Fram's Voyages
17 August 2026 Koroni N - Kotronas anchorage N36 37.022 E22 79.774 Distance Traveled - 54 NM Time Traveled - 11 hrs Weather - Sunny 28C, Wind SW/W 0-15 m/s The weather forecast for the weekend didn’t pan out at all. We woke up at 06.00 on Saturday to swells from the North but no winds. So we rocked back and forth ad nauseam. Then the wind came up from N and we had a terrible 4 hours before it veered to West and we got some protection. We stayed on the boat all day until late afternoon when things calmed down a bit. The oarlock solution was perfect and we took a walk to the only supermarket in town that was open. It was up a hill and out of town and 2.7 km so doable. Koroni is a very popular place; we were about 12 boats in the anchorage and the noise from the waterfront was substantial. Lots of people in the restaurants and cafés. We took a night walk in town around 22.00 and it was bustling with people. Dan bought us ice cream and I ought an olive wood cutting board. Something to remember Koroni by. I find that it’s easier to remember a place if we have experienced something unusual or if I buy something that I use in cooking or serving. So this will help me remember Koroni. We left this morning before the Northerly swells could come in and upset us. There was no wind so had to motor for 5 hours until we reached the Mani arm of the Peleponnesos udders. This was. According to forecast but wind was supposed to be from W not SW which is what we got. The Mani mountains making up the Taygatos range are very steep and very high and with the SW/W wind it caused the most powerful Katabatic winds that knocked us even though we were only sailing on the genoa. We had taken down the main when we rounded the udder and sailed up the coast on the genoa, thank goodness as we would have been very adversely affected if we had the main up as well. We sailed to a small cove called Port of Kagio. It had a narrow opening and the winds were swooping down into the cove leaving no area untouched. We drove around the various anchorage spots but none of them seemed safe. Anywhere you chose could potentially be catastrophic if the anchor happened to drag as the whole cove was surrounded by cliffs and mountain. So we left and continued northwards until we got to Kotronas bay. It was nicely protected and big enough that dragging into rocks and cliffs was not a risk. The water is crystal clear here and there’s a small resort village but the real villages are up on peaks. The wind finally came down in the evening. I took Varga in to shore on the paddle board and we had a nice dinner. One good thing about these mountains is that the sun sets behind them earlier. We had an even earlier sunset due to the strange phenonomen of black clouds gathering on top of the ridge that stretched all the way down the udder. They just sat there all evening and didn’t break up until sometime during the night. We though we would get rain and possibly lightning but there was nothing, just black clouds. Interesting. Dan got 2 pieces of very sad news of people he has been close to that have been diagnosed with leukaemia and one who’s wife just died of cancer. We didn’t know she had cancer so were completely shocked by the news. As we were motoring here and watching the incredible landscapes and seascapes near us, we both got lost in thoughts of these people and of how one must be thankful for every day that we get in good health because you just never know what is around the corner.
15 August 2026 Kirties - Koroni N N36 47.960 E21 57 437 Distance Traveled - 15NM Time Traveled - 3 hrs Weather - Sunny 33C, Wind N 6-8 m/s, NE 0-2 m/s Strong Westerlies were forecast for today and tomorrow so we decided to hop over to Koroni N. We left around 09.00 and had a lovely N wind to sail on. It was a beam wind so very comfortable and fast. We sailed across and got almost all the way before the wind died and we had to motor. Koroni is very nice to anchor in because it’s all sand as long as you are in front of the waterfront restaurants. The water is clear enough to see the anchor at 5 meters depth. We had about an hour to get settled and swim before the wind picked up to 10 m/s from West. Dan got in the dinghy to nip in and get some provisoins but only got about 50 m toward shore when one of the oarlocks broke so he had to paddle with the one back to the boat. That was our excitement for the day. He went below with the oarlock and his toolkit and devised a replacement using a long bolt and a rubber hose. This man is amazing and I’m ever so glad I am on his team! Even with the oarlock fixed we did not go to shore, it was too rough and windy. Varga managed her needs on deck. By late evening the wind abated and we had a calm dinner in the cockpit of Grilled Steak and Greek Salad. Due to the heat, we keep our meals very simple with as little cooking as possible.
