Brindabella

Vessel Name: Brindabella
Vessel Make/Model: Najad 405
Hailing Port: Suffolk Yacht Harbour, UK
Crew: Simon, Fiona and Daisy the dog!
About: Simon and Fiona had Brindabella built in Sweden before she was launched in 2009. They sailed her from Sweden back to Suffolk in the UK. They are now exploring the Mediterranean.
26 March 2024
23 March 2024
22 March 2024
21 March 2024
20 March 2024
19 March 2024
18 March 2024
30 October 2023
16 October 2023
14 October 2023
13 October 2023
12 October 2023
11 October 2023
05 October 2023
04 October 2023
02 October 2023
01 October 2023
Recent Blog Posts
26 March 2024

Marina d’Arechi

Position update: in Marina d’Arechi

23 March 2024

Salerno

Sunshine bathed the anchorage in the early morning when Daisy went for her walk. We left in calm and very low winds, so we motored all the way to Salerno. There was a lot of debris in the water such as bamboo and branches. I had to avoid a log which was attached to a floating upright tree!

22 March 2024

Baia del Buon Dormire

We left the anchorage at Centerio very gingerly, so as not to touch the shallow sandbar. It was a cloudy day, but the sea was calm. We saw two dolphins briefly approach the boat and then disappear. There are very few marinas along this part of the coast, so we planned to anchor at Palinuro, where we [...]

21 March 2024

Cetraro

While at Santa Maria we debated whether we should continue north or go to Tropea for a few days. There was settled weather for the next few days and strong winds forecast for next week. We needed very calm weather for the next two stops because we would be anchoring. If we stopped in Tropea, which is [...]

20 March 2024

Santa Maria

On Wednesday we had a good forecast for passing through the Strait of Messina. This is a narrow stretch of water between Sicily and mainland Italy. There can be strong tides here and it is better to have the tide and wind with you when making this passage. Unfortunately, the website that shows the current [...]

19 March 2024

Sicily – Riposto

The next stage of the cruise was from Siracusa to Riposto. It was a beautiful morning and very calm when we took the anchor up in the bay of Siracusa.

18 March 2024

Sicily - Siracusa

We had spent the weekend preparing Brindabella for the cruise. We got the sails up and fitted everything that we had removed for the winter layup. The cupboards and fridge were also filled with food and drink. By Monday morning, we were ready to set sail.

15 March 2024

Sicily - Marina di Ragusa

Today we were lifted back into the water for the weekend. We will spend a couple of days putting the sails up and provisioning for the cruise.

07 March 2024

Sicily - Marina di Ragusa

We arrived back at the boat on the 7th March and gave her a quick clean before being lifted into the yard on the 8th March. Fiona and I moved into a hotel for the week while the yard have been applying new antifoul and polishing the topsides.

30 October 2023

Sicily – Marina di Ragusa

We spent 12 days in Marina di Ragusa doing a mixture of visiting the sights of Sicily and working on the boat. The marina really started to fill up while we were there, and it is a popular over wintering spot. There were boats from many different countries including the UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and [...]

Sant Carles de la Rapita

16 June 2019
We are now in our final marina at Sant Carles de la Rapita, having completed the last sail of this spring's cruise.

Sant Carles is a nice marina and is one of the few in the med that have proper finger berths. It's also run by MDL, a UK marina operator. The marina seems to have a pleasant atmosphere with a small restaurant and an infinity swimming pool - which we particularly like!

The town at Sant Carles is a medium sized town that has some good shops and several restaurants. Some look to be serving good fish which needs further exploration. It is very much an authentic Spanish town, rather than a holiday location.

We have had an amazing cruise this spring. Starting at La Linea near Gibraltar and cruising the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca. Following this we went out to the Balearics and saw most of Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca. Each island was surprisingly different. We loved the anchorages in Menorca and the towns of Palma, Port de Soller and Andraitx in Mallorca. There were also some great anchorages in Ibiza and the water was so clear. Following this, we returned to mainland Spain on the Costa del Azahar, where we are now.

This year we have travelled over 1,000 miles and while at sea we saw a whale, dolphins and one large fish that we thought was a marlin.

By the time we leave the boat, we will have had 85 nights on board, of which 28 have been at anchor or on a buoy. We will have been away from home for over 15 weeks, so we really do need to get home now!

Within the week we will leave the boat and commence our trip back, driving through Spain and France to cross back to the UK.

Until the Autumn, we are signing off for now. Goodbye!

Time: 8:30 hours Miles: 57nm Total Time: 176:30 hours Total Miles: 1023nm
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Brindabella's Photos - Main
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Created 15 March 2024
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Mini cruise to London for the week
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Created 10 May 2013
3 month cruise from Suffolk Yacht Harbour to Golfe Du Morbihan in South Brittany
89 Photos
Created 7 April 2012
2012 cruise to the Atlantic Coast of France
77 Photos
Created 6 April 2012
2 month cruise from Suffolk Yacht Harbour to Brest
21 Photos
Created 18 May 2011

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15 March 2024
16 Photos
16 April 2023
102 Photos