Off to Taste Wine in Tuscany and Rouladen in Germany - April 2024

 We wanted to go wine tasting.  But not along with a thousand other people at the same time.  So off we went (under the radar) into the country side of Tuscany- the birthplace of the Renaissance and don’t forget the Sangiovese grapes of Chianti, Montalcino, & Montepulciano!

We spent a few first nights here in the small hamlet of Radda - a beautiful medieval town.  Here at the Estate of CorteDomina, a small winery in the heart of the celebrated Chianti Classico, we were almost the only guests residing in the few available (but beautiful) suites.  This is actually a real Italian home growing the Sangiovese grape on one side and the Merlot grape on the other.  We love the “dolce far niente” atmosphere.

We tried to visit 2 to perhaps 3 different wineries per day.  But sometimes, we just cut it down as too much work.  And also, it’s often “chili” in the cellars!

This is our Maria at Casa Solo winery in Barberino Tavernelle.  The “black rooster” on the bottle neck certifies genuine Chianti Classico.  History is:  To settle a dispute in the Middle Ages between Florence & Siena, two noble knights from each kingdom would ride forth to mark their territory at the morning crow of a rooster.  The Florentines kept their black rooster famished, in a dark box, and malnourished.  Of course, this rooster started crowing well before dawn giving their knight a decisive advantage.  Long live the black rooster!

We eventually made it all the way to the Capanna farm just to the north of Montalcino (pronounce “cheeno”).  Brunello de Montalcino was granted the DOC status in 1966 and this family (Cencioni) was one of the 25 founders of this consortium.  

We’re in the sleepy hamlet of Bolgeri at the enoteca called Enoteca Tognoni on the western coast of Tuscany.  An enoteca is a wine shop with a range of high quality wines where a proprietor is on hand as an expert to guide you with assistance.  Traditionally, enotecas served no food, but this one is special and their food and wine were outstanding.

We even stopped by (just for a bit) to see the Tower of Pisa, in the Province of Pisa, Italy and give witness to its 4 degrees of lean.

Before we headed home, we stopped in Germany for some good German food & German beer.

At the Hofbrau House we found Alois Hingeri who (years ago) was a porter at the Munich central train station and was a very loyal regular at the Hofbrauhaus.  One day, Alois dies and he goes to heaven.  Although in heaven, Alois has many problems adjusting to everyday life in the clouds.  Suddenly, the Lord has a seemingly good solution to the problem and Aloisius is sent by the Lord back to Munich in order to give heavenly advice to the Bavarian government.  When Alois arrives in Munich, he goes directly to his old familiar table in Hofbrauhaus to have a beer.  Then he orders a second beer and then another and so on.  AN SO TODAY, he still sits there and he believes that he is in heaven.  And for this reason, the Bavarian government is still waiting for divine inspiration!

       (Melissaois  and Alois continue in their quest to provide guidance to  the Bavarian government.)

                                                                PROST & GESUNDHEIT !

Sailing the San Juan Islands - June 7 thru 17th, 2024

 We were first introduced to the beautiful San Juan Islands back in 2014 when we were invited by our good friends, Dan & Donna, to join them on a bareboat adventure.  We had an excellent opportunity to charter the sailing vessel “Northwind” in early June, so “why not”

We are anchored here in Echo Bay of Sucia Island (a Spanish name from early explorers) where we can see Mount Baker in the background-the 3rd highest mountain in Washington.  Sucia is a fun island to explore and there are many seals and otters playing in the coves.

Melissa is studying her Nav Charts here in the salon.  This yacht was initially named “Ella Bleu” after the previous owner’s (John Travolta) daughter.  This color “blue” was a favorite of the family.  And it does, indeed, make an elegant salon.

This is Melissa Lee’s birthday week and is the 18th year-in-a-row that she has enjoyed taking the helm of a vessel in celebration.  Nice tradition.  Nice helm!

