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 [...]

Everything is Leaking!

02 September 2019 | Sigri, Lesvos - 8,049 NM
Lorraine Chapman | Very Hot and Very Windy
We arrived back on Freya in Mytilini, Lesvos a week ago on Saturday evening. All was remarkably well - just a fine coating of dust. Our first day being a Sunday, and in Greece, meant we couldn't do any shopping and so started with a very nice breakfast in the marina restaurant. We then gave Freya a good scrub so that she looked totally shipshape and Bristol fashion but we were totally unacclimatised and it was so hot and humid we needed to hide from the sun. Not a lot else happened until later when we ventured into town for souvlaki on the harbour.

When we left in May we discovered our port water tank was slowly leaking causing a puddle in the bilges for some time - mystery solved. Stratos, in the marina chandlery, thought it could be welded and so we left it with him. We sent him an email a week or so a go reminding him and letting him know when we were returning and he replied letting us know it was ready. We could now see nothing had changed! First job on Monday morning was visit Stratos - 'no problem. Will be done today'. And it duly was but when we got it back it still leaked. The welder was duly summoned - the next day it still leaked! We concluded that it was just too old and the stresses of us carrying it around and being welded was just too much for it and we were just creating more leaks. Paul smothered the problem area in sikaflex (solution to most boat problems!) and its now back in place - still leaking but a very slow drip and so it's on the list of jobs for the winter.......

The rest of our time was spent sorting out Freya ready for sea and a visit to the beach. One of those jobs was to get the dinghy out of the forepeak and inflate it. This is always awkward but went to plan apart from finding part of the floor completely unstuck and until we realised an hour or so later one tube was leaking badly! The next day it came off the davits and we spent some time crawling around with brush and soapy water finding the source. It was, of course, tucked away in a difficult corner which we patched as best we could and stuck the floor back together again. We then had to leave 72 hours before inflating........

We went out late one afternoon in search of wheat free food which was surprisingly easy to find. Even the supermarket had a section! The evening ended with dinner at Nan, a non profit restaurant run by locals and refugees cooking dishes from their home countries. It was delicious.

Despite the high winds (which at least made it feel cooler!) we decided it was time to move on. Our first stop was Scala Loutra where we've been before. It's a beautiful, peaceful, sheltered bay but this time it didn't offer the shelter from the winds we expected although the sea was calm and to add to that there was a wedding party in a hotel on the beach. It looked lovely with fairy lights in the trees and white table cloths but the music (very loud and lots of base) went on until 5.00 am! Very bleary eyed the next morning we set off again to Kompos Kolloni where, again we we've been before. It was 34 miles and forecast winds gusting 25 knots on the beam and so we left with both sails reefed. We had a fantastic sail although it was very gusty and so we sailed at anywhere between 3 to 7.5 knots! We had a very peaceful night just inside the lagoon - which we needed after the night before! The final leg brought us back to Sigri. The forecast was the same as before and so we left for the 20 mile trip with both sails reefed but once out of the lagoon the winds were so light we were struggling to keep the sails filled as we motored the first hour. As we approached the first headland the wind built and we had a lovely sail but it kept building as we neared the far west of Lesbos until we had gusty 25 knot winds and a 2 metre swell. All very exciting for a while! Our anchorage is very protected thankfully. It's still windy but the sea is flat as we're well protected by the castle right in front of us.

We could now inflate the dinghy which hopefully meant we could go ashore. It was quickly obvious that the floor repair was unexpectedly successful but the tube not so. Before going out in the evening we pumped it up again - but took the pump with us just in case! We had a lovely evening wandering the narrow streets of Sigri, having a beer overlooking the bay and Freya and yummy dinner in a restaurant again with views over the bay - and WiFi we can pick up from the boat. We managed to get back with a saggy dinghy and I think this may be a theme for the next few weeks!
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