Pre-Script (rather than Post-Script): We’ve arrived safely in Malta. This is the notes from this week’s passage over the next few days while we are catching up on sleep, friends’ hugs and land under our feet.

ETD was 2 pm. We finally left at 3h30 pm which is actually quite good for hour standards. That means, ‘only’ 1.5 hrs of frustrated semi-frantic last-minute departure errands. But once the last phone calls were made, work emails sent, port police paid, water-tanks filled, provision kept and the latest grip files downloaded we left picturesque Chania (see Gallery above) behind, together with its 1001 tourists who’d have strolled past our boat St Tropez style over the last two days. As beautiful as it might be, we much prefer places that we have close to ourselves – such as Gramvousa Island where we stayed for a more relaxed last night in Greece after the most aweful seas we’ve ever encountered. Four metre waves on average, the occasional one up to six – not fun at all. The winds were a beautiful 15 to 20 knots and carrying us along at 7 knots consistent, but the rest was a survival washing machine which I hope to not experience again any time soon. In fact, the only thought that got me through it as I was cuddling my little one tight in the cockpit was selling the boat in Spain and exchanging it for a house with veggie garden in some sweet spot on this earth. On the good side, it means that the weather forecast for once was correct (most often than not it seems like the guys putting it out are playing lotto or gambling with it). The Meltemi, a strong Northerly which blesses the Aegean Sea for most of summer, must be blowing quite strong up north to be causing this kind of swell and this means that it will carry us along nicely for the first 24 hours or so as we’ll lift the anchor one last time on Greek soil with massive anticipation to see all our friends in Malta again.