Sailing There, Cruising Across Europe And The Mediterranean

by Patricia Vellinga

Overview

Looking for a new adventure, Patricia Vellinga and her husband buy a boat-a big boat that turns out to be more a yacht kit than a yacht. Their simple plan is to cruise Europe and the Mediterranean for one year. Their journey, however, is far from routine.

As Pat and Ray motor through the canals of Holland, Belgium, and France, then sail to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Spain, they find beauty and danger. Towering locks and feisty barge captains test their boat handling prowess. Forced at gunpoint to cast off into the raging Saône River, they struggle to safety. The treacherous winds of the meltemi in Greece and the mistral in France challenge their sailing skills. They sail into idyllic anchorages and 2000 year-old ports used by Odysseus. Anchoring? Who thought anchoring could be so funny? It becomes the daily entertainment as yachters jockey for position in ancient ports. Pat’s detailed descriptions of Ray’s brush with the octopus mafia and the charter captain who leaves everyone in a wake of pandemonium will put a smile on your face. Salty characters abound.

In the end, Pat and Ray are hooked on the cruising lifestyle. It takes them well beyond their one-year plan.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013608412
Publisher:	Peacock Hill Publishing
Publication date:	02/09/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Childhood on a Midwest farm seldom includes a sailboat. In this way Vellinga’s childhood was typical. But, unlike her contented country friends, she had dreams of exploring far off, exotic places. She was destined to be a traveler. As an adult, she would also become a sailor. A life of fun and adventure would naturally follow.

After college and marriage, the Vellinga’s moved to San Diego, California. The author began her career as a teacher. Her husband began his career as a Real Estate Broker and Developer. With the Pacific Ocean at their doorstep, many weekends were spent day sailing with friends.

Between teaching stints and real estate projects, the Vellinga’s traveled the world extensively. When two and three-week vacations didn’t satisfy their wanderlust, they took six and nine-month trips worldwide. One trip included a forty-stop, around the world airline ticket. While on one driving tour across Europe in their Volkswagen Bus, they became intrigued with the network of canals and rivers and the possibilities they offered. Discovering a wealth of historic and charming ports along the Mediterranean set the course for their next travel adventure. They would buy a boat. This began forty years of cruising.

Sailing There, Cruising Across Europe and the Mediterranean sprung from the author’s copious notes taken over nineteen years of sailing and cruising the area. The Vellinga’s eventually sold their sailboat to purchased a powerboat for a cruise around North America’s Great Loop. The Loop is a six thousand mile circle route via the Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway, the Erie and Trent-Severn canals, the Chesapeake, Delaware and Georgian Bays, and the Great Lakes.

Currently, Patricia and her husband can be found cruising the beautiful Sounds of the Pacific Northwest from their homeport of Gig Harbor, Washington. As expected, when they are not cruising, they are traveling.

Editorial Reviews

A delightful read about a couple's adventures while exploring European canals and sailing across the Mediterranean, Sailing There is populated with a host of eccentric characters including a bouillabaisse chef, gruff bargemen, disinterested port officials, mafia youth and, of course, other cruisers.
Pat and Ray's one-year cruise is extended indefinitely as they become accustomed to a lifestyle full of suspiciously friendly people, culinary surprises, local wines, and emergency boat repairs.

Good Old Boat - Erich Dresher

"Often humorous, frequently nail-biting, and always entertaining, this engagingly written story of a couple's journey into new waters and foreign cultures will make you want to change course and set sail for the Med."

Bookcover - Suzanne Giesemann

If you're any kind of boater, sail or power, or an aficianado of the Mediterranean cultures and cuisine, or best of all both, this is a must read that you can't put down. Through Pat's very colorful and descriptive style we get the full flavor of their adventures to "assemble" their pre-ordered boat in the Netherlands, negotiate the tricky locks and canals across France and then take on both the beauty and fury of the Mediterranean Sea, while savoring the very wonderful flavors of the Mediterran

Amazon Reviews - Richie A

What fun! I don't know alot about sailing but I was intrigued by the title. I took this book to read on my vacation and it was perfect. Pat, the author, invites you aboard and you really feel like you're there - and you don't need Dramamine to enjoy the ride!

Amazon Reviews - JRF JRF

I was with you all the way from the start of the trip to when you put the boat away at the end. I went thru the heavy seas. Got soaked from crashing waves. I suffered the severe winds you were caught in,even when you should have stayed in the harbor. I even tasted all the wonderful food except I did get tired of the cucumber, tomatoe and olive salads with oil. I would have had to have had a stash of Best Foods Mayonaise. What an adventurous couple! I envy you.

Hansen - Shirley J