Arrival Malta

We arrived at malta at 6:30 in the morning. I had about 2 hours of sleep the past 24 hours or so. After we checked in at the customs, we had some breakfast and went to bed. I woke up at 16:30.

.... pic of a whale by the way............->

Don't have much time for blogging really, I will try to do my best and write some more in the future. Today we did some wreck diving at 35m deep. Please content yourself with the pics, as tomorrow we set sailf for Sicily at 8:00 in the morning. :)

From Sardenia to Malta

We have been at sea for two days straight. Still 100 Nautical miles to go to Malta, we will probably arrive at night. We departed from Cagliari in Sardinia, after having sailed down the east coast of it. A lot has happened, we got pulled over by the ‘Guardia Finazia’, and Nelson the autopilot died, and we had to steer by hand for a while. Not very hard, but it makes a big difference for the night shifts. With the auto pilot on, one person can sail the entire ship. Trimming the sails, staying on course, and dodging other vessels can all be done while the ship steers it self, allowing the others to sleep. Luckily we were able to fix it. Yesterday we received some company from a school of dolphins, it must have been thousands. Curious animals, some of them swim on their side right next to the ship, just to look up out of the water interested on what is happening on deck. At least so it seems. They seem to have hypes and hypes of fun.

We sailed across a family of whales as well. I know, I couldn’t believe it myself! Flabergasted as we were, we almost forgot to be careful not to hit one. Sometimes we encounter a sea turtle coming up for some air.

The start. Hyeres - Ajaccio

We had about 10 knots of wind, the evening sun and a comfortable air temperature as we sailed away from hyeres. Dinner was served, and a bottle of red opened in the cockpit. Nelson the auto pilot and our most appreciated and respected crew member was doing the steering. We had finally set course towards Ajaccio Corsica and were ceasing the moment.

As the sun slowly disappeared, so did the land and the sea was pitch black to be lit only by a million stars. We split the night three ways, and the first watch was mine. I couldn’t see much, but some faint lights in the distance. The lights closed in, and I started to distinguish cruise ships, big tankers and other little sailboats. Everything seemed to be the way I had imagined it. Using the radar, I was able to predict the course of other vessels, and alter course in advance to avoid collisions. Forget Second life people, this is the real thing.

The next morning we encountered dense fog, close to the coast of ajaccio. One behind the wheel, one behind the radar, and one running back and forth between the two for communication seemed to work best for us. Pure excitement it was.

Projected course to steer

Obiahman is going sailing again. After having obtained the RYA day skipper practical and the RYA coastal skipper/ yachtmaster theory in South Africa, Obiahman is ready to put it all to the test in the Med. Obiahman shall embark on a 48 foot Dufour prestige, and sail it across the seas in the Mediterranean Sea together with Vince and the proud owner.




The projected route for the sailing trip is from hyères to Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Sicily and finally to Mallorca (see picture). Visit this log, to follow it all to a T.