Swedish Midsummer in Menorca

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

One of the main purposes of travelling is getting to know other cultures. Funnily enough, the last few weeks we have not experienced so much of the local culture of the Balearics, but instead we have learned a lot of Swedish customs – thanks to our friends on s/y Wilma. One of the most important holidays in Sweden is Midsummer, and this … Read More

Sailing North Mallorca

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

We really liked Cala Tuent. It was only a few minutes with the dinghy to go ashore and there were bins just at the top of the concrete pier we used as the dinghy dock, which meant it was very easy to get rid of our rubbish. People came to the beach during the day but it never got really … Read More

Sailing along the west coast of Mallorca

Margriet KapteynUnderwayLeave a Comment

The distance between Ibiza and Mallorca is about 50 nautical miles, which is a nice daysail. We did not have enough wind so we ended up keeping the engine on for most of the journey. So far this year we have been able to sail quite a lot, so we didn’t mind so much. We headed to one of the … Read More

Exploring Ibiza by sailboat and by foot

Margriet KapteynUnderway2 Comments

The few days we spent in Formentera passed by quickly with barbecues on Goodvibes, trips ashore with the Puppy and generally relaxing and hanging out with our friends. The water was as gorgeous as we remembered from last year, but the weather was a little bit disappointing. While Northern Europe was getting 30 degrees and had the warmest May on … Read More

The White Raven, an authentic sailboat

Margriet KapteynUnderway4 Comments

One day at anchor in Mar Menor we received the following invitation from our neighbour on a beautiful ketch flying the Dutch flag: Of course we were up to nosing around somebody else’s boat, particularly a beautiful one such as  De Witte Raaf (‘White Raven’). The next day, we picked up some of our friends from the other boats with … Read More

Receiving a Mayday: immigrants at sea

Margriet KapteynUnderway6 Comments

We left Mar Menor to cross to Formentera in a fleet of 5 boats. We took the 10am bridge opening and from leaving Mar Menor up until later in the evening we had a lovely sail doing about 4 knots on average. Then the wind died down and we turned on the engine because the mainsail was just flapping around. … Read More

Meeting fellow sailors when cruising

Margriet KapteynUnderway1 Comment

Last year we barely met any other sailors. This year – so far at least – it has been the opposite. During the winter in Gibraltar we met various fellow sailors that we’ve stayed in touch with. Because a lot of people head east from Gibraltar to the Balearics, it’s very likely you meet up with each other again somewhere … Read More

Sailing in bad weather around Cabo de Gato

Margriet KapteynUnderway4 Comments

It is Wednesday 9th May 2018, 14:03. We have just left the anchorage in Aguilas and are heading towards Cartagena 25 nautical miles away. There is very little wind so we had to put the engine on. We want to arrive in daylight so the speed under sails of 2 nm was not really fast enough. So far it is … Read More

The first sail of the season 2018

Margriet KapteynUnderway7 Comments

Preparing for our second sailing season  End of April 2018. After being settled in Gibraltar for 7 months, we needed a few weeks to get sailing ready again. Because the weather had been so bad in March and April we hadn’t had a chance to do all the necessary preparations yet.  The main job was to fit our new solar … Read More

5 things I learned cruising a sailboat as a beginner

Margriet KapteynLiving aboard15 Comments

steering a sailboat

Jon’s previous sailing experience: as a young boy he used to sail his dad’s mirror on the Keurbooms River in South Africa. After 15 days of sailing in recent years, mainly as part of the Competent Crew, Day Skipper and practice courses, he decided he was ready to deliver Goodvibes from Mallorca to Gibraltar (with the extremely valuable assistance of one Yachtmaster crew), … Read More