VikingBlod Voyages

 May 6th to May 9th With our very good friends, Roger and Tama, flying in to Olbia, Sardegna to meet us on May 9th for a two week stay on the boat, we were on a mission to make it down to the southern tip of Corsica by May 8th and then on to the northern tip of Sardegna by the 9th. We were not entirely certain how or where they were going to join us aboard, but we had a couple of days to work it out. Rog and Tam were being very flexible with everything, knowing that we could promise them either a place to pick them up or a time to pick them up, but being at the mercy of the elements we could not promise both. Our plan worked out great, leaving Calvi to make our way along the east coast of Corsica on a beautiful sunny morning. We hoisted anchor in our sheltered anchorage, Golfe de la Revellata, leaving the turquoise water and reddish little jellyfish behind, to head south along the coast to a new anchorage to be determined as the day went on. The rock formations continued to impress...

To be honest, when we broke anchor on May 5th at 4 a.m. in the bay at Antibes, I don’t think either one of us fully knew what to expect upon arrival in Corsica about 14 hours later, but the island did not disappoint! Our crossing of 93.5 nautical miles was fairly uneventful,  with little sailing and lots of motoring,  seeing only 4 other vessels the entire way (2 freighters, one large pleasure craft and a sailboat).  After hours and hours of quiet reflection, dozing off to the hum of the engine, eating (mainly due to a lack of much else to do) and conversation about our experiences thus far, excitement dawned as Neil saw the coastline rising up out of the sea with snowcapped mountains in the distance.  At first we thought we were imagining it and that in reality we were probably just seeing clouds on the horizon, but as time went on and we got closer, it was proven that our eyes did not deceive us. The landscape was incredible!   Along the way, we became mesmeri...

Written: Saturday, May 4th, 2024 When Neil first attempted to sell me on the idea of packing up everything and buying a boat to sail, as he put it, “around the world”, he spoke of idyllic anchorages, sunny skies, breezy winds, and calm seas. Until today, we have experienced everything but!  We have had winds gusting to 40+ knots and wave heights up to 12 feet. But, VikingBlod pulled through! As I write today, our back porch is the walls around the old city of Antibes, France and the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. It is incredibly peaceful, especially after spending the past two nights in the marina at Port Vauban, Antibes where crews on board super yacht after super yacht are working to clean, polish, and prepare for the enjoyment of others. Many young people (twenty somethings) are walking the docks asking if boats need crew, hoping to experience a bit of the lifestyle of the wealthy. Ben and Elias left us this morning, taking the train to Nice where their plane has ju...

(Written April 27, 2024) Welcome Aboard Benjamin and Elias! On the evening of April 26th, our long-awaited guests had arrived from Toronto with our two extra pieces of luggage in tow. Thank you guys!  It was definitely a process getting to this point, with the guys flying in via Heathrow and Neil and I sailing from Port Camargue (an 8 hour sail, Neil assured me, that ended up being a very roll-y 11 long hours). Ben and Elias were due to meet us in Marseille on the evening of April 25th, but were unfortunately affected by the air traffic control system glitch at Heathrow a few days earlier, causing their flight from Heathrow to Marseille being canceled less than 12 hours prior to departure from Toronto. By the time this cancellation was discovered, Neil and I in Port Camargue were contemplating going to bed for our early start setting sail for Marseille the next day. But, we were also experiencing a bit of a delay as the bimini (the stainless steel structure & canvas covering th...

Go with the flow ... We are quickly learning that this is the state of mind we must adopt if we are going to be sailing and living on a yacht in a country that is not our home. Everything takes longer than expected and is more challenging to sort out due to a lack of understanding of the French language on our part, and differences in French business practices (love that the French take a two hour lunch break, except when we urgently need something between 12 and 2 and have forgotten they do so… c’est la vie!). At this point, we had expected to be underway on our sailing adventure, but as I said, everything takes longer than expected. When we are told that the mechanic will be by to fix the AC/Heat unit tomorrow, it really means maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day, maybe in 5 days, or many never. Or when we expect a new boat key to be made in a few weeks, but it actually takes a few months. And then it finally arrives the day after we were supposed to set sail. Qui sait?!  Anyway, a...