Aground, Ep. 224

“Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”

There’s a few different versions of this comic refrain, but this one’s credited to our beloved Benjamin Franklin. Being on the water, we know a thing or two about smelly fish, and about uncomfortable guest experiences; it doesn’t take long to hear stories from fellow sailors. Onboard Sea Rose, however, we follow a few simple guidelines to make sure everything goes smoothly. First, we don’t guarantee where we will pick up our guests or drop them off. We always tell them that it is a lot easier to move people to a boat then to move a boat to the people. Second, there are a plethora of things that could go wrong, and flexibility is the key. One of us could get sick. Weather could disrupt our plans. Or, the boat could have an issue. We’ve never had to pull the boat card, until now.

Our dear friends Matt and Michelle, no strangers to Sea Rose or to travel itself, were well equipped in the flexibility department. Better yet, they don’t smell after three days! Despite the holidays, we were able to find a delightful house to rent. With a small pool, it was as close to a week of sailing around Martinique that we could offer.

Roughing it on land. Le Diamant, Martinique
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Corsica – Up Close And Personal, Ep. 101

Before we left the U.S. to start our summer adventure onboard Sea Rose, we had several friends express an interest in joining us. Karen and I were of course thrilled about the strong interest, but we had to chuckle a bit. Just a year prior, while we were cruising through the Great Lakes of the U.S., we got very few takers. Apparently, a transatlantic flight, foreign language, and jet lag was not enough to dissuade people from an opportunity to sail in the Mediterranean. That said, if you have the chance to navigate the Erie Canal or sail the Great Lakes, you should really accept the offer. It is a fabulous and under-appreciated sailing destination. Check out our YouTube series “Sailing into the American Heartland” for more details.

Our longtime friend Emmy was quick to sign on as a guest, booking her ticket to France months ahead, showing us she was not leaving anything to chance! We had mapped out a rough itinerary for the summer and there were various legs that were either coastal hopping or offshore crossings. To our surprise, Emmy was intrigued by the idea of an offshore crossing, especially if it involved an overnight experience. As we settled into our new boat and finished cruising the Balearics, it became clear that we would be doing a longer passage from the French mainland over to the northwest coast of Corsica. This is roughly a 100 nm trip. We had done several similar length crossings – namely to cross over from Spain to Mallorca and return back from Menorca – and for both of those trips we left before sunrise and arrived before dusk to try to avoid a complete overnight trip.

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