After four fabulous summers of sailing the Mediterranean Sea and visiting so many coastlines along the way, part one of the Trilogy adventure has been completed.
The countries and islands visited include France, Italy, island of Elba, Corsica, Sardengna, Sicily, Croatia, Monteanegro, Greece and many of her islands, Turkey, Malta, Spain and the Balearic Islands and finally Gibraltar. The route mostly followed the coast but often involved crisscrossing other routes taken in the same or previous season or crossing open water and overnight passages to reach a new and distant shore. We did not visit the southern coastline of the Mediterranean due to troubled times in the north of the African continent and great uncertainty about safety.
We have all enjoyed rich experiences in addition to the sailing. The ancient history of the Mediterranean Sea has been palpable, with many fine ruins visible or accessible from the coast eg Ephesus and Agrigento. Modern history too has been evident: who can forget a visit to Dubrovnik or Valletta? The cultural differences have been richly experienced through language, cuisine, festivals and religious buildings of all faiths. The wonderful and changing architecture and art treasures have also enriched us...the quest for Caravaggio's works has been exciting and Gaudi's creations quite astounding.
The Mediterranean Sea has claimed many ships and lives over the centuries and we now have an appreciation of the changing moods of this vast body of water. From serene to steep and sharp seaways have all been experienced. The wind has a lot to say about how the sea behaves, and this is particularly apparent in the Mediterranean, where catabolic winds sweep down from the mountain ranges close to the coast. Wind predictions are often incorrect even with the assistance of advanced technological modelling.
This adventure has been successful to date due to the hard work of the three guys who shared the dream of sailing a yacht from Europe to Australia via the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In addition, their wives and a host of friends have contributed wholeheartedly to the fun along the way, ensuring Trilogy remained safe and the spirit of the adventure upheld. We thank everyone who has shared with us this journey, thus far.
As we bid farewell to the magnificent Mediterranean Sea, final preparations for the passage to the Canary Islands and the ARC 2015 rally to sail Trilogy across the Atlantic are in progress.