kateandjohnsail.boats

We are stateside again! More specifically, enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest summer and time with our kids, grandkids, and PNW friends. Why, you might ask, would we give up the summer months of sailing in the Mediterranean? It’s all about European Union rules. At this time, the EU welcomes visitors from other countries to stay…

We’ve had another visitor! Our daughter Meg survived 10 days with her parents aboard Quintessa. We are quite aware that part of her mission is to report back to her siblings stateside, answering questions like are our parents insane? and is this adventure going to end well? Cruising with Meg took us from Split, Croatia…

Something about the sea always makes you hungry, and some of our mornings start a little too quickly to include a good breakfast. This particular morning we decided to rise early and walk to the farmer’s market in Trogir, Croatia. The market was the best we’ve been to, due to the quality and nature what…

Our friends Frank and Rosemary have ridden their tandem bicycle together many miles. Once I asked if this activity ever puts a strain on their relationship, and the answer was, Well, let’s just say that whatever direction your relationship was headed before you started this sport, it’s going to move farther in that direction. Surely…

This is the rare real-time update on our adventures. Today (May 8th) was one remarkable day. We began by taking turns keeping watch on an overnight passage (20 hours total). Boat repairs complete, it was finally time to say arrivederci to Italy and head for a new country—Croatia, across the Adriatic Sea. We checked into…

So, what to do when your boat is on the hard in Italy? Visit Tuscany with companions, of course. Due to a moment of madness at a charity auction a year ago, we were booked to stay in a villa in Cortana with four good friends. This week. So, leaving Quintessa in the care of…

Our time in Tunisia a while back was everything we wanted it to be (beautiful location, fascinating history and culture, good food, cheap diesel) and more. But the “more” was that we found a large uncharted boulder in a bay as we tried to anchor near Kelibia. The boat was at dead slow and it…

Boaters, you can take a nap now, because you know this, but I thought others might be interested in learning how we identify other craft that are sharing the waters with us. Knowing a bit about the other boats is not only interesting, it enables us to respect other ships and avoid collisions at sea.…

Recently we spotted a few bait balls on our way, offshore of the toe of Italy’s boot. We are clued in by the sight of a lot of excited birds touching down to the surface, and intermittent splashes where tuna or other large fish are jumping. But wait, gulls can’t eat big fish like tuna;…

This post is dedicated to my science educator friends (that’s you, Vicki, Rob, Anne, and maybe others too?). We discovered this informational sign next to the harbor at Porto dell’Etna, (next to a volcano, naturally).  Looking at the sketches and recalling a few Latin roots, you can discern that the display is about the changing…