Here in the Mediterranean the American invasion is in full swing. Cruisers are headed back to Greece and Croatia, the first of the EU countries to open up, to re-commission their boats having been locked out for nearly two years. We had a very nice dinner at StFYC on Sunday evening with Steve and Manjula Dean of Pt. Richmond for the first time since the YC has recently opened up for indoor dining. Nice to be back although the new reality is a little different with widely spaced tables, masks, etc. It made me wonder what life will be like when we arrive in Greece on Tuesday evening. Steve has been tying himself in knots trying to get to France to take delivery of their new Catana 53. So far no luck so the new “Hanuman” is being delivered to Croatia by a factory crew. Steve and Manjula will meet the boat in Kastela (near Split) around June 1 and take delivery there after 5 days of sea trials with the factory techs.

Meanwhile, Craig and Cory Rowell and their boat partners Rick and Ruth Moe all of Santa Cruz are en route to Greece to re-commission their Arlberg Rassey 53 which they haven’t seen in over two years due to the pandemic. Cory and Craig just landed at Heathrow (Saturday morning) and have cleared the border authorities well armed with both vaccinations, negative PCR tests result uploaded to Verify App and the Passenger Locator Forms. Heathrow requires the negative PCR even if you have had your vaccinations. Rick and Ruth will follow this week although they are scheduled to transit through Frankfurt where we had so much trouble gaining permission to transit on our flight last Tuesday.

Once back in Greece, Debbie and I shared a couple of delightful dinners with cruising friends Lulu Wollman and Gary Strutin of Manhatten who are back for their 20th season of cruising Greece on their Oyster 61. We all use Lavrion as a base since it is only 30 minutes from the Athens Airport and home to Olympic Marina, a very good place to store your boat on the hard for the off season. In their case it had been two years since they have seen Lulu and fortunately she cleaned up well and is back in the water. Gary and Lulu reported no particular problems transiting through Milan from JFK and ultimately arriving in Athens.

We, on the other hand, had a bear of a time just getting on our Lufthansa flight out of SFO. We have been perusing the news and multiple countries web sights staying abreast of the constantly shifting situation regarding traveling to the EU in the time of Covid. On Saturday before our departure Debbie spent over an hour on the phone with a Lufthansa agent going over our itinerary transiting Frankfort on our SFO to Athens route. We were assured that as long as we didn’t leave the airport this would be no problem.

Not so, we were told at the check in counter. All the U.S. citizens with no essential business and no EU residence or citizenship were told that the German law currently restricted U.S. citizens from even transiting Germany. This is contrary to London, Milan and Rome (and probably other major cities). Many of these passengers left to try to book different itineraries for the next day. We were a little more obstinate demanding a refund on the spot not wanting to give up so easily then having go through the multiple hours long process it would take to get a refund later - plus a new ticket purchase a day later would cost twice as much. After an hour and a half of being steadfast in our position the Lufthansa supervisor called the border authority in Frankfort and received an exception for the four of us. We were on! Except that the SFO departure was delayed for over two hours due to a technical issue and we only had an hour and a half to make our Athens connection in Frankfort. The short story is that I move very slowly as I’m still recovering from back surgery and we were fortunate Lufthansa held the connecting flight to Athens as we were the last people in the door causing a late departure. If we missed the flight and had to overnight in Germany I’m not sure what the authorities would have done with us since we were technically in the country illegally. Years back, before the Schengen Treaty opened up the borders of all the EU nations enabling their citizens to move freely throughout the EU for work or pleasure, the transit lounges were a place where passengers waiting for a connecting flight could stay without technically entering that country. Much has changed with Schengen as the UK is rapidly finding out post-Brexit.

An important note for anyone contemplating travel to Europe this summer: The Lufthansa people made it very clear to us that they do not make these rules, the individual countries and the EU as a whole make the rules. The airlines don’t like the changing environment any more than we passengers. While we are counting on the vaccinations to largely keep us safe it is important to find out each countries current restrictions and to follow them. One of the important lessons of this pandemic is that we are all in this together. This is no time to be selfish – we are wearing our masks and watching our social distancing, this is a small price to pay to help save lives and get the world back on its feet financially…

It is with a heavy heart that I write this last post of our fabulous 13 years aboard our Catana 52 Escapade. After summering in New England we sailed south to Florida where we put Escapade on the hard for a few months while we traveled back to California in our new Covid Camper, a 4wd MBZ camper van. This way we avoided airplanes, hotels and restaurants, all Covid hot spots in October 2020.

We were past due to check in with family and for me to have my back surgery now scheduled for November 2020. The surgery was declared successful by the medical team at UCSF San Francisco although there was no way I could live and work on the boat four months later.

