georgebackhus on August 30th, 2010

We’re presently weather bound, anchored on the south end of Isola San Pietro, a small resort island off the southwest corner of Sardinia.  Mistral is the local term for the fresh northwesterly blows that spawn up in the Gulf of Leon and affect the central Mediterranean Sea.  This one, packing winds of up to 40 [...]

Continue reading about The South Coast of Sardinia

georgebackhus on August 23rd, 2010

The Southern coast of Sicily is an easy day sail from Malta.  The trick is to find a weather window that provides the necessary breeze to get you there, but allow you be comfortable when you arrive as there are few protected anchorages between Syracusa on the east coast and Trapani on the west coast. 
An [...]

Continue reading about The South Coast of Sicily and Egadi Islands

georgebackhus on August 12th, 2010

After our excellent haul out, we spent the next three weeks waiting for the new dodger cover to be completed.  Somehow we managed to find a plethora of jobs and projects to fill up most of our days.    Our “to do” and “to get” lists are the shortest they’ve been in years, both hovering in [...]

Continue reading about Malta (part 2)

georgebackhus on July 22nd, 2010

With the prevailing northwesterlies forecast to continue for a few days and Moonshadow back in sailing trim, we planned to set sail for Malta on 23 June.  The last job prior to departure was to “mow the lawn” or clean the bottom.  Our two-year-old anti-fouling paint had lost most of its “anti” qualities and after [...]

Continue reading about Malta

georgebackhus on June 28th, 2010

After a month in the United States and forty hours of travel time from San Francisco, we finally arrived back on board Moonshadow.  Other than a coating of dust and rust, she was in pretty good shape thanks to guardianship provided by Mohammed and his staff from the yard at Monastir, who looked after her [...]

Continue reading about Back on Board in Monastir

georgebackhus on September 27th, 2009

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 [...]

Continue reading about Tunisia

georgebackhus on September 6th, 2009

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 [...]

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georgebackhus on August 28th, 2009

 

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 [...]

Continue reading about The South of France and Corsica

georgebackhus on August 21st, 2009

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

georgebackhus on July 31st, 2009

 
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 [...]

Continue reading about The Tyrrhenian Sea and Amalfi Coast