From Portugal to Greece via Malta for a wonderful solo navigation

And our first (very mild) Portuguese winter on the boat is over too.

It's time to leave towards the East... towards the cradle of navigators: Greece.

Anna and Emma remain on land to finish the 1st Portuguese school year.
We decide to split our cats. Mustafina with me and Gino with them.
My Mustafina doesn't yet know that 2000 miles of particularly challenging navigation

await her and to tell the truth, neither do I! ;)

Long stages to meet two technical appointments: stop in Palma de Mallorca mid-May for maintenance of the hydraulic systems of the mainsail and genoa and then Trapani at the end of May for the dry-docking of Pius for propeller maintenance , antifouling and replacement of two throu-hulls with new ones in bronze.

Here leaving Albufera (Portugal) the 8th of may 2022.

Unfortunately, the wind is almost never well disposed towards those who sail.
So the first 700 miles up to Palma were all upwind with an average wind never lower than 25 knots.
Alone I can finally take advantage of pushing Pius to its speed and angle limits. Thanks to a good sail, partially reduced genoa, staysail and mainsail with half the surface when approaching Gibraltar I reached 9.7 kts with an angle of 45AWA. I am radiant, Mustafina much less...destroyed by the resistance to fatigue.

Gibraltar strait always crowded

The Rock!

Stoned Mustafina

In Palma, I had a real unpleasant surprise when I realized that what was supposed to be a company specializing in hydraulic systems for boating was absolutely incapable.... my stop which had been planned for 4 days became 15!
MHS Marine Hydraulic solutions was my nightmare. Two days to dismantle the hydraulic motor of the mainsail, persisting in wanting to detach the mast from the cardan transmission.
The marina that denied me a place during the W/E to make room for the incoming Charters forced me to leave the port and set out to sea in search of an anchorage without a forestay fixed, as I no longer had the hydraulic motor of the boat furler.

Good conditions after 20 years of work!

The surprises never end.
Before finishing the work (after 10 days) and coming to assemble the hydraulic motors as well as the genoa swivel and the vang, the central office of HMS headed by the owner (an English man) asks me to pay the total balance of the works, under penalty the impossibility of reassembling everything. Real Blackmail and Real Bandits. I ask to speak to the boss but he denies it. I inform them that I will then go to the police. After 2 hours they show up on the boat.
We finish the work at night and leave again at 3 in the morning heading for Trapani...the beautiful one!

All in 36 hours.
Hoping to find the tail of the Mistral that swept the Balearics from the 9th to the 15th of June, I set sail with the intention of opening Genoa by reaching. Having left the eastern cape of the island of Palma, I immediately realize that only large and powerful waves remain of the Mistral. Max 13 knots; I try the Gennaker but too much wave and little wind to keep it under pressure... I struggle for 1 hour between tack, barber and sheet adjustments.
Meanwhile, at the stern I realize that the fishing rod I had cast at 6.30am has something large pulling...a nice 4kg tuna.

Just enough time to hoist it on board and half a mile away I spot a tender adrift

Not only the duty of commander but also my atavistic fear of overwhelming floating objects at sea push me at all costs to recover the tender and tow it to Carloforte (Sardinia) almost 300 miles away.
An hour and a half to recover it and empty it because it was full of rainwater.
Empty boat but with ignition keys and fuel but swimming ladder open outside.

What happened to the driver, I wonder?

After 10 hours of towing, at sunset on day 1, I realize that consumption has doubled and the 300 liters I had in Palma will definitely not be enough and ETA on Carloforte is for 9pm tomorrow.
Furthermore, landing in Carloforte (home of the shallow waters and rocks) at night is madness. Night comes and usually brings advice.
I activate the AIS and Radar alarms to be able to relax me and start my cycles of 20' naps interspersed with 60min of wakefulness.

At dawn on day 2, diesel fuel approached 0 frighteningly.
I think and think again. The only way is to ask nearby ships and yachts for refueling.
On the plotter I see that at 1h45 on my astern course it reaches 25kts. a 90ft motor yacht called Artefact.
I take note of the Call Sign and her name and call on the VHF explaining my need.
After a while they called me back granting help with only 30 litres. I ask for more to be able to reach my destination but the terse response was: <<..this is all diesel we have on board>> . I am surpised but I thank them.

At 8.30 our routes cross and they give me indications that they will overtake me by throwing 2 bins into the water.
This is what happens and the recovery too, to my great satisfaction.
Before loading the diesel the level is below 0 but my Volvo Penta TAMD41-HB is still running!

I thank them for the donation and for the affectionate wish they left for me on the cans.
Caught up in the heat and the still powerful wave, I don't check the quality of the diesel by filtering it with my separate/water funnel.
I slow down to 1300 RPM and after an hour the transparent Racor pre-filter of the diesel shows me a diesel more similar to honey than diesel... some water has entered the tanks during the floating.

I continue motoring, I don't have many other alternatives since the wind is insufficient to push Pius and tender the tow.
The Latins use to say Audentes fortunate iuvat (courage helps the bold).
And at 9pm I anchor at Cala Cannai in Carloforte. Everything OK.

Now I can cook my catch and go to bed. Pius once again did not betray me... his name is PIUS in Latin it means devotee! ;)

The following stops see us heading to Malta to find our beloved Pippus the 1973 Swan 44 which we sold in 2019 to David and May from Malta, who have just had a baby girl.
Ritual photo and shortly after I meet Giovanni Soldini with his Maserati.

The following day we set off to sea together with Soldini and I didn't have time to get close before they opened the genoa and the trimaran rocketed at 20 knots passing over my big nose.
New and final crossing to reach the final destination after 5 countries and 2000 miles: the much loved Greece.