Decisions Decisions

Where should we go in 2013? While we love Italian food, the coastline is challenging with very few places to anchor – and Ross hates being in marinas. Albania was a pleasant surprise so I could see spending more time there and visiting Sarande again and making our way up the coast to Montenegro and Croatia. The only thing that keeps us from Croatia again is the constant hand out for cash – a 500 Euro cruising permit, when you anchor you pay, when you go to a marina you pay, and the food is average. On the plus side, the cruising there is very easy with beautiful water, many bays to choose from and shelter from most winds regardless of direction or windspeed. Apparently when Croatia joins the EU in 2013 some of their ‘interesting’ business practices must change … so perhaps it will normalize more to what it is like in the rest of Europe.

The value of Greece is pretty high – the cost of marinas is reasonable – about 50-70 Euros, when you anchor it’s free, when you go to the town quay it is usually free. The food and produce is reasonably priced and readily available. 

The Ionian is very easy cruising though we wonder whether we could last more than two or three weeks before we would need to go further afield. The Aegean is great but it is often very windy there and the Meltemi winds can trap you for a week at a time. The distances in the Aegean are quite long so there is much more sailing involved than if we went to Croatia or the Ionian.

If we go through the Aegean we will likely end up somewhere in Turkey such as Marmaris. How we get back to Vancouver is a bit of a challenge and trying to figure out how to include some overland trips such as visiting Achim and Eva in Provence or to with Marina’s Aunt Kay in Remmscheid Germany will be considerations. Ross and I would also like to investigate taking a driving course at the Nurburgring race track – a world famous 9 mile race track that you can race your car for 15 euros a lap.

Marina is thinking that we should go through Greece to Turkey. Some of our fondest memories on Tara are from Simi Greece, meeting our friends Tina, Dave, Bimi and Bimi’s friend Claudia – and then the scenery and hospitality of Turkey. The Turkish coast reminds us a lot of BC’s but with warm water. The downside is potential for brutal winds – the Meltemi blows Beaufort Force 6 and 7 for weeks on end. Force 6 is 25-30, Force 7 is 30-36 knots – and when you have a few days of Force 7, you end up with monsterous waves. 

You can probably count on one hand the number of times that a Force 7 wind has blown in Vancouver in the last 25 years so it is tough to describe until you’ve gone 40 miles to windward into Force 7 winds and 3-4 meter waves …  not very easy on the crew or the boat.

So … where to go … we need to integrate our plans with work, the kids and our busy lives … but the rewards of cruising is definitely are high and you never know when your number will be up … life is short … live it.