Emerald Tales

Currently sailing the eastern Atlantic visiting Maderia, the Canary Islands and the Azores

26 August 2024 | Terceira, Azores
18 August 2024 | Sao Louenco Bay, Santa Maria Island
08 August 2024 | Santa Marina, Azores
13 July 2024 | Santa Maria, Azores
22 March 2024 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
01 March 2024 | Porto Santo
23 February 2024 | Porto Santo
22 January 2024 | Madeira
15 December 2023 | Porto Santo
13 October 2023 | Porto Santo
15 September 2023 | Porto Santo
09 August 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
28 July 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
23 June 2023 | Porto Santo
15 January 2023 | Porto Santo

If All You Want is a Kefalonia Meat Pie

25 September 2015 | Agia Effimia, Kefalonia
Nichola / Storms and buckets of rain
The last two weeks have had some unsettled weather and it's got to that time when we want to be thinking about crossing back to Sicily. The last two days we've had more rain than the rest of the summer, it's currently lashing down with rain with thunder rumbling around the mountains. We've been scouring the weather forecasts for a weather window and dreaming about F4 northerly winds; however, it's been hard to find even two forecasts that agree with each other, even when a raging storm has been thundering overhead, some forecasts were still predicting sunshine and no wind. Perhaps we should pick one that looks like it suits us the most and hope for the best. Read More

Fiskardo

25 September 2015 | Fiskardo, Kefalonia
Nichola / dry and warm, light winds
We couldn't believe our luck when we arrived about midday in Fiskardo on Kephalonia, to find the whole of the north side of the harbour empty. We picked a spot along the wall in the front of the Nicolas Taverna where there were rings to tie on to. In hindsight it might not have been the best spot to go for but more of that later...Read More

Wind, Weddings, Walks and Deck Dancing in Vathi

21 September 2015 | Vathi, Ithaka
Nichola / a storm and west winds
We returned to Vathi as it's been one of our favourite places so far and we hoped to see a bit more of Ithaka while we were there. One of the reasons we like it is that there are so many options and plenty of space for mooring; our favourite anchor area only had our friends on Lazy Tern in it when we arrived.
After a good night's sleep we were off the next morning for a walk to Gidaki, a waymarked route that starts just by the Captain Yiannis hotel, next to where we anchored. The first part is a rollercoaster - up a road, then down a little, then up some more before a long downhill to Skinos beach. A few people were on the pebbly beach, it looked a nice spot for swimming. We continued walking, now on a rough track which ended at the gates of a hotel with a path leading off before them down to the sea. A lovely bay opened up before us, with a yacht anchored out beyond the buoyed off swimming area and a couple of big power boats tied to the far side of the bay. Read More

Our favourite little boozer

12 September 2015 | Vonitsa, Vlicho, Sivota: Ionian Greece
Nichola / dry, westerly winds
After an uncomfortably windy night in Vonitsa we decided to head back south to the islands in the hope that the summer hordes would be thinning out with the start of September looming. Read More

Amvrakia Gulf

27 August 2015 | Preveza, Koukouvitsa, Vonitsa: Ionian Greece
Dry, windy afternoons
After a few days at Vonitsa, we headed to Preveza to wave farewell to our cruising companions of the last month or so as they headed back early to their winter quarters. On our way we saw some dolphins leaping and splashing in the distance. When we arrived at the anchorage the wind was blowing from the east so we ended up setting the anchor on what turned out to be a steepish slope. When the wind changed to westerly and was gusting to a F6 it turned out to not have been such a great place to drop as we realised we were ever so slowly moving backwards. We reset in deeper water where the seabed levelled out and the wind still blowing strong meant we set and held perfectly. Read More
Vessel Name: Emerald
Vessel Make/Model: Kelly Peterson 44
Hailing Port: No fixed abode
Crew: Colin 'Skip' Wright, Nichola Wright
About: One from Northern Ireland, one from Yorkshire, UK
Extra: Emerald has been our home since 2004. We've sailed around the UK, the western Baltic and have spent 7 years in the Med. We're currently in Portugal, planning a refit. Lot's more information about us and the boat can be found at www.yachtemerald.com
Home Page: https://www.yachtemerald.com/
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