Favignana, Italy When we first began cruising, 12 years ago, we had to put our computers in watertight bags and take them to shore to access the internet at a local coffee shop, or bar. Boat to boat communication was done via VHF or SSB radio; calls were made with a satellite phone, or more […]
Vulcano, Italy One evening during our winter in North Carolina, when it was snowing outside, and there were holes in our house, we had the brilliant idea to book Berkeley East into Barcelona’s Port Vell for her next winter break. While we typically only commit to a winter berth about halfway through the cruising season, […]
Charlotte, NC and Gaeta, Italy We usually get back to Berkeley East from our winter break by mid April. A couple weeks of boat prep and we’re off on another cruising adventure. But last fall, we decided to do some much-needed work on our home in North Carolina. What began as “deferred maintenance” (paint, new […]
We have been delayed with matters on land. All is well. We will be back on the water soon.
Cala del Core Ponza, Italy We seldom end a cruising season where we began. In fact, we typically prefer making new discoveries to repeating past experiences. But this year was an exception. While we had hoped to be in Spain for winter, our longing to revisit Northern Italy, the French Riviera, Corsica, and Sardinia, combined […]
North East Sardinia It is a well-known fact that the Italians love fast cars. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, peddle to the metal, 0 to 60 in three seconds. That fierce passion transfers to boats as well. Italian-made yachts like Azimut and Pershing can reach speeds over 25 knots, which doesn’t sound very thrilling but on a […]
Northern Sardinia, Italy We discovered long ago that our GPS has a mind of its own, always selecting the shortest route and assuming we can travel at ridiculous speeds. Consequently, we are often led along narrow, winding roads through hilltop towns and over mountains, rather than being directed to the much faster highway. While frustrating, […]
La Maddalenas, Sardinia Italy Lying at the southern end of the Straight of Bonifacio, the La Maddalena Archipelago is a group of seven islands (known as the seven sisters) and 55 tiny issolatti (scraps of land). A geomarine Italian national park, La Maddalena spans more than 20,000 hectares of land and sea, and meanders along […]
South West Corsica, France It seemed like forever since we had been off Berkeley East. The weather conditions and our remote Corsica locales made leaving the boat very difficult. So when we saw a Mistral, and ten-foot seas in the forecast, we took BE into a marina at Ajaccio for some stability, and sushi. Corsica […]
North West Corsica, France We had not stepped foot on land in four days, but as we pulled Berkeley East into the small bay outside Calvi, Corsica, we spotted the beach café on shore and smiled at the thought of some time on terra firma. We made sure BE’s hook was dug in and she […]
