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"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
And so the end of 2017 is nearly upon us. A year in which we didn't sail like we used to (apart from on friends boats and partying would be more to the point than actual sailing) but a trip to Malta in September for three weeks was a great tonic - with a few Gins thrown in for good measure. And boy are their measures BIG over there! Between the parties, including a surprise wedding anniversary bash on a dear friends magnificent rooftop terrace, we instructed some work to be done on Comino whilst she's taking a well earned rest on the hard in Manoel Island Boatyard. The hull has been stripped of the old antifoul and an inspection has revealed a perfectly dry bottom, free of any signs of Osmosis. Gelcoat repairs to a few dings will happen over the next few weeks, together with a thorough engine service. I shall be mostly buying extra lottery tickets for the next few months to pay for all of this.
We'll head over to Malta in February to complete the work necessary to get the boat in tip top, like brand new, condition ready for our booked re-launch on 10th April. That sounds like another excuse for another party don't you think? The plan is to have some fun sailing around the area until the weather settles and then we'll start our journey to Greece. We've decided to take a slow route via Sicily and Southern Italy, eventually rocking up at Gouvia Marina in Corfu. Don't quite know when we'll get there - it depends on how long we stay at places we like along the way - and we're definitely not in a hurry. I'm guessing that we'll need to sample the many varieties of Italian wine we'll encounter en-route, not to mention a few regional pasta dishes and maybe the odd Saltimbocca alla Romano or Polpettine di Agnello. We shall call this venture the great Gino D'Acampo experience. If we sailed every day, I've calculated that it would take us 15 days based on gentle daytime passages. Judging by my appetite for fine Italian food, I'm thinking we might arrive in 2020 if we're lucky. This blog will, of course, detail the journey and document the fun and frolics we have along the way, including, as ever, the culinary delights we get to sample. In the meantime, here's a few pics of 2017 that sort of tell the story.
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A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
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