We're continuing our way up the east coast of Sardinia, we're keen to get to Costa Smerelda as soon as possible, partly because we hear it's stunning and we want to spend lots of time there and partly because there are not so many marinas or anchorages on this side of the island so we want to make sure we get the long journeys out the way while we have more certainty about the weather (I still haven't lost my misplaced faith in September sun despite all the rai...

At last we've set off! After some very useful feedback from the manufacturer of our battery charger when we contacted them to see why it might be buzzing ("can't determine the noise but if it's bad it will stop working"), we managed to get some replacement batteries delivered in record time - especially by Sardinian standards. After satisfying ourselves as far as possible that this had solved the problem, we departed Cagliari to begin our trip around the island...

Yesterday we embarked on our first ever sailing trip on our very own boat. It was AWESOME! The wind was decent, the sun was shining, the sea was flat… the ultimate vindication of a self-confessed fair-weather sailor! The Solent is pretty but it is not comfortable! We didn't go far, only around 5nm to the east and then back again, just to test everything and make sure there's nothing we need to do before setting off for real. There is obviously but at least no...

After a very hectic couple of days post-wedding getting packed and ready (and shaving Gerard's head), we arrived in Cagliari on Wednesday 18 September! In true Italian fashion, the repairs we'd requested in June commenced upon our arrival but they were finished very quickly and we were ready to have Starfire moved from its spot on the hard into the water. Due to our very limited grasp of Italian, this was communicated with two words: marina staff (while pointin...