13 August 2026 Kirties - Kalamata Marina - Kirties Distance Traveled - 5 NM Time Traveled - 1 hour Weather - Sunny 33C, Wind None We got a text message early this morning from the electric guy Costas to come right away to the marina to get the batteries installed. So Dan hauled up the anchor and we motored off. There was no wind so motored the whole hour. We entered the marina and tied up at the fuel dock which no longer is in service. Costas came within minutes and took out the old batteries and replaced with the new batteries. Meanwhile, I nipped off to the AB supermarket to get mineral water and something for dinner. The whole thing was done in 2 hours. A slight delay because Costas couldn’t get his card machine to work and had to fix it first. But by 11.00 we were finished. We toodled out and started looking where to go for tonight’s anchorage. It looked like Kirties had the most overall protection from the winds in play so we went back there. It’s a really nice anchorage with several tavernas on shore. We anchored once again in sand at about 9 meters. Spent the day swimming, reading and hanging out. In the evening we took the dinghy in for Varga’s sake and to have a beer at the closest taverna. It’s the one that stands alone a few hundred meters north of the other tavernas. It looks kind of rustic but turned out to be really nice. Dan finally got daring and allowed me to order a dish of marinated anchovy fillets. To his surprise they were very good, a lot like Swedish herring but smaller of course. We watched the other tables around us order dish after dish and learned the Greek way of ordering. The anchovy dish and bread was enough for us for the day but will remember for the next taverna visit now that Dan is more amenable:) There’s a small boat harbour here where the fishing boats come and go so all the tavernas seem to have fresh fish every day. Tourist boats come and go too and there is an occasional jetski. Otherwise it is relatively peaceful. We give this anchorage 5 stars.
12 August 2026 Koroni - Kirties anchorage N 36 55.989 E 22 08.510 Distance Traveled 14 NM Time Traveled 2 hours Weather - Sunny 33C, Winds SW 2-4 m/s, then SE 10 m/s We have battery problems. Our first clue was when we were sailing to Koroni; the GPS kept shutting down and saying low voltage. It was fine when the engine was running. Also our fridge stopped working. Hmmm. Dan checked the batteries and found that without the engine they were very low, 11%. Now our batteries can’t charge to max. Dan thinks it’s due to the high temperatures in the boat while we were on the hard, which made the fridge work harder and wear down the batteries. So he spent the better part of the day chasing down batteries. He found a guy Costas who has a shop right next to the harbour office in Kalamata so he ordered 3 batteries at 375€ each. Highway robbery, but what else could we do? He would order them and let us know when the arrived. So we decided to hang out in Koroni another day. But as the morning progressed the bay got very choppy (not forecast). We couldn’t figure it out, waves coming from north but we only had a breath of a SW wind. Anyway, we dithered about what to do and finally decided to move around the corner to the south side of Koroni as winds were gong to be W which would put us in the lee. Koroni S was lovely with crystal blue clear water, we anchored in 4 meters and sand. But the wind never went over to W, so we were exposed there. We picked up sticks in the afternoon and sailed across the Messinia Gulf to Kirties which is protected from all southerly and easterly winds. We thought it would be a lazy sail but half way out into the bay the wind died completely whereby we hopped off the back of the boat and cooled ourselves in the water. We started motoring but after about 30 minutes the wind picked up from SE, (not forecast)so we rolled out the genoa. Very quickly we went from 3 knots to 6 knots of speed due to increased wind (not forecast). It was surprising. But we rolled with it and reached our destination very quickly! Here in the cove there were about 5 boats. We found a spot, not the lovely spot we had last spring but it was fine, still sand and in front of another beach and taverna. Once we were settled, we looked at each other’s windblown hair and a
