For some reason, every time the Levinsons join us, we find ourselves struggling with mother nature.
This time, they joined us for a week and we planned to sail together from Montenegro to Corfu.
We thought we had a lot of spare time, but eventually at this point, Tzvika and his family are still waiting for the ferry boat to be able to leave the port due to the bad weather.
So it all started when they joined us in Kotor bay in an unusually hot afternoon. After two weeks of lovely weather, there were now very hot days expected after which a gail in the Adriatic sea was expected.
We started by sailing the Kotor bay and spending the night in the nice bay of Bigova, just outside Kotor bay. We put all our bay gear in the water, including the kayak, the dinghy, inflatables, etc. It was a nice quiet night in the bay.
Looking forward, we realized we may have problem getting to Corfu on time, so we decided we leave Montenegro the next morning to Italy, beating a South wind, and then hopefully cross back to Corfu after the storm dies.
The weather had other plans.
So, next day, we docked at Budva, trying to make the departure arrangements. While doing the paperwork, the customs officer asked if I had a bottle of wine for him and for the police. I was amazed by the request and told him I don't drink wine... After I left, I saw an Italian skipper approaching the offices with two bottles of white wine...
Anyway, we moved from the noisy town, to anchor under the interesting island of SV. Stephan. The island who hosts celebrities, and government officials, looked great at the sunset.
On Tuesday morning, at 3:45AM, we left SV. Stephan heading to Otranto, Italy. In a couple of hours the wind picked up and steadied on 15Kts close hauled, what made us run in 20Kt winds, healing dramatically all the way across the Adriatic sea. As the day went by, the wind became more South and we had to just do the best we can to get into Bridisi (about 40 miles North of our desired destination).
Anyway, running all day, the 102 miles to Bridisi in strong healing and some nasty waves, was a challenge to everyone. Almost all the crew was feeling sea sick at some point, although the boat was running steady against the wind.
We had a lovely visit of a school of dolphins, as if they realized we can't go to the bow to watch their ride, they came over making spectacular jumps right in front of our eyes. It was a beautiful sight.
At 8pm we were docked in Brindisi.
On Tuesday, 11am, we left Brindisi, with empty water tanks (there was no water in Brindisi for some reason) towards Otranto.
We arrived at Otranto at 6pm, to find out that the dock was full and the only place we could stay is on the cargo pier, which is on the main breaker, close to the entrance to the harbor, with no water supply and a little bit exposed.
An hour later, an Italian HR42 asked to moor long side to us, and we agreed. They are very nice people from Venice, the owner is a originally from the Jewish community of Corfu but he grew up in Venice.
At midnight, the wind started blowing at 30-32 kts, but the sea was still OK and standing at the dock was manageable except the fact the all the black dirt of the cargo area blew right into our boat, getting everything inside and out dusted with a thick black dust.
The night between Wednesday and Thursday was even worse. We lost two lines during the night as the load of two boats was too heavy on them adding the fact that the lines shaffed against the cement quay. We replaced and doubled all the lines with a very thick and flexible line we have on board that we're using now for the first time.
Getting off the boat is really a challenge as the wind pushes the boats off the quay and you have to pull on two boats to get yourself ashore.
Water. Luckily we have a water maker on board. We've living for the last 3 days on that only. We're running the water maker (together with the engine), for a few hours a day to give us water to wash our hands, wash dishes, and some showers. We mainly take showers in the marina.
It's amazing how we can empty 420 liters in 24 hours on one day but manage with very little water on another.
Since the Levinsons have a flight to catch from Corfu tomorrow night, they bought ferry tickets from Brindisi to Corfu, and reserved a hotel in Corfu.
They left us at 11:30 this morning, planning to catch the 3pm fast ferry to Corfu.
When they arrived at Brindisi, they found out that ferry is being delayed, waiting for the weather to calm down! I guess the sea out there is really high!
Hopefully they'll leave sometime during the night.
Anyway, we had interesting adventures with the Levinsons, as we did 5 years ago with them on a charter boat in Greece.
The Levinsons coped with challenges very well, and made a lot of progress in their sailing practice. Tsvika can now do two knots (bowline and hitch knot) and mastered jumping off the boat and tying her to the dock. Ilana is feeling great at sea, and was able to make sandwiches and cheer everyone while running against the sea. Hadar was great friends with Noga and Yasmin and learned to do the "Turkish head" knot (I have no idea how it's called in proper English). Shaked is ready for his cruising diploma. He managed to control the Raymarine instruments, steer the boat and do all the navigation work.
Noga was in charge of the laptop and taught Hadar and Shaked, together with Yasmin, everything about living on board. She was also great help with setting up the mainsail and taking care of the fenders before we dock. Yasmin was charming and had a lot in common with Hadar. She really mastered about 10 knots and she can do a bowline in 2 seconds! She's also a great helmsman, steering beautifully when going close hauled.
The both hosted our friends brilliantly. And of course Yael, my lovely wife, who made sure we have everything we need on board, took great care of the boat, waking in the middle of the night double docking lines and so on.
More soon...
