Gondolier School
If you ever wondered how Venetian gondoliers learn their trade, I can tell you. At Certosa Island, beside our berth, a young, pheromonal Italian lad is sculling up and down under the close guidance of…
If you ever wondered how Venetian gondoliers learn their trade, I can tell you. At Certosa Island, beside our berth, a young, pheromonal Italian lad is sculling up and down under the close guidance of…
I have written before about great arrivals – Sydney, Rio, New York and Archangel’sk. Unquestionably, Venice must be added to this list. Tired and relieved to have finally arrived, we motored along Canal di San…
Short and medium term goals are important when you are cruising. In the longer term, the whole purpose of a voyage tends to be less concrete. For now, Venice has been the object of this…
I’m so used to long hauls between marine supply outlets that I buy in bulk when I can. The local chandler here almost fell over when I asked for 16 oil and fuel filters but it…
As the lights come on around Pula Coliseum I have reluctantly to admit that electricity is here to stay. Even in boats. After 40 years of celestial navigation my two sextants haven’t been out of…
This one’s mainly about coolant, for the blokes. Anchored last night in flat water at the southern end of a lozenge-shaped island called Losenj, I checked the coolant. To my astonishment I found there had…
…at least, I hope so. In any case Mendelssohn is just perfect for this morning. In Croatia, travelling north you have to set off early to get up some miles before the northerlies kick in.…
The shouting and the tumult have died in the marina. The captains and charter kings have departed and it has been quiet, apart from the clamour of Sunday morning church bells ringing across the water…
For 15 years Chris has extolled to me the virtues of solitude. I am learning slowly, but still I dislike the company it provides. Blinged up in her Russian attire Maxine has flown home to…
We’re in Trogir, near Split. Maxine leaves tomorrow for 2 weeks’ family duty in Moscow. An unavoidable nuisance (the departure, not the woman). It has been a pleasure to have her back on board although…
The ancient Venetian port of Korcula calls itself the birthplace of Marco Polo, although Venice would strongly disagree. With more justification however, Korcula can claim to be the first place in the world to ban…
With uncharacteristically good timing we passed between the fortified headlands and entered Montenegro at sunset, digesting Tatiana’s splendid pork dish and quaffing. We motored slowly as the purple mountains became two-dimensional. Maxine has been on…
I have been reading “Darkness at Noon”. The 3 hour crossing to Corfu from Igoumenitsa passed quickly with cockpit discussions about Number One’s great purges in the 1930’s. It is ancient history for my young…
The Gulf of Corinth lies east-west and we have had fresh westerlies whistling into our faces, between the snowy tops of Mounts Parnassus and Olympia. A slow slog against short little seas. But at least…
In Tainui, Corinth is famous for 3 things – Mycenae, Acrocorinth Castle and a fouled propellor. Dealing with them in order of significance, Let me talk first about the propeller. The trip through Corinth Canal…
All boat owners know them, but the last week has been a particularly bad one for this old man. A week when a small list of fix-up jobs turns into a marathon; when everything you…
My old friend and longest-serving crewman David Lucas drowned on 12 March in the sea he loved so much. It was a vicious rip at Brunswick Heads. Such a sad loss to the world. Dave ran…
(Chris) Whoever heard of Dalaman? Fortunately, the travel agent had, and she duly sent me off into that long dark night of the soul that is the airport/terminals/plane trip from Sydney to Turkey, there to find a…
At Kythnos we finally swam. Exhilarating but seriously cold. After poking our way north through the Cyclades, a fast broad reach from Kythnos…
For two days we hunkered down in Naoussa Harbour on Paros as the wind whistled through the rigging. The strong south-easterly weather was preceded by a spectacular band of electrical storms which caught us approaching…
We have left the Dodecanese. Last night’s anchorage at Nisos Iraklia was the first of our Cycladic islands. And a lovely little spot it was. The small bay of Ayos Yeoryios has the clearest water…
We were on our way by 0730 this morning, hoping to avoid the fresh westerlies of yesterday afternoon. As it turned out, our concerns were groundless and we ambled across a glassy, empty ocean whose…
We had been recommended this anchorage by some Germans at Nisiros and we are suitably impressed. Entering the snug, landlocked bay at 4 after a bash round the northern point of Astipalaia we dropped the…
