Cesar

we had a busy day. we had to say goodbye to Jony and Cam in the morning, they had a plane to catch! we had a good time together. took it easy in the morning, then we filled up on supplies and left the well manicured lustica bay around noon. our plan was to discover the area around Porto Montenegro, maybe fill up on fuel so we don't encounter the long waiting lines on Friday. we did exactly that! dropped Laura, Liv and Sophie at the marina so they can explore the city, while farid and I explored the area around the bay... we had a hiccup while trying to pick up our crew members from the marina. I was trying to dock and a couple of speed boats filled with tourists snuck ahead of us and looked us dead in the face without a worry in the world. I had to maneuver and wait until they finished and made my second attempt at docking... all went fine... we exchanged some threats and curse words in the process... but in retrospect, I was happy that I did not rush things or get flustered, and it felt like a good training... building more confidence by the day!! finally, around 7pm... we motored for 50 minutes and anchored at our super calm and serene spot from the first night on the water. the breeze was beautiful all night!

we started at Bigova, then we got to check the blue cove, and then sailed in 12 knot winds until we got to budva. we tried to anchor in Budva, but encountered an electric problem... so, no anchoring for now until we get that fixed.

We woke up to a beautiful, smooth, and calm sea... watched the sun rise behind the hills. one of water tanks was emptied the day before, so our plan was to get water, and try to get to Budva. we were able to fill up at Portonovi marina. we encountered an issue trying to dock. our keel got entangled with mooring lines of some big boats. we had to be helped out of them. a slight hiccup, but we live and learn. unfortunately, I only captured half the trip!!!

after a fantastic night of festivities in the bay of Kotor (fireworks and music), we left this morning to explore the bay. we got to motor most of the time, but also we're able to catch some wind and raise our main sail. at one point, we got to 3.5 kts. we've been planning this trip for years... finally my family can experience sailing and everyone is besides themselves. we have a week of sailing ahead of us.

It was a beautiful sunny day on the water. Chris took us out for an easy 4 hour trip to introduction sailing to a couple of friends. They immediately fell in love 💖

We left our favorite bay (so far), right after a nice breakfast, to reach a small island down south, passed Fethiye. The weather and the wind being really nice, we sailed for 5 hours. Reaching 8 or 9 knots speed with the waves pushing us (I can’t remember if we were motoring, were we?) The island was beautiful, ancient ruins and goats 🐐. Enjoyed some nice homemade spicy Gin cocktails on the boat 🌶️ And had a lovely dinner: red beans-olive oil and garlic (Cesar’s recipe). Pro tip: don’t forget the sunscreen! 🫠

Amazing day in a new bay, saw some old ruins called “Cleopatra baths”, really old stone buildings in the water. Then sailed in the bay, heading to our bay for the night. Still a lot of wasps from 6:30 to 8:30, surviving, even though Thom got stung in the back. We tried creating a trap for them, seems to be working. Dinner tonight is pasta with tomato & veggies sauce (but don’t tell Gaia there is chicken in it too… or she will send the mafia!)

the crew woke up early to sail into the sunrise, but I couldn't. TG kept nagging about leaving early, BLA BLA BLA, but I had to take a stand!!! 🤣🤣 loved every moment of today, plenty of laughs... amazing waking up when the coffee is already prepared... we enjoyed motoring, sailing, time together... and the smoothest and most beautiful docking by Audrey... #impressed happiness all around. ❤️❤️ Happy birthday Koya 🎂🎂

Marina was hot and stuffy. 8 minutes was way too far to walk to get in the sea, so back to bay 😁