Cyprus to Malta

From Kores Bay we made our way around the north of the island to spectacular Lavrakas Bay. It is completely isolated, a stretch of golden sand ringed by high cliffs of sedimentary rock formations reminiscent of Arizona or Colarado. We had a fantastic walk following a gorge through some incredible scenery. Sadly there was too much swell to linger for more than a day in the bay so, at about 17:00 on Saturday 30^th, we set off to Malta.

The first night we were flying along at 8 knots. In light winds we flew our cruising shute the second night but then we lost the wind entirely and ended up motoring in dead calm. We didn’t really get any serious wind until we were approaching Malta on Monday morning when we had to battle our way into the anchorage with a 25 knot headwind.

The trip was not without its dramas – a water alarm went off 200 miles from land. The cause was a split in the exhaust gooseneck leaking into the stern steering compartment – unexpected as this was a new Vetus part less than a year old.

We arrived in Malta on 4^th July and anchored in El Hofriet Bay to relax before heading into Valetta for water, repairs and to order a new gooseneck!