SY Equinox 2026

The fishing fleet moored in the river at Pescara We met a German guy recently who said that they have a saying, "if you want to give God a good laugh, make a plan and see what happens".  It has felt as if we were experiencing this over the last few days.  On arriving in Pescara, we noticed a small pool of oily water lurking under the engine, not a good look.  So in the morning, we went to the marina office, and asked for help.  Various engineers were consulted, with results of "we could get to you on Saturday" from one and "... Monday" from another.  Eventually between the marina boss and the boatyard, they came up with someone who could come later that day.  When he got to us and started the diagnosis, all sorts of very worrying possibilities were aired.  He made some adjustments and said that we had to give the engine bay a thorough clean, to remove all traces of the oil. Oh, the romance of the nautical life!  Perceived by some as a glamorous pa...

The plan was to move on to Termoli today, so all the preparations were made, and the marina guys came to help us cast off.  All the lines were released and forward drive was engaged, but we did not budge.  It was clear that we were sitting on the bottom, and with the albeit tiny tide still falling, it soon became clear that we weren't going anywhere soon. Over the next hour or so, the boat leaned a little more to one side, obviously pivoting on the keel. A guy from one of the other boats came, and helping translate for us to the marinaros, whose English is at about the same level as our Italian. He was asking questions about the boat, and obviously impressed with the capability it offered.  "Your could go anywhere with that boat" he said, to which I replied "yes anywhere.... except there (pointing to about half a boat length in front) and right now. " The marina guys were mortified and explained that this was an almost unpresidented low for the water, clearly a ...

The routing decision is made, and we head to the Italian side of the Adriatic.  The weather forecast for the islands towards the north in Croatia shows very strong winds over the days that we need to make progress, so we are off to Italy. Saturday was the last day of preparation, and topping up the fuel supply was needed. On visits to the town (?) of Ubli, the depth of the water at the fuel dock had been verified (just enough), so the outing of the day was a trip there for diesel, all achieved with the minimum of excitement.  The fuel was (relatively) inexpensive as well, which was a bonus. The fear that someone would have taken our prime spot on the jetty while we were away proved to be unfound, in fact the only other boat in the bay left as we returned, so we were alone again.  Time for walks around the bay and coffee in a nearby café. Time for photos on this journey. Until you get to the right angle the old submarine pen is invisible. Sunday 3rd was the day to cross ba...

For the first night at Ubli we were not alone,  there were 4 other boats at anchor and a gullet type boat tied up to the key for a group of touring cyclists.  We have seen these here before, clearly it is a regular spot on their tours, and given the scenery and the lack of cars on the roads, it seems like an ideal spot for them.  This particular group were fairly noisy, during the evening, singing popular songs in a rather discordant fashion.    In the morning all of the other boats moved on, and we were left completely alone.  We were dissatisfied with our anchor position, especially given that stronger winds are expected.  The anchor was reset 3 times before we were happy. Even then you do start to wonder if everybody else knows something that you don't.  Our conclusion was that the other boats were charter boats and had either been instructed to get closer to base, or had independently concluded that they should do, in order to be safely back b...