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 [...]

Things that go bang in the night

09 April 2019 | Skala Loutra, Lesbos - 7,722 NM
Lorraine Chapman | Rain and More Rain
What started as 'joggling' around on the quay in Chios Town turned into chaos as the day progressed! Necessity dictated a supermarket trip in the rain and, of course, coffee - a very long one as the boats were getting more uncomfortable. Getting on and off the boats was becoming increasingly challenging as the swell increased and by the time we went out in the evening it was almost impossible as the gang planks flew around in all directions! We had a very nice evening but getting back onboard was terrifying and we now understood why Stellios, the marinero, had insisted on lazy lines as well as our anchors out. As the totally sleepless night progressed the rocking, rolling and jerking got worse and worse until we were worried about the boats holding together - but at least it drowned the loud music from the bars opposite. Finally, at 4.00 in the morning there was a loud crunch as if Freya's stern had hit the harbour wall! Paul flew out of bed, bearing in mind moving around the boat was difficult and I took a little longer! The anchor chain had bounced off the gypsy and the lazy line wasn't holding us far enough off the wall. In those conditions it seemed to take ages to get the anchor chain back onto its gypsy and for us to winch the lazy line, which was too fat for our cleats, secured further back on the boat to keep us in place. All this while Freya was bouncing and jerking all over the place and the noise was deafening. Luckily it was only the swim ladder bouncing about that had hit the harbour wall and Freya was otherwise undamaged. Back to bed to wait restlessly for morning - the sea finally calmed down about 5.30 - but then the bar was in full swing! I think we finally drifted off to sleep about 6.00 waking exhausted at about 9.00.

We'd all had enough of Chios Town quay even though it was calmer later in the morning. We wandered around the harbour as we needed to get off the boats and stretch our legs and decided to move up the coast to Langada which should be totally sheltered from any swell. We had a lovely, relaxed, albeit slow downwind sail in the sunshine before motoring into the very pretty fishing harbour and mooring alongside the quay. It got a little choppy for a while and we all began to panic - oh no, not again! But it calmed down to a very peaceful night after a lovely dinner on Kestrel.

We knew we didn't have a very long weather window to get north (in the dry) and so set off early in the morning for Lesvos, 41 miles away. As we left we were joined by a large pod of dolphins who had clearly got bored of patrolling the fish farms and decided to entertain us instead - always a fantastic start to any passage! We even managed to get a picture of the dolphins with Dee and Kevin on Kejstral. We didn't quite have enough wind from the right direction to sail without the engine but we averaged 7 knots with the Genoa out ensuring we arrived before the rain. Lesvos has 2 huge lagoons or inland seas and we moored near the entrance to the Gulf of Gera after negotiating the beautiful, green, hilly, island strewn channel to Skala Loutra, and our second dolphin sighting of the day. On arrival it didn't look exactly as we'd imagined, as it had been recommended. It's in a very pretty spot but there is very little here - a couple of closed tavernas, a fisherman's quay and a rundown boatyard giving the feel of a scrapyard! We moored stern-to on the outside of the quay, it's very sheltered and we have free electricity even if we do have to share a single working socket! The rain duly arrived with thunder and lightning not long after we enjoyed our arrival beer and carried on into the next day and again we hid onboard.
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