We tied up at the wharf at about 4 pm after a lovely sail. Palon is a snug harbour with tavernas lining the waterfront. A fresh beam wind made berthing a challenge, as it usually…
At 4.30 we slid into this gorgeous little bay and tied up in the centre of town. A jewel of a place. Brightly painted cottages climb steep rocky hills on all sides and tavernas line…
Well, we’re off at last. Slipping along the coast over a wan glassy sea,Tainui is at last doing once again what she was built for. All the stresses and anxieties of comissioning are behind us.…
The tourists do little to diminish the grandeur of Ephesus. For 2,000 years it was a tourist town and today’s visitors are nothing new. It may be a bit ruined, but then again Ephesus has…
…well, for this year, at least. Tainui and I are still reeling from the shock of Yat Marina Marmaris. This winter 1,000 yachts will sit in silence on the hard here, with another 700 in…
After a long and eventful summer Tainui has finally arrived. We ran east down Rhodos Strait stopping at secluded anchorages. But we were no longer alone, sharing our journey with Turkish guletts, Eurvision Song Contest…
We have decided to split the final leg to Marmaris into two short days. Refreshed and with no regrets we left at 9 am, something of a record for Tainui. South, past the east end…
Another late start. We do them so well. The 70 mile trip to Bodrum was a sleigh ride in flat water with warm sun. With Tania’s expert touch the dead remains of my casserole ascended…
The pod of large dolphins took their leave and the long coastline of Lesbos slowly faded into the dusk. We slid south between the brightly lit towns on Greek Kythos island and the Turkish mainland…
3 am. In the cockpit a cold land breeze is held at bay – only just – by our aged side curtains. Jupiter is up and about, shining bright, but apart from the barking dogs…
Sipping coffee I watched brilliant little emerald kingfishers swooping over the water. Pasha and Tatiana were shopping and Rosie was planning today’s meals. It is cold and a fresh northerly is blowing. This breeze has…
On a cold, wet and windy morning we set out into the Sea of Marmara. There could be no more stark contrast with the colour, noise, smells and exuberance of Istanbul. This is Tainui’s 5th…
We turned south into the Bosphorus just after dawn. There were more AIS targets on the chart plotter than I had seen since the entrance to the Elbe. But across the separation zone things went…
In Eregli a passing shipping agent drew my attention to our tattered Turkish courtesy flag and warned that the Coast Guard would not take kindly to it. Yet another thing to do, I thought. But he…
Amasra’s gale lasted 2 days. Tainui, safely moored, rolled in the surge and heeled to the gusts while driving rain hammered the decks. I slept or read Neal Ascherson’s splendid book on the Black Sea.…
After the Inebolu to Cide leg, by any measure the trip down here to Amasra should have been a doddle. But with continuing fresh headwinds, it was anything but. Motor-sailing into short, steep seas was…
I look at my lonely swimmers on the clothesline and think of all those lovely women – Max, Rosie Beth and the little bird – with their mess, their noise and their life-affirming enthusiasm.…
We arrived in Turkey at sunrise, after two slow nights of thunderstorms and headwinds. We are much taken with Sinop. The harbour is small and secure. The bows of fishing boats have that elegant, excessive flare…
Maxine’s efficiency, humour and enthusiasm, her overall competence as seaman, navigator, translator, ship manager and negotiator are beyond doubt. But she is not a perfect person. Little Miss Imperfect, as Bill has noted. Maxine’s Achilles…
Readers will know that yesterday was annual Kerch Day. Despite wandering thunderstorms and intermittent rain there was a festive spirit in the town – tooting car horns, fun rides, concerts, WW2 re-enactments and streets full…
With the return to Tainui of Rosie and the arrival of lovely Beth, as a male I find myself seriously outnumbered. I am unable to win arguments and…
Looking back at Azov as we motored down river I was sad to be saying goodbye to all those wonderful ships. The short stretch of the Don below Azov is just as beautiful as the…
The 200 mile passage from Azov to Kerch’ in Ukraine is divided into two equal parts.The first leg of our crossing was a gentle square run with everything poled out, warm sun, good food and…
Well, we’re off. After 3 days of rigorous and tiring negotiation and 4 hours of paperwork on board this morning, we were given clearance to leave Russia by the Port Captain and officers from the…
This is a long post but I feel the need to set down some aspects of Russia’s dark underbelly. They have loomed larger here than elsewhere, as we had been warned they would. Our epic,…