Crossing from Greece.

Against our own cruising philosophy, we spent two nights in the Port of Valletta, waiting out the worst storm of the year, so far received in Malta (according to the locals). When we finally left Valletta, the winds had subsided to about 3 BF, but the waves where still there, as a reminder of the storm past. As crossing to Greece in these conditions would be uncomfortable, we spent the night on a mooring in the Marsaxlokk bay. Even in 3 meters of water depth, there was not a trace to be seen on the bottom. Marsaxlokk, does not only have the cool name, it also combines the most authentic fishing harbor and town, with the largest container terminal of Malta. The next day we finally set sail, and the fore-casted 4 BF had temporarily increased to 6. Our first challenge was to navigate our way through the tanker field, just east of Malta, stretching for 20 nautical miles. We all have to mind our swing circles, and when anchored in 100 meters of water depth, I would expect the swing circle to have a diameter of over half a kilometer. The tankers did not seem to mind being anchored in 6 bf, 20 NM offshore, and onwards we went. The wind and waves went down as we increased our distance from Malta, and we had the genacker sail up for most of the remainder of the trip. When we were on the gennacker, we had the pleasure of welcoming a guest that took the time to drop into the cabin of our boat. After 3 days, we finally arrived in Navarino bay, which was quite nice, so we decided to spent the next five days in the bay.

My first time on a mooring was in Marsaxlokk. I was glad that I didn't have to anchor, as the bay was quite industrial, and we couldn't see the bottom.

Crossing the tanker field in 6 BF

Tuxington in lifejacket

Crossing can be hard work!!

An unexpected visitor

Arrival in Navarino Bay

the Locals at Navarino Bay