Sailing Adventures of Mai Tai

So much has happened since our last blog, written in beautiful Syracusa, Sicily.We were running short of our time left to be in Schengen countries, so we planned to sail south from Sicily to Malta, to spend a few weeks exploring this beautiful and fascinating island, and then on to Tunisia where we have booked to spend the winter months,

We checked out of Turkey on the 12th of May to sail to the Greek island of Leros, an island in the Dodecanese Island group, just 36nms from the Turkish coast. After a lovely sail with light winds from the northeast, we dropped anchor in a beautiful, protected anchorage in front of the village of Lakki. The next item on

On the 2nd April we finally untied our mooring lines from the marina at Finike Marina, where we have called home for the past year.  Day of departure; cruising friends came to bid us fair winds and we are looking forward to meeting up in different anchorages along the way. Since the end of March, the snow has begun to

We really love this life and here in Turkey, where we have met the kindest, warmest and most generous people. We have been here in Finike Marina, spending the cold winter months along with dozens of other long-term cruisers. This is the time to take trips home or prepare the boat for the next cruising season. However, now spring is

With Christmas behind us, we will soon be entering 2023 and looking forward to our onward adventures, sailing west towards Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. But for now, we will stay here, waiting for the winter weather to pass. Many of the cruisers here, fly home for Christmas, leaving their boats, safely moored in the Finike marina. But those of

We are back onboard Mai Tai now. We were only gone 16 days, but it seemed much longer than that. Probably because of all the stuff we packed into each day. Turkey is an amazing country to travel in. We rented a car so we could be completely independent, and we booked into small pensions/hotels along the way. We ended

Since my return from the wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand, already 7 weeks have flown by.  Lane had the boat all clean and tidy, but still with a few unfinished jobs.  In his defence, he was waiting for the spare parts that I was carrying in my suitcases back from NZ. Finike Marina has been a perfect place

Kay gets a holiday in New Zealand while Mai Tai gets an overhaul in Turkey. Yeah! So happy Lane and I are back together again after 3 months at opposite sides of the world. Well, it was supposed to be 2 months, but Lane realised he couldn’t have me move back on board to this mess!!!! We talked of renting

I can’t believe that it was just over 1 month ago that we were in Egypt, half way through the Suez Canal, waiting for a window of favourable winds, to sail up to our next destination in Turkey. But here we are. The Suez Canal, officially opened in 1869, is one of the most heavily used shipping routes of the

March 2022 We have finally made it to the Suez Canal. So happy to be here and at present moored at the Ismailia Yacht Club, which is half way along the Canal between Port Suez and Port Said. Port Said is where we exit to the Mediterranean Sea. It is really lovely here, spotlessly clean with friendly people, restaurant, hot