Today we sailed westbound from Katakolon towards our next port of call, Cagliari located on SE Sardinia. To get there you have to sail by Sicily. As it is an island you can sail around it and thus you can go North or South.  Going North means going through the Straits of Messina and by…   read more of “29 April 2011; Sea…”

 I am always amazed at what other captains sometimes do with their ETA’s. When I send one, I try to stick with it and only weather and engine malfunctions will make me change it. Once you have set your ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) then everybody involved, ashore and on the ship, starts planning accordingly….   read more of “28 April 2011;…”

In the early morning I was woken up by the harsh sounds of crackling thunder over the ship, and when the bridge called me, the message was:  it does not look good.  Still we approached with hopes in our hearts, as Monevassia is basically a steep and wide mountain that offers good shelter on the…   read more of “27 April 2011;…”

Just after midnight I was back on the bridge for the crossing of this traffic intense area that I mentioned yesterday. It was not as busy as it could have been so we had very little to worry about. Still it was interesting to observe some of the antics of the other ships.  We observed…   read more of “26 April 2011;…”

After leaving Turkey and cruising a whole night through the Greek islands we approached the Turkish mainland again in the early morning. I had set my pilot time for 06.00 as I wanted to get in before the sun got hot enough to get the Etesian winds going.  The two cruise docks of the port…   read more of “25 April 2011;…”

Bodrum is a Turkish sea side resort which is in the winter very quiet with only some European “snow birds” present. In the summer time it is a very busy vacation area for mostly British and German tourists.  Also the whole area is then full of Sunday sailors as the bay gets the Etesian winds…   read more of “24 April 2011;…”

Today we could all take a deep breath and relax. Time to sit down and count the number of pyramids the number of ruins photographed, and also have the time to update the dairies of where one has been and what one has seen.   Sailing on the Prinsendam is one of the best ways to…   read more of “23 April 2011; At…”

It is only a short hop from Ashdod to Haifa but it is stretched a bit as we have to first sail away from the coast until we come to the recommended track that leads along the coast. Then when approaching Haifa you have to angle back the same way towards the entrance of the…   read more of “22 April 2011:…”