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Posted by Natassa on August 29, 2023August 29, 2023

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Magna Graecia

Methoni is an example of a great anchorage and I was sad to let it go. Alas, the wind changes, and the life of the sailor is bound to its whims. The forecast for the next 3 days looked promising to sail to Sicily, although we would take a rather longer route: we would first…

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by Natassa September 9, 2023September 9, 2023

The land of Ks; Kythira, Kalamata and Koroni

Our first night sailing for the season was upon us. We had already agreed to both stay up the whole night instead of doing night shifts because of the short duration of the trip. I was equally excited and worried about this trip. Would the wind be OK? Would Elena sleep through the night? We…

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by Natassa August 29, 2023August 29, 2023

Marvelous Milos

On Monday, 26th June, we left our peaceful anchorage in Polyagos to sail to what would eventually become our home for the next two weeks, Milos. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades. We had a pleasant, half/upwind sailing. We even managed to see one of the island’s highlights, the village Klima, a long…

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by Natassa August 10, 2023

Cycladic Blue

It was a cloudy Sunday with good wind and at 8:00 we lifted our anchor from Despotiko and set sail to Sifnos, another island in the Cyclades group. Sifnos is a picture-perfect Cyclades island, with its quaint white-blue houses, pristine beaches, and gray-white winding alleys. We Med-moored (anchor in the bow and tied the stern…

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by Natassa August 2, 2023

Less is More

There is a complex of small islands and rocks, south-east of Naxos known as Lesser Cyclades or Small Cyclades. The main Lesser Cyclades are Ano Koufonisi, Kato Koufonisi, Irakleia, Schoinoussa, Donousa, and Keros. If you had ever been there, you would agree with the motto “Less is more”! The date is Saturday, the 10th of…

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by Natassa July 5, 2023

Wild, Wild East

Samos was lovely but we had to get a move on if we ever wanted to visit other islands. And so, on the afternoon of Saturday, 3rd June we released our lines and set course to Fournoi, a small little island a few miles southwest of Samos. But Aelos had other plans; we were caught…

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by Natassa June 17, 2023

Serene Samos

If I had to describe Samos in a few words, those would be peaceful, quiet, green, and serene. An island with rich history, wine production from ancient times, and homeland to Pythagoras, the famous mathematician, and Aristarchus of Samos, the known astronomer. But let me rewind first. The date is Friday, the 26th of May…

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by Natassa June 12, 2023

Ma(je)stic Chios and the “Richest” Greek Island

19/05/2023: We left at the first light heading south. What a trip! We sailed downwind, half wind, no wind (motor), and then finally downwind again while we were rounding the corner of our next destination: Oinousses. Entering Oinousses is quite spectacular, as the surrounding islets make the entrance almost hidden, the wind disappears and a…

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by Natassa June 6, 2023

In the birthplace of Sappho..

Despite our plans for Saturday, 13th May to spend it with our family friends and enjoy some seafood by the water, we instead released our mooring lines and set sail for Lesvos. Sailing life! Lesvos may have not been painted with the nicest colors in the last years due to the refugee situation but it…

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by Natassa May 31, 2023May 30, 2023

Let me tell you about Lemnos..

Although we adored being on our private paradise island, the wind predictions were dire, meaning we had to get moving or otherwise we would be stuck in Chalkidiki for another week. And so we did, on Friday, 5th May, we put our anchor up and hoisted our sails with one reef on. If I had…

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by Natassa May 21, 2023May 20, 2023

On the (water) road again..

Almost six months. Almost six months we spent in Thessaloniki, my hometown, surrounded by family and friends, enjoying sunny weather and tasty food. Months full of activities, trips, celebrations of Christmas and New Year, birthdays, and Easter. Months full of love and belonging, reconnecting and exploring. Half a year of our lives and it felt…

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by Natassa May 17, 2023May 16, 2023

Home Sweet Home!

On October 19th, 2022, a day after we arrived at Oreoi, we released our lines and set sail to Skiathos. Skiathos belongs to Sporades and it’s a small, green, and vibrant island. First time I visited Skiathos I was 18 years old and I went with all my friends, (like a real adult) so it…

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by Natassa April 11, 2023April 11, 2023

Melt (emi) down

They say that a cruiser’s plan is written in sand at low tide, forever changing with the tides. And in our case, it could not be further from the truth. We never planned to sail to Euboea. We never planned to cross Euboea. And moreover, we never thought that crossing it would take us almost two weeks…

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by Natassa February 6, 2023April 11, 2023

A bridge too far

On the morning of 18th September, we set sail to Itea. We had the most wind so far, with gusts up to 30knots, but with one reef and some careful steering from Jelle, we did beautifully! We also crossed the Rio-Antirrio bridge, one of the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges (2880 meters long!), a very…

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by Natassa October 23, 2022October 23, 2022

