Life On Sail

  September 2025 overview: We are now entering the "low season" so ports should be cheaper.  We did more mooring. We are slowly catching up with the right pace.  However, our friend came over to visit for 5 days and we did go inland for couple of days, which means extra spending.  But overall we spent the lowest of all months so far since our departure.  Total spending reached €2776 for the month. September 2025 in details: This month's highlights: -  Finally got my new Camera. It's not in this budget, I got it from a separate account + it's my bday gift.  -We bought parts to fix the 2 toilets. And other things were broken on the boat. So still a lot of maintenance and repairs to be done.  -Our friend came to visit for 5 days and we visited inland, renting a car.  -Last but not least, the spinnaker tore off! So that will be a big repair to plan for.   July 2025 vs Budget With 7 months into our sabbatical, we’ve spent a bit more than 86% ...

  The whole trip was windless. 16.8NM in 4h45 at 3.5 knots average. We filled up the gas tank at arrival. The village was desertic.

  We sailed 20NM in 4 hours at 4.7 knots average. It was a rough see with strong 21 knots wind. We peaked at 7 knots cruising speed. And the arrival at the port was a bit difficult as we needed to berth a different way.

  We were supposed to go to Vieste Port to seek shelter but we stopped at Vignanotica and it was for the best as this place is beautiful!! We sailed 7h40 mn with 21 knots wind gusts, Average speed is 5,2 knots and we did 38.5 NM. We hoisted the jib due to the unplanned wind. Such a beautiful beach with grottos!!

  Boring sailing day, 4,32 knots average speed, which is great. We arrived in 6h40 and did 28 NM. We'll navigate a lot these next days, need to get out of Italy, we stayed here way too long :) Good surprise, we were the only ones mooring in front of the port, and the night was filled with fireworks. Felt like it was just for our eyes.

We are back on our own today, seizing the freedom of our last car rental day with an early start to make the most of a packed schedule. Our journey takes us to three captivating destinations, each over an hour from Bari, showcasing the diverse beauty and culture of Puglia. First, we head to **Alberobello**, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its whimsical *trulli*—unique, whitewashed stone huts with conical roofs that dot the landscape like something out of a fairytale. These iconic structures, built without mortar using ancient dry-stone techniques, are a hallmark of the Itria Valley. Strolling through the Rione Monti and Rione Aia Piccola districts, we marvel at the trulli’s intricate limestone designs, some adorned with mysterious symbols said to ward off evil. Many of these homes now house charming shops, cafes, or museums, offering a glimpse into their historical use as dwellings or storage. We pause to savor a coffee in a trullo café, soaking in the village’s timeless char...

We woke up early to drive an hour from Bari to visit Matera, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with a history stretching back over 7,000 years. Known as the "City of Sassi," Matera is famous for its ancient cave dwellings, or "Sassi di Matera," carved into the limestone cliffs of the Gravina di Matera canyon. This troglodyte city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, captivates visitors with its unique blend of prehistoric architecture, winding stone alleyways, and breathtaking views. Matera’s cinematic allure has made it a favored backdrop for major films, including Mel Gibson’s *The Passion of the Christ* (2004) and the James Bond film *No Time to Die* (2021), where its timeless, rugged landscapes added dramatic depth to key scenes. Beyond its Hollywood fame, Matera’s charm lies in its living history—many of the ancient caves have been transformed into modern homes, boutique hotels, restaurants, and museums, seamlessly blending the ...

  We did 20 NM at 3,4 knots but forgot to turn off the app. It took 6h. We didn't have wind by the end of the navigation. So luckily we woke up early to take advantage of the thermal wind. We caught two Bonitos with the new lure! it really works! We caught them 40mn apart. However I had a hard time eating them, don't know why... Too fresh ? The blood of the bonitos? Anyways, we are leaving the boat couple of days in Bari, as we will rent a car to visit Matera and Alberobello inland. Here is our visit in Bari. We took our friend to the Pizzeria de Michele.

  It was just 5 NM in 1h 15 at 3 knots. Not much wind but as it was short it's not too bad. We stopped in front of the grottos to visit them before heading towards a mooring site next to the port. How short stay at Polignaro a Mare, Nico didnt even visit but stayed in the boat just in case. 

  40 NM in 9h50 and 4 knots average. Happy with the 360 camera I have just bought at Brindisi! Can finally shoot wide angle videos of the boat, with our friend from Hong Kong onboard for 5 days. It was a long navigation... she wasnt used to that... as we only did short navigations when island hopping with her and the kids in Sardinia. The visit of Monopoli here below

  10h navigation for 47.5 NM at 4,6 knots average speed. The Brindisi port is free! Well one part of it, so you just get a berth in front of the city and that's it. No hassle. It's going to be a good spot to unwind and fix a bit the boat. Also waiting to pick up our friend. Here is our visit!

