Malta to Elba in the middle of winter

[MapisM]

How would you do that, with so many nice spots to visit along the route?
Easy, just keep going to outrun bad weather!
Just made it in 54 hours non-stop.
More about that in the next days, we're on our way again at the moment...

 

[jfm]

How would you that, with so many nice spots to visit along the route?
Easy, just keep going to outrun bad weather!
Just made it in 54 hours non-stop.
More about that in the next days, we're on our way again at the moment...

Ooh tell us more! Where are you onward-bound to? France or Italy? It can't be Spain, i figure

What boat?

I love Elba and Portoferraio. Might have to post some pictures. Did you buy fuel there just on the left as you enter the yacht part of the port, from the guy with the lit cigarette

 

[Nautical]

My sources tell me they ran out of espresso and had to make a pit stop !

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

What boat?

I'm guessing something beginning with O and around 70ft

 

[jfm]

Ah, I've figured it out now, I think. Did it cross Biscay nicely?

 

[Nautical]

I think it was more a case of that is was the owners preference, I guess a little post christmas cruise took his fancy, and why not

 

[Nautical]

Mike.... Hole in one !

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mike.... Hole in one !

Did she go via the UK?

 

[Nautical]

Via UK and virtually everywhere else in between !, certainly racking up the miles no problem

 

[MYAG]

Via UK and virtually everywhere else in between !, certainly racking up the miles no problem

What? Is this a UK/Med delivery trip? I trust a full account will be provided soon or at least the full quota of pics please. Sounds like an epic journey.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Via UK and virtually everywhere else in between !, certainly racking up the miles no problem

Wasn't I supposed to be invited to look at it in Soton? Thats O-R off the shortlist

 

[Nautical]

oh oh ! actually, saving the biggest surprise just for you Mike. Pop around end of February and see what has arrived then !

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

oh oh ! actually, saving the biggest surprise just for you Mike. Pop around end of February and see what has arrived then !

Ah, OK, that sounds interesting!

 

[Nautical]

Seems this OR has an army of snappers where ever she goes, this sent to me three hours after she arrived in Malta, no escape !

 

[MapisM]

Wasn't I supposed to be invited to look at it in Soton?

Apologies M, my fault.
We did speak about that, but I was in a bit of a hurry when I came to the UK, and I didn't think of telling nautical to invite you afterwards.
Glad to show her to you also down here in Italy anyway, whenever you'll be around!

Now, back to business:
43°24'N - 10°09'E right now, steady 9kts @ 1300rpm, burning 12gph.
Head sea (supposedly F7, though actually not that bad), good enough for some pitching. But boys, what a soft and smooth ride!
Most folks onboard are quietly sleeping downstair, in fact...

Funny that nautical mentioned the espresso supply, because the reason for the stop in Portoferraio was even more trivial: one of the guests has a sailboat there, and he wanted to check her.
Btw nope J, we didn't load any fuel. With what we loaded in Malta, we could easily return there and back again!
Anyway, we were back on our way to Genoa after a couple of hours, taking the opportunity to have some freshly baked pizza in between.
Other than that, we could have made it easily no stop.
Almost 650nm overall, is that a new forum record of some sort?

Sorry for not posting any pic and clip in real time, I'm on a poor mobile connection, just good enough for a bit of occasional browsing, in between a few calls to ships heading against us...
But stay tuned, today I also took a short clip with a couple of dolphins playing with our bow!

 

[Nautical]

Ha ha so there you are !, so I guess around 08.00am tomorrow morning on the dock, I shall have breakfast delivered !, er, actually the galley in that thing could put any hotel to shame. Goodo P, keep on truckin, oh and give that spannerman Steve a prod, it must be his turn for a watch he has had little all else to do the whole trip.

 

[Nautical]

Arrived Genoa 06.30 this morning, Mapis wants to turn around and go back the other way again, there wasn't enough up and downy stuff to make it interesting !

 

[BartW]

Mapis wants to turn around and go back the other way again, there wasn't enough up and downy stuff to make it interesting !

Ok in that case, he could wait on the riviera until the week after next,
then I can pick him up on our trip with Blue Angel towards Elba and Rome,
trip might be a bit more challenging with at speed slightly higher then 12kn

anybody else on here who's in winter time-off mode, and fancy's a winter cruise is welcome to join us.

 

[BartW]

Ah, I've figured it out now, I think.

so did I, I think,
but why is Malta on the route ?

 

[MapisM]

might be a bit more challenging with at speed slightly higher then 12kn

Haha, you should know by now my approach to speed with boats.
I'm a fan of D/SD for serious cruising, but when it comes to actually driving boats, it takes way above 50kts to intrigue me...!

I'd be curious to see how BA behaves though. Similar size, also pretty heavy, but with P hull and no stabs... That would make for an interesting comparison.
Fwiw, I really don't think we would have standed 3 days offshore in winter sea with a much lighter and/or unstabilised vessel.
The 660nm trip took us 68 hours overall, plus a 2 hours stop in Elba, averaging 9.7 kts. We actually kept 10+ kts for most of the time, but slowed down a bit in the last leg to avoid reaching Genoa too early in the morning.

Very interesting experience overall, made me even more convinced than I already was on the hull design, particularly with regard to comfort and seakeeping. Not to mention fuel efficiency, indeed impressive in this speed range.
I'll post some pics and clips ASAP.
Sorry to have wetted your appetite, but aside from the fact that I spent the whole last night on watch and I begin to be a bit tired, I just realised that I left the mobile cable at home, so I can't transfer files to the PC till I'll be back...