Sailing to Rome via Bonifacio Strait

Post author:Gavin
Post published:September 18, 2010
Post category:Italy Sailing Travel

Goodbye Ibiza... we woke up later then planned in Cala Llonga and pointed Squander North East, aiming at northern Sardegna (Sardinia) via Mallorca. We had a tight weather window that would allow us to get to Mallorca in one day where we would hide from the bad weather that was forecast to hit the area the following evening. From there we would pick the next good weather window, scrape past Menorca and continue sailing through the night onto Sardegna. We've been watching the storms that roll down…

Three men and a lady – heading for Ibiza!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:July 31, 2010
Post category:Travel

It was 6:00pm, on post world cup final Monday when we finally stirred on Squander and started thinking about moving on from Cadiz... but it was all too hard and so we decided to stay one more night. The next day we got up, did a quick trip to the supermarket to stock up and left Puerto de America marina on our way south towards the Med... we had a great sail and by sunset were faced with either pulling up at Barbate for the night or…

Lagos, Villamoura, Portimao & football fever in Cadiz!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:July 17, 2010
Post category:Atlantic Portugal Sailing Spain

After a somewhat last minute departure from Terceira in the Azores, we had a brilliant run all the way to Portugal and mainland Europe. We weren't planning on leaving so soon but were forced to make a decision as Dmitry and Luis had to be back in Europe by the beginning of July and the Azores high pressure system which kills all wind was looking like settling in for a week or so - the decision had to be made - we go now or not for…

The Azores – a tale of two cities, great people & Festas.

Post author:Gavin
Post published:June 28, 2010
Post category:Atlantic Sailing Travel

After 2 short weeks at sea, we arrived in the Port of Horta in the Azores refreshed, slightly smelly and very thirsty - that kind of well earned thirst that used to be so well depicted in the old VB (Victoria Bitter) commercials in Australia... you know the ones. You can get it diggin', You can get it riggin', Or straining 'till you thought you'd burst. You've sure got a thirst.... A hard-earned thirst needs a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic -…

Crossing the Pond – Bermuda to Azores (Video Blog)

Post author:Gavin
Post published:June 12, 2010
Post category:Travel

10 June 2010 - three of us (Dmitrij, Simon & Gavin) arrived in the Azores, landing in the small island of Faial in the port of Horta. We have so far crossed approximately three quarters of the Atlantic from Florida to the Azores, via the Bahamas and Bermuda. Crossing the Northern Atlantic was always going to be a challenge - the unpredictable and ever changing weather patterns, the bitterly cold temperatures that keep you awake on watch at 3:00 am , the occasional 12 hours of driving…

1000 miles to Bermuda

Post author:Gavin
Post published:May 25, 2010
Post category:Atlantic Bermuda Sailing thoughts

Leaving Nassau wasn't as easy as we thought. The generosity and hospitality of our new Bahamain friends was second to none and it seems that the Weather gods conspired to keep us there for one more night - which turned out to be a brilliant way to say goodbye to the Bahamas - with a home cooked feast at Geoffrey & Rosa's house, with the whole family coming over to say hello - a beautiful baked hog fish, home made coleslaw, banana fritters (whose name we cannot…

Birthdays only come around once a year!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:May 11, 2010
Post category:Travel

There are times in life when you feel like you need to pinch yourself just to make sure you're not dreaming. I am sore from pinching myself!! Since our last blog, we sailed off into the sunset leaving behind the beautiful Staniel Cay and the Exumas . An incredible downwind sail in calm waters, with the spinnaker flying and beers in hand. I had read that it's possible to anchor totally out of sight of land when conditions are calm and suggested this as an idea to…

Tree huggers delight… Squander goes au naturale’!!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:May 6, 2010
Post category:Bahamas Travel

G'day friends - Nate here. Goodbye Spanish wells, hello EXUMAS !! The day dawned beautifully as we set out from Spanish Wells on a rising tide scraping over the shallow entrance. After our usual strong coffees we set off early to make the most of the day as well as the wind which was predicted to die off in the afternoon. Spanish Wells Seafood shop We were greeted by a nice 12 to 18 knot wind and calm flat seas. Time for some nice sailing, a great…

In search of Elle.

Post author:Gavin
Post published:April 28, 2010
Post category:Bahamas Travel

Port Lucaya on Grand Bahama was a beautiful place, but having arrived there on a Monday morning and in the mood for some fun after our eventful crossing of the gulf stream, we were somewhat underwhelmed by the empty bars, quiet casino and lack of other revelers to party with. We did however meet some cool people like Rick Fleming (G'day Rick hope you've managed to get out of there and we will see you soon somewhere along the way!) who added to the experience of being…

Grand Bahama… an unplanned stop!

Post author:Gavin
Post published:April 20, 2010
Post category:Bahamas Travel

Anyone remember Gilligan's island?? The weather started getting rough, The tiny ship was tossed, If not for the courage of the fearless crew The minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost. Baptism of fire comes to mind - we sailed into what was meant to be a decent 20 knotter and ended up being a decent storm... Leaving our BIG friends behind - thanks for all the help - skies look clear! The skipper definitely had a slight hint of the guilts having had a…