Invitation!
This website is for anyone interested in joining us on our journey across the Mediterranean Sea. Our adventure began in July 2024 with our Beneteau 51.1, departing from Antibes, France.
Invitation! to join us online
Axel and I (Marita) sailed for 20 years in San Francisco, California, and the Pacific, exploring its vast waters from north to south. One of our most memorable cruises so far was the journey from San Francisco to San Clemente (south of Los Angeles) and back. The trip down was a dream—perfect conditions all the way. The return, however, was a completely different story. Battling 28-foot waves, 35-knot winds against a 5-knot current, dense fog, and a broken GPS in the middle of the night wasn’t exactly fun—but we made it. The wind itself wasn’t an issue; we were used to handling 30-knot breezes every afternoon when sailing from North Bay to Alameda. But combining that with everything else? Let’s just say it made for a rather ‘interesting’ experience.
Our first season in the Mediterranean, by contrast, was a blast. The weather was stunning, with 26°C water temperatures, and the winds ranged from 8 to 20 knots—though the 20 knots were, unfortunately, rare. The peak was a gusty 30 knots during a storm in the Balearic Islands. After rounding Denia, the conditions turned calm and hot. Arriving at Gibraltar, we were awestruck by the sheer size of the rock. Our journey covered around 1,000 nautical miles (close to 2,000 km). However, we didn’t make it back to France in time due to the wind conditions—a lesson learned. If you’re coming from the U.S. West Coast, expect to need about twice the time you’d anticipate. We certainly underestimated it! For us, it is now an invitation to take the Mediterranean more seriously as it is not always that way.
H O W E V E R—we left WhiteCallom in Benalmádena with a fantastic Beneteau dealer who repaired everything that needed fixing after our shakeout cruise and added new features and tools. Our flight home became a life-changing event. Not only did we decide we wanted to return, but we also came up with an exciting new plan: Instead of heading straight back to Cannes, why not sail to Palma de Mallorca? And from there, why not extend the journey to Sardinia, then Corsica, and eventually back to Cannes? Better yet, why not skip Cannes altogether and sail down the Amalfi Coast to Sicily? By the time we landed, our ideas had evolved into something even bigger. Rather than waiting for retirement, we decided to live this dream during every holiday season of the year.
So, consider this your Invitation! to join us—online—for this incredible adventure!
