2010 Overview

A PLAN

We have awoken after 6 months of developing and now finishing the conversion of the old Burntisland Co-Op building into a Dance Studio (www.thespaceupstairs.com) and café.

We now find that winter and Easter have been and gone!

It is time to answer the question: are we going sailing - if so where and when? Selkie Dancer is ashore (I think/hope) at Cagliari, Sardinia. I fly out on 22 May
to do some hull maintenance before launching later that week. Jinti joins me on 27 May.

We will stay in the Cagliari area for the first week in June and then head for Malta to enable Jinti to return to Scotland over the period 22-27 July. Then across to Zankinthos/Zante in the Ionian for 10 August, Corfu area for the August Bank Holiday (27-30 Aug) and Preveza/Levkas before another spell in the UK 10-20 Sept and then an October cruise looking for somewhere to leave Selkie Dancer over the winter.

You will note 6 weeks to get from Sardinia to Malta - I suspect that we will go round the north of Sicily (possibly bouncing off Tunisia first) up to Naples, down to the Aeolian Isles, through Messina, Siracusa and on to Malta/Gozo. Malta to Zante will be a three day direct transit when the weather is "right". Then it is a loaf through the Ionian for the rest of the season.

Pretty vague but nonetheless a plan, subject to weather, ash, economic melt down and other (as yet unknown) crises/commitments!
Andy, Burntisland, April 2010

Click here to get map

To see what actually happened - press a button below

and in Conclusion ..........

We had a vintage year. How come ? Well we reached the Ionian in our own boat - the aspiration when we first dreamed of doing so ten years ago on a flotilla holiday. The passage from Sardinia via Tunisia, and Malta provided variety and challenge along with our first tuna. Greece has easily met our expectations - friendly people, clear protected and warm water, sun sun sun, glorious scenery and day after day on the anchor. We have made the adjustment from passage making, with its underlying demand to keep moving, to cruising. So now it is slow down, linger and enjoy, share hopefully with friends. In doing so I have had time to understand the boat better and give thought to how best adapt to the sun on one hand, torrential rain on the other. To cap it all we have been blessed with our first grandchild and another daughter in law.

For the record 1900 nautical sea miles on 620 litres of diesel. Further stats in due course.

For those who want more than boats
- a wedding !!!

ACTION !!!
The best laid plans etc. etc..............
This year, the general idea was that Andy would go out to the boat a few days early, do all the hard work and then I could swan on board and we would set sail - Hmmmm! As the bard said, ‘the best schemes plans gang aft agley’!
In his excitement at arriving and the thought of sailing Andy left his coat with passport and many euros in either the bus from the airport or the taxi to the marina. He only realised this on returning to the boat full of good cheer with olives and wine ready to celebrate his first night aboard and the heralding of a new sailing season. We know the feeling, the sinking heart, the desperate search and the inevitable dawning realisation that one has been a plonker.
So now, eighteen days later we have the passport but guess what? The winds are on the nose! We want to go SE, to Tunisia and that’s where this latest lot of winds are coming from. We hope to make a dash on Saturday.
However we have taken advantage of being here in Cagliari and have trodden all the well worn tourist paths. We’ve climbed the towers of San Pancrazio and Elephante, been to the underground mediaeval remains, wandered the winding old streets, tried to get to the bottom of the mystery of Italian coffees; we’ve taken a train to Iglesias and climbed the steep Buonacmmino hill to the chapel, we walked the city walls and ate a great lunch (trofie with tuna, tomatoes and black olives ;spaghetti with clams and sea asparagus - both were assolutamente deliziosa and with a good bottle of wine what more could we ask) I slept the whole way home.
We took the bus to see the ancient Phoenician/Roman ruins at Nora. We also had Tom and Jess here from Australia for a couple of days before they hired a car to visit the rest of Sardinia and Corsica – would be funny if we were still here when they return – no it won’t be!!
Arriverderci