10 August 2026 Kalamata Boatyard - Koroni anchorage N 36 47.938 E 21 57.558 Distance Traveled - 15 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny and hot 34C, Wind 2-5 N What joy it was to get the boat back in the water again after 5 days on the hard having work done in Kalamata Boatyard. Our rudder has been unusually heavy ever since we bought the boat 6 years ago, but has gotten worse in the last couple years. So we finally had the time and boatyard to get it done. They were amazing; very professional and very quick. The rudder had to be completely removed and the shaft that the stock goes into had to be widened ever so slightly to reduce the friction. The hardest part was taking the boot off as it had been glued with some very tough glue. It took him a lot of swearing and hacking to get it off but after 2 hours it came off. The rest was quick and easy. Then while we were there we hired a guy to clean and wax the gelcoat. He also did a great job. The downside of all this was that it was 35-39C and sunny. Very little wind to offset the heat and we were miserable. We booked a hotel for 2 nights on the last night we rented a car to go up into the mountains mainly for the AC! But the trip was fantastic. We drove through the Langada Pass in the Teygatos mountains to the ancient cities of Sparta and Mystras. Sparta didn’t have much to see as they did not build in stone; they built in wood and they didn’t make stone monuments but Mystras was amazing. Mostly ruins but the castle and monastery had been rebuilt preserving the wall paintings that were still there. In the castle you could do a digital history tour by signing in with a card. The first questions to fill in were a choice of characters you could be. We chose the Cook, the Queen and the King. When we got to the kitchens we tapped in the screen and were told to stand on a circle on the floor. Dan did that and suddenly his face showed up on the screen dressed in a cook’s hat and medieval dress:) It was hysterical. The hilltop fortress way up on top of the peak was not accessible, at least by us. We had already walked an hour and a half to climb up to the city ruins and castle and were thoroughly soaked through with sweat. Varga was not allowed to come with us, so stayed in the car with a bowl of cold water and all windows open with car in the shade. She was fine, certainly better that we were! Getting back in the AC of the car was a huge relief. We took the thruway route 7 to Megalopoli to see the biggest ancient theatre ruins in Greece. We got to the parking lot where there were no cars, no busses and the lot was all broken up with cracks and roots from trees. It looked totally abandoned and was locked with a chain-link fence all around. We walked up to the gate and looked inside then turned to leave as there was no one there when suddenly a man appeared and gestured us to come back to the gate which he opened for us. We walked in about 50 meters and there covered in earth and grass and flowers was a scooped out hill with some stones showing. This was the ancient theatre, hmmm. We looked for about 5 minutes then turned and thanked the man and drove back to the town of Megalopoli to have lunch. Then took back roads back to Kalamata. It was so hot at the boatyard that we just grabbed our swimsuits and got back in the car and drove around relishing the AC and looked for a beach to swim. Everywhere along the coast were cars and people going to and from the beaches. It was crazy crowded so we kept driving until we got gave up and returned to Kalamata and our usual swimming beach which is never crowded because it gets deep so quickly. We stayed in the water for about an hour, even Varga spent a long time in the water. It helped bring our temperatures down. Finally Monday morning arrived and we were the first boat to be launched. Joy! We were in the water by 09.15. The guys on the travel life were very professional and very calm. They treated FRAM like a baby. A far cry from our lift and launch experience in Chalkis and Messolonghi. We motored out and headed south to Koroni as it is only 15 NM from Kalamata. We just wanted to relax on the boat, swim, read, sleep. This anchorage is good for that. The temperature here is a bit lower and there is a light breeze from south which is soothing. It’s good to be on the water again!
11 June 2026 Krities - Kalamata N 37 01.450 E 22 06.370 Distance Traveled - 5 NM Time Traveled - 1 hr Weather - Sunny 28C Wind S 0 m/s We woke to another glorious day in Greece. At 06.00 I rowed Varga ashore for her business then we went back to FRAM for a morning swim and breakfast. I like getting up early to meet the sun and enjoy a cooler time of day. It’s quiet as no one else is up and I can sit in the cockpit and ponder life. Dan got up around 07.00. After he had read the news and drunk his coffee, we set about preparing for our last sail for the season. The dinghy came up onto the foredeck and was cleaned out. Several things have gone missing over the 2 weeks we’ve been sailing and all items were last seen in the dinghy. It was one of my flipflops and 2 leashes for Varga. Of course Dan had rolled his eyes when I couldn’t find said items. I was stumped as did not remember leaving any of them on any beach and they were definitely not on the boat. I kept my one flipflop for a week and then tossed it in Koroni. When Dan lifted the matt out of the dinghy, he found all above items including my flipflop. So typical. I knew my flipflop couldn’t have blown out of the dinghy. But at least we have