Life On Sail

  34.6 NM today in 6h45 at an average cruising speed of 5.1 knot. We peaked at 6.4 knots today without the swell. But we were on close haul so a lot of tacking. Jibed twice today. Sunny! We can finally charge up the solar panels/batteries. Happy Halloween! Our stay in the most ancien inhabited city of Croatia, Zadar

 Budget overview:  We spent 3045 euros this October. It was a longer month, but most of all, we had 2 bigger-than-usual expenses: the change of UV strips for the Genoa and Jib as well as the Venice trip.  Also arriving Croatia came with a price tag, additional sojourn taxes and sailing permit (for one year) additional costs.  October spending details :  We spent 900 euros on the maintenance of the genoa and jib. But it's money well spent given the strong winds we're currently facing in winter in the Adriatic sea.  Then Nico's parents joined us in Venice. We did spend 3 days browsing the whole area.  and finally we had to pay around 120 euros just for sailing Croatia.  Since we overspent, we only have 2700 euros left to spend the last 4 months remaining instead of the 3000 euros planned.  Hopefully going southern Europe will mean cheaper pricing in the long run.  Here is the detail October spending:  October vs Budget:  We o...

  Check this out on our YOUTUBE channel Life_on_sail In French only, no more captions, it takes too much time!! 

  It was still windy today, we had a peak at 25 knots and had to hoist the jib. Less swell today, I wasn't too sick. We reached 26,3 NM in 5h10 mn at a 5.1 knots average.

  we didn't reach destination but stopped before. I was sick the whole sailing except for the first hour and a half when I was steering. 20 knots wind today, close hauled sail. It kept me focused until I stopped and hibernated on the cockpit. We hoisted the jib today as the wind was constant. we did 34.6 NM in 7h50 at 4.7 knots average.

  29,2 NM in 8h20 a 3,5 knots. Smooth tranquil sail alternating between wind and no wind. But as long as there is no swell we're happy. There is strong winds coming in the evening, we finally went to a paying buoy along with other boats looking for a safe shelter.

  We didnt sail much. Just to go from our mooring spot to the city in order to get gazoline before going in town.  It was a small medieval town. Once done, we went straight to another mooring not too far away, in front of Kosljun island, where Franciscan friars live. 

  38.6 NM in 9h50 at 3.9knots average. Raining day, a lot of engine but also a lot of rainbows! We moored in a secluded creek.

  We did 17 NM today in 3h20 at 5.2 knots average. It was a short sail with good wind. It suddenly rained. By the time we arrived the city it was pouring.

  we did 25.5 NM in 5h06 at 5 knots average. We left our shelter at Pula port to find another one before the wind rises. Yesterday night it was 30 knots. Today we had 20 wind knots boosting us at 8 knots cruising speed.

  2nd day having vertigo's. I woke up and went back to sleep straight away. This time without vomiting as Nico was on engine the first 2 hours of sailing. We reached 21.8 NM in 5h38 and had an average of 4 knots. We didn't pay the buoy at Rovinj as they didn't come and collect! Our stop over in Pula: 

 T oday was a special sailing day as I stayed the whole 6 hours in the cabin. Sick. Woke up with serious Ménière's disease vertigo due to high intake of sodium. My mistake. It was worsened by the 20knots wind we had today. Nico was along tacking, it was raining and he had a peak cruising speed at 7 knot. I did vomit 4 rounds. First round I did vomit the banana nico told me to get. It didn't help so I also had a seasick pill right after. But I ended up throwing up both 2h30 after we started. The I threw up the water I had tying not to dehydrate myself. The I took another pill to feel better but I puked it 2 hours later. And I puked even more spleen minutes before we arrived. Nico saw dolphins at the entry of the "port". It was a new way for us to dock at the port and we didn't managed at first try because we didn't have a line long enough. Plus it was raining, which didn't help. Anyway the harbormaster finally told us we could stay at this port but a sou...

  We had bad weather today, sailing between good and bad weather, wind and no wind. We reach Croatia 30 mn after leaving Piran. And changed flag right away. We did 21.6 NM in 5h50 at 3.7 knots average. Sailing into Croatia? Don’t Forget the Extras!** 🚤 Croatia’s stunning coastline is a sailor’s dream, but entry comes with fees: - **Vignette (Sojourn Tax)**: €1–€2 per person/day (varies by boat length & season). Buy online or at harbors. - **Vessel Permit**: ~€50–€200 (1–12 months, based on size and engine power.

