The long range plan for Kamahele is to build and install a forward mast, which would also include a lifting boom to handle loads on and off the fore deck. This major project is on the back burner as we get the boat ready for cruising this summer. There…
Exploring Dublin
We spent our first couple of days in Dun Laoghaire exploring the area, including a visit to the nearby National Maritime Museum of Ireland and a late-afternoon walk around downtown Dublin. We strolled along statue-filled O’Connell Street, Dublin’s main thoroughfare, and along the River Liffey that runs through town, where the many bridges are beautifully…
GREECE – ARGUABLY THE WORLD’S GREATEST CRUISING AREA
Envoy is berthed in Lefkas Marina for the winter while we’re home in Auckland enjoying the exceptionally hot southern hemisphere summer.
Our future cruising plans aren’t clear at this point and we’ll have a better idea shortly.
This is an edited version of our article recently published in Pacific PowerBoat magazine.
The north-east coast of New Zealand’s North Island’s offers incredible cruising, particularly within its prime area ranging from Whitianga in the south to Whangaroa in the north, a distance of around 250 miles following the coast with about 50 offshore islands suitable for overnight anchoring along the way, a handful of which are virtually all-weather. Imagine an area many times this size with hundreds of offshore islands offering not only spectacular safe anchorages, but interesting atmospheric villages, welcoming rustic tavernas and historic ruins dating back thousands of years.
This is Greece, offering incredible cruising particularly from April through October with mostly stable warm weather, spectacular natural scenery, clean waters, areas of great historical interest, friendly and honest people, a high level of personal safety and reasonable costs. What about their economic crisis and the refugees? Well for the visitor there’s little sign of any crisis and we’ve not yet seen a single refugee as they’re mainly confined to a few islands close to Turkey.
Envoy moored stern-to in Rhodes harbour
Although thousands of boats cruise Greece during summer the area is so vast that even the popular anchorages are no more crowded than Auckland’s Kawau or Waiheke islands during holiday weekends.
You don’t need to own a boat to cruise here as there are many charter boats offered to high standards at reasonable costs. Depending on your experience level you can charter skippered or bareboat and cruise independently or as part of a flotilla. This is a great way to check out whether Med cruising is for you.
Envoy anchored off Spinalonga
July and August are hot by our standards often reaching mid 30s, although the humidity is low and the sun doesn’t have New Zealand’s high U/V level so it doesn’t seem uncomfortable. Although Envoy has air conditioning we never find conditions warrant using it, in any case preferring fresh air flowing through open windows and portholes.
It’s easy to leave your boat in a marina and travel around Greece for sightseeing using high quality and regular coaches and ferries as well as rental cars (foreign licenses accepted). Motorways connect most of the major cities, but rural roads can be pretty basic. Many people speak passable English, particularly younger ones and most people are very polite and helpful.
Supplies are readily available with most prices cheap by our standards at supermarkets, markets and smaller shops while fuel and water are widely available dockside. Interestingly fuel pumps are not common and fuel is often delivered in small road tankers.
The main convenient international airports are Athens, Corfu and Iraklion, although there are others.
Greece is a natural gateway to other destinations as it’s relatively easy to cruise north-east to Albania, Montenegro and Croatia, west to Italy and east to Turkey.
It’s not unusual to encounter wandering stock on rural roads
Greece can be broadly divided into the four main regions mentioned below:
1 Mainland including Peloponnisos
Athens can be accessed from the port of Piraeus. A guided walking tour will show you most sights with the Parthenon atop the Acropolis and its adjacent museum of particular interest.
From the port of Itea in the Gulf of Corinth you can visit Delphi’s many spectacular ruins, where in ancient times wealthy people paid a fortune to have the oracle interpreted, supposedly predicting their future.
Cruising around the Peloponnisos coast is a great experience visiting historic towns such as (west to east) Pilos, Methoni, Koroni, Kalamata, Yithion, the island of Kithera and Monemvasia.
2 Western side – Ionian Sea islands
Preveza on the mainland is a great place to rent a car to visit Meteora with its amazing ancient monasteries perched atop originally impregnable rock formations and accessed using rope ladders. Nearby Mystras has a great castle set upon a craggy hilltop. On the way you will pass through Ioannina, an historic Turkish town with an impressive lakeside castle
Anchor off the village of Parga with its narrow cobbled lanes, great waterfront and castle. Slightly further north is Mourtos with several spectacular anchorages set among several uninhabited islands.
Further north is the island of Corfu with its historic city, castles and spectacular seaside villages such as Ormos Agni, Ormos Kalami, Kassiopi and Palaiokastrita.
Just south of Corfu the island of Paxoi has great anchorages at Lakka, Longos and Gaios.