the leashes back. Up went the anchor and we motored north to Kalamata, FRAM’s summer residence. We radioed in as soon as we got close and a marinero came back and told us where to go. He met us on F dock and I steered us in. All went smoothly and we have a good spot well protected from weather. As weather goes, Kalamata is not very impacted. The meltemi comes as far as the mountains to our east and no further, the medicane is not viable in this part of the Med so the only strong winds are the daily southerlies that start around 15.00 and end as the sun sets and they are not stronger than 10 m/s or 20 knots. The break wall provides good protection from that. We spent the rest of the day registering, paying our fee, and checking out the town. We had to go to the Port Authority to officially check in to Greece. Even though we are from an EU country, we still have to check in here. We went to the Port Authority just a few hundred meters away, a once grand building which is not sadly in disrepair. The stucco facade is losing bits and pieces and inside it looks like no one has touched it with paint or tender loving care since the place was built sometime in the early 1900’s. We went in and a man was sitting in a glass booth. He asked us “what you want?” We told him we wanted to check in the Greece, he directed us to an office around the corner. We went there and 2 moment were sitting at computers behind glass. We told them we wanted to check in to Greece and they said, “office 3” pointing down the corridor. We duly went to office 3 but no one was there. Typical. So sat down at one of the desks and waited a few minutes. A man in uniform came in and we presented ourselves and our papers (registration, insurance and proof of E-Tepai (tourist tax). We had to fill out a crew list which is just the two of us, pay 15 Euros and received a stamped form proving we’d checked in officially. And we were done. That is the most painless check in we have ever done, so we said good-bye and continued on into town to provision for our last few days here in Greece. In the evening when it started getting cooler, we cleaned ourselves up and went to the casa marina bar right here in the marina. It’s a beautiful place, with terraces, gardens and long balcony with old fashioned ceiling fans. We sat under one of these to get the cooling breeze and had Ouzo and beer. Thinking it’s probably more expensive than the other places along this waterfront but the ambiance cannot be beat. Felt like we were transported back to the 1920’s with soft jazz music playing in the background and the view of all the boats in the marina before us. There is something about Kalamata that feels really good. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I liked it on first impression. Of course there are interesting exceptions, for instance, we paid 5 euros for a key to the gate onto the dock and a key to the showers. On closer inspection we see that the gate to the dock has no lock. Maybe there was a padlock at some point but it’s gone now. And the showers are never locked. On top of that, most of the doors into the booths are swollen by the heat so you can’t even close the doors completely, much less lock them. I am lucky because I have Varga who lays down outside my shower and guards me. But the fact that no one seems to complain about these faults, leads me to assume that there is no cause for worry or insecurity. On Wednesday, 17 June, we leave bright and early for our flight to Athens and then Copenhagen. We will be back on 4 August to continue sailing in Greece. Not sure where yet, we’ll see. Until then, have a great summer!
10 June 2026 Koroni west - Krities anchorage N36 55.889 E22 08.531 Distance Traveled - 12.4 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny(of course) 26C Wind S 3-6 We rolled out the genoa as soon as we left the bay and set off across the big bay between the first and second udder of Pelepponesos. Krities is a little anchorage protected from south and east winds. There are 2 small resorts here and couple houses built into the hillside which is very lush and steep. You can glimpse yellow sandstone cliffs under the greenery. The water is the usual crystal clear and easy anchoring in sand. There were some strong katabatibc winds coming down the steep hillside that caused us some concern but it didn’t last long. Caused by the daily increase in wind around here and exacerbated by the high mountains. Some thunder rumbled from far away and dark clouds rolled in and then quickly dissipated. We had a lovely calm evening swimming, cocktails and dinner in the cockpit. Only one other boat here. In the evening we took Varga in for her business and walked through the larger resort area which had 4 restaurants and was incredibly pretty. There were lots of cats, but Varga isn’t so interested in them anymore. She has learned her lesson I think after several whippings by said cats.