Bald Eagles (national symbol of the United States) are abundant within these islands and it’s always fun to see and follow them.  This fellow is on Elephant Rock just off of Cypress Island.  We are anchored here for the night preparing a fabulous dinner of marinated lamb chops.  This is a beautiful anchorage and we are the only boat in the cove.

Back in the Port of Bellingham, the fresh seafood open market takes place on the 1st & 3rd Saturday of each month.  The quantity and “quality” of this seafood is amazing.  Where else are you going to get a 2 inch thick halibut steak or bucket of Dungeness Crabs?

And while ashore, why not rendezvous with old shipmates at a few -way-out-in-the-country- local dance halls?  (Just like in Texas.  Now who would have guessed that?)  Captain Dan & Melissa Lee have stamped their seal of approval.  (Not a real seal, of course!)

Set Sail on a Mediterranean Culinary Voyage- October 10-26, 2023

rFor years we’ve enjoyed sailing Greece.   Setting the anchor & climbing upon our bunks, sometimes gets a fella into thinking - “why NOT click-it-up a notch”!  Take a real sailing boat but embark on a champagne & culinary themed cruise from the Italian Riviera (Riviera Ligure) to the French Riviera

(Cote d’ Azure) and onto the Spanish Riviera.  Take along only about 50 other sailors as well as —

2 MICHELIN Star Chefs.

“Sea Cloud Spirit” has the flair of a fully rigged sailing yacht.  She is 452 feet long, draws 18 feet of water, has 28 sails, and accommodates around 100 guests.  Traveling with a small amount of like-minded sailors from all over the world is just a fun thing to do.

We began our voyage from Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus.  Interestingly,Genoa is often pronounced here as “ jay-no-va”.  So be careful if you don’t know where you are at?  Melissa is enjoying a walk through Mercato  Orientale.  Popular here are such treats as focaccia, pesto, salami, and farinata.  We need to be onboard by late afternoon.

We’re onboard now on the Lido Deck.  “Fresh tuna” said the Chef!  Let’s take him at-his-word!  Melissa was pleased to find that you could be served raw or quickly seared right in front of your eyes.  But if that doesn’t float-your-boat, there’s prime rib steaks over yonder on the starboard.

Nice, France is the largest city on the French Riviera.  Our local guide, Leo has introduced us to a young German couple celebrating their anniversary with some vino on the back streets of Old Town-with cobblestone streets & colorful restaurants.

Barcelona, Spain is laidback and beachy and known for world famous tapas.  Jamon Iberico (cured ham) is the pride of Spain.  Columbus carried them on his ship voyage to America.  These pigs eat only acorns (bellotas) from special rangelands.  They are referred to as “walking olive trees” because their fat is nearly as healthy as extra virgin olive oil.  Some hams sell for over $2000.

Speaking of sailors, Carlo & Helen have a sloop moored outside of Athens at a marina well known to us.  We’re in our  “Dress Blue” attire having just feasted upon another culinary delight in the main dining room on the Verandah Deck.

It’s about 2200 hours on the Lido with the lights of Nice shining in the background.  How delightful it is to enjoy the city and to be in such a serene setting.   Several days later, we disembarked from our voyage in Valencia, Spain.  The “V” is often pronounced as a “B”  and the city is famous for paella, Flamenco dancing, and Cava (Spain’s answer to Champagne). We were in Valencia for several days and enjoyed our visit immensely-so much so that the visit would require another blog.

Greece - Another Great Sail in the Ionian Islands Sept. 6-22nd, 2022

 When something feels good, do it!  This is our 6th sailing adventure in Greece and yes indeed it still feels good!  This time we flew into London for a few days and later caught a short flight to Preveza on the east coast of Greece-which happens to be very close to our marina.  

We loved our hotel but we really loved “John” the Doorman.  His smile and fabulous counsel & advise made our London visit a tremendous success.  We stayed on the West End in the city of Westminster overlooking Green Park.  If you haven’t tried the Yorkshire pudding soaked in bone marrow gravy, then you need to turn around and head back to the UK.

