kateandjohnsail.boats

It would be so, so wrong to give the impression that sailboat cruising consists only of Instagram moments! We were knocked down this week. Hours after a particularly delicious restaurant meal in Crete, John was visited by Hurlus, the Greek god of projectile vomiting, and Diarrheas, the god of, well, you know. We did all…

Time for a slice of what we find delightful about visiting places that are someone else’s home. We had just arrived back in Turkey, and had only a one-hour car transport between the airport (at Dalaman), and the marina. We knew citrus was in high season and that there were many fruit stands along the…

    One January day in Portland I was on the phone with a friend, explaining that we were having some things done to Quintessa while we were away. Being a non-sailor, she asked me “what kinds of things would you need to do to a boat?” That launched me into probably too much detail about…

ALL IS WELL. That is what I have relayed to several friends and family members particularly in the last week, as we have been non-communicative during our preparations for sailing. My deepest apologies to those of you who were wondering about our welfare. Preparing for sailing is never a streamlined affair, but when you add…

Well, it seems that our fall sailing season has come to an end. We are in Marmaris, Turkey for Thanksgiving week—a week to be thankful and also to prepare Quintessa for winter. This year we will have some maintenance done so she will be on the hard in the boatyard here with a few hundred…

Our last visitor of this sailing season was our friend Sara, a salty sailor with whom we have raced for several years on Iris, a Hylas 42 on the Columbia River. Sara is a great sailor, flexible traveler, and all-around fun human: therefore a good fit for Quintessa. We have now deployed all of Quintessa’s…

Last spring we unexpectedly realized that sailing the Med meant that we could have a front row seat to quite a bit of volcanic activity: we viewed Vesuvius looming over Pompeii, buzzed glowing Stromboli at night, climbed to the mouth of the original Vulcan’s blacksmith shop, and parked the boat under a smoldering Etna. Months…

­When we purchased Quintessa a year ago, I had inspected the boat from top to bottom, but had not actually sailed on her. This is actually quite normal, as we were quite familiar with the model of the boat, and a yacht surveyor had taken her out on a sea trial. Imagine my surprise, however,…

There are only five identified Blue Zones in the world, and in the course of twelve months we have stumbled onto two of them. The first was Sardinia, last fall. Now we have reached the Greek island of Ikaria, where many of the people enjoy good health past the age of 90, with quite a…

­My friend Johanna, who is married to a Dakolopolos, has requested more mythology. Well, today is Johanna’s day, because we have been transiting along the stunning south coast of Ikaria, Greece. Just as I was speculating about the name of the island, we spotted an intriguing spot and slowed to investigate. Sure enough, it was…