8 June 2026 Finikounda - Koroni anchorage N 36 47.940 E 21 57.554 Distance Traveled - 14 NM Time Traveled - 3 hours Weather - Sunny 25C Wind SW 3-5 m/s (6-10 knots) We left Finikounda’s lovely town and anchorage in the late morning and motored for an hour before we had enough wind to sail. We rolled out the genoa and floated along at 3 knots till we rounded the ancient castle at Koroni. There was only one boat there so we found a lovely spot not too far from the break wall and in pure sand. The anchor caught immediately and a swim out to inspect showed that it was dug in up to the shaft. We were set. Dan went for a run and then in the evening we walked in to see the town. It’s a rather big town compared to the ones we’ve been to so far, but although it had all the restaurants, cafés, and shops, none of them had any special character. The whole town was kind of low energy. The supermarket was just a mini-mart, the meat shop had hardly any meat to sell and the clothing and swim equipment shops looked like the merchandise had been there for decades. We had a beer and an ouzo at one of the waterfront cafes and then went to a wine shop where we bought some local wines on the advice and recommendation of the owner, Jannos. We got to try various whites reds and roses. It was fun and Jannos was very kind. 9 June We got up early and took a walk up to the fortress ruins. It was a steep uphill walk but flat once we were up. It was a huge fortress with some houses still lived in. Flowers like Bougainvillea were everywhere and the smell was divine. I love that the Greeks have so many flowers. The pine trees add their special scent as well and together they are unbeatable. There are 2 churches up there perched on the hilltop with amazing view of the sea on 3 sides. All beautifully kept up. We strolled along tree lined stone tile roads back down to the village and walked through back to the waterfront and then dinghy to boat.
6 June 2026 Kolyvri anchorage - Finikounda anchorage N36 48.335 E 021 48.615 Distance Traveled - 2.4NM Time Traveled - 30 min Weather - Sunny 25C Wind None Today is Sweden’s National day. It’s a relatively new holiday which only got it’s bank holiday about 10 years ago. They took away Whit Monday and gave the free day to the National day. We still don’t have any traditions in celebrating it. So consequently, we both wished each other Happy Day and got on with what we were doing. We left our anchorage in Ammos on the island of Sapeindza due to wind change making it no longer a protected anchorage. It only took an hour or so till we found Kolyvri on the mainland. It was totally protected from everything except wake from tankers during the night; even though they were 12 NM away from us. That’s the ripple effect for you. The water was crystal clear though and a lovely temp of 21C. We swam, read our books and worked out on shore. There was nothing here; no houses, no taverna, just a road connecting Methoni and Finikounda. We had to motor to Finikounda as there was no wind. There is a harbour and an anchorage outside the harbour in front of the town. We chose the anchorage of course, so we can swim. Crystal clear water, making anchoring so easy. Even so, I put my mask and snorkel on each time the anchor is set to go have a look at how it has dug itself down. This Ultra anchor is positively amazing. It sets perfectly every single time. Compared to our old Bruce anchor it is a vast improvement. We love it and highly recommend it. It’s expensive but definitely worth it. Finikounda is a super cute tourist town, with a main street that runs along the waterfront and then several small streets behind going up the hill as everywhere in Greece is mountainous. The main street is lined with lovely high-end shops, clothing, hats, swim equipment, a ships chandlery, a gourmet shop with home grown olive oil, olives, honey and other olive products, and of course tavernas and cafés. The streets are pristine clean, the smell of pine trees, cypress trees and of course flowers waft along you as you stroll up the street. We ate at one of the tavernas, a traditional Greek food restaurant. Dan had his usual grilled pork chop and fries and I had moussaka. It was delish but way too much food, I could only eat half of it. Greeks can’t compute “small portion”. They say ”yes yes yes” but then serve you a huge portion. We found the first supermarket that is worth its name in Greece here in Finikounda. It was lovely, I even found dijon mustard that I have been looking for since Sicily. Normally we see very few boats as we travel along the south Pelepponesos coast but at this place we were a total of 12 boats anchored in the bay. A Polish boat anchored very close to us on the second day. It was a very old cat, looks like one of the first ever, only about 28 feet long. A family of parents and a teen-age daughter and dog lived on it. In the afternoon the wind came up quite strong, as it does most afternoons. It blew about 10 m/s (20 knots) As we were sitting in the cockpit enjoying a honeydew melon, we saw the father go to the bow and start hauling up the anchor. We thought it odd that they would choose that time to leave, and apparently the mother agreed because she sat at the wheel and refused to go forward when he directed her. He started screaming at her and she screamed back and they had an ungodly fight that ended in his boxing her ears and her stomping below decks and closing the hatch. Dan wanted to go over there but I advised against it because the guy was obviously drunk and who knows what he will do if someone interferes. So Dan picked up his phone and pretended to film the fight. Anyway, the father eventually got in the dinghy and went to shore to cool off and after that all seemed to go back to normal. We weren’t the only ones watching; all the boats in the near area were sitting watching and wondering where this scene was going to go.