Libra’s Odyssey

It took Odysseas 20 years to return to his beloved Ithaca from Troy but we hoped for a much shorter trip considering we started from Meganisi and we wouldn’t encounter any witches, mythical creatures and Poseidon’s Fury. Indeed, it took us a few hours of beautiful upwind/half wind sailing and speed that even reached 7.5…

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by Natassa October 6, 2022October 7, 2022

The Ionian

The world moves on and so we did, and on Friday, 28th August we left our beautiful marina in Corfu and headed towards Syvota, a small village on the mainland. After a beach morning for Elena and myself, while Jelle was catching up on work, we moved forward to another beautiful bay, called 2 Rocks.…

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by Natassa October 3, 2022

Kerkyra, Kerkyra me to Pontikonisi

Yes, the time had come to complete our first ( with Elena) long sailing trip, meaning to sail through the night! We made the boat ready, cleaned it well, and mentally prepared for our more than 180NM trip! And what a trip it was! We cleared the customs in Bar, Montenegro on Wednesday, 25th August,…

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by Natassa September 12, 2022September 25, 2022

The Black Mountain

Our sail to Montenegro was anything less than spectacular and by that, I mean we motored all 25 miles into the Bay of Kotor. We did manage to sail one WHOLE hour inside the bay, which was quite exciting as we were going with 7.5 knots(!) but we soon had to stop in Zlenika and…

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by Natassa September 11, 2022April 11, 2023

King’s Landing & Pool Bars

On 14th August we left the beautiful Saplunara bay, not unwillingly cause the swell did not guarantee us a good night’s sleep and headed to Dubrovnic, our last stop in Croatia. Dubrovnic is majestic. Yet another UNESCO heritage city, it’s surrounded by medieval walls, steep and narrow streets,, and sparkling waters. We managed to anchor…

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by Natassa September 8, 2022April 11, 2023

Meeting the Jovicas

Before we left Hvar, we had talked with George, the father-in-law of Jelle’s sister ( yes, I know, all this family stuff is confusing) and he would be in Croatia the same period we would be! Unfortunately, we could not sail all the way to Metcovic where he was based but we settled for Blace,…

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by Natassa August 26, 2022April 11, 2023

Hvar-e are we?

Sailing to Hvar was pure joy, with light winds of 10 knots but half-wind so we reached 6 to 6.5 knots of speed! The weather predictions were of strong westerly winds and afraid of the possible swell in the port of Stari Grad ( still the awful swell of the Supertar port lingered in our…

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by Natassa August 15, 2022April 11, 2023

Let’s Split and Brac up

Sailing to Brač was almost no sailing at all. There was hardly any wind so we pretty much motor sailed our way from Trogir to Supertar, the northern town of Brač. Brač is the third largest island in the Adriatic sea and the largest island in all of Dalmatia. We threw our anchor in the…

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by Natassa August 7, 2022April 11, 2023

UNESCO heritage sites? Check!

Preko was exactly opposite Zadar so after less than an hour on the motor, we arrived. However, the marina in Zadar was full so we had to go to the other marina, a little further. D-Marina Borik had finger berths, laundrette, hot showers, super helpful and friendly staff- pure luxury! It also cost 140 euros…

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by Natassa August 1, 2022April 11, 2023

Entering the Dalmatian coast

We left my beloved Rovinj on the morning of 9th July and set course to an anchorage known as Portic. We had a beautiful upwind sailing, with smooth seas and fast speed. However, during our sail we saw a forest fire near Pula and we started a discussion about fires in the summer in the…

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by Natassa July 25, 2022April 11, 2023

Navigating in Istria

Our very first sailing trip for 2022 was between Koper, Slovenia, and Umag, Croatia. During this 4,5- hour trip, we crossed countries and sailed 20NM. It was not a lot, but it was so great to be in the water again, to feel the sea breeze in your hair and the taste of salt on…

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by Natassa July 11, 2022

And so it begins..

After months and months of getting ready and upgrading the boat and more importantly, mentally preparing for our sailing trip, the moment of truth has finally arrived! Here we are, all 3 of us, with a fully loaded boat, with new sails, a brand-new bimini, a revised engine, and a million other checks and upgrades…

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by Natassa July 11, 2022July 11, 2022

More than 5,000 miles!!!

On the 20th of June, a few days after our return from the great wedding in Greece, we hoisted our sails and headed to Santa Maria. Why? We had decided to buy a Windpilot, a German-made wind vane from the lovely Spanish couple we met while on the island. And so we did. This time…

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by Natassa September 30, 2019April 16, 2020

The Blue (And Green) Lagoon

Sao Miguel is something of a fairytale, with its blue volcanic lakes, green landscapes and 18th century houses and buildings. It resembles Scotland strongly, not only due to its impressive steep cliffs and all the shades of green, but also due to the vast amount of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, you name it; an island…

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by Natassa July 11, 2019April 16, 2020

Az-where-es?