Most unfortunately on our second night in London, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth passed away.  This evening at Piccadilly Circus was most unusual and forever makes Melissa and I closer to the wonderful people of the UK.  

We departed London on a Sunday morning, flew into Preveza, Greece and took a short taxi ride to the very small sailing village of Vliho where we climbed aboard our sailing vessel “Freedom”, a 42 foot Bavarian sloop.  This was a last minute surprise gratuitous upgrade given to us by the wonderful Charter Company-the boat was brand new as well.

Before departing on Monday morning, we bought spinach pies at the local bakery which we enjoyed as we sailed around Meganisi running south around Kythro and finally into Syvota harbour for a port side tie.  The quay was busy as we totally enjoyed our evening at the Tabepna Ionian (dockside taverna).

A view from behind the olives on the Island of Ithaca.  Homer’s most famous Greek hero, Odysseus was King of Ithaca.  This tale was composed around 700 BC and was performed theatrically by bards for several hundred years before the age of written words.  No surprise that there are no words for an appropriate description.

After a week of sailing, we moved to some nice nearby shoreside accommodations to enjoy a few more days.  We drove our rental car to the far west shore of Lefkada where the cliffs are high and the surf is beautiful.  Dining on the beach for a lunch time break was just in-the-cards that day!  

                                     “Sandy toes, sun-kissed nose. Don’t call it a dream, call it a plan!”

Sailing the Eastern Caribbean - May 3-15, 2022

 The Eastern Caribbean is a bit more of a challenge.  It’s remote and the distances between islands make for a more robust sail in more aggressive seas.  And the place is a contradiction, at times.  One can find huge & elaborate facilities and then there remains those island bars and restaurants that are nothing more than a pile of driftwood artistically sitting there on the beach.

These islands are called the Windward Islands.  Columbus knew that he had to fall-down well below 30 degrees of latitude to be pushed by the Easterlies to the Americas.  With such restraints, a majority of 16th century sailing ships found themselves right HERE.  The island bearing to the windward in reference to that vessel became the Windward Islands.

We chartered a 46’ Catamaran “Freedom” which helped us deal with the heavier seas.  Our Captain was Francisco and our cook was Julietta.  

Local beer here is Hairoun and the preferred currency is the EC’s - the Eastern Caribbean Dollar.  You get a handful of EC’s for each US dollar.  This circumstance originated the familiar Jimmy Buffett quote “EC come EC go”

Captain Jack Sparrow set fire to his rum on this very island of Petit Tabac as a signal for help from other pirates.  It’s no wonder that the film “Pirates of the Caribbean” used this beautiful island as a backdrop for the their motion picture of tales from the Caribbean.

The seas were a bit tall when Captain Francisco caught this beautiful Barracuda.  He gave the fish a snort of the “170-proof” rum (that they also use to make local rum punches) to calm him down.  Within an hour, Julietta had prepared us a beautiful seafood lunch.

Melissa and I always find time to enjoy the things around us.  We also spent some beach time on the island of Bequia (pronounced Beck-Way) after the voyage.  The people are as lovely as their island!

Greece - The Ionian Islands - Sept. 8-29th, 2021

We had chartered our sailboat for last year but the trip was cancelled because of Covid 19 restrictions.  Fortunately, the good folks at the charter company allowed us to carry over the charter to 2021.  We were required to record our body temperatures and oxygen levels every day on a log as specified by the Greek authorities.

From the heel of Italy to the shores of the Peloponnese sits the Ionian Sea, which is located on the western side of Greece.  These islands have a strong connection to Italy as they were occupied by the Venetians in Medieval times.  The islands also spent several decades as a British protectorate.  These cliffs are on the southern most tip of Meganisi and there are several caves here also.

To say the same thing in Greek as follows:

The Olympian God, Zeus, had a mistress name Io. Fearing the wrath of his wife, Hera, Zeus turned Io into a white cow. Hera soon sent a gadfly to torment the unfortunate Io. To rid herself of the torture, Io plunged herself into the sea and hence THIS sea became known as the Ionian Sea.