4 June 2026 Methoni - Ammos, Sapienza Islet anchorage N 36 47.363 E 021 42.635 Distance Traveled 2 NM Time Traveled - 30 min Weather - Partly cloudy, 20C Wind E 2-3 m/s (4-6 knots) The wind is going over to south today so we weighed anchor at 09.00 and nipped directly south to this little islet of Sapienza that has an anchorage on the north side with a little beach for Varga. We plan on staying here till the wind goes back to NW and will then move. The anchor caught once again perfectly. I swam out to have a look and make sure it was dug down in sand. There’s a lot of posidonia here so was a little tricky to hit sand. Sapienza is totally covered in Bushes so very green. Underneath looks like granite rock.
2 June 2026 Gialova anchorage - Methoni anchorage N 36 48.922 E 021 42.565 Distance Traveled - 10 NM Time Traveled -2 hours Weather - Sunny 24C Wind NW 0-3 There wasn’t much wind this morning so we took our time getting ready to leave. Morning swims, coffee in the cockpit, Varga to shore for her business and around 10.30 we were on our way. We are super happy with our new anchor, an Ultra 21kg. It caught perfectly first time both in Gialova and in Methoni. Granted, there hasn’t been much wind to pull on the anchor but still, feels good. We motored the whole way to Methoni, known for its fortress first built sometime in 10th century by the Normans, destroyed in 12th and rebuilt by the Venetians in beginning of the 13th century and sometime in the 1500’s was owned by the Ottomans. It’s huge and upon closer inspection as we walked through it, it is the biggest fortress in Greece through the ages. As we rounded the point that the fortress is on we saw a really lovely anchorage, all sand with beaches and a small village. There were already 6 boats there when we got there but there’s plenty of room. By the end of the day there were 25 boats and it didn’t feel particularly crowded. The water is crystal clear, feels like floating in a swimming pool. Water temp is about 20C, so very refreshing. We dropped our anchor and, as I said above, it caught instantly. Using my new mask and snorkel from Madeleine, I swam out to check the position of the anchor and it was spot on. Varga and I took the dinghy to get something for dinner. The village is very small but very cute. Clean stone tile streets, and the most amazing flower arrangements. There are hibiscus trees, bougainvillea, trimmed plane trees and other trimmed trees lining the streets as well as beautiful pink flowers growing below the hibiscus trees. They don’t have much in the way of supermarkets, however. We managed to find 2 rather small mini-markets where I could buy tomatoes cucumber onions parsley and dill. In another I found frozen pork chops, no fresh meat anywhere in town. In the square down by the water there are several tavernas and cafés. 3 June A beautiful sunny day today, not much wind in our anchorage but more out at sea. We spent a lazy day. Dan went running in the early afternoon and then we took the dinghy in to explore the fortress which is rather impressive. They had a big square where merchants could sell goods, 2 hamams 2 churches, one of which became a mosque when the Ottomans had control, and magnificent ramparts. We had Ouzo and beer at a café in the square before dinghy-ing home for dinner.
