Whilst it is fantastic having the boat in Malta, it does mean that we spend two days at the beginning and another two at the end either getting the boat ready and then closing her down so she is safe for the next two months. As you will know by now, everything on a boat takes twice as long as you think and ends up never being a simple job!

We arrived back in Malta yesterday morning having had an uneventful, overnight trip from San Leone in southern Sicily to Msida Creek. The highlight was hearing an American announce that as part of the international task force, they were 8nm off the port bow of another boat.  Not sure what was going on but you did feel that you wouldn’t want to mess with them! We had managed to get the AIS working a couple of days ago so it made the crossing so much easier as we could identify other boats from up to 10 miles away.

So, some statistics from our two weeks away. We sailed 476nm in 89 hours. Our longest passage was 26 hours from Malta to Pantelleria.  The shortest was 3.5 hours from Msida Creek to Hofra Zghira on the Southeastern corner of Malta. We completed 3 night passages and did our usual 4 hour watch system that works for us. We also spent three nights in a marina and the rest were either anchored, mooring buoys or on passage – all free, apart from the marinas!

Our favourite place was the island of Favignana that was a mixture of unspoilt beaches, a slow pace of life as most people cycled and generally a very friendly island.

Tonight, we are going to treat ourselves and go out for a meal at our favourite local restaurant, Mamma Mia – a mere 5 min walk away and then back to the UK tomorrow morning. Looking forward to being back here in September for another two weeks.