 But not for long.  Slovenia has a very short coastal line in between Italy and Croatia.  We couldn't sleep at night because of the swell, Nico left at 3 am to reach Slovenia as the wind was still coming strong at night. We arrived early morning at 9h30, after reaching 33 NM in 6h30 at 5.1 knots average. We peaked at 7 knots at some point. I was sleeping in the cabin till sunrise! But it wasn't peaceful with all the heeling. But we are officially out of Italy now! after 2.7 months there. It was high time to change the used up Italian flag ! Our stay in Piran The following days we visited Koper and Izola

  We were supposed to leave Italy but I guess the wind wasn't in our favor. We are still in Italy tonight after reaching 52.3 NM in 11h30 at 4.6 Knots average. We booked a port but had to cancel as we passed this quiet bay.

  We did go back to Chioggia via the sea this time as there was wind. We even sailed at 5.7 knots with just the mainsail. We did 19 NM at 4 knots average in more than 4h. We were happy to get back the sails, it did cost 900 euros to get new UV strips.

  Crazy sailing today! Without sails.. Well, we left our genoa and jib for repair at Chioggia before leaving to Venice. No wind so we changed our way from going to Venice via the sea to going through the laguna. saved us some time. But in the way, we saw a sailboat stuck in the venetian mud. We helped the other boat helping them with additional towing. They gave us a bottle of prosecco. Then arrived in Venice through the gran canale as our marina is just in front of Piazza San Marco! What a day. And it wasn't over as we met with Nico's parent at Piazza san Marco later that afternoon. We stayed 3 nights in Venice, right in front of Piazza San Marco, in the San Giorgio island.  We visited Venice, Murano and Burano! Before parting with Nico's parents once again.  Our stopover in Venice: Our stopover in Murano and Burano:

  First time sailing during a morning fog. It was pretty nice actually, especially after sunrise, the fog was no more. We didn't have wind after 2 pm so we had our engines on for the whole rest of the trip which totaled 15h20mn. We broke a record. We had to arrive at Chioggia, as we need to leave our sails for fixing (UV strips) tomorrow morning. we did 56 NM today. 3.7 knot average...

  55 MN in 13h10 at 3.9 knots average. We left at sunrise and arrived at moonrise! Getting closer to Ravenna, not yet arrived. There was wind at night when we arrived! Ravenna is know for its well-preserved 6th century Byzantine Mosaics, they are part of the Unesco heritage and one of the most beautiful ones in the world. 

  8h20 at sea, at 3.9 knots average reaching 32 NM. It's our 3rd day in a row just navigating without touching land! Today we finally stretch our legs!  

  Our 2nd longest navigation, 13h50 long at 4 knots average for just 55,8 NM. We stopped before our destination otherwise we'd arrive at 10pm. We didn't sleep well yesterday because of the swell and started the sailing at 6:30 am. Tomorrow will be the same drill.

  We caught up with 2 days of sailing, reaching overall 55 NM because of tacking. We sailed 12h almost at 4.7 knots average. There was swell but at least not as much wind as the last couple of days. No need to take a reef. The mountains surrounding are so beautiful. We had the beautiful moon behind us as we arrived the mooring.

  We reached the port 2 hours before the wind storm. Only 11NM to go but we started we no wind. We cruised at 3.9 knots on average for 2h50. The landscape is stunning with the mountains as a backdrop. We finally stayed 2 days in this city as the wind was a bit too strong for us to go out comfortably. Nico took advantage of that to start setting up the heating system.  

  2nd longest sailing session, nearly 12 h for 49NM at 4.1 knots average. Started off with strong 20 knots wind but quickly turned to no wind at all. Luckily there were some as we arrived. We need to reach Pescara to find shelter, as another wind storm is coming this sunday. 

 New release.  Every month I struggle to generate a video.  We hate recording a video talking about the video... this time I saved us this part, and it's only voice off... And I was too lazy to add English captions...  I'm starting to run out of ideas for videos. Well I do have ideas, but we don't like to video tape ourselves on purpose...  Anyway, I 'll figure it out.  Watch here: 

  10h for 44.5 NM at 4.4 average. We didn't expect wind today that's why we left early morning at dawn but of course the wind was there after lunch. Kept blowing. we had 21 knots. Peaked at 7.5 cruising speed. It was a sporty ride. We ll shelter here while waiting for the upcoming storm to pass. We ll stay 2 more nights. And we finally got out of the Puglia region, we are now in Molise. We stayed 3 nights in total. Very charming city.