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As we cruise the Mediterranean I ponder on the fact that very few of us are fortunate enough to earn a living doing the sort of things we would choose to do for pleasure. Exactly how this happened to me I'm not quite sure – certainly not the result of brilliant planning. And more recently I have been the beneficiary of technical advances. As a writer, illustrator and yacht designer, modern developments in communication make it possible for me to ply my trade while voyaging. I write these words in Poole, England where my landbound base is. But I could just as easily be on board my boat, Shindig, cruising in Greece.
A sailing boat – the perfect travel accessory
Cruising under sail is a form of tourism – it's as simple as that. But tourism with a difference. To visit the same region first by plane then by boat is to see it in an entirely new light. The plane effectively injects you into the commercial mainstream of your destination, leaving you prey to those waiting to relieve you of your money and deprive you of the chance to see a place as it really is. A boat, on the other hand, allows you to enter through a friendlier door, more directly to the heart of a place, where from the start you meet the real locals face to face. And you take your home and those objects that identify your personality with you.
There could not possibly be a better way to travel.
Our current boat, Shindig – details of which can be seen by following the ‘Designs’ link – was launched in 2001. In 2003 we left the UK and headed south, following the French coast through that magnificent cruising area described by British yachties under the broad and geographically inaccurate term ‘South Brittany’. That winter saw us berthed in La Rochelle – a beautiful and friendly city that should figure high on every cruising sailor’s ‘must visit’ list.
We were reluctant to leave but I had undertaken to write a series of articles on the Spanish Rias for Practical Boat Owner magazine, so, the spring of 2004 saw us heading across the Bay of Biscay towards that dramatic and deeply fretted coastline that forms the north-west corner of Atlantic Spain. Being somewhat distanced from major centres of population, only a relatively few yachts visit this region, which is a great pity since it offers wonderful sailing in truly splendid surroundings and, also, as an added bonus, the opportunity to sample Asturian and Galician cuisine which is renowned throughout western Europe.
But this is no place to be in the autumn. Once the equinoxial depressions start rolling in from the west, southern Biscay can be a fearsome place. Anyway, we were eager to get on and head further south to Portimao on Portugal’s Algarve coast. For this leg of our voyage we were joined by Dick and Mary, owners of Alacazam (again follow ‘Design’ link for details) who had visited this part of the world during their trip to the West Indies a couple of years earlier.
Following our sojourn in Portugal, and after hauling Shindig out at Rota, near Cadiz for some much-needed attention, we entered the Mediterranean in 2005 and hurried eastwards to the Balearic islands where I had committed myself to another journalistic assignment. Thanks to the arrival of a grandchild (Nell, on a date showing little regard for her grandparents’ sailing schedule!) we had left it a bit late so we ticked off Formentera, Ibiza and Menorca in something of a hurry. Fortunately, we had already cruised those waters extensively so had a fair amount of prior knowledge to assist me in putting together the articles for PBO. Eventually, we arrived in Mahon where we intended to leave Shindig for the winter.
In the event, due to health issues, it proved to be two winters and it was not until the early summer of 2007 that we were in a position to continue our travels. Our first stop was Sardinia where Greg and Juliet (Spook and Vlad – see ‘Designs’) came on board to help us sail the boat to Sicily from where they were to fly home. Then, for us, it was through the Messina Strait and a brief stop in southern Italy before a hop across the Ionian Sea to Greece.
Which is where we are to this day. You can keep up with where exactly we are by visiting my cruising blog.
Anyone interested in preparing for the Med should follow this link Get Ready for the Med
