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Oil "crashes", gold gets gonged, silver is slaughtered, Georgians are Back in the USSR ["you don't know how lucky you are boy...":rolleyes:], yet another "US naval armada" heads to the Persian Gulf, the media finally discovers that the China Olympics might actually have something to do with sports and athletes, and the world has temporarily gone giddy and decided to have a summer fling with the Bonar. Shoulda stayed on the boat...:p
Although the cost has risen since Greece entered the Euro currency zone, sailing in Greece is still a comparatively cheap European holiday, even when paying in US Dollars, surprisingly enough. Three of us, all experienced sailors including a three-time Cape Town to Rio race veteran, split the cost of well appointed 43 ft Beneteau sloop in the Greek Ionian for a week. Total cost for everything except air fares (we converged from different points of the globe) was less than $1600 each. That includes the boat charter, insurance, fuel, and copious quantities of food, beer and wine on the boat and the tavernas we frequented. Try booking a hotel room during summer high season in Europe for anything close to that rate. And if you do find something I'll bet the hotel pool or patch of beach is nowhere near as nice as swimming off the back of the boat in the Ionian
. I was sailing in the Solent (UK) the week prior and prices for anything in Blighty continue to range from outrageous to completely obscene.
The Ionian hosts a wind phenomena unlike anything I have ever experienced. Morning winds, if any, are generally light out of the SE. By mid-day it's dead calm. And then in the late afternoon the katabatic winds start to flow out of the N-NW, and in less than an hour winds well over 20 knots will build. Every day. Without fail. I have never sailed anywhere with such regular, predictable winds. According to the GPS we logged over 120 nautical miles [point to point, not traverse distances] under sail during the week.
Below a shot across the deck on a close reach heading to the fabled island of Ithaca just as the afternoon winds are building. A few more shots are posted on the photoplog.
Now about that silver price... :eek:
Although the cost has risen since Greece entered the Euro currency zone, sailing in Greece is still a comparatively cheap European holiday, even when paying in US Dollars, surprisingly enough. Three of us, all experienced sailors including a three-time Cape Town to Rio race veteran, split the cost of well appointed 43 ft Beneteau sloop in the Greek Ionian for a week. Total cost for everything except air fares (we converged from different points of the globe) was less than $1600 each. That includes the boat charter, insurance, fuel, and copious quantities of food, beer and wine on the boat and the tavernas we frequented. Try booking a hotel room during summer high season in Europe for anything close to that rate. And if you do find something I'll bet the hotel pool or patch of beach is nowhere near as nice as swimming off the back of the boat in the Ionian
. I was sailing in the Solent (UK) the week prior and prices for anything in Blighty continue to range from outrageous to completely obscene. The Ionian hosts a wind phenomena unlike anything I have ever experienced. Morning winds, if any, are generally light out of the SE. By mid-day it's dead calm. And then in the late afternoon the katabatic winds start to flow out of the N-NW, and in less than an hour winds well over 20 knots will build. Every day. Without fail. I have never sailed anywhere with such regular, predictable winds. According to the GPS we logged over 120 nautical miles [point to point, not traverse distances] under sail during the week.
Below a shot across the deck on a close reach heading to the fabled island of Ithaca just as the afternoon winds are building. A few more shots are posted on the photoplog.
Now about that silver price... :eek:
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