Sailing SV CUBA

BOAT LIFE SUCKS!⛵ BROKEN ENGINE, NO SLEEP, NO VISA [Ep.31] - SV CUBA

And just like that it’s time to leave! The winter is slowly creeping in, and the weather is becoming more challenging. With storms and squalls passing over the coast of Turkey, we do not have the best conditions ahead to sail to Crete. However, our 90 day visa is up, there is no way around, and we must leave. We had hoped the authorities would allow us some time for the high winds to calm after we checked out of the country, but we were asked to leave within 2 hours so we got underway.

Our stop on the Greek island of Kithnos where we filmed our EP 19

Shortly before my birthday we sailed towards the Cyclades in Greece to avoid the harsh northerly Meltemi winds. Luckily we JUST made it into the anchorage at Kithnos before weather conditions became too severe and med-mooring manoeuvres would become pretty challenging. 

The Meltemi wind is a strong northerly wind that can last for several days and it is best to seek cover on the southerly side of the Cyclades before it unleashes its full potential. Fortunately the island of Kithnos...

A HOLE IN OUR SAILBOAT ⛵ WANNA GO SAILING? - Hope We Make it SAFE to Our Anchorage [Ep.30] - SV CUBA

A HOLE IN OUR BOAT and A GHOST TOWN is what we experience this week on SV CUBA! Besides all things sailing as a live aboard you have to consider how to comfortably live on a boat, especially in the winter. We woke up to snow in the mountains and our diesel heater is still not installed. So we tackle this project at once but not without some nerve-wracking augmentations along the way!

Now that we have SV CUBA warm, dry, and ready for us to spend the winter on the hook we put up the sails...

Patreons Live Update - 19-08-2022 - Dragging anchor at 01.00 AM

The fear of dragging anchor at night is definitively one of the downsides of living on the hook. Disoriented and not knowing if you are dragging into other boat or rocks in the pitch black is quite scary. 😕⚓Who likes this stuff? Sailors I guess.

Patreons Live Update 17-08-2022

One thunderstorm after another. 

EP.27 - Extras - Black Island Exploring a Cave at Night!

An island with no inhabitants with a cave where we can swim at 3AM sounds terrifying no? 

Living on a Sailboat ⛵ Goodbye Bikinis - Full Time Travel & Winter is Coming [Ep.29] Sailing SV CUBA

Our sailing around the world expedition and full time travel is taking us from Marmaris to Göcek in Turkey in this week’s episode of sailing SV CUBA.

Living on a Sailboat is never easy. We still have no heating on board and winter is coming so we finally manage to sail to Marmaris to pick up our Chinese Diesel heater and fetch some extra parts, since we do not trust the flimsy peripherals, it came with.

We test it out in our cockpit and to our surprise, the thing actually produ...

Boat Life - Life On Board A Sailboat [Ep.28] Sailing SV CUBA

A day in a sailing nomad’s life! We are in Turkey and indulge in all that the country has to offer. Sailing the coast of Turkey from Bodrum to Datca we try Goat Ice cream and spend an hour looking for pizza (one of our traditions is to grab pizza after a long day’s sail). And because we are hungry sailors, we have pizza AND a burger. On Orak Island we are invaded by biting black flies and find a comical solution to the problem.

Follow us around in a day of our nomad life as we check...

BOAT LIFE [Ep.27] A NIGHT IN A CAVE | Sailing SV CUBA

Are you afraid of the dark? This week on Sailing SV CUBA we explore a cave at night, enjoy sauna like hot springs in the dark, we eat our way through all the oriental food we can find on the streets of Bodrum and we experience what a Turkish Bazaar is like in the 21st century.

In this episode, a lot happens as we sail along the coast of Turkey. SV CUBA is anchored close to Bodrum a popular tourist town and spot for sailors, charter boats and cruisers alike. We are on the search to exper...

EP21 - Extras - Abandoned Mine!

A place frozen in time with many interesting things to discover, the mines have been built more than 60 years ago.

Our own private Island Paradise & Hot Springs | Exploring Turkey | Black Island | Sailing SV CUBA

We found our OWN PRIVATE ISLAND including HOT SPRINGS! Enrique has been promising me to go to the hot springs for days but there was always something more important that need been done. Sailboats need maintenance and we spent most of our time in Turkey looking for boat parts.

Now it’s finally time to enjoy our very own hot springs! But on our dingy ride we spot something in the distance. Is it another uninhabited island? Well not quite. We take our boat closer and realize it is a mass...

Sailing past Mount Etna

Anchored on top of a Sunken Treasure [Ep.25] No Navigational Instruments, they are all Dead - Sailing SV CUBA

We are racing at more than 8 KNOTS! SV CUBA has made it to Turkey but we are not stopping now as our sailing adventure takes us around the many beautiful peninsulas. We are trying to find an anchorage before it gets dark and tuck into a small bay close to Bodrum.