On 10th May at 13:00 we turned on our motor, hoisted our sails and bid our farewells at Porto Santo, our port for the last month. The sea was very calm and the winds were light, around 7 knots, so we decided to kill the engine and hoist our spinnaker. What a great decision! Libra…

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by Natassa May 23, 2019April 16, 2020

The Garden of Portugal

Our days in Porto Santo took off on a rocky start. As soon as we safely moored Libra in our pontoon, the Police (GNR) and the Customs (Duane) team, a whole bunch of people, accompanied by a fat Labrador appeared. Two military guys with heavy army boots and military clothes together with the poor, fat…

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by Natassa May 9, 2019April 15, 2020

Hiking trails and tiny islands

Graciosa is a small but beautiful island. We did a little walk with Jelle to the anchorage, “Playa Francesca”, which is considered one of the best in the Canaries. Although the bay looked nice and the surroundings beautiful, the boats in anchor were rolling so we decided that the harbor was good enough for us…

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by Natassa April 23, 2019April 13, 2020

March: The Birthday Month

Tenerife was a short stop, only spent a night at marina San Miguel and before the first light, around 4 o’clock in the morning we hoisted our sails and set course for Las Palmas. The trip was beautiful, we sailed upwind, but the sun was shining, the sea was almost flat and Libra glided through…

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by Natassa April 2, 2019April 13, 2020

3 weeks, 3 islands!

Albeit February is the shortest month of the year, we managed to visit 5 islands, starting from Tenerife, sailing to La Gomera for a day, then La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, then again to Tenerife and back to Gran Canaria! On the 4th February we left Tenerife to sail to La Gomera. It was…

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by Natassa March 15, 2019April 13, 2020

Volcanoes, Orcas and Water Slides

On the 27th January we left Puerto Mogan anchorage in Gran Canaria and sailed to San Miguel marina, in Tenerife. Nothing particular about this marina, apart from it being quite sheltered from all winds and has minimal swell inside. The next day we rent a car from our favorite CICAR company, and we got a…

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by Natassa March 9, 2019April 13, 2020

Gran Canaria: A miniature continent!

The first week of the new year found us in a spring-cleaning mode. Feeling the need to do a proper cleaning in and out of the boat and also as a preventive measure for the cockroaches roaming in the piers, we spent the next days taking all our belongings out of the boat, removing panels,…

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by Natassa February 6, 2019March 21, 2020

Christmas Special Edition

Following the Dutch tradition, we had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, aka 24th December. The plan was simple but ingenious, we would all cook of one or two dishes and we would gather at Ben.nl boat and eat and drink all together. Despite the awful morning, where Jelle and I watched a catamaran sinking…

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by Natassa January 19, 2019March 21, 2020

Start of An Anchor Voyage-Part 2

On 30th November we lifted up our anchor and started our motor with direction the Lobos island. Arriving there, however, the sea was so restless and the swell so big, that anchoring there for the night did not seem a very good idea. So, we hoisted our sails and headed towards Puerto del Rosario, the…

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by Natassa January 16, 2019March 20, 2020

Start of An Anchor Voyage-Part 1

After 2 weeks in the marina, it felt so good hoisting the sails again and feeling the cool breeze against our faces! The sea was smooth, the sun was shining and Libra was gracefully gliding over the sea in our upwind sailing. We had a nice speed and reached our destination fairly quickly; Playa Quemada.…

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by Natassa December 12, 2018March 20, 2020

Crossing to Canaries? Check!

We left Portimao on Thursday, 1st November at 10 am, filled with great memories, heartbreak over Chica and a new crew member; Jelle’s dad, Tom. We had quite a trip, as many things did not go as planned and some damages occurred, but we made it sound and safe and in record time! The first…

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by Natassa November 21, 2018March 20, 2020

Portimao: The Lotus-eating City

Portimao is a convenient stop for many yachts, as it is an ideal location to either enter the Med or cross the Atlantic towards Madeira or Canary islands. However, most of the people going there, despite having many grand sailing plans, tend to just stay in the beautiful marina, bedazzled by the good weather, fresh…

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by Natassa November 16, 2018March 20, 2020

This is the story of the Hurricane

After arriving to Cascais on the 28th September, we decided to stay a bit in this beautiful bay and enjoy the summer days. The first day we did our famous “dinghy beach landing” and I picked up groceries in our new favorite supermarket, Jumbo, while Jelle was watching over our dingy. We did spent most…

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by Natassa October 21, 2018March 20, 2020

In the footsteps of the great explorers

It is been long time (longer than usual) since our last update, we know, but we did quite a trip since our last post, we are now in Cascais, Portugal and our log writes 2385 nautical miles!! On Saturday, 15th September we left our anchorage at Camarinas and headed towards Cabo Finistere, where we anchored…

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by Natassa September 28, 2018March 20, 2020

Living La Vida Libra

On Thursday, 6th September, we left our beautiful, sheltered anchorage at St Yvette and headed towards South. We had perfect sailing conditions, sunny and windy enough to allow us to sail with a constant 7.3 knots of speed! We also witness an amazing dolphin show, as dolphins absolutely LOVE Libra! At night we crossed the…

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by Natassa September 14, 2018March 19, 2020

Brexit, Vive la France!

