Sailing SV Pegasus

Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Altamura, Italy

I don’t even know how many days we’ve been out at this point. I think it’s almost 30. We’ve been busy reconnecting with friends and our Italian family, traveling around Italy and France and working on getting Laudati back in order.

When the deed transferred into our names, shortly before we arrived, the previous owner disconnected the electricity as one would expect. Unfortunately, as with many things in Italy, the wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly and we’ve been without power since our arrival. Fortunately, our Italian family had an apartment that was vacant that we were able to use for a period of time. When that unit sold, we went back to the chapel and stayed for a few days without lights and heat. Our family offered to put us up at their farm, but they’ve done so much for us, we were happy to camp at home for a bit. When it became clear that the power wouldn’t be on soon, we took a little road trip. We headed North to the region of Marche and then headed to Brittany, France to explore.

We just got back on Monday night. We still don’t have power, but it’s supposed to be back on within five days. Hope springs eternal. 🙂

I’m leaving on Friday to fly back to the states. My best friend in the whole wide world is turning 50 and I can’t imagine missing that milestone with her, so I’ll be in Florida for a week soaking up all the heat I can and wishing my beautiful bestie a Happy 50th Birthday!

Other than that, things are good. Once I return and we have power at the chapel, we’ll be heading for Tunisia to attend to the boat.

Friday, May 10, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia
Day 104

You ever hit burnout? I have.

I’ve really found it difficult to post every day. For years, I’ve reliably posted each and every day, but for some reason, this year is different.

To be honest, I’m not sure why. I’m not sure how interesting it really is to others. For my part, I feel like we’ve settled into a life out here. It’s much less of a vacation and much more the day to day activities of living.

Boat projects are continuing. We’ve removed the solar panels, which used to live on top of the bimini (the large canvas that covers the cockpit) so that the area is clear when the new canvas is finished. Once it’s done, the old one can be easily removed. The new one will have pockets built in to receive the panels. The material has been picked and the cushions have been ordered as well. The bimini should be done in a week or so and the cushions within 30 days.

Pegasus has a new coat of topside paint on the deck and pilot house which looks lovely.

With the Maghreb turning into an oven in the next 30 days and with projects well underway, we’ve planned our exit from here. We fly out of Tunisia on May 21 and head for Florida for some much needed bestie time with Ben and Jules. After a week with them we’re heading home by way of Vegas. We’ll meet up with Ed’s friend Mike and his wife Carrie and after a night of good sleep, we’re hopping in the car for a road trip to St George, Utah for an overnight. Then Ed and I will head back to Vegas for a night before flying home.

This trip out here has been really lovely this year. We’ve spent great time with friends who have become family, seen a lot of country and we’ve gotten Pegasus back in fighting shape. We’ve made so many good memories!

We’re excited to be home for the end of Spring in the islands and happy for summer at home.

Thanks for following along again. I’m sorry for dropping the ball with posting.

Thursday, May 2, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia
Day 96

So many projects. 😊

We continue to get quotes, select fabrics and organize projects for P. Ed is tearing into the electric autopilot. It’s a repair he’s been chasing for two years. It’s not always easy finding resources and information on some of these older electrical systems. We thought he had it fixed and then when we fixed the problem we found, it produced another one. Such is boat life.

The worker came this morning to start the repairs on our neighbor’s boat. Luckily, P didn’t do much damage when the slime line snapped and she rubbed up against her. Repairs should be done by Saturday and it’s only taking that long because primer needs to dry before paint goes on.

We’ve chosen the fabric for the new bimini and it should be done within 30 days. We’re still waiting to look at fabric choices from one provider who is giving a quote on the new outside cushions.

We found our way to the open air market and came home with nectarines, strawberries, cantaloupe and dates. Finding good food here is a little more challenging but they do have a pretty good selection of fresh produce.

The people are very kind and we’ve found a restaurant right in front of the marina with good food and two guys who work there who are as lovely as can be.

We’re unsure of our plans right now. If it’s going to take 30 days for the cushions and bimini to be finished, we may fly back to Italy for a bit. It’s not super clear yet. We likely won’t be doing any sailing this season. After leaving P for a year in the water and unused, we owe it to her to take care of some deferred maintenance items and get her back in fighting shape. Don’t get me wrong, she looks amazing, but we need to get the new bimini, cushions, carpets, fix the autopilot and just make sure we spend some time using her systems and making sure all is perfect.

She’s so purdy!

Saturday, April 27, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia
Day 91

A pretty quiet day today. We got the quote for the new cushions and bimini and approved the start of the work. We also had him take measurements for new carpets throughout the boat and should see some samples and get a quote for that tomorrow. We also had a visit from a worker who will do the repairs to the neighbor’s boat that P molested during the wind storm and when the slime line snapped. The owner of that boat wants to wait to start work until her husband returns from a business trip on Monday.

