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 [...]

A Load of Balls

02 June 2014 | Burriana - 2,808 NM
Sunny and Warm
The wedding was great fun and it was really good to catch up with friends and family both there and in Bristol. We were home for three weeks but it seemed like no time before we heading back to Freya, but like boats planes also have their problems and after a four hour delay in Bristol Airport, Ryanair eventually found us a new plane and we were finally on our way to Valencia.

We spent a couple of days in Valencia, restocking the larder and fitting a few of the minor spares we brought back with us. On our penultimate night there we listened to a live concert that was hosted across the water in another part of the marina - free pop concerts included in your mooring fees, that was a first for us.

We left Valencia mid morning yesterday heading for Burriana 27 NM away in flat calm seas, next to no wind and brilliant sunshine. We were ready to enjoy a peaceful motor, but the wind picked up and we were soon sailing close hauled in 15 kts of wind...even better. A few hours later the wind had shifted and increased and we were now beating into the wind and some very short and sharp seas that were breaking spectacularly over the bow.... a complete contrast to the conditions a few hours earlier, still fun if a little uncomfortable.

Later, as I went to trim the foresail, we had a minor rigging failure and the Genoa Car (the pulley and hunk of metal in the picture) detached itself from the track (grey metal strip in the picture) on the deck. As this happened we of course lost all tension on the sail and it and the sheet (rope) with car attached started flying around. More of a shock than a crisis. It took a few minutes to furl in the sail and we soon were back underway now motoring with just the mainsail. The car and track seem to be held together with a line of ball bearings running in channels on both the car and track, it seems that we had a few missing and that's what caused the problem. We have ordered a load of balls from the local shipyard and should be on our way again tomorrow.

Today we explored Burriana which didn't take too long although we had a very nice afternoon cycling along the sea front and as a bonus along a very pretty river (unusually for Southern Spain including water) whose inhabitants included several turtles and lots of small water snakes who appeared to be in a mating frenzy!

Click here for the interactive map of our travels
Comments

About & Links