We were correct in our assessment of our elderly mothers, losing Joanne, Debbie's mom to old age and the Covid on February 2, 2021 at the age of 92. My mother Mary passed on April 20, 2021 at 99, just a few months short of her oft stated goal of living to 100. Fortunately, they both passed peacefully in their sleep in their own beds softening the loss we all felt.

My rehab was going incredibly slowly according to me and progressing fine according to the surgeons. During this time a yacht broker brought us an offer for Escapade at the price we had mentioned we would accept. We practically prayed for something to go wrong and the buyer to change his mind but that was not to be. On April 30th we were officially dirt dwellers.

To ease the pain we have traveled to Greece to sit on the beach and try to decide what we will do now that it is time to grow up... from what we have learned so far don't count another boat our of our future!

We last reported in from quarantine in Powder Hole, Bermuda waiting for a weather window to continue on to Newport in the company of our friends on the Swan 64 Na’ia. After a very exciting few days on the hook when we had two different boats drag down on us in some hellacious puffs we had an uneventful sail up to Newport.

Newport is quiet this year with most locals wearing masks and being careful, but the same cannot be said of the daytrippers who are largely ignoring the mask and distancing guidelines. After Grenada we had to be careful not to take too much of the freedom that Newport allowed – forcing ourselves to stay out of restaurants and stores for the most part – and stay vigilant to the Covid. We spent our time upgrading most of Escapade’s galley appliances and catching up on routine maintenance. Our ‘bubble’ included Bob and Kristine of Na’ia and not many others – all in all a not very sociable summer in Newport. From Newport we sailed down to Ft. Pierce, FL with a couple of short stopovers in the Chesapeake. While 75 miles off the coast of NY it was pretty dramatic to see the exotic sunset caused by the CA wildfires.

The boaters in Ft Pierce weren’t taking the Covid 19 precautions at all seriously so we were happy once we had Escapade hauled out and tucked away for what we anticipate will be several months away from the boat. After talking about it for years we made the move and bought a Sprinter camper van and drove to CA where we remain rehabbing from my back surgery. Not the great memories of most of our time cruising on Escapade but without some of the truly horrible stories of some of our other cruising friends.

I know we all believe 2021 will be a better year and writing this a day after the rioters stormed the Capitol buildings in Washington, I can only say I hope so. Good luck to everyone – stay healthy…this pandemic is real.

Greg Dorland
Squaw Valley
Jan 6, 2021

Early May, Calvigny Island Cut, Grenada. It could be anytime between early March and now. We have been restricted to our boats in Grenada for weeks, quarantined 24/7 for the last month. But now the government is starting to relax the rules just slightly, we're allowed three shopping days a week giving us an excuse to stretch our legs ashore. I think they meant for us to pick one of the three days to shop, but we are taking the pronouncement literally going ashore every shopping day trying to get a little exercise while maintaining social distance and wearing masks. Life is actually very good on the Escapade compared to the difficult stories we read about daily. Like so many others we spend large parts of every day ingesting the news from California and around the world which gets very depressing, particularly the daily corona virus press briefings from the White House.

Our thinking is right in line with the Grenadian authorities. Shut it down hard and fast. If the pandemic gets a foothold in one of these small islands with limited health care facilities it would rage like a wildfire. As long as the pandemic is held at bay, our water maker keeps working, we can access fuel, and obtain groceries, our daily decision discussing remaining in Grenada or making a break for New England and arriving during the brunt of the pandemic, where we would face an unknown welcome, possible civil unrest and an unknown ability to move around keeps us here until we are forced to make a final decision. The onset of hurricane season will force that decision in the next couple of weeks...

I think it was noted in Latitude's cruise notes that we returned to the Caribbean in the winter 2019 after four years in the Med. After enjoying our first warm winter in five years we set sail to Newport, R.I. via Bermuda. Three days out of Sint Marten our weather report for the landfall in Bermuda took a turn for the worse. Not wanting to thrash into the increasing Northerly followed by the strong probability of a gale (and secretly wanting another season in the Med.) we took the option to turn right and use the north wind to push us to the Azores. Debbie and I had our first long distance double handed crossing and it turned out great, we had consistent winds of 15-25 kts and beat our fully crewed passage time by 2 full days. After a few days in Horta we motored out from under the Azores high and sailed the remainder of the 600 odd miles to the Portuguese Algarve and were happily back in Europe.

