Sunny Sardinia

 Sardinia is beautiful! Joseph and I completed 195 miles to cross from Menorca to Sardinia. The trip was uneventful and enjoyable. We had very little wind and were forced to motor the whole way there. I did the last night watch and truly enjoyed every minute of it. I was all alone under the stars with no other boats or lights or land in sight. It really is an almost religious experience with the sounds of the water and the stars all lit up above.

We arrived in Sardinia just as the sun was setting. In order to save some money and enjoy the island we decided to anchor for the night. Joseph read about a great marine reserve called Porto Conte.  We pulled in and put the anchor down. I am usually in charge of the anchor although my duties have been revoked due to the fact that I did not put enough chain down and in the middle of the night the anchor alarm went off and we had drifted about 500 feet from where we originally laid the anchor. Joseph has since explained to me the importance and the ratio of chain to depth of water. When I looked at our GPS I noticed that we drifted by 2 big rocks…must have been a gift from God that we did not hit them. To my defense the wind began blowing up to 35 knots after we went to sleep.  The wind was so strong that the fishing boats did not leave port for three days. We knew the weather was serious !

We spent the following day exploring the reserve. That night we decided to stay anchored but Joseph did not sleep at all because he was suffering from PTSD from the night before. He got up 10 times to check the anchor. I slept like a baby! Wind was blowing very strong again.
  A view from the plane of where we anchored

The following afternoon we decide to head to a marina so Joseph would sleep and we could charge the batteries. We ended up staying 4 nights in a local marina due to the very, very high winds. Since it is not high season it only cost 20 euro to stay.  We had a couple lovely day trips into the city of Alghero. I really enjoyed walking and shopping in the old city. The Italians can get fired up easily. I thought the Spanish were loud but the Italians have them beat!  I like seeing all the different styles of the countries and have come realize that it does not matter if it doesn’t match. The Europeans wear what is comfortable and what they like. The food in Sardinia has been fairly good. We had a nice dinner at a local Trattoria. For dessert of course Tiramisu …so good!!!

 

 

 Joseph in the candy store

 A Moroccan man engraving text on our wooden spoon

  After enjoying Alghero we headed south to an anchorage just half way to Portoscuso. We needed to get going as we are hoping and planning on meeting some family members in Sicily! I can’t wait. The sail was easy, lots of motoring again.
We arrived in Portoscuso and then Joseph’s cousin Joy and her husband Christian joined us. We were lucky to get a break from the wind and waves in order to make it to the bottom of Sardinia to meet them. They are a very nice couple who we enjoy spending time with. Joy is a real estate agent and also does a local television show in Cologne. It is like a House Hunters only in German. Christian is a finish carpenter/cabinet maker. They spent two days sailing with us. Both are wonderful boat

guests and  both a blast to be around! They are boat sitting for Zimbabalooba while Joseph and I head to Ireland for a wedding.  
 

Joy and I enjoying dinner!

 Joseph and Christian enjoying the local beer!

  We stopped in London and saw the London Bridge and Thames River. It was very cool to see in person. I did not realize how large London is.  I am actually on the high speed leaving London and heading back to Stansted to fly on Ryanair(joke) to Ireland. Ryanair has seats that do not recline! I was shocked. Joseph says it is normal because the owner wouldn’t pay for the feature. Also no drinks or snacks for free.  I know these are very minimal problems in the world, I am just sharing.  
 Joseph and I in London

 On the high speed train they have the fanciest bathrooms I have ever seen. You have to push a button for everything and the buttons light up in sequence. I felt like I was in the Jetsons bathroom. Pictures to follow! 

  the train potty!
 Off to Ireland for 5 days. Looking forward to being with Joseph’s family and seeing where he grew up!

A special congratulation to my cousin Abby and her husband Brian on their twins, Logan and Emma!!!

Happy 30^th to Kristine Santacroce and Happy Birthday to Alison O’Laughlin and to my favorite brother Steve!!! Hope you all celebrated in style.

Hope everyone is healthy, happy, and safe back home!

Islas Baleares ....

When I returned from America Joseph and Zimbabalooba were still in Mallorca. We spent a relaxing 2 days and two nights at a Marine Reserve in the island of Cabrera . One has to reserve a mooring ball in the reserve in order to stay the night. It was a beautiful place and we met some lovely English boaters as well as some Irish men. We spent the days hiking and swimming. I really enjoyed the quiet that the environment had to offer.


When our two days were up we headed back to Island of Mallorca and spent an evening in the Porto Cristo. They had some nice facilities so we did laundry and took showers. The dryer did not work so I made a clothes line that ran the length of the boat, inside! It was raining so we were able to go into town for some drinks. The following morning we did about 40 miles and made it to Puerto de cala Ratjada. The rain continued to follow us into the evening so again we were forced to get some drinks!

