Stories of sea and land
Non-stop sailing from Greece to Gibraltar. For the 2500 kilometres I need 15 days and a well-filled diesel tank. It is half of an Atlantic crossing. And it works out fine. Good sailing moments, prudent professional ships and a successful escape from the boiling Mediterranean. We leave the sheltering bay of Pylos, Peleponnes. Yesterday’s storm … Read more
Marina Agios Nikolaos, Crete. I moor backwards. A gust of wind grabs the ship and lays it across. Helpers pour out of other yachts, staining their white T-shirts with the slime of bog ropes. Five of us moor Reykja at jetty C 4. She will stay here for half a year. It will be the … Read more
The first thing I see of Greece is a floating pet bottle in the blue water off the Peloponnese. I do a man-overboard maneuver and fish it up. It was a mistake. A real Greek would not only have let it drift, but would have thrown his cardboard coffee cup after it. Diving in Peleponnes. … Read more
When you travel, you make a fool of yourself. You stumble over a lack of language skills, unwritten rules, narcissistic pride of the locals. As long as it’s not about his bulging wallet, the traveller is far below. And when authorities are involved, only humility help. “Ochi!” shouts the woman from the Coast Guard. “Ochi! … Read more
When I fly back to REYKJA after three weeks in Switzerland, life has changed. Not necessarily for the better – but it could have been much worse. First, the cab driver at Athens airport charges 20 euros more than his colleague three weeks ago. “Registered price” he says in a firm voice. I don’t believe … Read more
The Mediterranean is many seas. They have different names, winds, dangers, even different salinity. On the way from Menorca via Sardinia, Sicily to Greece, I cross three of these seas. How I had looked forward before my journey to the magical moment when the land sinks and all around me is only sea. I imagined … Read more
All I knew about Menorca was that this place existed. Somewhere. All the more surprising is the encounter with an island where at first they don’t want to let me go ashore. Thursday evening, shortly before five. After the crossing from Mallorca, I radio Ciutadella’s marinas. Sheer horror on the other end. At 11.99 metres, … Read more
Cleaning ladies’ island, Teutonic grill, alcohol corpses, mass tourism – when I enter the bay of Palma de Mallorca, I expect the most embarrassing place in the world (after Zurich and Las Vegas). Two months later, however, I have also seen a beautiful island. Only: Where does this penetrating smell of cat piss come from? … Read more
During my training at Cruising Club Switzerland (CCS) there was never a slack. If the wind blew weaker (or came from the front, or the time of dinner approached), one immediately draw the starter key of the engine. We wanted to acquire the licence for the high seas. But when the high seas showed one … Read more
REYKJA carries AIS, Automatic Identification System. A transponder sends the data of my position. Vice versa, I see the positions of other ships, their names, speed, size, and much more. If I collide in the near future, the AIS will buzz poisonously, and tells me when and where it will be. This has advantages – … Read more