  The highlight of the day was definitely seeing this family of dolphins hunting and playing with us so closely. They weren't afraid of the engine and they were definitely big! Best birthday gift! Plus we arrived right on time for lunch in the city. Our short stay in Otranto, we went for a hike for change! and it was beautiful check it out:

  No wind today, speed of 3.3 knots, for just 15 NM in 4h40. Boring. We visited Castro

  Turned out it wouldn't be our 2nd longest navigation because we arrived couple of hours before the planned timing thanks to an incredible wind the whole way. No tacking, more reefing. We did 62 NM in 11h40 at a speed of 5.3 knots.  

  We sailed for 6h30 so reach only 27 NM at a speed of 4.1 knots. Tomorrow will be a long long one. Today's highlight, Nico caught a makerel!! Finally! It's our 100th navigation!

  We did 47 NM today in 10h40 long navigation! We went further than planned. We're so thrilled to have seen dolphins by our side for so long. Finally!!!

  9h30 of sailing a 4,7 knots average for total of 47 NM! We 're happy. There was again a lot of wind but not the comfortable one. We saw dolphins. We went further than what we planned so it ll save some time for tomorrow's stopoverless navigation. I want to walk again!!

  So much wind today and a deadly wind gust that tore apart our beloved spinnaker! What a shame, as we were seconds away from storing it. Anyway it didn't stop there as we were successively having wind then no wind, then thunderstorm and rain... We navigated for 10h30 and did 43 NM at 4 knots average. We are not making any touristic stop overs, we 're just moving along till the next "big" destination where stopover is necessary.

 T hat was a rough navigation. Yesterday we stopped our navigation abruptly in Sicily's Capo Rasocolmo to shelter from the strong wind. Today the wind didn't calm down. We woke up at 5 am to leave as early as possible, under a starry morning. We were already cruising at 7 knots as soon as we hoisted the sails. However the wind didn't show any signs of slowing down so we eventually had to reduce the sails. We arrive to continental Italy at noon, after 6h30 of navigation. We left sicily only to return there few hours later since we took the ferry to get to Messina. Our stop over in Messina: 

  We were supposed to go To Messina but many things changed while we navigated. We changed plan... we decided not to go to Messina but return to continental italy and go to Messina by ferry. The The wind blew all of a sudden up to 18 knots so we were going as fast as 8 knots. In those conditions it's difficult to head to the detroit. So we found a shelter asap. so we did 3h45 of sailing to reach 16 NM with an average of 4.2 knots only.

  We navigated during 8h20 to reach 30 NM with a lot of tacking. Average speed 3.7 knots. Here is our stop over

  11h30 of navigation. This was long but fine as we didn't arrive at night and there was no swell. We did 44 NM at 3,4 knots average, used the engine for a total of 3 hours. From there, we visited Tindari. 

  This is our second longest navigation ever, it took us 12h30 to get there.  We've already been to this city. The treat when we arrived is that Nico had us eating out, which is a good change. 

 Palermo was our final destination in Sicily. We won't go further.  Instead we are retracing back to the Italian continent. So we'll probably go to the same stopovers we did on the way to get to Palermo.  It will be mainly about navigation, and getting as far as possible everyday.  Today we were to go to Cefalu but it was already night time by the time we did 9h30 of navigation so we decided to stop earlier.  Which wasnt the best decision (that I made) because it was the biggest swell we ever had. However, I was so tired, I didn't feel seasick.. and just rested without really sleeping.  Tomorrow we are off early!

 From Aranella to Palermo was just 3 nautical miles, we don't even count it as a navigation.  It brought us straight to Palermo! We arrived at noon, to what I would call now, the best port so far of Italy and of all our trips so far.  It was modern, with all the amenity, and was at the low season's price. 70 euros.  It's probably double in July-August.  And the historic city is just next to the port.  Here is a Vlog of our visit. 

 

 It was a long navigation, just because we were lucky to get wind! We did 35 NM at 4.1 cruising speed during 8h30. The next morning, we visited the charming city of Cefalu and its Arabo Norman Cathedral . Beautiful medieval village, with a rich culture throughout diverse influences, greek, roman, byzantine, norman. Unesco heritage sight with la Rocca to climb to give you a 360° view of Cefalu at 270m high!

  We navigated smoothly today, after patiently waiting for the wind to pick up, we finally set sail after lunch. The spi was out right away, the perfect wind to carry us through to the final destination in Sicily! But we didn't expect to be so fast, peak speed was at 6 knots! so we arrived earlier in Sicily, therefore decided to continue the route. Especially the weather the next day will be whimsy although we have a long route planned to get closer to Palermo. We cruised 28 NM in 5h40 minutes at an average of 4.1 knots.