Italy

Two captains, two admirals and just one boat

Two captains, two admirals and just one boat

Zadar to Rovinj, Croatia & Venice Until last year, George and Trish owned “Gratitude,” Berkeley East’s slightly older fraternal twin. Gratitude was cast from the same mold as BE, the Hylas 54-foot raised salon, but she was a bit different. That’s the beauty of Hylas Yachts, you get the benefits of the classic, proven, Hylas […]

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Lost on the way to Croatia

Lost on the way to Croatia

Gargano Peninsula, Italy It is about 70 miles across the Adriatic Sea from Bari Italy to Lavosto Croatia. Not exactly a straight line, but close enough. So one might wonder how we ended up lost? The answer is simple, as we sailed up the coast of Italy to cross over to Croatia, we were distracted […]

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Only in Italy

Only in Italy

Puglia, Italy After three years in Greece and Turkey, Berkeley East’s return to Italy was met with much enthusiasm among the crew. The land of pizza and pasta has always been a favorite. Our arrival was very challenging, so we welcomed a good nights sleep, and calm conditions in the morning. But we were awoken […]

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One picture, a thousand words

One picture, a thousand words

Brindisi, Italy Thanks to the digital age, we take thousands of pictures each year. We cannot imagine cruising the Med with a camera that has film, which requires developing. It would simply be cost prohibiting to snap the number of photos that we do, not to mention the challenge of finding some place on remote […]

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Another day, another gale.

Another day, another gale.

Siracusa, Sicily Italy It was a beautiful, sunny, calm morning in Siracusa Sicily. Perfect conditions to dinghy into town for one last wander, before leaving our home-away-from-home for Greece. One last visit to Sicily’s most stunning piazza, one last gelato, one last browse through the lively open market, one last gathering of supplies, one last […]

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MALTA RADIO: “What is the problem?”

MALTA RADIO: “What is the problem?”

Siracusa, Sicily, Italy VESSEL: “The problem is the Captain is crazy!” This was one of the first things we heard after leaving Marina di Ragusa, Sicily to begin our 2013 cruising season. Bound for Siracusa, on a nine-hour passage to shake the cobwebs out of Berkeley East, the distress call over the VHF took us […]

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Too many toys

Too many toys

Siracusa, Sicily, Italy As we sail around the Mediterranean, we count ourselves fortunate to have a nice “yacht”. We feel Berkeley East is luxurious by sailing boat standards, with a water maker, washer dryer, microwave, electric winches, etc. We struggle with space, where to store everything and even miss some of the conveniences of home, […]

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A recap of 2012 cruising season and plan for 2013

14 May 2013 | Marina di Regusa Sicily, Italy What was your favorite place? When we return home for the winter, our landlubbing friends and family typically ask this impossible question. Last year, we visited 75 ports, in 7 counties, not to mention all of the cities that we saw by land. There just isn’t […]

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Beyond Venice

Beyond Venice

Verona, Valpoliella and Soave, Italy There is so much to see and do in Venice, that it was difficult to venture beyond the magical city, but we thought we should see some of the surrounding, less traveled area. We ran into some cruisers who had recently been to Verona and they were unenthusiastic about their […]

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Venezia

Venezia

Venice Italy Sailors go wherever the wind will take them. For cruisers, sailing is wonderful, but it usually is all about the destination. And iconic destinations are on every cruiser’s list. New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Venice, we all want to sail our boats into legendary harbors. Motoring along the inland sea to Venice was […]

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