Note: the Azores are a group of islands that get short shrift from many of us going to the Mediterranean as we're in a hurry to enjoy the short Mediterranean summer. This is really too bad as the islands are beautiful, and the geography and the weather reminiscent of northern California. Much produce is grown in the islands and the meat is delicious and sold as a high-quality brand in Spain and Portugal. They make good wines and they are taking care of their lands. The people are friendly and unassuming and quick to point out that there are more Azoreans living in the U.S. than in the Azores. Our lack of Portuguese was never a problem. But we are the worst of the impatient, always wanting to see what is around the next bend and for the second time we passed through without spending enough time in this delightful place.

The bluffs of Cabo Sao Vincente at the southwest corner of Portugal are a dramatic welcome to the Trans-Atlantic sailor. With the towering sandstone cliffs fronting dramatic semi-hidden beaches followed by many natural anchorages in the abundant river deltas it is easy to see how the Algarve has become so popular. However, arriving in June having enjoyed the Caribbean winter, the Algarve had yet to warm up to summer temperatures and the water was the temperature of the North Atlantic, not the Caribbean.

A couple of days further east we arrived in Cadiz, Spain where we planned to see pro-sailor Morgan Larson of Santa Cruz skipper the Gazprom TP 52 in the Mediterranean Super Series. Morgan's parents Bobo and Janie sailed with me "back in the day" in two of the Swan World Cups in Sardinia where the 8 year old Morgan hiked the Swan 59 up the weather leg. He must have learned a lot. (Most likely about what not to do!) It was pretty cool watching him sailing among the best sailors in the world in this hyper-competitive TP 52 fleet. Thanks to Morgan's great hospitality we had a tremendous time in Cadiz, departing after the last race for the Straits of Gibraltar hoping to catch up with the Gazprom team at a later event in Palma and/or Porto Cervo.

The kite-surfing hotspot Tarifa is the north portal into the Straits of Gibraltar and we rounded in relatively moderate air considering we had to motor into 30 knots of headwind on our previous trip. Kite-surfing hotspots are not great for cruisers if you have to pass them going upwind. It's another 12 nm through the straits to get to the rock but the first sight of the Rock of Gibraltar is always exciting. At this point you are officially in the Mediterranean. We don't like marinas as they are usually hot and still and you can't go in the water plus the Mediterranean summer marina prices are absurd for a big catamaran like Escapade, but our first stop was in Cartagena to re-provision and purchase 100 meters of new anchor chain. Cartagena had a reputation for reasonable slip fees, especially for catamarans as they didn't charge the normal 1.5 times the monohull price. WARNING: this has all changed. Prices have gone way up.

Leaving the work stop at Cartagena we were eagerly awaiting the beaches and the clear water of the Baleric Islands, sadly we didn't arrive to the same Formentara we had departed from the previous October. Gone were the deserted anchorages and wild wind-swept beaches of our memories. Welcome to the crowds of summer. Formentara is only a few nautical miles from Ibiza and the lure of the sandy white beaches and close proximity brings all the power boaters over for the day churning the waters with high db exhausts competing with the clamor from the over amped stereos with everyone dancing and taking selfies. Look at me!! (Yes, I am getting old!)

Looking at the chart we could see that the southeast side of the island was just enough further away from Ibiza that it just might be less impacted by the nautical rave. It turned out to be mostly sailboats at anchor in front of another rare Mediterranean white sand beach.

The next day we sailed up to Palma for a couple of days enjoying the city on the island, the great selection of shops, restaurants, and tapas bars. Seat my wife at a nice table in a restaurant where she is sitting being served with a nice glass of Spanish wine in front of her and her smile lights up like a newlywed. This is her just desserts for running her own restaurant for 32 years. (Christie Hill on the lake in Tahoe City). The anchorage in Palma is marginal' sketchy holding and susceptible to the changing wind and wave direction. It's a little bit better a couple miles down the bay off Porto Portals, but from there you have to take a bus into town. So when the anchorage got lumpy we got going...out of the vast Bay of Palma and west around to Puerto Andraitx. This is your drop dead beautiful natural Mediterranean bay lined with restaurants, music and tapas bars. Lots of fun and we know a couple of Catana owners we had met in Antigua who showed us a great time who live there in the summer. It's worth mentioning that Barry had sailed his Catana 47 round trip to the Caribbean 13 times, doing the summer season in the Med and the winter in the Caribbean. This was the first year that he had finally left 'Panic Attack' in Trinidad and flown back to his place in Andraitx.