The next morning, we are met with a surprise: We are anchored right on top of some ancient relics! We were lucky, our anchor chain did not roll right over the vase.

Oh dear, now let’s just pull up the anchor and get out...

How Not to Sail to Turkey [Ep.24] Worst Sailors Ever - Living on a boat - Sailing SV CUBA

We Are THE WORST Sailors ever!  :D In this week’s Episode we sail to Turkey from Greece. SV CUBA is anchored in the beautiful town of Lindos. But for our American crew Shyah it is time to say goodbye to the life at sea and return to cold Boston.

Shyah has left SV CUBA and the next day we are on the way to Marmaris. The wind and waves are in our favour and we set sail east. Yet about 3 hours into the sail Salsa notices something is off and after checking the route it becomes clear...

WOW! Biggest Waves we Sailed in Greece [Ep.23] Downwind Sailing to Rhodes in Rough Seas - SV CUBA

We only have 9 days left! Our Visa is running out and we have to make it to Rhodes before the harsh northern Meltemi wind hits! Can we make it?

We lift the anchor in Santorini and sail to Rhodes to the east because in less than 10 days we have to leave the EU. The Meltemi winds are notorious, but we have no choice but attempt to hop to Karpathos, a tiny needle-like island and then try to sail to Rhodes where we can check out.

Just hours before we arrive to Karpathos the Meltemi pu...

Sailing to Santorini, Greece [Ep.22] The Most Beautiful Island in the Aegean Sea - Sailing SV CUBA

This week we are sailing into a life volcano! Come with us this week to one of the most beautiful islands in Greece. We are getting ready to anchor but anchoring in a volcano caldera is not that easy.

Just as we arrive to the island the wind increases and we are having a marvellous sail into the crater. The wind tends to just drop down the steep cliffs making it a great place to sail. We lose track of time and don’t could not find an anchorage right in the middle of the crater between...

We Found an Abandoned Mine [Ep.21] 60 Years Untouched - SV CUBA

Join us this week on SV CUBA as we go on the hunt and manage to get something impressive on our boathook. We are visiting the abandoned mines in Milos and get to explore the strange lunar landscapes on the island.

We are currently in Greece and sail from Sifnos to Milos to explore the mines that have been left and forgotten for over 60 years. A place almost frozen in time with many interesting things to discover.

As the winds change towards the afternoon, we decide to sail to the ...

Sailing Around the World & Island Hopping [Ep.20] Kythnos to Milos (Cyclades Greece) - SV CUBA

Join us in this week’s episode, as we leave the island of Kythnos in Greece and attempt to sail to Mykonos. But the wind keeps changing and therefore our sailing route changes.

With the Meltemi winds blowing we try to anchor in Sifnos and are chased out of the way by a massive ferry getting dangerously close. Just before the sun sets, we manage to find a protected anchorage and go to explore the town. There we stumble upon a relic no one at sea ever wants to find while sailing or bein...

EP.19 - Extras - You Promissed Me Hot Springs!

You promised hot  springs and now we been downgraded to this! ☹

Sailing the Cyclades in our Beneteau [Ep.19] Mooring in the Greek island of Kythnos - Sailing SV CUBA

In this week’s episode of SV CUBA, we are sailing the Cyclades in our Beneteau Oceanis 461 Clipper and end up mooring in the Greek island of Kythnos, where we realized the anchorage is packed with charter boats. My birthday did not turn out as planned but we were happy to make it before the Meltemi wind arrived. Kythnos has a very protected anchorage with two bays separated by a narrow stretch of beach. It is a great place many sailors seek to hide from the prevailing winds.

We wanted...

FIRE! & Nowhere to Go [Ep.18] Sailing Greece - Sailing SV CUBA

Jump on board SV CUBA as we leave Cape Maleas, where we had an amazing freediving experience at the Captain Ismail wreck and flew over the 3 million-year-old petrified forest.

This week we set off for our sail to Athens, Europe’s oldest capital. What started as a dream sail, just sailing downwind near the east coast of the Peloponnese soon turns into a situation of national alert leaving us to search for many hours to be able and keep the boat and ourselves safe.

As the weather ...

OMG! Found 3 Million Years Old Fossils & Dive a Sunken Ship [Ep.17] Sailing Greece - Sailing SV CUBA

We sail around the world! Join us this week as we leave our anchorage in Kalamata, Greece. All of Europe is in a severe heatwave and it is almost impossible to explore the land on foot. So instead, we decide to catch some of the slightly fresher wind and sail to Athens. At least it feels a little cooler on the water.