3 Eastern side – Aegean Sea islands
By far the most famous island is Santorini. Yes it’s a bit crowded, but the Caldera is unforgettable.
There are many other stunning islands contained within the Northern and Eastern Sporades, the Cyclades and Dodecanese. Watch for the Meltemi – the strong north-westerly which often blows in the afternoon and can last several days.
4 Crete
You could easily cruise a few weeks here with plenty to see. Of particular interest from east to west are Ayios Nikolaos, Rethimno, Khania, Soudha Bay (visit the New Zealand war cemetery) and stunning Gramvousa Island with its spectacular hilltop castle.
NZ war cemetery at Soudha Bay
Envoy anchored off Dia Island
Because a place isn’t mentioned in this article doesn’t mean it’s not great – there are just too many to mention! The only negatives to cruising in Greece are that the fishing is lousy (locals mostly fish using nets) and scuba diving is mostly not allowed except as part of a guided dive group (to prevent theft of artifacts).
Very shortly we’ll post an article about preparing yourselves for the live-aboard cruising life.
February 2018 Christmas – Orlando – Titusville – Charleston/Mount Pleasant, SC, Brunswick, GA, Christmas – Lakeland – Arcadia – Seffner – Brooksville – Ocala – Brooksville – Ocala
One of the advantages of living in Central Florida, besides being away from the coast and hurricane threats, is the proximity to so many places for day trips. We scooted down to Orlando to two furniture stores searching for bedroom furniture. When we left terra firma, 2008, we gave everything away except for 4 pieces of furniture so we’re starting from scratch. Thought we needed to begin the hunt before we found ourselves on the floor of our new home in sleeping bags. We know exactly what we want and that style isn’t easy to find so we need a head start. At ScanDesign, we found 6 pieces that we love and it’ll take 3 months from ordering to delivery so we can choreograph the timing.
I have an affinity for bridges and below is my many times photographed Ravenel Bridge, Charleston, SC, and on the right, the Bartram Island Bridge, Jacksonville, FL.
We made a quick trip to Charleston to take care of some business then back to Christmas, FL, and my pool du jour. We manipulated that travel so that we’d be in Brunswick, GA, in the evening to take advantage of wonderful filet mignons and cocktails at the Millhouse Steakhouse.
Then, we moved on to Lakeland for a RV Rally, which was an eye-opener. During our stay there we drove to Arcadia to visit 94 year old Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle. He is absolutely amazing and hasn’t forgotten one single thing in his 94 years. Sharp as a tack, he is!
Then, we moved on to Lakeland for a RV Rally, which was an eye-opener. During our stay there we drove to Arcadia to visit 94 year old Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle. He is absolutely amazing and hasn’t forgotten one single thing in his 94 years. Sharp as a tack, he is!
 |
| Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle
From Lakeland we moved on to Lazy Days in Seffner/Tampa for another RV gathering of our “brand” of coach. While there, we met some interesting and fun folks with whom we’ll stay in contact and expect to see again next month.
Then on to Brooksville for a Blue Grass Festival—our very first but one of those things you’ve just gotta do at least once! There was a non-blue grass group, The Atlantic City Boys, very much like Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons or The Jersey Boys, and I LOVED them! They were incredible and I grinned all the way through their performance. Besides being musically excellent, they are superb showmen with their choreographed movements.
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While in Brooksville, Bill’s antennae picked up info of a festival/display of old train engines, tractors, and trucks so he took off to Fort Meade for the day and enjoyed that. Without any meal preparation needed for the day, I was able to spread out my watercolor materials in our tiny space and paint away.
Another drive up to Ocala to check on our little rectangle of dirt being graded and prepared for the building of our home, enabling us to meet Donna and George for breakfast and Bruce and Patty for lunch. There’s NO way to eat ‘healthy’ in restaurants! We’re soon going to be too big to fit through our narrow little doors. But visiting with our friends—and getting fat—is so much fun!
From the Blue Grass Fest, we drove farther into Brooksville to have some repair/maintenance done on our coach. Fortunately, the Suncoast Trail is just a stone’s throw away from our site so the 2 days we were there we took ultimate advantage of it both walking and cycling. We all recall the old, tired, and hackneyed ‘saying’ that exercise doesn’t keep but not only that, saddle time doesn’t save, either. Both of these came home to roost. We have made great use of the Suncoast Trail both on foot and bicycle. We are either older than we thought or more out of shape than ever we would’ve believed. We aren’t old so it definitely must be the latter.
And so the month ends with us returning to Ocala and back in the same campsite we occupied for 2 months in the winter.