27-30 May 2026 Marina di Cala del Sole, Sicily - Pylos Pelepponese N36 56.948 E021 41.887 Distance Traveled - 390 NM Time Traveled - 82 hours Weather - Sunny, 20-22C Wind W, NW, W 0-8 m/s (0-16 knots) Anchored in sand, 4.4 meters depth We dropped our lines, took up the gangplank and ladder and left our winter berth in Licata at 06.23. There was a light North wind which we caught as soon as we were out of the harbour area and on the sea, both sails went up and I shut off the engine and that’s when it started vibrating violently, again. I quickly shut it down and it stopped. We both looked at each other; not again! We sailed for about 4 hours before the wind died and we had to start the engine. I hate this, so nerve-wracking. It vibrated again when we started it but as soon as I put it in gear and increased the throttle it disappeared and all was normal again. But this was a pickle. We can’t have it idling so how do we anchor, come into a marina to park the boat? We both mulled this over for hours and came to the conclusion that since it only happens when the engine is on idle, it must mean that the rpms it’s set on aren’t high enough for it to get going so it vibrates as it tries to get to where it can idle. So on Day 3 in the evening, Dan went down and adjusted the throttle up just a tiny bit. I started the engine and it started without a hitch. Wonderful! He made a final adjustment and now we no longer have a violently vibrating engine, just a nice purr. The sailing on this trip was really nice. We managed to sail keeping an average of 4-6 knots for 262.7 NM which is pretty good for the Med. The sun shone all day long every day, the temperature was mild and lovely, the stars shone magnificently at night and we had a full moon to guide us, indeed it was a Blue Moon. We did our usual watches; 3 hours on and 3 hours off and after a fitful first night, slept like the dead during the subsequent nights. There was very little tipping as we had mostly following winds and nothing too strong or gusty, just smooth sailing really. Waves weren’t big either, so all in all, this was a very good crossing of the Ionian Sea. In the afternoon of Day 4, 30 May, we entered Pilos lagoon sailing through a very narrow opening between the rocks and then entering this huge lagoon. The town of Pylos is right at the entrance in the south. We chose to sail to the northern end Gialova and anchored in sand. There is a very long sandy beach here and we are anchored right outside a little resort village with cafés restaurants and nice shops. We rowed in to have dinner at a restaurant called Nature. We sat in lounge furniture under lovely low trees with cute lamps hung from the lower branches. Dan ordered Ouzo and beer for us and we had mixed grill and Greek salad for dinner. It was delish and a very nice rounding off of our 4 day sail. We will stay here for a couple days. There is a hiking trail up a cliffside to an old Norman castle ruins and a cave called Nestor’s cave that we want to check out. We also want to sleep:) We are also thinking of renting bikes and biking to the village of Pylos. We have 12 days to play before we have to be in Kalamata and get FRAM ready before leaving for Sweden.
26 May 2026 Licata Sicily Weather - Sunny 22C Winds mostly north or west, light 2-4 m/s (4-8 knots) It’s been a long month since our first intended departure towards Greece in April when our engine would not start. After much troubleshooting and best intentions of know-it-all sailors, we had to engage Volvo Penta in Catania to come down and take a look. The problem was water ingress into the injectors. It’s difficult to know where the water came from but most likely it’s water that escaped through the valve that is supposed to prevent this from happening. It’s a huge problem and required a total replacement of the engine top and all the injectors. In Sicily the client has to pay for the work before they will order the parts and make an appointment to come and work on the boat. The cost was nearly the same as a new engine by the time we added up the first troubleshooting visit and then the spare parts and second visit. It also took a long time to get the second appointment as Volvo Penta is very busy at this time of year, of course. But 2 guys finally came down yesterday and spent the entire day getting the job done. At 16.00 we turned on the engine and it sputtered back to life. We still have an issue with the engine being below the water line so need to have a goose neck pipe fitted at some point. Right now we are happy to have it running and Dan will have to be diligent and turn off the salt water sea cock to the engine between runnings just to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s a bit more complicated than this but it’s what I have managed to gleen while listening in to all the spitballing. We kept ourselves busy all month by being very social; happy hours, BBQ’s and dining out with boat friends. We work out every day except Sunday. Dan runs 3 times a week and works out 3 times a week, I work out 6 days a week. On Sundays we go to the Sunday BBQ with the liveaboards or go for a long walk on the beach. Lena a Swede from the boat White Pearl and I hike up the hill to the fortress a few mornings per week to exercise our cardio. We read books and putter around the boat. Varga is with us everywhere we go happily trotting alongside us on our hikes and walks. We find masses of wild rosemary, fennel grass and oregano on our walks. I always pick bunches for cooking. Today we have been bustling about getting ready to leave tomorrow; I went to the green grocer, the butcher, the deli and the supermarket and stowed everything wherever I could find space. While Dan blew up the dinghy and secured it on deck, I cooked up a storm making 4 dinners for our journey. Now we have battery charging, stowing all our stuff that we have left out during our winter sojourn here in Licata. It’s been lovely and we will come back in the Fall for another winter here. It’s a great place to be; the marina is spacious and nice, palm trees everywhere, the townspeople are very kind and helpful and the liveaboards are nice and very helpful. I think the majority of liveaboards are German followed by French, Dutch and Swedes. We were 7 Swedish boats here this year. A few Irishmen, Engiishmen, and a few Italians. It’s a good group and we look forward to coming back for the 2026-2027winter. Tomorrow we leave Licata bright and early and will sail nonstop to Pylos in Greece. It’s going to be a very short sailing spring for us as we are leaving FRAM in Kalamata and flying home on 17 June.