Our boat is a Bavarian 41 sloop.  We are loading our supplies aboard here at home base in Vliho Bay on Lefkada, near the town of Nydri.  Sailors in Greece tend to eat at tavernas most evenings so provisioning is not so very important, although it may be difficult to figure out how much food to purchase.  There is always the opportunity to sail into a little village and visit a local bakery.

Sailors in the Caribbean sail to shore to grab a rum drink with a silly name.   In Greece, the sailors head to shore for some of the most fantastic Greek food & wine.   How about some Shrimp Saganaki, Fried Cheese, Cretan Dakos, Moussaka and red wine while sittin’ on a table near the dock!

We use a process called the Mediterranean mooring which means that we anchor with the bow out and back into the quay (piers) in order to not take up so much dockage space.  Melissa is holding the hand controls for the electric windlass and is letting out anchor chain as the boat backs down on the quay.  

Our sloop is in the middle of the picture with anchor out and also a line to shore with the dinghy tied to the stern.  We are at the beautiful small city of Fiskardo on the island of Kefalonia.  Pull the dinghy to the rocks with the line and then take a short walk into the village.

Our boat is approaching a swing bridge (that is opening for us) allowing us to enter the Lefkas Canal which will serve as a “short cut” for us to sail onward to Corfu (the most northerly of the Ionian Islands).  The Corinthians started construction of this canal that separates Lefkada from mainland Greece in 650 BC, turning Lefkada into an island.   There was no written language in 650 BC!  

Here sails Steve & Melissa in their brand new “Greek skipper’s hat”  with the dinghy bouncing along behind them.  

St. James City, Florida- Jan., Feb., March-2018-2021

We sold our Grand Banks Trawler and began spending several months a year in southwest Florida at a strange little place known as Pine Island.  It's an unusual place because Pine Island is an island "inside" the barrier islands of Sanibel and Captiva in San Carlos Bay.  It's a real Florida island without high rise condos, without a sandy beach, and without any pretentious character.  Yes, such a place really does exist !  Sorry I'm not at liberty to share the latitude and longitude.  

We purchased a little outboard big enough to take some sea but small enough to push off a sandbar after the tide leaves you stranded.  This picture is just off the beautiful sandy beach of nearby North Captiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico.  The predominant wind is from the east and therefore, the Gulf of Mexico beach on this leeward shore is as smooth as a baby's butt.

Our home is on a canal with a bulkhead large enough to hold the small outboard as well as our super little Cape Cod sailing catboat-the "NoJibe".  This is the largest undeveloped island in the state and resembles a place largely forgotten by time.  St. James City located on the far south end of the island, has one very small grocery store, two boat yards, one church, a restaurant or two, and FIVE bars.  Suffice to say that this place is "laid back".  

Here is a manatee-cow and her calf- off the backend of the sailboat.  Momma found the underside hull shape "just right" to assist her with some degree of stability as the youngster nursed from behind the mother's front flippers.  

On our way to Doc Ford's Restaurant, our boat passes Marker 5 with a beautiful Bald Eagle, just taking it easy on his perch from above.

Running up the Matlacha (matt-lu-shay) Channel, you'll find Bert's (beer joint) a 75-year old-time hangout featuring grouper sandwiches and real steel pan reggae music off the back deck.

And running north up Pine Island Sound, you'll find Cabbage Key.  With "dollar bill" lined walls and famous paradise cheeseburgers.  This is the Doll House cabin-available for rent and comes with your own private pier and boat dock.  Then, the gourmet meals available only-at-night are absolutely wonderful!

But my all time favorite pastime is to enjoy a cup of wine while sailing back and forth off the south end of the island in San Carlos Bay.  Our catboat is modeled after the late 1800's working boats that graced the waters of New England with their single sail on a single mast set well forward on the bow. We have a little single Diesel engine and we sound and sort-of lookalike the "African Queen" when heading back up the canals toward home late in the evenings.