All this Adriatic see journey pictures can be found at:
Eyal
This time, they joined us for a week and we planned to sail together from Montenegro to Corfu.
We thought we had a lot of spare time, but eventually at this point, Tzvika and his family are still waiting for the ferry boat to be able to leave the port due to the bad weather.
So it all started when they joined us in Kotor bay in an unusually hot afternoon. After two weeks of lovely weather, there were now very hot days expected after which a gail in the Adriatic sea was expected.
We started by sailing the Kotor bay and spending the night in the nice bay of Bigova, just outside Kotor bay. We put all our bay gear in the water, including the kayak, the dinghy, inflatables, etc. It was a nice quiet night in the bay.
Looking forward, we realized we may have problem getting to Corfu on time, so we decided we leave Montenegro the next morning to Italy, beating a South wind, and then hopefully cross back to Corfu after the storm dies.
The weather had other plans.
So, next day, we docked at Budva, trying to make the departure arrangements. While doing the paperwork, the customs officer asked if I had a bottle of wine for him and for the police. I was amazed by the request and told him I don't drink wine... After I left, I saw an Italian skipper approaching the offices with two bottles of white wine...
Anyway, we moved from the noisy town, to anchor under the interesting island of SV. Stephan. The island who hosts celebrities, and government officials, looked great at the sunset.
On Tuesday morning, at 3:45AM, we left SV. Stephan heading to Otranto, Italy. In a couple of hours the wind picked up and steadied on 15Kts close hauled, what made us run in 20Kt winds, healing dramatically all the way across the Adriatic sea. As the day went by, the wind became more South and we had to just do the best we can to get into Bridisi (about 40 miles North of our desired destination).
Anyway, running all day, the 102 miles to Bridisi in strong healing and some nasty waves, was a challenge to everyone. Almost all the crew was feeling sea sick at some point, although the boat was running steady against the wind.
We had a lovely visit of a school of dolphins, as if they realized we can't go to the bow to watch their ride, they came over making spectacular jumps right in front of our eyes. It was a beautiful sight.
At 8pm we were docked in Brindisi.
On Tuesday, 11am, we left Brindisi, with empty water tanks (there was no water in Brindisi for some reason) towards Otranto.
We arrived at Otranto at 6pm, to find out that the dock was full and the only place we could stay is on the cargo pier, which is on the main breaker, close to the entrance to the harbor, with no water supply and a little bit exposed.
An hour later, an Italian HR42 asked to moor long side to us, and we agreed. They are very nice people from Venice, the owner is a originally from the Jewish community of Corfu but he grew up in Venice.
At midnight, the wind started blowing at 30-32 kts, but the sea was still OK and standing at the dock was manageable except the fact the all the black dirt of the cargo area blew right into our boat, getting everything inside and out dusted with a thick black dust.
The night between Wednesday and Thursday was even worse. We lost two lines during the night as the load of two boats was too heavy on them adding the fact that the lines shaffed against the cement quay. We replaced and doubled all the lines with a very thick and flexible line we have on board that we're using now for the first time.
Getting off the boat is really a challenge as the wind pushes the boats off the quay and you have to pull on two boats to get yourself ashore.
Water. Luckily we have a water maker on board. We've living for the last 3 days on that only. We're running the water maker (together with the engine), for a few hours a day to give us water to wash our hands, wash dishes, and some showers. We mainly take showers in the marina.
It's amazing how we can empty 420 liters in 24 hours on one day but manage with very little water on another.
Since the Levinsons have a flight to catch from Corfu tomorrow night, they bought ferry tickets from Brindisi to Corfu, and reserved a hotel in Corfu.
They left us at 11:30 this morning, planning to catch the 3pm fast ferry to Corfu.
When they arrived at Brindisi, they found out that ferry is being delayed, waiting for the weather to calm down! I guess the sea out there is really high!
Hopefully they'll leave sometime during the night.
Anyway, we had interesting adventures with the Levinsons, as we did 5 years ago with them on a charter boat in Greece.
The Levinsons coped with challenges very well, and made a lot of progress in their sailing practice. Tsvika can now do two knots (bowline and hitch knot) and mastered jumping off the boat and tying her to the dock. Ilana is feeling great at sea, and was able to make sandwiches and cheer everyone while running against the sea. Hadar was great friends with Noga and Yasmin and learned to do the "Turkish head" knot (I have no idea how it's called in proper English). Shaked is ready for his cruising diploma. He managed to control the Raymarine instruments, steer the boat and do all the navigation work.
Noga was in charge of the laptop and taught Hadar and Shaked, together with Yasmin, everything about living on board. She was also great help with setting up the mainsail and taking care of the fenders before we dock. Yasmin was charming and had a lot in common with Hadar. She really mastered about 10 knots and she can do a bowline in 2 seconds! She's also a great helmsman, steering beautifully when going close hauled.
The both hosted our friends brilliantly. And of course Yael, my lovely wife, who made sure we have everything we need on board, took great care of the boat, waking in the middle of the night double docking lines and so on.
More soon...
All this Adriatic see journey pictures can be found at:
 |
| Princess Nayeli Adriatic summer 2011 |
Eyal
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