01/08/09 - 07/09/09 Sardinia to Gibraltar, 921nm, 5,735nm Total

Finally we are on our way out of the Mediterranean Sea and about to start pointing the boat in the direction of New Zealand. This part of the trip was just Dawn and myself, taking it easy through Bonifacio in Corsica, Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera in the Balearic Islands then on to Moraira on mainland Spain before a long slow sail to Gibraltar. Memorable moments being our 9 ton yacht being towed backwards by a one metre Tuna before it finally got off the hook, clear blue anchorages, very noisy bouncy anchorages and a cardboard boat race in Gibraltar!
From here, once the weather settles down a bit we are headed for Madeira and the Canary Islands.


Changing the courtesy flag before Corsica - we need courtesy flags for each country we visit

Bonifacio town always looks like it's about to drop off the cliff into the sea

Trying to spot the entrance channel for Bonifacio

We know it's up there somewhere....

Ah there it is!

Now where did I put my glasses? The 10yr old flag has a bit more life left in it I think!

Reel it in quick or we'll be dragged back to Bonifacio!

Think this one was on steroids-dragged a 9 ton boat backwards at 0.5kts! It got away shortly after with a last flick of it's tail but at least we got the picture to prove it existed!!

Calm anchorage in Mallorca

Dawn on the lilo we picked up at sea - we would have had a couple of footballs as well but we couldn't figure how to get them on board! Just some of the rubbish we have seen in the sea over the last few weeks - most of it we wouldn't want to touch!

Oops we anchored in the middle of the race course - at least the kiddies on their Optimist dinghies were quieter than the jet skis.

Sundown in Formentera - there were probably 500 boats in the anchorage when we arrived!

Gibraltar with a frothy topping of cloud and a crowd of ships waiting to load/unload as usual

Cardboard boat racing in Gibraltar - the judgin in Casemates Square

While Dawn treated me to a birthday breakfast - what more could I want?

I even got a guard of honour!

Some of the kids boats were really good....

And some weren't so good!

Then the adults race-Loch Ness monster (in yellow) won.

01/06/09-31/07/09 Malta to Sardinia 635nm, 4,814nm Total

Mixed fortunes at the start of the trip for the year - delays with our insurance claim for generator meant delays in getting moving. Thanks to Charlie at Yacht Services for making it as quick as he could, we had a few days testing the new engine and generator round Malta before setting off for Tunisia and Sardinia. Sadly we had to get taken out of the water again to correct a fairly serious problem and had 3 weeks longer in Cagliari than we planned. Crew that joined us along the way were Rita and daughters, Gary and Marissa from Dive Shack in Malta (the only place to go for diving!) and Edel.





Blue Lagoon in Comino



OK so the haricut was a bit short!



Edel working hard on watch to Tunisia!


Monastir in Tunisia

Monastir again

and again

Dawn and Edel waiting for food!

Carpet weaver in Monastir

The souk in Monastir

The party boat parked behind us in Monastir

Hauling out again in Cagliari, Sardinia

Showers and haricuts in the cockpit while in the boatyard

Church in Cagliari

Another church in Cagliari

More sight seeing in Cagliari - what else to do?

Back in again, 3 weeks to do a 1 week job - they don't hurry in Cagliari!

Anchorage in La Maddelena archipeligo Sardinia

And last look at Sardinia before we go to Corsica

18/10/08-25/10/08 The Rolex Middle Sea Race 490nm, 4179nm Total

The race was not very kind too us, no wind - we covered something like 12 miles in 24 hours as opposed to a more normal 120 miles and you can tell from the photos, the batteries overheated so that they gave off sulphur fumes, the engine wouldn't start easily and we had to retire - other than that it was great! Crew for the race were, Richard and Dawn, Paul March, Kevin and Susie Harris, Joe Hatcher and of course Jim McKeogh.


Now you see them...

Now you don't!

And again...

and again...

and once more for good luck!

Putting the gear back on the boat - I think Joe believes we need a bigger dinghy!

And then it's out of the water for the winter while we go back to work and then to New Zealand

17/06/08-31/08/08 Genoa to Malta 700nm, 3689nm Total

We delivered the boat to Malta in stages to fit in with work, firstly from Genoa to Ostia (just outside Rome) and then from there to Malta ready for the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Crew that helped us down were Paul and Katie March and Joe Hatcher.

Sunset over Elba on way from Genoa to Ostia

The Isle of Capri - Paul remembers this for the most expensive beer and ice cream ever!

In the Med there is either too much wind or none at all - guess which we had most of the time?

Leaving Sorrento for Sicily

The infamous "conserving energy" approach to sailing (or motoring!)

But someone ate to many sweeties and suffered!!

Messina, Sicily where we ate in a "London Cafe" and drank at an Irish bar!!!



And finally Valetta, Malta