Latvia – Melodrama at Sea

The Cow Parade

June 7, 2019February 17, 2020admin2 Comments

Ventspils, Latvia, an old oil and petrochemical port, very important in the days when Russia ruled in Latvia, and our first landfall in the Baltic States. The yacht harbour is in at the back of the fishing port, well out of the way of the big boats, but has decent facilities, and a helpful harbour-master. […]

The Seventh Seal

June 2, 2019February 17, 2020adminLeave a Comment

In the last week, the weather has been very variable. Every other day, there is a good weather window to clock up some sea miles to the next destination, but then 30 knot squalls dominate for the following day. Saturday was one of those days, so we got out the bikes, took Bodilla the free […]

Warning signals

June 1, 2019February 17, 2020admin1 Comment

We love AIS. On the chart plotter, as Melodrama sails along, little triangles with dotted extension lines show approaching vessels, and warn us if we might need to take avoiding action. It’s just interesting sometimes to look them up, as they transmit their size, type of vessel, and destination, as well as speed and direction. […]

Van Gogh

May 30, 2019February 17, 2020admin2 Comments

While in Kalmar, waiting for the next frontal system to pass through, we took a walk over to Kalmar Slott, a very impressive royal castle, beautifully restored. We visited it last year, and it’s worth a second trip. The special event was a ‘Son et Lumière’ exhibition of Van Gogh’s life and work. We sat […]

Across Little Biscay

May 28, 2019February 17, 2020admin5 Comments

Well, there have been a few very jolly days taking us from Ystad to Kalmar. The sea area has a bit of a reputation, but we had the most fabulous breezes to take us across and into Kalmarsund. We stopped off at a favorite island, Hanö, and had the most lovely walk through the woods […]