What a season we had this year with plans that worked, plans that didn’t, and the pleasure of having so many family and friends aboard. I thought a fun way to review the season would be to announce various awards that everyone and every place deserved. Ready? Drum roll, please…
Countries Visited:
Croatia wins for the:
- Most Beautiful Water – The most fabulous swimming we’ve experienced has been in Croatia due to its beautifully clean, clear, blue water all over. Through many meters, you can see clear down to the bottom.
- Easiest Place to Cruise – Conor loves how many options there are because of the plethora of islands and inlets that are never that far away.
Montenegro wins for the:
- Most Beautiful Scenery – My favorite place is still the Bay of Kotor. Breathtaking majestic mountains surround the bay in a full 360 degrees.
- Nicest Overall Marinas – The nicest and most plentiful nice marinas can be found here. What a treat. And, they are not the most expensive either.
Albania wins for:
- Best Surprise – What a fun, unexpected find with its beautiful water, beaches and mountains, its good food, and its interesting history. And, it’s incredibly inexpensive!
- Hardest Working People – We have yet to meet others who will bend over backwards to be so helpful.
Italy wins for:
- Best Sea Life – We’ve seen the most sea life crossing along Italy’s southern coast – fish, dolphins, porpoise, sea turtles, and even a whale!
- Best Food – Duh.
our Sabáticans:
The Most Likely to Say Yes Award goes to: David and Ava
For the second year in a row, our long-time friends from California-now the Netherlands have kicked off the season with us. They are great fun and are always up for getting together if we throw the invite out there. They are even planning to come see us this winter. 🙂
The Best Sports Award goes to: Dad and Jeffrey
They made the huge trip out to Sicily from Texas (which involved three flights each way) and had to put up with very unfortunate weather conditions that completely changed our plans (sometimes daily) and kept us landbound for a good portion of their stay. They rolled with the punches and we made sure that every day was some type of new experience – even if that was renting a dubious car, avoiding crazy Italian drivers, trekking through the rain, or the glamorous task of schlepping groceries for thirty minutes back to the boat. We did enjoy some beautiful and adventurous days at sea and delicious Italian food, so all was not lost. 😉
The Most Up for Anything Award goes to: Mark, Alice, Max and Abby
What fun this gang was. They swam, kayaked into caves, hiked up hills and through castles, toured towns, helped us sail, anchored overnight in bumpy seas, tried all kinds of new Italian foods and drinks, and relaxed in thermal mineral baths while wearing dorky swim caps. 😉
The Best at Living La Viva Dolce Award goes to: Lon, Nicole and Jon
As foodies and appreciators of downtime, this gang really helped us slow down, enjoy being chill, and definitely savor some great Italian food and drink. We had fun people-watching in crowded Italian bays and enjoyed relaxing aperitivos with many beautiful views.
The Most Adaptable Award goes to: Michael, Anna-Marie, Rachel, Peter, Anup, Supriya, Prithvi and Vikram
When Conor and I were turned away from Greece and had to return to Albania, these two families changed their travels plans very last minute to instead meet us in Albania. None of them ever imagined they’d visit Albania! But, they got to experience a very new place and enjoy beautiful swim spots, sunsets, starry nights, good food, and real boat life with all of its unpredictability.
The Furthest Traveled Award goes to: Michael, Anna-Marie, Rachel and Peter
Almost all the rest of our guests this year came from the USA (which is also far), but these family members came all the way from Australia, via Ireland! We were honored they came to visit.
The Youngest Crew Member Award goes to: Peter, at 6 years of age, who very seriously took his job of locking all the cabinets before we ever got underway. 🙂
The Best Boat Driver Award goes to: Vikram, at 12 years of age, who was able to keep a straight course better than anyone else.
The Best Chill Buddy Award goes to: Laura
Visiting us on her own this year, it was a pleasure to have our daughter all to ourselves. She was home, and we simply did day-to-day life (sailing, swimming, napping, working, exploring) in a relaxing, ‘where should we go today?’ kind of way throughout Montenegro and southern Croatia.
The Most Improved in Relaxing Award goes to: Rory
Rory arrived completely wound up (which is not too unlike him) as he had experienced a personally challenging year. It took some time, but he finally managed to relax, enjoy good downtime, and appreciate fun times with his friends. He was also thrilled to be able to check off three new countries on his travel list! He was able to return to a new college year completely rejuvenated. Floating around on a boat can do that for you!
The Brave Souls Award goes to: Chad, Collin and Rain
While getting to experience lovely parts of southern Croatia, this first group of Rory’s college friends were also subject to the strongest wind storms we had all summer. It took multiple attempts on multiple days to successfully make progress toward their end destination. They were told to “stay inside the boat” each time we braved the winds and always kept a positive attitude!
The Most Easy Going Award goes to: Julia, Maya and Will
While we showed Rory’s second group of friends parts of Montenegro, they were then basically along for the ride from there to Albania as we started our journey back towards Sicily to park the boat for winter. They were up for anything and went right along with either long days at sea or changes in plans and time on land, always going with the flow. They would even swim long lengths from the boat to shore if I said “Let’s go!”
The Ones You Want with You During an Apocalypse Award goes to: Jeff, Katie, Jackson and Scott
Back in Sicily, we experienced our greatest mosquito invasion ever. Jackson and Scott are fine young men and they took their task of killing mosquitos extremely seriously. They were not backing down until every last buzzing creature was gone. You want them on your team. 😉
The Friends We Missed: Howard and Mel
They joined us last summer and planned to join us again this year, but our diversion away from Greece did not make it so. We missed having them aboard but are looking forward to seeing them soon in California!
The Best Skipper Award goes to: Conor
What makes a great skipper? Conor will explain it’s different than he originally thought… Great skippering is about careful planning, making decisions, and anticipating contingencies. It’s making things easier and safer and avoiding emergencies. It’s handling challenges and anything that comes our way, all while remaining calm and not showing the stress underneath!
And finally, the Most Improved First Mate Award goes to: Me 🙂
Stern docking. Check. Side docking. Check. Anchoring. Check. Not being nervous on long passages with strong wind. Check. My skills improved generally, but here’s one example Conor likes to point out… Conor left me on the helm myself so he could take a much needed nap. Winds were calm and only the main sail was open. Winds picked up and shifted direction. I knew enough to travel the main and unfurl the jib to take advantage of the additional wind. Conor was impressed. So was I! 😉
Thanks again to everyone for joining us this summer! We loved having all of you aboard and sharing a slice of this adventure with you. They are memories we will never forget!
Sailing Sabática 