What a great year of cruising it's been! An ocean voyage from Thailand to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the long passage across the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, through Greece and Turkey to the Dardenelles and Bosphorus, the Black Sea, and finally back into the Aegean to retrace Ulysses' voyage - over 10,000 nautical miles (18,000 kms) in 10 months. Here's a few of the highlights.

The Evanna was newly painted and ready for us when we returned to Thailand in early December last year, and the 800 nm passage to Sri Lanka was fairly easy, especially as Carol's cousin Finn Berger from Norway shared the watches. After a very merry Christmas with some other yachts in Galle harbour we hired a car and driver for a few days and together with Verna and Kate had an interesting ramble around Sri Lanka. It's a beautiful country, marred only by the devastating civil war between the government and the Tamils who are fighting for partition. A 3 day sail then took us down to the Maldive Islands, a paradise of golden beaches on low coral atolls.

The Maldives to Djibouti at the entrance to the Red Sea , some 2,000 nm over the Arabian Sea took us 13 days. It was sailing at its best with a moderate NE tradewind pushing Evanna along day and night. Friends often ask us if we are bored on the long sea passages. With only two of us to split the watches there's no time to be bored! We get through a lot of books, and try to keep in practice with the sextant.

Djibouti was a shock. Perhaps because it was our first look at Africa, but we were unprepared for poverty on such a scale. The French lease harbour facilities in this former colony, and they live in comparative luxury, seemingly oblivious to the squalor and misery around them. We had intended to stock up on fresh vegetables, but when we saw the price of produce flown out directly from Paris for the French contingent, (cauliflower $40 a kilo, tomatoes $35 a kilo) we decided we could do without.

On February 12, with Djibouti astern Evanna headed out into the Red Sea, through the narrow straits known as the Baab el Mandab (the Gates of Tears) to begin the 1,200nm voyage up this ancient sea route. There was so much to see, from the old slave town of Suwakin in Sudan to the temples, tombs and pyramids of Egypt. In between were the many little natural harbours called "masas" where the sea has cut narrow entrances and formed lagoons in the desert where Evanna could nestle among the sandhills in complete tranquillity while a gale raged outside. It was in these masas that we met up with the desert people - Bedouin families and nomadic fishermen who invited us to their camps for coffee. In dangerous areas we kept well off shore, and in fact the only pirates we came across were the pilots on the Suez Canal - aggressive fellows who'd had a lifetime of practice extracting "baksheesh" out of unwary sailors. We had been warned, and were ready
for them.

From the Suez Canal we headed directly for Iraklion on Crete where a visit to the Minoan palace of Knossos was a fitting introduction to Greece. The Minoans really had it made. Three and a half thousand years ago they had running water, baths and sewers; they were magnificent artists, and they had a social order that allowed them to prosper. Peter and Caroline came aboard in April for a leisurely cruise from Crete to Rhodos, and then for the next few weeks we wandered between the Greek islands and the Turkish coast as we headed north. We'd often hire a car or a motor bike to explore inland and visited many of the historic sites including the wonderful old classical city of Ephesus. We did have to remember though, to change the courtesy flag. It wouldn't do to enter a Turkish port with the Greek flag flying, or vice versa!

John and Pam met us in Ayvalik for the cruise through the Dardenelles where we moored at Canakkele to visit Troy and Gallipoli. These two great battle fields are within sight of each other across the Dardenelles, yet are separated in time by over three thousand years. At Troy we had an excellent guide, otherwise we'd never have been able to distinguish one from another of the nine layered cities discovered by Schlieman. Even then it was difficult to make out Troy no. 6 which thought is thought to be the city of Homer's tale.

The visit to Gallipoli was sombre and quite distressing. We toured Anzac Cove where they landed, the cliffs, hills and ridges where they fought, then visited the cemeteries where the 20,000 Australians and 8,000 New Zealanders lie buried. The average age was 20.5.

Istanbul was magnificent and we saw as much as we could of the palaces and mosques of the Ottoman Empire, while finding time to barter for Turkish carpets and antiques in the Great Bazaar. Susan and Seamus came over from Boston to spend a couple of weeks with us exploring the
Sea of Marmara and the beautiful Prince Islands where all motor vehicles are banned, and the horse is king.

Through the narrow Bosphorus, past Jason's Clashing Rocks Evanna nosed her way into the Black Sea. We had originally planned to retrace Jason's voyage to Georgia, but were told that the situation there had become too dangerous for yachts on their own, so instead we turned left and headed around Bulgaria, Romania and the Ukraine. It was a fascinating time, visiting towns and cities of these former Soviet countries, and exploring the deltas of the Danube and Dnieper rivers. Political freedom and a market economy promised them so much, but has so far delivered very little. The standard of living is poor, and their currencies are depressed which means all imported goods are too expensive. (An average salary for a professional person is the equivalent of US$100 per month). While we met some who are nostalgic for the "good old days" of the Communist state, most people are looking ahead to the time when they will be part of the European Economic Union. There are a few pockets of affluence however, where traditional
tourism has boosted the local economy. Odessa, the gem of the Black Sea was just delightful.
We sailed into the splendid new marina, climbed the 198 steps to the centre of town and there found a lovely city of tree-lined boulevards, colourful street cafes and a magnificent opera house where we saw La Traviata and Swan Lake. A private box cost $2 each. A sad commentary on the value of the currency.

Douglas and Liz joined us in Odessa for the cruise around the Crimea to Sevastapol. While all the local people we met were charming, the reception from officials was often less than friendly. In Sevastapol Evanna was fenced off on the wharf and put under a 24 hour guard, and no visitors
were allowed on board. We took advantage of this fact to leave her in the care of the guard for a
trip to Yalta to visit Chekov's house and the Livadia Palace where the Yalta agreement was signed in 1945.

Many years ago in the staff room of Eltham High School Pat and Peter talked about one day retracing Ulysses' voyage. Pat said, "If ever you do it, then count me in too". So here we were, some 35 years later about to begin our own Odyssy. Andrew, Carol and Lynn joined us for the first part of the Ulysses cruise as we turned NW from Troy to circle around the northern coast of Greece, then passed down the magnificent Atki peninsula where over twenty monasteries cling to the cliffs. The Greek sailing directions warned us to keep at least 500 metres off shore if we had women or female animals on board. (Those dirty old monks!)

Pat, Von, Julie and Carol arrived in Athens in late September for the 4 week cruise on the second stage of the Ulysses voyage. (With 5 women on board Peter was the envy of every Greek fisherman from Athens to Ithica). After a sweep through the lovely Cyclades stopping at Kea, Mikonos, Naxos and Santorini we picked up the track of Ulysses on the NW coast of Crete at the island of Gramvousa, home of the legendary Aoelus, ruler of the winds. As we slowly worked our way north, stopping at Mezapo, scene of the massacre of Ulysses' fleet, King Nestor's Palace at Pylos, the Sirens' beach and the cave of the monster Scilla we became more and more convinced of the basic truth of Homer's tale. If we needed further confirmation we found it on Ulysses' home island of Ithaca where Pat, Julie and Peter hiked to Arethusa's Fountain. There, under the Raven's Crag, was the spring, exactly as Homer described it.

Evanna behaved herself during the whole time, and apart from tearing a mainsail in the gales of the Red Sea, all systems worked well. The air conditioning was a lifesaver in the very hot weather. She is now in a shipyard in Bodrum, Turkey, sitting up on props and hoping there won't be an earthquake that far south while she waits for us to return to reclaim her next spring.