Bill and Laura
Aboard Monaco Dynasty Coach
Ocala, FL
February 2018 Christmas – Orlando – Titusville – Charleston/Mount Pleasant, SC, Brunswick, GA, Christmas – Lakeland – Arcadia – Seffner – Brooksville – Ocala – Brooksville – Ocala
One of the advantages of living in Central Florida, besides being away from the coast and hurricane threats, is the proximity to so many places for day trips. We scooted down to Orlando to two furniture stores searching for bedroom furniture. When we left terra firma, 2008, we gave everything away except for 4 pieces of furniture so we’re starting from scratch. Thought we needed to begin the hunt before we found ourselves on the floor of our new home in sleeping bags. We know exactly what we want and that style isn’t easy to find so we need a head start. At ScanDesign, we found 6 pieces that we love and it’ll take 3 months from ordering to delivery so we can choreograph the timing.
I have an affinity for bridges and below is my many times photographed Ravenel Bridge, Charleston, SC, and on the right, the Bartram Island Bridge, Jacksonville, FL.
We made a quick trip to Charleston to take care of some business then back to Christmas, FL, and my pool du jour. We manipulated that travel so that we’d be in Brunswick, GA, in the evening to take advantage of wonderful filet mignons and cocktails at the Millhouse Steakhouse.
Then, we moved on to Lakeland for a RV Rally, which was an eye-opener. During our stay there we drove to Arcadia to visit 94 year old Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle. He is absolutely amazing and hasn’t forgotten one single thing in his 94 years. Sharp as a tack, he is!
Then, we moved on to Lakeland for a RV Rally, which was an eye-opener. During our stay there we drove to Arcadia to visit 94 year old Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle. He is absolutely amazing and hasn’t forgotten one single thing in his 94 years. Sharp as a tack, he is!
|
| Uncle Harold and Aunt Maybelle
From Lakeland we moved on to Lazy Days in Seffner/Tampa for another RV gathering of our “brand” of coach. While there, we met some interesting and fun folks with whom we’ll stay in contact and expect to see again next month.
Then on to Brooksville for a Blue Grass Festival—our very first but one of those things you’ve just gotta do at least once! There was a non-blue grass group, The Atlantic City Boys, very much like Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons or The Jersey Boys, and I LOVED them! They were incredible and I grinned all the way through their performance. Besides being musically excellent, they are superb showmen with their choreographed movements.
|
While in Brooksville, Bill’s antennae picked up info of a festival/display of old train engines, tractors, and trucks so he took off to Fort Meade for the day and enjoyed that. Without any meal preparation needed for the day, I was able to spread out my watercolor materials in our tiny space and paint away.
Another drive up to Ocala to check on our little rectangle of dirt being graded and prepared for the building of our home, enabling us to meet Donna and George for breakfast and Bruce and Patty for lunch. There’s NO way to eat ‘healthy’ in restaurants! We’re soon going to be too big to fit through our narrow little doors. But visiting with our friends—and getting fat—is so much fun!
From the Blue Grass Fest, we drove farther into Brooksville to have some repair/maintenance done on our coach. Fortunately, the Suncoast Trail is just a stone’s throw away from our site so the 2 days we were there we took ultimate advantage of it both walking and cycling. We all recall the old, tired, and hackneyed ‘saying’ that exercise doesn’t keep but not only that, saddle time doesn’t save, either. Both of these came home to roost. We have made great use of the Suncoast Trail both on foot and bicycle. We are either older than we thought or more out of shape than ever we would’ve believed. We aren’t old so it definitely must be the latter.
And so the month ends with us returning to Ocala and back in the same campsite we occupied for 2 months in the winter.
Bill and Laura
Aboard Monaco Dynasty Coach
Ocala, FL
Fendering Take Three
When you travel the world, the boat sometimes has to be docked in less than optimum conditions. Nobody wants to med moor against a concrete wall in a large swell and without protection. But, if you want fuel in Nuku Hiva, you’ll need to be able to safely dock in these conditions. Nobody wants to…
Life In A Post-FPB World
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; …Read More
Missing Daddy
Dylan and Dee Dee had a tough day or so while Daddy flew up to Albany to check on Red Head. Mommy could tell they were a bit out of sorts. She found them lying under the winter coat he left.Or huddled close at her feet while she checked her email. Ever…
Dublin Arrival
We returned to the Republic of Ireland at Dublin after four months in the UK. Conditions on the overnight run from Liverpool were rougher than predicted, with winds blowing 30-40 kts on the bow and a maximum pitch of 21.9°. But the winds eventually settled down and we had calm weather for the last part…
The Great Selene Rendezvous
It was a chilly day at the 2003 Seattle Boat Show when Kathy and John Youngblood boarded their first Selene. I greeted them aboard, and we began the journey that would take us both half way around the world. The Youngbloods had not owned a boat nor had much experience but they had dreams, big dreams, of taking a trawler to the far reaches of the globe, dreams they shared together for years. Both had done their homework, studying all the facets of long range voyaging under power. We wrote the…
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