Summary Log 

Distance covered: 2’709 nautical miles (approx. 5000 km)

Countries: 8

Anchored: 65 days

Moored: 5 days

Docked: Due to covid lockdowns, sailing restrictions & boat jobs, this was way longer than we expected. An incredible total of 244 days! Not good.

On the hard: 31 days

On passage: 20 nights

Engine hours: 265

Top Sailing Speed: 19.6 knots (in the surf off Cabo de Sao Vicente, southwest cape of Portugal)

Consumables

Diesel consumed: 684 litres. Our average 2.6 litres / engine hour (for land-rats, that’s like 23 litres / 100 km!)

Water made: 3’000 litres  – This is the water we consume when not in a marina. (When docked we’re connected to shore water.)

Average daily water consumption: only 24 litres for the two of us. (For ALL our water needs including drinking, washing, shower and toilet flush)

Fish caught: 2 Euthynnus alleteratus or Little Tunny. It’s a common tuna in the warm waters of the Med and not known to be particularly great for eating. We bled and cured them for a few hours and in fact they tasted delicious both raw and lightly seared. 

Electrical Energy produced by solar panels: 540 kWh. (That’s what we’d consume running our induction stove on full power for 300 hours 🙂

Anchorages

Deepest: 12m in Cala Mondrago, Mallorca. Dropped anchor on a pitch-dark night at 22:00. Left at dawn.

Shallowest: 2.1m in Formentera (only because it was a very calm day).

Most beautiful: Such a tough call so its a tie. Sardinia has amazing bays but Managu on the west coast and Malfatano/Teulada on the south coast of Sardinia are absolutely stunning.

Most unique: It’s the bay in Cabrera, Balearics; with its nature, amazing views, great hikes and a quirky harbour cantina when you fancy company over drinks and a snack.

Best allrounder: for the clearest water, snorkelling, easy shore access via an ancient natural harbour & great restaurants it has to be Raco de sa Pujada close to Es Calo in Formentera.

Gear Fails

• Water-maker – a tiny control pipe came loose spraying water into our engine compartment
• Volvo MDI box – failed (and changed out) twice. Once was just as we were entering a harbour. Luckily we had very little wind and were able to turn the boat back out to sea just before the harbour rocky wall!
• 1 leaky hatch
• B&G Chart plotter crashes
• Main sheet sheave chafed through entirely 
• Bracket holding companionway to AMA cabin broke twice – poorly conceived by boatyard.
• Faulty Solbian solar panels 
• Autopilot rod came loose – poorly installed
• Joker one-way toilet valve worn out (A most hated job to fix. This is when the skipper shows his procrastinator side)
• Chain-counter device on windlass – magnet corrode & disconnected sensor

Major Boat Jobs

Maintaining the boat is our main occupation these days but there were a couple of bigger jobs we tackled under guarantee. The good news is that TALATA s now better than new ! 😉

• Removal and reapplication of Coppercoat antifoul – shoddy initial application unprotected from poor weather conditions and a lack of adhesion to the barrier coat
• Repair of torn lazy-bag – weak design and mounting position caused chafe
• Removal and replacement of Solbian solar panels – due to de-lamination problem
• Gelcoat repairs (hairline & some crackling)
• Fibreglass reinforcement around pad-eyes for main sheet
• Sail-repair unexplained cuts on our jib

Safe Harbour

We avoid marinas where we can but there are times you just need to be docked (such as for larger boat repairs) and times you’d prefer to be docked (no protected anchorage in bad weather, visitors to collect or drop off, lockdown).

France: La Rochelle, Port Leucate, Port Canet-en-Roussillon (Haul out), Port La Grande Motte

Portugal: Douro, Cascais, Vilamoura

Spain: A Coruna, Cartagena

Balearics: Mallorca nr Palma – Club Nautico Arenal

Sardinia, Italy: Alghero, Cagliari

Most Memorable Moment

The time we sailed into a huge school of tuna in a feeding frenzy! For over 30 minutes we were surrounded by the incredible sight of magnificent tuna leaping out of the water. (And no, we didn’t catch any.)

Top Lessons Learned

• Make no plans – If you’re going to be an optimist you’d better also be flexible and spontaneous.
• Winter sailing in the Med can be magical and you’re rewarded by off-season vibes (the best anchorages all to yourself).
• We didn’t want to believe this at first but it’s true: Boat work always takes twice as long as you expect!

Most Importantly

Our 2020 was sprinkled with ‘firsts’. Apart from the obvious first year of living on a boat, Lorenzo needed to have his first operation outside Switzerland. Having surgery is always an emotional hurdle, especially so in Covid times where any visit to a hospital is ideally avoided. (His hernia surgery in Sardinia went well thanks.)

2020 was a reminder for us of what is important in life and why, after so many years of introspection, we chose to abandon comfort, remove ourselves from the constant pressure to accumulate and instead focus on experiences that inspire us. Our cruising life inadvertently shielded us from many of the challenges of this awful year. We made wonderful new friends, travelled to new places and saw up close, how beautiful our natural world is. And for this we are endlessly grateful.