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January 2007 Newsletter | [ News archive] | ||||||||
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Summary of this month's news: - Passage to Malta and the Rolex Middle Sea Race - February Weekend Cruising Seminar, Middle East DVD now in PAL format, New podcasts ![natural arch in Pylos bay]](images/photo1w.jpg) We
finished off our last newsletter setting sail from Pylos, a small but
protected harbour on the west coast of the Peloponnisos of Greece. It was
the end of September and we had been waiting out a gale in our attempt to
get west to the island republic of Malta, one of favourite places in the
Med. At last the turbulent seas calmed down and we said goodbye to our
friends Karen and Dan aboard Dakare who headed northwest towards their
winter destination of Taranto, Italy, while we headed west to Malta.
Finally, the winds had begun to blow in our favour. The voyage to Malta
took three days and nights. The first night we charged along reaching
under full main and jib. Although the first night of a passage can be
trying as we get readjusted to our 3-hour night watches (4 hours during
the day) this night was a joy with a fresh steady breeze, clear skies, and
good visibility.  There
was a lot of shipping and once again we were reassured of our decision to
install the Raymarine C80 system with chartplotter and radar. Using the
MARPA feature we could determine the speed and directions of oncoming
ships and since the radar image overlays the chart it's easy to see right
away where there is a moving ship. There is a good demonstration of how to
use this feature in the Rhodes and Symi episode of Distant Shores which is
featured on the Distant Shores Volume 5 - Greek
Island and Turkey II DVD We have the chartplotter installed right out in the cockpit so the person on watch can see it at all times and make calculations and changes to the route without leaving his or her post. Over the next couple of days we had light and variable winds so were forced to motorsail much of the time, such is the Med, but it was a comfortable relaxing trip. We read aloud to each other, cooked sumptuous meals with the fresh foods we'd stocked up on in Greece, watched displays of leaping fish and enjoyed visits from dolphins.  We
made landfall in Malta at around 0400 and after contacting Harbour Radio
in Valletta we were given permission to go directly to Msida Marina to
wait to clear in with customs there when they opened at 0800. Usually you
are required to go first to the main customs dock in Grand Harbour and
then move to the marina later after clearing in but since it was early
morning and we had called ahead they told us to go directly to the marina
which meant we could tie up and catch a few winks of sleep before clearing
in later. Arriving in Malta in the dark is magical since the incredible
fortresses and bastions built by the Knights of St. John are all lit up
and seem even more impressive than in daylight, if that's possible. We
arrived in the dark the last time we came to this special island in the
year 2000 after a wild and stormy night at sea sailing from Sicily and
felt such sanctuary when we entered the well-protected harbour. We filmed
two episodes about Malta during that first visit which has aired many
times on the Travel Channel across Europe and Canadian Learning Television
at home. If you've missed these show they're on the
Distant Shores Volume 2 – Central Mediterranean DVD. By the way, Distant Shores is viewed in over 40 countries now in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. It is in its 5th season this year and has just been picked up by the Sailing Channel in Europe and Wealth TV, an HD channel, in the USA. In Malta, where the show has aired prime time on Sunday nights for several years and boating is a major family activity, we received a very warm welcome. During our stay we were stopped 4 or 5 times a day by fans of the show that recognize us. It's very gratifying to know that people of all ages, including kids who watch regularly with their parents, enjoy sharing in our sailing adventures so much! [4. Marina Manager Chris Schembri, Tony Camilleri skipper of Konica Minolta, and Paul aboard our boat Two-Step]  On
the day of our arrival we received an especially warm welcome from Msida
Marina Manager, Chris Schembri, and good friend, Tony Camilleri, as well
as from many local friends that we have kept in touch with over the years
who came down to the marina to see us. [
[Listen to a Distant Shores podcast]
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![Paul and Sheryl with Drew Robertson and Dee Caffari]](images/photo11w.jpg)
