Logbook

Introduction | 22 May – 4 Jun 2025 | Mediterranean

2025 – Moving Anna to the Baltic Sea

June 6, 2025 – It is a balmy sunny Friday morning in Barcelona and Anna is steaming cautiously out of the busy Marina Vela (📍41°22′31″ N, 2°11′12″ E) and onto the open sea…

Leg 1 | 6 Jun 2025 | Mediterranean

Barcelona, Spain to Gibraltar

On June 6afternoon, David, Martin and Ivy, were happy to bid farewell to the beautiful city of Barcelona after spending several weeks waiting for parts, performing boat…

Leg 2 | 11–19 Jun 2025 | Atlantic coast

Gibraltar to Portimao, Portugal

We had planned our next leg well but even with the best planning, surprises are part of life at sea. Just as we finished the first night’s passage, David discovered that the water…

Leg 3 | 22–26 Jun 2025 | Atlantic coast

Portimão, Portugal to A Coruña, Spain (Galician name) Spanish name (Castilian) : La Coruña

While the original plan was to stop in Bilbao, after some discussion, and weighing both weather and time, we decided that A Coruña would make a better option for our next…

Leg 4 | 27 Jun – 2 Jul 2025 | Atlantic coast

A Coruña, Spain to Amsterdam, Netherlands

After a few pleasant days in A Coruña, Mikel returned to Luxembourg on June 24, while the rest of us set off that same morning on the longer passage to Amsterdam. Anna had been…

Leg 5 | 23 Jul – 2 Aug 2025 | Atlantic coast

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Cuxhafen – Laboe, Germany

When Martin and Ivy returned to Anna on July 23 after their three-week break in Germany, travel luck was not on their side. First, their flight was cancelled, nothing new by now,…

Leg 6 | 4–6 Aug 2025 | Baltic

Laboe, Germany – Gotland, Sweden

On the morning of August 2, we decided to skip the Copenhagen marina recce, Anna’s chosen winter pad and instead head straight to Gotland. We took a fairly direct route from Laboe…

Leg 7 | 8–13 Aug 2025 | Baltic

Gotland, Sweden – Riga, Latvia – Tallinn, Estonia

The route from Gotland to Riga was estimated to take 20 hours. We left Herrvik Marina on August 7 morning. It started calmly and smoothly, with light to moderate W–SW breezes and…

Leg 8 | 14–18 Aug 2025 | Baltic

Tallinn, Estonia – Byxholmen, Finland – Mariehamn, Åland Island, Finland

On August 14, 2025, weather reports for the Gulf of Finland indicated fog and mist and there was a storm developing in the Gulf of Bothnia that was moving in a southeasterly…

Leg 9 | 19–24 Aug 2025 | Baltic

Mariehamn, Åland Island, Finland – Stockholm, Sweden

The 12-hour passage from Mariehamn to Stockholm on August 18–19 unfolded under gentle late-summer conditions. We departed Åland in warm evening air and light breezes, the sea calm…

Leg 10 | 24–31 Aug 2025 | Baltic

(Lake Mälaren, Sweden) – Stockholm – Kärsön, Askholmen, Gunviksviken, Nättarö, Sweden

All good things must come to an end. We had a wonderful time in Stockholm, but as planned, our journey would continue, cruising onward to explore the beautiful Lake Mälaren…

Leg 11 | 30 Aug – 5 Sep 2025 | Baltic

(Stockholm Archipelago) – Nåttarö – Växholm, Saltsjöbaden, Rånö, Sweden

We spent the last two days of August in Nåttarö. The season was clearly over. Although there were still some weekend arrivals by ferry to the island, the marina and island were…

Leg 12 | 5–8 Sep 2025 | Baltic

(Lake Mälaren) Rånö – Ringsön – (Gryt Archipelago) Fyrudden – Idö, Sweden

The morning of September 5 began calm and bright at Rånö. A soft veil of mist hung over the water, slowly lifting as the sun rose higher, revealing the familiar late-summer…

Leg 13 | 9–12 Sep 2025 | Baltic

Idö – Kalmar – Karlskrona, Sweden

The departure from Idö at 6:30 am on Sep 9 unfolded in a thick, lingering mist, the kind that softens every outline and turns the world into a quiet, pale silhouette. Visibility…