As we reach the island of Elafonisos we drop anchor and the thermometer soon reaches over 42 degrees Celsius inside our sailboat. Elafonisos island has a very protected anc...

Our World Sailing Adventure Just Keeps Getting Better [Ep.16] Sailing Greece Mainland - SV CUBA

Tag along as the temperatures rise and the crew decides to ditch SV CUBA for the day to escape the heat. We are on the hunt for a special place in Kalamaris, home to wetland creatures and amphibians. We are still sailing Greece and have now arrived and anchored in Pylos, and today we prepare ourselves to skip boat life and go for a land adventure instead. When you are living on a sailboat sometimes you just want to stretch your legs and we have now been sailing the Greek Islands almost non-st...

Sailing to Pylos - Most EPIC place in Peloponnese [Ep.15] Greece top Anchorage - Sailing SV CUBA

We wake up at famous Shipwreck Beach Zakynthos in this week’s episode of SV CUBA, but now we are no longer alone. The popular beach is once again crowded with holidaymakers. So, we use the day to do some video editing, finally fix the fridge fan, and plan where to sail next. The wind is predicted to come from the west very soon and it will no longer be safe for us to anchor here at Smugglers Cove.

We decide to sail to the historic natural harbor of Pylos about 75 nautical miles southe...

Anchored ALONE at Shipwreck Beach [Ep.14] Sailing Greece Most Amazing Beach - Sailing SV CUBA

We are THE ONLY ONES here! We sail to famous Shipwreck Beach aka Navagio Beach or Smugglers Cove and find that we are the only sailboat around. As we drag the dinghy up the beach, we are indeed all alone, at this amazing spot in Zakynthos or Zante.

Many tourists travel from far and wide to take a selfi or the perfect Instagram shot of the most famous beach in the world. After a very special first coffee in the morning, we decide to quickly go back to SV CUBA and pack the drone video equ...

35°C Drop & the Girls didn't PASS OUT [Ep.12] Cenote of Kefalonia - Sailing SV CUBA

Tag along in this weeks’ expedition of SV CUBA to discover a hidden gem on the outskirts of Sami in Kefalonia with us. Since SV CUBA is securely anchored in the bay of Karavomilos the crew makes their way from the mesmerizing Melissani Cave. We follow a tip from a local that there is another cave nearby that may be overlooked by the tourist groups.

After some asking around and getting lost, we find the elusive Zervati Cave and indeed, this one has neither a tour guide nor an entrance ...

This Place is Insanely Beautiful [Ep.12] Blue Cave of Kefalonia - Sailing SV CUBA

This week on Sailing SV CUBA homes in a new chapter! We are now a real international sailing crew and new sailing adventures are on the horizon. But on a sailboat, not everything can be planned ahead, and just as we set sail towards Zakynthos, a strange burning smell wakes us up in the middle of the night. 

Turns out the cooling fan of our fridge had burnt through after some misbehaving the week before. Enrique – a.k.a McGyver – finds a solution to keep our beer and all our pro...

USA Crew joining SV CUBA [Ep.11] Cuban, American & German on same Boat 😱 Sailing SV CUBA

Oh no! Our tanks are completely dry! Hop onboard SV CUBA this week and see how we manage to get those tanks filled again and follow us as we set sail to pick up our new crew from the USA!

Yepp, on a boat, eventually you run out of water. Unless you have a water-maker of course. But unfortunately, in our case, we have to find a source of water on land. But when it comes to cruising, networking is almost as essential as H2O and a friend we met in Fiscardo was able to point us to a port th...

Mysterious Island [Ep.10] Sailing Kefalonia (Greece) Breathtaking Spartia | Sailing SV CUBA

This time on sailing SV CUBA, we escape the heat and dive into the crystal-clear waters around Spartia Beach in Kefalonia, get sporty on our paddleboards, and find a mysterious, uninhabited island.

It’s early morning and already over 36 degrees Celsius, the water around our sailboat looks like a swimming pool and since we arrived in the dark after a sail down the east coast of Kefalonia once again, we had not seen our new neighborhood in the daylight. This coastline of the Ionian Isla...

Sailing Greece [Ep9] Made it Out Alive - Stern to Cave Mooring & Exploring - Sailing SV CUBA

What happens in this week’s episode? I get a nasty sting when we just wanted to take some time to enjoy the beach after a few days heading into the wind and we do an unusual “stern to cave” mooring instead of the more common med mooring. 

We are sailing SV CUBA from Lefkada to Kefalonia and spent the night in a quiet bay. However, the area was crowded with charter yachts and after visiting a wasp-infested beach, we decide to cool off and anchor med mooring style, by positioni...