2009 season

Anzac Cove or bust!  And bust we nearly did as we battled the Meltemi all the way up the Turkish Coast.  Whoever said it doesn't blow until July - we've got news for you!  One day we almost gave up.....Brenda was in the galley making coffee when we took a greenie over the bow.  She got drenched, the coffee was severely diluted and tempers were somewhat frayed.  From that point on we learnt to always close the hatch!!

Gallipoli was amazing and going ashore and seeing Bandit anchored in Anzac Cove was very special.  From there we had a magical (and fast) sail across to Thasos and Samothraki - beautiful Greek Islands seldom visited due to their northern position.  Only a handful of yachts there including Americans Dick and Ginger off Alchemy who we have since followed around the Med.

Next up were the Sporades where we followed in the footsteps of Meryl Streep and co - Mamma Mia was filmed here.  On a beautifully calm day we anchored in the bay beneath the chapel in "that" wedding scene and exhausted ourselves by climbing the steep steps to the top - what a view.

A series of lovely downwind sails to the Cyclades where the Meltemi picked up all its strength for us.  We battled short, choppy seas and horrendous winds to pick up David's cousin Tina Hamilton on Tinos.  As we eventually docked (after lots of attempts), the neighbouring boat told us they'd had 40knots out there.  Our top gust was 38 - that's no fun.  A week later we picked up James, Diane, Harrison and Sophie on Mykonos and sailed down to Paros and Naxos with them, managing to find ways to entertain the kids even with the Meltemi constantly blowing.

The Meltemi was still blowing when Chick and Pete Anderson arrived on Paros, but we headed straight down to the small Cyclades for a fantastic few weeks......sheer bliss!  Then we had another Marlborough visitor in the form of Del Bissell who flew into Paros.  We sailed to Kos where we picked up daughter Rebecca and then had a lovely time island hopping across to Turkey where we headed into Marmaris to drop them off and finish our season.

Looking forward to some inland travel we bussed up to Bulgaria spending time in Plovdiv and Sofia before flying to London.