Freya & Us

Vessel Name: Freya of Wight
Vessel Make/Model: Westerly Oceanranger
Hailing Port: Portishead
14 September 2022 | South Wales
04 May 2022
02 May 2022 | Kos - 8,924 NM
24 April 2022 | Lakki, Leros - 8,914 NM
11 April 2022 | Lipsoi - 8,776 NM
07 April 2022 | Samos, 8,735NM
20 March 2022 | Samos - 8,735NM
31 October 2021 | Samos - 8,491 NM
09 November 2020 | Severn Beach, Bristol - 8,735 NM
08 November 2020 | Samos Marina, Pythagorio - 8,735 NM
26 October 2020 | Samos Marina, Pythagorio - 8,735 NM
20 October 2020 | Marathakampos - 20th October 2020 - 8,715NM
09 October 2020 | Limnos - 8,620 NM
30 September 2020 | Patmos - 8,602 NM
25 September 2020 | Evdhilos, Ikaria - 8,552 NM
13 September 2020 | Oinoussa - 8,491 NM
03 December 2019 | Bristol - 8,443 NM
05 November 2019 | Mytilini - 8,443 NM
18 October 2019 | Mytilini, Lesbos - 8,413 NM
11 October 2019 | Molyvos, Lesbos - 8,379 NM
Recent Blog Posts
14 September 2022 | South Wales

Final Story

After 12 years, 8,924 miles, 376 ports of call we officially handed Freya to her new owner last night.

04 May 2022

Interactive Map

By clicking on the link below you can load an interactive map to see our route and explore the places we stopped at.

02 May 2022 | Kos - 8,924 NM

The end of another adventure

Time to move on as we needed to drop Ian and Jess off in Kos for their flight home. There wasn't a breath of wind as we motored to Kos harbour which is very atmospheric under the old castle. It all felt very hectic in the town after a few weeks exploring the tiny, peaceful islands. We were treated to [...]

24 April 2022 | Lakki, Leros - 8,914 NM

Stunning Aegean

It was 11 miles to Skala Patmos and an amazing broad reach sail all the way (almost!) - definitely what it's all about. The sea could've been flatter but it was as expected after the high winds. We went side to on the quay with a Finnish boat where it was very flat and peaceful, especially after the [...]

11 April 2022 | Lipsoi - 8,776 NM

At last, we’re off!

And finally we were ready to go! The engine started first turn, we let off the lines and left Samos marina. We've loved our extended stay on Samos but we're not sorry to leave the marina which is very is unprofessionally run. We were joined on our first trip for ages by dolphins just outside Pythagorio. [...]

07 April 2022 | Samos, 8,735NM

Very stressful final preparations

The engine was removed very efficiently and with great respect for the boat. It was taken to Zlatco's workshop for further investigation! They returned an hour or so later to clean up - very impressive and the engine bay has never looked so clean and shiny! It was very traumatic watching Freya having [...]

Stones and Flowers

27 April 2016 | Crotone - 5,481 nm
Sunny Spells and Windy
Roccella Ionica marina was very nice, peaceful and very friendly set between miles of white sandy beach and surrounded by pine trees. Unfortunately, it's a long way from anywhere! We cycled into town but discovered there was very little to see and very few shops. We bought groceries in a tiny supermarket and bought pizzettas for lunch by the beach but that was pretty much Roccella done.

We thought we'd explore further afield and so the next day cycled into town and caught the train to Locri - this area of Calabria is called Locride, after the town, and so it should have things of interest. We got off the train and wandered for a while but soon realised that apart from a few more shops there wasn't much else. We knew there were ruins close by and so thought we'd find a bus - there wasn't one! We got a taxi there hoping it wasn't too far as we didn't really know where it was! The Greek ruins of Epizephyrii were, as always, interesting given our fascination with old piles of stones. It was quite a sizeable site dating back to the 8th century BC but not a lot remained. The most amazing sight though was the spring flowers, often completely obscuring the ruins but they were stunning. It was worth the trip and the entry fee for them alone. Thankfully, the walk back to town was about 5 km and along a path beside the beach and so very pleasant - we did have to take our shoes off and wade through a stream at one point though!

We successfully retraced our path to exit Roccella without going aground again (the dredger was just starting work!) and motor sailed to our next stop, Le Castella, 40 miles away. This area of Italy doesn't seem to have the lovely old towns so full of character, along the coast that we've come to expect and Le Castella was no exception. Not only did it have little character but it was very much closed and had a sad and empty feel. It's saving grace was its beautiful Aragonese castle built on a causeway out of sand coloured stone giving the appearance of a giant sand castle.

We only stayed 1 night before heading for Crotone, 20 miles away. At last, we had good wind and we sailed properly, for the first time this year, all the way, averaging 6.2 knots. The sea was a bit choppy but we were both smiling. The mooring in Crotone was interesting as the wind funnelled into the marina giving us 30 knot gusts as we tried to reverse into our allotted space! Not text book but any mooring with no damage is a good one!

We arrived here on a national holiday celebrating Italy's liberation in the 2nd world war and so Crotone was very, very closed on our first explore. We opted for a long, delicious lunch instead - when we eventually found a restaurant open.

Crotone is a largish mostly modern town spread along a long seafront, but it is capped by a ruined castle and old town. We enjoyed exploring it all and found some wonderful views from the castle and narrow alleys to get lost in. The shopping was good so we treated ourselves to some new clothes and generally chilled out for a few days.

We are moored in the old port and from the castle we could look down into the new commercial port, where we could see half a dozen large motor and sailing yachts run aground by the harbour wall. They all looked relatively new and expensive. Our Italian may have let us down, but we understand that these boats were carrying migrants and were illegally dumped there after they offloaded their passengers in the harbour. This is our first firsthand experience of the current problems in this part of the Med.

The winds that greeted us when we arrived seem to be a feature of Crotone, while there are calmer spells the wind has become more than a little tiresome, however after five days here it looks as if we will have a window to move on to St. Maria di Leuca, 70 miles away tomorrow. Leuca will be our final stop in Italy before we get to Greece.

Click here for the interactive map of our travels
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