The next morning we made the 50 mile journey to island of Menorca. We decided to go with a tip we got from another sailor and check out the Cala Covas but upon arrival we could understand why it was so popular. It was a small cala surrounded on all three sides with tall rocky cliffs. There were a lot of other boats and so we decided to go east down the coast a bit and find a less populated cala.
 

We had amazing luck and found a small cala with one other sailboat in it. It was also surround on three sides and had a beautiful beach. We were able to drop anchor and back towards the wall to put a line to the rocks. I like doing this because that way the boat does not swing with the wind and you stay in the same position all night. There was an older French man next door who was helpful. He was on his own so we invited him for dinner. I made my famous spaghetti bologna. I was worried he wouldn't like it but I soon realized it was the first time he had had meat in ages. He usually only eats what he fishes. He brought over some delicious tuna in oil that he had caught earlier in the day. His English was not great but I really loved talking with him. Terry was a retired Doctor of Medicine and had crossed the Atlantic 35 years ago with his wife and 6 month old daughter. It was cool to hear his story. He did the whole passage without GPS , he only used a sextant! Joseph and I were both amazed to hear this because we rely so much on our GPS. It lights up, has pictures, and tells you which way to go!



 We eventually had to say goodbye to Spain...I cried! I have so many wonderful memories from the summer and believe it or not my Spanish is really good. Joseph and I headed to Sardinia, Italy on Saturday September 14th. The journey would take us 195 miles east from Menorca.
 

Took a break during our hike...caught a lizard eating Joseph's pear! He was sleeping!!! see below...

Rainy day!

The three of us!

August ~ September America and The Islands

The kids were very sad to leave. I was sad to see them go as well. We had a nice boat routine going and they were really adjusting to boat life nicely. At 5:30 am on August 27^th a cab picked Jeb and Wendy and myself up at the boat. We were in a port in Mallorca. The kids and I flew from Palma to Barcelona to Madrid to Boston. It was along day for us but the kids were great listeners and very helpful.

I was looking forward to being home and visiting with my family and friends. I also was looking forward to the simple things I miss very much. Like a flushing toilet, a real refrigerator and sitting and watching a T.V. show.  I started my trip back with a stay in Sudbury. Gigi and Poppy were happy to see all of us. Gigi made a delicious dinner and we had a nice nights sleep.  I spent the next couple of days getting the kids situated for school. On Friday we headed up to NH for the weekend at Happy Hampton. On the way we stopped at Joe and Samara’s house to visit with mom and Maggie and wish Joe and Samara luck at the hospital. They were heading in to have baby Louise who would come later on Saturday with Black hair, not red like Maggie and the Kranz nose! She is adorable and so sweet. Maggie loves her very much and always wants to be around her. Maggie and Lousie

Jeb and Wendy and I had a great weekend visiting with Emily and her mom Barbra who drove up from Long Island with Emily’s girls, Mia and Olivia. The kids had a blast at the beach and I was so happy to visit with Emily and catch up. My best friend Alison also made the trip to the beach!You don’t realize just how much you miss someone till you spend a length of time and remember all the ways you used to make each other laugh. I really miss college!

The weekend could not have been more perfect. We were lucky enough to have two amazing dinners at Sue and Lenny’s. Jeb and Wendy were so excited to see Sue and Lenny and the whole Bergin clan. Later when I put Wendy to bed she reminded me that she had not seen some of the cousins and aunts since Christmas.  Wendy has a memory like a steel trap!

Helen and butch were great! All in there glory at the arrival of another healthy grandchild. Louise Lursano Kranz was born!  I was also able to visit with Steve and Kate in Hamilton and see Finn and Conor. The boys are getting so big! Finn is playing hockey and soccer. Conor is starting preschool and seems to really like it.

 Hamilton Crew!

While I was in America for the week Joseph stayed behind in Mallorca to work on some small projects on Zimbabalooba. He made me a wonderful and very helpful fruit and veggie holder. Prior to my new hanging baskets I had to put the fruit and veggies on the counter and when we took a good sized wave I would go below to find everything on the floor. It was very frustrating.

 My new fruit and vegetable holder

 Joseph had a nice quite week with the exception of being hit by a boat. Yep that’s right, he swam out to our anchor that we mark with a giant orange buoy to check on the anchor. A 30ft black motorboat went between our anchor and the boat. Joseph said he checked for boats coming. The boat struck him on his right arm and dragged him for about 20 ft till he realized he could push off and swim away.  The boat had a square type of front to it. He was lucky not to have been killed.  Of course he did not tell me about it till I got back to Spain.  I was shocked because Joseph practices very strict safety rules on the boat.  He in the end was fine and has learned not to trust fellow boaters!

Joseph's Injury!!!