Introduction by Peter Montgomery, written by long time Stewart 34 sailor George Backhus.
Just published, this 182 page, A4 size book documents the extraordinary history of one of the most significant one-design class racing/cruising yachts in New Zealand history. The Stewart 34, early on known as the “Patiki,” literally changed the face of NZ yachting and the world standing of [...]
Continue reading about “Stewart 34 Yachting-the First Fifty Years” book+DVD now available!
We rose before sunrise and left the anchorage at Malfitano on the southern tip of the island of Sardinia at 0630 on a clear, calm morning. We set a southerly course towards the continent of Africa and within 20 minutes a nice breeze had filled in from the east. With 8 to 15 knot on [...]
The Italian island of Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and actually lies closer to the African continent than to its own mainland. The Sardinians actually speak of Italy as if it is another country, not their own. With a ruggedly beautiful coastline, clear waters, beautiful interior countryside and unique wine [...]
The town of Villefranche
Heading west from the Riviera of Italy, we had intended to stop in Monaco for a few days to see how the other tenth of 1% live. A wicked swell was rolling in from the south to which both of the anchorages near town were exposed. Monaco is reported to have the [...]
A view out over Byron’s Grotto and up the Ligurian Coast.
The mainland coast of Italy lying along the northern part of the Tyrhennian Sea offers the cruising sailor almost no real protected anchorages. Anyone wishing to visit Rome must choose between an expensive marina or a dodgy tie-up in a working boat yard. Having been [...]
Continue reading about The Tuscan Islands and Ligurian Coast of Italy
The south coast of Italy between Salerno and Reggio Calabria offers some great cruising for visiting yachts. Most local boats skip this area when heading between the Aeolian Islands or Sicily and Naples. The noticeable lack of tourism in the area means that the towns are friendlier, the people curious and overall it is less [...]
We arrived at the Grand Harbor in the city of Siracusa (Syracuse) at about 1930 hours. The setting cast a lovely glow on the handsome buildings in the old town. The Grand Harbour quay was undergoing renovations, so we anchored in the large and well protected bay. Celebrating our arrival in Sicily over sundowners, we [...]
Fourteen hours after departing the charming village of Cavtat on the southern coast of Croatia, we arrived in Brindisi, Italy, 118 miles to the south on the opposite coast of the Adriatic Sea. The seas were flat calm all of the way, and the winds were mostly less than five knots. For a short time [...]
With more than 1100 ruggedly beautiful islands strung along its shoreline, Croatia’s 1100 mile Dalmatian Coast has become one of the most popular cruising destinations in the world. We left Moonshadow in the ACI Dubrovnik Marina over the winter with plans to start the season with a cruise northwest up the coast towards Italy.
After a [...]
Continue reading about Cruising the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia
When I was living in the Bay Area, I knew where I would be on the last Sunday of April each year-out sailing for Opening Day on the San Francisco Bay. We happened to be in town for the event this year and were invited by recidivist Moo-Crew Eric Strasser to join he and 20 [...]
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