Right now as I write this blog the wind is howling down from the north west along the Turkish coast and as I look at the wind prediction websites, the further west I look, the winter winds just keep getting stronger. This is not the time to be casting off the lines and heading out there.
If you've been following our journey from the beginning you'll know that when we started out as two wide eyed, green behind the ears townies from a rural town in Queensland, Australia we had no idea of what lay ahead for us. We also had no sailing experience.
In one sense we've come a long way from that moment in time. We began our sailing journey in mainland Spain, crossed to the Spanish Balearic islands, made the big jump across to the Bonifacio Straits between southern Corsica and northern Sardinia, headed down the Italian coast and through the Messina Strait, rounded the boot of Italy, made another big jump to the Greek island of Corfu, headed south and east and through the Corinth canal, crossed the infamous Aegean Sea and finally ended up in Kaş on the south east coast of Turkey. That was just our first year.
But even with all of that under our belt I still don't feel as though we've done much in the way of sailing. No big passages where we are out of sight of land for several days at a time. No places that no other YouTube channel has ever been, no big milestones really.
Sure we've had huge learning curves with equipment failure and our boat maintenance and everything that includes, like getting parts in remote places, the logistics of international couriers and dealing with paperwork. But to me that's just mundane (if frustrating) stuff. I yearn for the unknown horizon.
There is talk amongst us (Jim, Kev and ourselves) of exiting the Mediterranean near to the end of 2021 and heading, somewhat circuitously, across the Atlantic to the Americas, but all of that is dependent on travel restrictions brought about by covid. There's no point leaving a safe haven if no other countries will allow us entry. The only certain thing so far for 2021 is that we will be exploring much more of the beautiful Turkish coast.
With that being said we're always trying to bring you diversity in viewing and interesting insights as to what life is like as full time liveaboards and our annual Q & A video is one of the tools in our arsenal for doing that. This week's YouTube video was filmed in various locations we visited in Turkey when we recently hired a car for 5 days. Below are the questions we were asked.
Menace2Sobriety
Every time I see a video of yours that tackles a 'problem' I can’t help but think “Thank God that didn’t happen 100 miles from land!” It seems like boat owners need to learn an overwhelming amount of knowledge, specifically about boat mechanics and trouble shooting.
How long (in years) do you think it’ll take before you’ll be confident enough in your emergency repair abilities, to be in the middle of the ocean... in the middle of nowhere... with no one around... to be able to tackle whatever pops up?
Henrick Thystrup
1) What was your initial blueprint for starting and growing your channel and web presence. Moreover, what mistakes did you make that you would definitely do different now?
2) Do you ever have 'down' days where you question if you have done the right thing? Or is it always, as it appears on YouTube, 'Perfect'?
3) What moments have you had so far that will stick out to you as a moment that helped define your whole journey?
Frank J
Would you guys consider going to Malta and Tunisia to discover other areas of the Med? Safe travels!
David Nelson
I was wondering how the electric hot water equipment you put on your boat was doing?
Goo Gle
When you land your dingy ashore, how do you stop it being stolen? Very few people film the 'parking' processes.
Ken Chance
You could have chosen to cruise anywhere. What made you choose the areas that you did?
Sailing with Huon Cry
What are the regulations for the Med in regards to the grey water tank are you able to go off the coast and empty or is it only via pump out stations?
Samai Pata
I'm interested about your sleeping experiences on your boat and how tolerant you need to be? You mentioned loud music being a factor on your last anchorage I believe. Love to hear your tips and recommendations about sleeping on board including on passages and heavier seas!
Dim Houridis
How is the egg white on the propeller fairing compared to the spray on Hempel antifoul?
416srw
I am just wondering what do you guys do for health insurance and for boat insurance?
Kellie Eaton
1) Regarding boat maintenance, how do you keep track of what you have done and what is next? A spreadsheet?
2) Maybe hard to answer but how often while sailing in the Med do you have to reef your main sail.
We hope that you find the answers we give to those questions in this week's YouTube video are helpful and insightful and if you're reading this blog then you have already discovered the in depth nature of what we write about here and how very different it can be from our weekly videos.
Stay safe wherever you are and whatever you're doing and I'll bring you more tales from Sailing A B Sea next week.
To watch the video that accompanies this blog click here.
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