Cruising around Malta (part 2)

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

The Blue Lagoon is arguably the most famous beach of Malta. Situated on the small island of Comino, it is a golden beach surrounded by dramatic rocks and thanks to the sandy bottom and the clear water, the sea is a beautiful turquoise. As it is so popular, it is also very crowded. We sailed past it on our arrival … Read More

Cruising around Malta (part 1)

Margriet KapteynUnderway4 Comments

On the 30th of August we had arrived in Malta. As we had booked a marina in Valletta for the winter from the 1st of October, this meant we had a whole month to cruise around Malta. Of course in September the weather can turn quite bad in the Med so we kept our options open and were in no way … Read More

Crossing by sailboat from Sardinia to Malta

Margriet KapteynUnderway3 Comments

On Sunday the 26th of August there was still a lot of wind. We registered gusts of up to 30 knots and we had seen various inflatables come past that had been blown off the beach. The wind was supposed to ease off that day, and the next few days would be a suitable weather window for our second attempt … Read More

Bad weather keeps us in Sardinia

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We had been looking forward to spending some time in Villasimius in the South of Sardinia because we could access the land via the marina and take care of the usual landjobs: laundry, shopping and getting rid of our rubbish. There was no official dinghy dock in Villasimius marina but there was a wooden fence alongside one of the floating … Read More

Sailing the East Coast of Sardinia

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We had ordered a new anchor chain from the chandlery in Cannigione on Monday the 30th of July. They said the delivery would probably be on Friday. So we had a whole week to hang around this little Sardinian town. Time to do some boat jobs… For a few weeks there had been a funny smell in the galley. First … Read More

Maddalenas, a must for cruisers in the Med?

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Even before we had bought the boat, we researched the Maddalenas. This island group in the northeast of Sardinia is, according to many cruisers, one of the best destinations in the Med. Clear blue water, shimmering sandy beaches – you get the picture. We could barely believe this kind of tropical beauty was to be found in Europe. Fast forward … Read More

Million dollar Riva crashes into Goodvibes!

Margriet KapteynUnderway4 Comments

Our first anchorage in the Maddalenas, near the Spiaggia dell’Alberello on the island Giardinelli, was quiet at night but became very busy during the day.  Only a handful of cruising boats would anchor for the night, but they were joined from late morning onwards by dozens of powerboats and ribs. Although there was a decent amount of space to anchor … Read More

Exploring Northern Sardinia by sailboat

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

When we left Porto Conte we said goodbye to Susan, she would go South whereas we would continue to Northern Sardinia. We could have gone around the island of Asinara but instead we opted to go through the narrow and shallow Fornelli passage which would save about 20 nm. Passaggio dei Fornelli The minimum depth of this channel is about … Read More

Adios España: from Menorca to Sardinia by sailboat

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

The last days in the Balearics – in Spain even – we spent in Fornells, Menorca. First we filled up with water in Ciutadella. The charge was €6 for unlimited water and a 2 hour stay, which meant we could give the entire boat a good wash and still had time to dump our rubbish and walk the dog. Then … Read More

First time med mooring

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There are two major towns on Menorca: Ciutadella in the west and Mahon, the capital of the island, in the east. We had heard that both cities were well worth a visit, so we decided to move to an anchorage close to Ciutadella to check out this town first.  Cala Santandria It was a short hop from Cala Son Saura … Read More