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 [...]

Pamukkale

28 September 2018 | Didim, Turkey 7,323 NM
Sunny Spells
Pamukkale is Turkey's most visited tourist attraction with streams of coaches ferrying tourists from the coastal resorts arriving from midmorning onwards, so its good to arrive early if you can. We got there just as it opened at 9.00 and it was easy to see why it is so popular.

Mineral rich water comes out of a number of hot springs and flows down the mountainside depositing calcium crystals in beautiful white limestone terraces called travertines and forming brilliant turquoise pools. The travertines cover a large area, probably a mile or two in length and a few hundred metres down the hillside, a truly amazing site.

We entered through the north gate at the top of the site and walked the 3km to the travertines through the ruined necropolis of Hierapolis, the cemetery of an ancient roman spa town that grew up around the springs. The necropolis is spread out either side of a long road with impressive tombs and broken sarcophagi everywhere. On many of the tombs you could still make out Greek and Latin text that named the former occupants. Towards the end of the necropolis we left the road to walk along the cliff edge and get our first close up view of the Travertines. At this end of the site there were almost no other people and we only had to share the view with a very cute dog that walked along with us. We were a bit jealous as he kept leaving the path and walked across the travertines to get the best view, while we had to stick to the path.

In the centre of the site its possible to walk down the mountainside and onto the travertines and bathe/paddle in some of the pools. We chose not to, as by then there was a stream of people walking to them and the crowds put us off. We continued walking along the edge for more fabulous views, before turning away and heading up the hill to explore the ruins of the Roman spa town. The remains of the agora, theatre, some temples and gates in the city walls all impressed. We finished our tour of this site by heading to the ancient roman baths. These baths are fed by the mineral springs and its still possible to bathe in them, in pools littered with broken pillars and other ancient stone work. However the baths have been "renovated" and feel more like a 1960's lido with a few old pillars rather than their roman originals. We opted not to and walked back through the necropolis to the car for the long drive back to Didim.

We stopped for lunch in a service area off the main road. A petrol station and a transport cafe where we had a lunch that we chose by pointing at pictures on the wall as they had no English. It was delicious and only cost around three pounds.

A few miles from Didim, is the lake of Bafa Golu, so we decided to explore its shores a little and stopped for an early evening drink. We sat on a restaurant terrace watching the ducks and geese playing on the shore. A very peaceful way to finish the day.
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