police, to check out at 7am on Monday the...

Annie decided she had enough of the cold weather, so went to Carrefour in La Linea to buy us a 1,500 W fan heater. On Tuesday 19th November, we motored out of Alcaidesa Marina in La Linea next to Gibraltar, to catch the outgoing tide, if any, to cross the Gibraltar...

Cartagena was worth a three day visit. We were tied up in the marina while the westerly was blowing fiercely in the bay. We explored the town which has an abundance of public sculptures and visited the Roman theatre and the Forum precinct which dates back to the first...

Back in the 80’s when we were big into board and wave sailing, Hyeres in France, was synonymous with speed sailing on slalom boards. We have figured out why - Hyeres, just east of Toulon, is on the edge of the Golfe du Lion, known for the Mistral winds that blows down...

Our Cape Town friend, Ernst Hartwig, emailed me these photos taken in the Maritime Museum of Amsterdam. Evidently a Dutch Dirk Muller (1758 - 1834) reached the rank of sailing captain (ship's master) in the Dutch East India Company. The Australian Dirk Muller (1947 -...

Saturday the 7th September 2019 arrived bright and sunny, so we left Capraia island off the Tuscan coast of Italy, after a hearty breakfast to sail in a light breeze and flat seas, across to Corsica. As we approached the east coast of Corsica, we were welcomed by...

After our visit to Paestum, we left Agropoli in the afternoon and had a good sail to arrive in Salerno  on the 20th August at 18:30. We anchored in the bay between the harbour and the marina with eight other yachts. A good night’s sleep was followed by the shock...

Giovanni at Salpancore Marina in Palermo was most helpful in pointing us in the right direction to the Border Police for our passport stamping, the Guardia Costiera for a new “Constituto” (Transit log), the Penguin laundromat and the Carrefour supermarket. We were...

We left Cavtat in Croatia at 4 pm on Tuesday 2nd July 2019 and motored for two hours before we reached the forecasted northeaster. With the wind building, we soon had to tuck in two reefs in the mainsail and furl the jib to 50%. The sea was flat and we covered the 105...

Apropos our previous post on Venice, an American friend sent me an article from the Washington Post about “The age of the overtourist”. It included examples of how to ruin a perfectly beautiful city for everyone. She concluded: “These have to be some of the saddest...

The area around Zadar has been inhabited since neolithic times. The Romans built the old town which they called Jader and the ruins of the Roman forum is still visible near the church of St Donat. The town has been occupied by various nations, and the Venetians...

After saying goodbye to Reini and Lynne, we spent another two days at Trogier Marina before setting sail to go northwest up the Croatian coast. The weather continued to be wet and cold, proving that at 44 degree latitude north in the Adriatic Sea, summer comes later...

Due to very little wind, it was a 31 nm motor cruise from Montenegro to Cavtat in Croatia where we checked in with the friendly female harbour master and the police. This necessitated a quick trip to an ATM to draw cash to pay the 663 Kuna ($144) “Safety of...

Esprit was re-launched at Cleopatra Marina in Preveza, Greece on Friday 29th of March 2019. She was looking as good as new after the anti-fouling, ding repairs and hull polishing that was done during our absence. We motored across to Preveza Marina, a mile away and...

New feature! This page now has a widget in the top right corner, where you can enter your email address to receive notifications of our new posts by email. No need to check the blog from time to time for new posts! At the same time, we have updated some photos on our...

Esprit was lifted onto the hard at Cleopatra Marina in Preveza, Greece on the 30th November 2019. I pondered this name for a marina and then read up on the history of this area. It goes something like this: Esprit moving onto the hardstand. After the assassination of...