Our last evening in Dublin was fun, as we had friends over at Libra, something we did last in July! However, our last night was far from fun as Libra started rocking violently in the middle of the night and we suddenly heard a loud BANG ,which made our hearts jump off our chests. We…

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by Natassa September 5, 2018March 19, 2020

More than 1000 nautical miles!

The last days we had change of plans due to predicted storms, however we managed to leave Scotland and reach Ireland within a week! We wished to visit Armadale Castle and Loch Moidart, but our trusted Windfinder app forecasted strong winds for the following days, which made us change our route and head South as…

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by Natassa August 22, 2018March 19, 2020

Sky(e) is the limit!

This week we sailed around and explored the island of Skye and what an adventure it was! On Saturday, 4th of August, the weather was dry for a change and we managed to do some half wind sailing until we reached the south of Island Skye, at Loch Harport. Carbost is the town next to…

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by Natassa August 13, 2018March 19, 2020

The colour green

If you ask someone to describe Scotland in one word, i bet it would be “green”. This country possesses all shades of green, from its hills and mountains to its plants, flowers, even its water sometimes! As far as you can see, you can always spot green trees of all sizes and shapes, surrounded by…

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by Natassa August 4, 2018March 19, 2020

From East to West

Further in the Caledonian channel, we encountered Loch Oich, the most beautiful lake to our opinion, but it could also be that the weather was finally sunny and warm, making all sourroundings brighter and greener! We saw the Invergarry castle and a creepy monument, called the Seven Heads well, which was built to commemorate a…

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by Natassa July 30, 2018March 19, 2020

Cutting Scotland in half

Leaving Edinburgh was a hard decision, but going towards the Caledonian channel filled us with excitement, so in spite of waking up at 6:30 on Sunday, 15th July, we were thrilled to set sail to Inverness! During most of the trip we were lucky with the weather, we had current with us and we managed…

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by Natassa July 22, 2018March 19, 2020

Beautiful scenery, upwind sailing and a city stuck in time

Following months of preparation and anticipation, our beautiful Libra was ready to splash and we were more than ready to go. Hence, on Saturday, 8th July our trip towards the North began! We passed through the Stellendam lock and we were finally in the sea, awfully excited for our new adventure! The weather was good,…

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by Natassa July 14, 2018January 29, 2020

Libra: The refurbishing

Although Libra was in a very good state, despite her old age (19 years old!), there were several things which needed adjustment, repair or even change. That was expected. However, the amount of work and skills needed was not expected at all! Nobody could really prepare me or Jelle for the cost or effort which…

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by Natassa July 9, 2018January 26, 2020

No man is an island

Although sailing around with your partner may sound idyllic, sometimes you feel the need to discuss and see other people. Hence, when Babis and Ingrid said they wanted to visit, we couldn’t be happier!! The guys came last night with the car to Veere and Jelle picked them up with the dingy and brought them…

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by Natassa October 7, 2017January 26, 2020

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The plan was simple. We wanted to visit Neeltje Jans park which was on the shore and we were anchoring. As usual, we took our dinghy to the shore. But the shore was nothing like a sandy beach!Big, slippery building blocks, full of grass and mud, perfect for a skilled rock climber…which I am not!…

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by Natassa August 30, 2017January 26, 2020

Vlissingen, Veere and..Unmarked Territory?

After getting some well-needed rest in Vlissingen, we had a big breakfast and decided to leave our lovely port towards North. The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm, we had 21 degrees! It finally felt like summer! We motored through the a picturesque channel called “Kanaal door Walcheren” and we passed 7 bridges along the…

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by Natassa August 25, 2017January 26, 2020

50 Shades of Grey

Still in England, trying to get used to this grey weather, we left our anchorage spot north of the “Mersea Island” and sailed towards the “Osea Island”. We were lucky with the wind as we managed finally to sail, with quite some speed and we also witnessed a sailing regatta with some old “CK” English…

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by Natassa August 22, 2017January 26, 2020

The decision

Jelle has been sailing since a very young age and sailing around the world has always been a dream for him. On the other hand, I also love to travel and had experience with motorboats but never tried sailing before meeting Jelle. Salining and me? Love at first sight! The wind in your face, the…

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by Natassa March 9, 2016January 26, 2020

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