Leg 14 | 13–16 Sep 2025 | Baltic

Karlskrona – Malmö, Sweden

On September 13 at 12:15 pm, we departed from Karlskrona Gästhamn and began our overnight cruise southwest along the Baltic coast toward Malmö. The journey covered approximately…

Leg 15 | 17–19 Sep 2025 | Baltic

Malmö, Sweden – Helsingor – Gilleleje, Denmark

We slipped our lines at Malmö Gasthamn around 9:30 am on Sep 17, ready for the short but challenging crossing to Denmark. Once underway, the Øresund Strait quickly showed its…

Leg 16 | 20–23 Sep 2025 | Baltic

Gilleleje – Copenhagen, Denmark

We departed Gilleleje Marina at 7:15 am under cool early morning skies, with a light overcast and good visibility. The wind was gentle from the southwest at 8–12 knots, providing…

Prologue | 5 Apr 2024 | Mediterranean

First Post

This is the first post to the Circumnavigation part of the website. Not much more to say than we are planning a 5+ year voyage from Barcelona around the world while keeping close…

Prologue | 5 Apr 2024 | Mediterranean

Summer 2024

We are taking Anna on a 4 month cruise from Barcelona to Istanbul and back while stopping in Croatia, Venice, Athens and several Greek islands along the way. Captain Brian Moore,…

Prologue | 11 Apr 2024 | Mediterranean

Captian Brian Moore

I am very happy to have Capt. Brian Moore joining me on this summer’s voyage to Istanbul. Brian accompanied me on last year’s voyage from Cascais, Portugal to Barcelona and we got…

Prologue | 11 Apr 2024 | Mediterranean

Circumnavigation Map

See the map above for the planned high level route. Point is to stay close to land as much as possible as it is more interesting to see than open water and since I have only a…

2 Jun 2024 | 78 nm | Mediterranean

Barcelona – Cala Jóncols

We woke up wanting to get an early start and got underway at 0635, which was about 30 minutes later than we planned. Brian freed the stern lines, and I started out of the slip…

10 Jun 2024 | 320 nm | Mediterranean

Cala Jóncols – Forte dei Marmi

Flybridge on overnight cruise to Forte dei Marmi

10 Jun 2024 | 66 nm | Mediterranean

Forte dei Marmi – Elba Island

We left Viareggio around 09:30 to buy provisions for the rest of the trip to Dubrovnik. The trip down to Elba Island was uneventful, but the weather was nice. It was a short…

11 Jun 2024 | 73 nm | Mediterranean

Elba Island – Marina Riva di Traiano

Arriving in the Marina was nice as we had a long day before with a late start, trying to find a suitable anchorage, and spending 3 hours on replacing the impeller pump. We tied…

12 Jun 2024 | 106 nm | Mediterranean

Marina Riva di Traiano – Isola Ventatene

We left the marina early after a good night’s sleep. The voyage to Isola Ventotene took about 15 hours, with 1-meter beam seas on the starboard side. I discovered that the heater…

13 Jun 2024 | 115 nm | Mediterranean

Isola Ventatene – Baia del Buon Dormire

On the way to Isola Ventotene, we noticed that the autopilot continued to overcorrect for the course. We deduced that the Hynautic steering might be low on pressure or oil. Upon…

13 Jun 2024 | 237 nm | Mediterranean

Baia del Buon Dormire – Crotone

We didn’t set out for a 33-hour voyage around the toe of Italy, but we did. The weather was so nice and we had gentle 1m – 2m rolling following seas which gave us an average speed…

16 Jun 2024 | 248 nm | Mediterranean

Crotone – Dubrovnik

After a restful night at Yachting Kroton Club marina, we embarked on our journey to Dubrovnik. Rounding the boot of Italy, we caught a decent current that carried us smoothly…

20 Jun 2024 | Mediterranean

Dubrovnik – Korčula – Hvar – on Anchor – Zadar (Part I)

Mikel and Rachel joined us in Dubrovnik on Wednesday evening to embark on a five-day cruise to Zadar. From there, they will fly back to Luxembourg and Maryland, respectively. Our…

26 Jun 2024 | Mediterranean

Dubrovnik – Korčula – Hvar – on Anchor – Zadar (Part II)

Brian and I just left Zadar after spending two engaging nights at Marina Tankerkomerc. We arrived at noon (12:00) on the 24th and, after securing the boat at the marina, ventured…