Sailing around the northwest side of Mallorca you want to stop at the well protected harbor of Porto Soller, and then move on to overnight in a couple of the narrow calas which are instagram ready small sandy beaches hemmed in by rock outcroppings. In settled weather there are many suitable nooks and crannies where you can drop the hook. In bad weather you have to stay in Soller or make for the stunning south coast of Menorca. After resting up in the very protected harbor at Mahon at the far east end of Menorca you jump off for the overnight 200 mile passage to Sardinia and Corsica. In settled weather the Straits of Bonifacio and the Corsican Islands of Lavezzi make for wonderful wild anchorages and beautiful waters for swimming.

Working up the west side of Corsica we were pleased to find well protected natural anchorages as the usual summer breeze here comes from the northwest. But, to sail around Corsica properly we should have continued through the Straits and gone up the east side of the island first and then sailed down the western part as going counter clockwise you find the best wind for sailing. At the risk of a hit by the Corsican mafia I will say that both Debbie and me were generally underwhelmed by the local food and wine. We were expecting the south of France with very decent pizza, and fresh salad washed down with a simple dry rose. Campomoro and the Golfe of Girolata are gorgeous little anchorages and Calvi is a very pretty seaside city with an imposing citadel guarding the entrance by sea. The Port of Saint Florent provided a calm anchorage and a good night's sleep before rounding Cap Corse and venturing on to one of our favorite anchorages in Italy, Portovenere located just south of the famous Cinque Terra.

Portovenere is a medieval Italian seaside town with a spectacular 14th century church set on a rock promontory connected to the west end of the town by a stone walkway. There is a small island just to the south providing good protection to the anchorage and providing a wonderful place for a strenuous hike or just to stretch your legs after a fabulous lunch at Locanda Lorena. The town is a visual splendor of rock and bougainvillea, narrow walking alleys lined with tourist shops, food stores and restaurants. This is the southern end of Liguria, the Italian province well known for pesto sauce. Portovenere has a little different vibe than so many of the busy tourist towns of summer because for whatever reason the tourists are all mostly Italian.

After lingering in Portovenere we made a stop in Elba, but again, we didn't spend enough time here to do it properly as we wanted to get back to southern Spain earlier than we had the year before when we had run into some stormy days. Our plan for the summer had mostly been accomplished; we wanted to re-visit the western Mediterranean more leisurely than five years before and not try to do too much before retracing our track to Cartagena, where we would leave Escapade for a few weeks while returning to California to visit our aging mothers.

Returning from California to Cartagena we both came down with the worst flu of our lives, sick in bed for a month while Escapade was being re-powered with new Volvo D2-75 hp motors. This all made for a late departure for the Caribbean just after the new year via the Canaries and the Capo Verde Is. leading back to where we are now...



'Now' is Grenada and the totally unexpected quarantine on Escapade. We know this life interrupted could be a lot worse, but we are really wrestling with the idea of trying to continue on to our planned summer in New England or remaining in the southern Caribbean just on the lower latitudes of the normal hurricane belt. Indeed, we start every day with the discussion of what to do. There are compelling reasons for each course of action. Stay away from the Covid 19 epidemic to the greatest degree possible by remaining on the boat in the Caribbean and playing tag with the Tropical Storms forecast to be numerous and strong for the year 2020, or go to New England (when we can find a pathway of open islands) and be closer to family and friends, away from the hurricanes, and have a chance at good medical attention should we need it.

Meanwhile in late April and May over 250 boats return to the US in flotillas organized by the Salty Dawg Rally organizers to repatriate US citizens and Canadians back to North America. We wait it out until June 1st when practical considerations, a buyer for Escapade and the realization that it is finally time to get the long put off back operation, get the better of us so we sail for Bermuda in the company of our old friends Bob and Kristen Beltrano (formerly of Alameda) on their beautiful Swan 60 Na'ia.

I'm writing these last paragraphs from Bermuda quarantine in the Powder Hole anchorage where it is gusting to forty knots and dumping rain - happy to be tucked into this safe harbor for the next few days. We will leave with Na'ia on the first available favorable weather window across the Gulf Stream and on to Newport later this week.

Good luck to everyone...

-gd

Always thinking, assessing our options daily as the Coronavirus sweeps over the planet. We are fortunate to always be self-quarantined on the Escapade and doubly fortunate to be anchored in Prickly Bay, Grenada. To date there is only one recorded case of Covid-19 on the island. The many cases throughout the Caribbean have forced the majority of islands to close their borders to cruising boats as well as all other tourists and non-residents.

We wake up, check our phones for the latest news overnight, start up the espresso machine and settle in for our first daily discussion of what we are going to do. One underlying current is that hurricane season is a short 2+ months away.

This year's crossing from Las Palmas, Canaries to the island of Grenada turned into a sometimes slow and always smooth downwind ride always staying in the wind just to the south of the huge high pressure sitting over the direct route to the Caribbean.