January 16, 2024
After another morning run we headed straight for Saint Mark’s Basilica. There was no line and we paid your euros and headed inside. It is an impressive building and even more so for Cheresa and Anna who have not been any of the large churches in Europe. We opted for the optional tour of the museum which allows for going…
January 15, 2024
With only a couple days we packed in a lot today. But first up Anna and Cheresa wanted to get a workout. I was very skeptical of their plan to run around Venice but it actually worked out for them. Seven miles later they were back for breakfast before the adventure started. Since I had scoped things out already I…
January 14, 2024
The gun laws in Europe require a permit holder for a rifle, and only that permit holder, to transport the rifle. What this meant is that Anna and her teammate were unable to drive with me yesterday to Venecia and had to wait until the team moved to their Airbnb before they could come to Venecia. I had mapped it…
January 13, 2024
I skipped out on the final day of the biathlon races in Ridanna and after breakfast hit the road. It was a smooth drive with no issues (thankfully) and the only surprise was the total cost for tolls. On the drive into the Dolomites I had four or five toll booths and on the drive back only one but the…
January 12, 2024
It was a mass start for the top 60 women from the last race, unfortunately only two of the American women made the cut but on a plus side Anna and I could cheer together. It was a tough day on the range and the snow for the Americans with both getting lapped (you immediately exit the course when that…
January 11, 2024
No racing today, but Anna had training in the morning so after a huge breakfast I headed into Sterzing to explore a bit. Oh, but I’m getting ahead of myself… I woke up with the good idea that rather than risk driving up the mountain (something that I went to bed very stressed about) I could ride the bus. Duh…
January 5, 2024
Anna wasn’t training until the afternoon, so I picked her up and we headed to Rabland. Actually the plan had been to go to a cool town that I passed on the drive from Venice but it turned out to be too far. Not to worry Rabland was a cute town. We walked around checking out the fire station (Anna…
November 22, 2023
A recovery day? Maybe. After back to back 4:00am departures and long days at sea, it was nice to not have that pressure today. We took our time, had coffee and read the news while the boat gently rocked. Magnificent. Of course all good things must end and I got to work, the freezer in the fridge needed to be…
November 21, 2023
Ground hog day, up at 4:00am and another 60ish nautical miles to cover. With the sunrise, again, out came the main (reef 2, 23 knots of wind) and jib. Soon we were cruising along in the upper 6 to low 7 knot range. Perfect! We managed to sail about 3/5th of the way before, as forecast, the wind dropped and…
November 13, 2023
We have been watching an area that was looking to form into a cyclone for three days and had a bit of a scare a few days ago. We normally review the European, American, and Spire weather models but wanting to check all the boxes that day we added the PWE and PWG (Predict Wind modified models). That first check,…
November 8, 2023
It was a beautiful morning and soon the paddleboards were in the water, as we headed to a farm and lookout spot 300 feet above us. Reaching a dock, we started the climb up 270 odd stairs. Other than a few loose and rotten boards, that we managed to avoid, we were soon on the top of the hill and…
November 7, 2023
The sun rose as we slowly clicked off the miles to enter the pass of the next atoll, Vanua Balavu. After what seemed like an eternity, around 8:45am, we reached the calm interior of the atoll and with that I headed down to make my breakfast. Eating breakfast I noticed I had cell signal so with Carl’s help I spent…