4th June 2023 - Preparations for departure

Welcome to the blog of Bali Hai’s last big Mediterranean adventure.  After 15 years in the Med we have made the decision to bring her back to the UK.  Largely because of the restrictions placed on travel to Europe following Brexit but also, being UK based, there will be more opportunity for friends and family to come on shorter trips rather than long holidays; such as the Solent, along the South Coast or even across the Channel to France.



Bali Hai is currently in Capo D’Orlando in Northern Sicily and our trip will take us up to Sardinia, across to Ibiza and then Southern Spain before passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and along the coast of Southern Portugal.  We will then sail up the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain before crossing the Bay of Biscay and arriving at Falmouth.  The final leg will be along the Southern coast of England to our final destination of Swanwick Marina on the river Hamble; Bali Hai’s birthplace.



At the moment only Emma and I are on board and we have been working hard getting the boat shipshape for our illustrious crew of Greg Nutkins and Richard “Cabin Boy” Fletcher who will be arriving this evening.  John Hutton will hopefully be joining us later in the trip.

I hope you enjoy the blog, which I will try to keep as a purely factual account of the trip as it happens 😀. Having adopted this approach in the past, previous blogs have led to the end of many a friendship and not to mention threats of action in the High Court. So I suspect that this one will be no different.

You can also track Bali Hai’s progress on tracker websites and apps such as Marine Traffic  https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais and Vessel Finder https://www.vesselfinder.com

Comments

  1. Anonymous4 June 2023 at 01:51

    Having been a very small part of the guest crew that sailed Bali Hai fifteen years ago I shall follow her return with keen interest! Have a fun and safe adventure! Julian

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karen Knight4 June 2023 at 07:45

    Does Fletch have any idea about sailing or is he just eye candy 😂?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4 June 2023 at 08:47

    Good luck Neal and crew. Stay safe. Love Tricia xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4 June 2023 at 10:05

    Sounds fabulous! Stay safe though, and don't lose your passport!

    ReplyDelete

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