17 April 2026 Licata Sicily Yes, we are still here. Sicily has experienced a colder-than-normal spring after a cold and stormy winter. We were planning on leaving this week when the weather has shaped up to warm and sunny, but once Dan de-winterised the engine, we couldn’t get it to start. Eventually we got it going but only on 2 cylinders. For some reason cylinders 2 and 3 were not working and there was a knocking sound going on. We had a guy look at it and determined that we need to bring in Volvo Penta people to deal with it. So, we are here for the rest of the month and possibly into May as they can’t come out until the 30th of April. It’s a bit of a setback, especially considering we have an engine that is only 2 years old. But we couldn’t be in a better place to kick our heels. Sicily is a fascinating island and I, for one, am happy that we have more time to explore it. We rented a car this week and went to Ragusa, an old hilltop town with a magnificent cathedral. Next week we plan on going to Noto and Siracusa for a couple days to see the sights. It’s quite easy to find hotels that welcome dogs so Varga will be able to come along with us.
3 April 2026 Licata Weather - Chilly, stormy, wet Temps between 10-16C On a good day with sun and light winds, the temperatures hover around 18C. We strip to shorts and t-shirts during the warmest part of the day; early afternoon. As soon as the sun starts to set, the chill sets in and we are back to trousers and sweaters. We have had a lot of rain which shows in the landscape here; very lush and green with grass and flowers growing to profusion. The Sicilians say that this has been the worst winter they can remember and Spring looks to be heading the same way. On FRAM all is good; we have heating, good food, good drink and plenty of GB for watching sports like Curling and movies at night. FRAM is now dressed in her Genoa and mainsail, the deck has been cleared of the mould and algae that set in during the wet winter, and Dan has sanded down the two teak shelves on either side of the companionway in the cockpit, and is just waiting for warmer temperatures and lighter wind to start varnishing them. I have been doing an inventory on our stores onboard FRAM and frequenting the Sicilian markets where Italian artichokes, oranges, lemons and fennel are in season. The pistachios of Sicily are the best we’ve ever had and we eat them every day. Almonds are good too. We have a fabulous butcher at our local supermarket Conad where I have learned the Italian ways of cutting meat, so now know what to ask for. The deli is also superb and we are enjoying Sicilian prosciutto salamis and cheeses. We have our exercise routines that we adhere to religiously (in order to eat all the good Sicilian food!); Dan runs 10 km every other day and muscle building exercises on the odd days. I do my yoga training every day and try to power walk up the steep hills around Licata every other day when my knee permits. The Licata cliff cemetery has a series of steps up the side of the mountain where all the mausoleums are kept immaculately clean and decorated with flowers and photos of the one inside. I get a good cardio workout climbing up to the top and taking the downhill road back to town and the boat. Sicilians like to walk as we have noticed while staying here. The harbour walk is very popular with all kinds of people running/walking out to the end of the pier on the east side and back then round the whole marina, stopping for a coffee at one of the cafés that line the marina waterfront. They are out there from early morning to late evening, elderly coupes often taking a short stroll past the boats after a dinner out at one of the restaurants nearby. Marina Cala del Sole is a really beautiful marina; palm trees and rosemary bushes lining the walkways, nicely tiled walkways and several shops cafés and restaurants to sit down for a meal or a coffee. I just discovered a new coffee called Cafe Crema. It’s very creamy and thick, cold and delicious. We have a variety of plans for our spring/summer sailing, none of which have been decided yet. One is to go to Montenegro and then down the Ionion islands to southern Peleponnesos as far as Kalamata. Another is to go round Sicily past Siracusa, Catania, the Liparian islands and then cross over to Sardinia. We are letting the weather decide. So more on that later. Our cockpit tent is at the sailmaker’s in Ragusa for cleaning and waterproofing. We miss it sorely as it acts as a sun room when it’s cold and rainy outside. Dan still has to de-winterise the engine and get that up to speed. We had a glitch with it in November when we had trouble starting it. The local expert Matthew who is actually Australian, looked at it and found that our electric switch needed replacing which he duly did. Now we need to see if that has solved the problem. Other than that, we are enjoying being back on FRAM again and looking forward to a new sailing season.