26 Jun 2024 | 59 nm | Mediterranean

Anchorage at Krk

We found a quiet anchorage just southwest of the city of Krk on the south side of the island. Initially, there were two other small boats with families enjoying the water and…

26 Jun 2024 | 73 nm | Mediterranean

Krk to Brijuni National Park

We didn’t choose Brijuni National Park because of what it is, but really because of where it was. When we arrived, we found a very nice cove to anchor in, but no one was around.…

26 Jun 2024 | 416 nm | Mediterranean

Brijuni National Park to Saranda, Albania

Having the battery issue temporarily resolved, we decided to leave in the evening as it was about a 56-hour voyage to Saranda and we wanted to arrive in the morning. Leaving at…

1 Jul 2024 | 51 nm | Mediterranean

Saranda, Albania to Agios Giannakis, Greece

Before leaving Saranda, we made a stop at a different marina solely designated for refueling ships. The process there is quite organized, with several fuel trucks of varying sizes…

4 Jul 2024 | 113 nm | Mediterranean

Agios Giannakis to Kato Vasiliki

We decided to get around the corner of the Greek mainland on our way to the Gulf of Corinth. The weather, however, was not so kind to us that day. The winds were blowing at 20…

4 Jul 2024 | 29 nm | Mediterranean

Kalamaki Bay to Athens

We decided to get around the corner of the Greek mainland on the way to the Gulf of Corinth. The weather was not so nice to us this day as the winds were 20 knots with heavier…

4 Jul 2024 | 98 nm | Mediterranean

Kato Vasiliki to Kalamaki Bay

We left Kato Vasiliki with the intention of anchoring outside the northern entrance of the Corinth Canal. However, as we proceeded down the Gulf of Corinth, the weather took a…

Album | 5–10 Jul 2024 | Mediterranean

Athens Photo Album

Jill, Kurt and David on rooftop of Grand Hyatt

6 Jul 2024 | 58 nm | Mediterranean

Athens to Kythos Island

We decided to get around the corner of the Greek mainland on the way to the Gulf of Corinth. The weather was not so nice to us this day as the winds were 20 knots with heavier…

Album | 12 Jul 2024 | Mediterranean

Athens Video Album

13 Jul 2024 | 56 nm | Mediterranean

Kithnos Island to Mykonos Island

Our idea was to get to the Patmos Islands on a friend’s suggestion, as these islands are a bit different from others. Known for their spiritual significance and tranquil beauty,…

15 Jul 2024 | 41 nm | Mediterranean

Mykonos to Antiparos

That’s always something you need to deal with when voyaging. The weather, malfunctions on board, and crew fatigue all put strains on any voyage, no matter how well thought out.…

Album | 15–24 Jul 2024 | Mediterranean

Mykinos/Antiparos/Milos/Ios Photo Album

Drone Shot from Poliegos Island 15m of Clear Water

17 Jul 2024 | 34 nm | Mediterranean

Antiparos to Milos

After 3 days of anchoring out in gusting winds, we headed to Milos to meet up with our friends Gilles and Clelia Sommers who have a vacation home there. The voyage itself was…

22 Jul 2024 | 91 nm | Mediterranean

Santorini to Agios Nicholaos

In remembrance of Scott on a trip to Florida – I love you!

24 Jul 2024 | 37 nm | Mediterranean

Milos to Ios

After re-reading the prior post, it is clear that I am mixing up places and events. So this will be a short update as Ios is where we walked to the top of the city and found the…

26 Jul 2024 | 35 nm | Mediterranean

Ios to Santorini

The short voyage to Santorini was nice as the weather was pretty calm. When we rounded the top of the island (shaped like a backwards letter “C”) the famous white buildings and…

4 Aug 2024 | Mediterranean

Solo Voyage – Day 1

“When it rains, it pours” was a successful marketing slogan for the Morton Salt Company, used when they added magnesium carbonate to their salt to prevent it from clumping in…

14–19 Aug 2024 | Mediterranean

Final Blog for Summer 2024

In our Ape taxi for a quick tour of Palermo

Album | 19 Aug – 1 Sep 2024 | Mediterranean

Final Voyage Photo Album

Epilogue | 9 Sep 2024 | Mediterranean

Epilogue – Summer 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed this summer, even though I probably “bit off more than I could chew,” as the saying goes. Part of the reason for the trip was to test myself as well as Anna,…