The weather has been overcast but comfortable during the day in a t-shirt and capris.

I found some interesting laws here in Tunisia. I went online and looked up customs and cultural rules as well as actual laws. One wants to be cautious in a new country and be sure to adhere to these.

1. Kissing in public is a criminal offense punishable by six months imprisonment and a 48 dinar fine.

2. It is illegal to live or stay together as an unmarried couple

3. While it is not illegal, women do not wear shorts or tank tops in Tunisia. Modesty is key.

4. It is illegal to bring Tunisian money into or out of the country. You must bring currency from your country and exchange it in Tunisia for Dinars. When leaving, Dinars must be exchanged before departure.

It’s always fascinating to travel in different cultures and we’re always careful to follow the rules. #1 was important to know. Ed and I are very affectionate with one another and will definitely need to remember the no kissing rule.

There are homeless cats all over. Found these cute kittens hanging out at a shop among the sandals for sale. 😊

Friday, April 26, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia
Day 90

This is an amazing place with exotic food. We had a super good dinner last night with kabob, dolmas, flat bread and falafel. The hummus was some of the best I’ve ever had.

We got up this morning and projects are continuing at a rapid pace. Getting work done here is super inexpensive and our agent, Mohammad knows who to go to for services. His phone is a master list of craftsmen and connections that is invaluable.

Yesterday we had a gentleman in for a quote on a new bimini and new cushions for the outside cockpit area. We met with a carpenter this morning who will be building a new cockpit dining table and we’re considering having new carpets done inside the boat and will be reaching out to Mohammad for a referral so we can get a quote. P is looking fantastic and once the new bimini and outside cushions are on, she’ll look like a million bucks!

Our electric scooters sat for so long that mine isn’t taking a charge. Mohammad is on the hunt for a resource for new batteries.

Weather today is overcast but not cold. Just before we arrived back to the boat, they had severe winds and one of P’s lines snapped which allowed her to make contact with the boat next to us. In the Mediterranean, boats are moored with their stern to the dock which is tied with a line from each side of the boat to secure her to the dock. At the bow (front of the boat), there are two lines (called slime lines). These lines are connected to a chain under water. If you can imagine all the boats with their bows pointed out, the chain runs under the water from left to right and is attached on either end. From this chain, the slime lines run to the dock. When you back your boat in, you tie your two stern lines to the dock and then grab the slime lines and pull them up out of the water as you walk to the front of your boat. You pull them snug and tie one to each side of your bow and this secures the front of the boat to prevent side to side movement. During the wind storm, the slime line on the port (left) side of the boat snapped and the wind blew her into the boat next to us. Both boats had fenders deployed, but one popped from the weight of Pegasus and ultimately she made contact and rubbed some paint from the hull of our neighbor’s boat. As soon as the marina heard of the incident, they deployed divers into the water to replace the slime line. The owner of the other boat has been lovely. She contacted Mohammad and he reached out to us so we could contact her directly. She’s been great to deal with and we have a worker her now giving an estimate to repair the minor damage to their gel coat.

I can’t get over how fast work happens here!

For lunch, Ed decided it was my turn to pick so I hopped online and found a local burger joint with excellent reviews that was within walking distance of the boat. Cheese n’ Buns was a cute little spot playing American music so we went in with high hopes. We ordered two chicken sandwiches and some chicken fries with two waters. It was less than $7 US and while we were waiting to order, I noticed a couple who were eating their burgers with plastic gloves on. Cultural maybe? Then, as I’m reading reviews I see mention of the gloves. When Ed brought our food to the table I also noticed plastic gloves were provided. Each sandwich came with an order of fries. When I say an “order” of fries, I mean about seven fries. 🤷‍♀️ I take the first bite of my sandwich, which has a breaded chicken patty so thin you can’t actually see or taste if there is chicken inside. And with that first bite it becomes clear why one is given gloves. It is slathered so thick with mayonnaise and some other goop that it would be running down your arms in no time. And I don’t know what kind of mayo we were dealing with but it tasted a lot like Miracle Whip and that’s a big hell no from both of us. Now, anyone who knows my husband well will know that he eats most anything. He’s only got two things he won’t eat, mayonnaise and cottage cheese. He tried to force himself to eat that sandwich, but after the second bite, he just couldn’t do it. The chicken fries were simply cold French fries with the same crappy excuse for a chicken patty cut up on top of it. It was awful. All of it. We left it all on the table and walked away. That’s only the second time we’ve ever done that. YUCK 🤮

We decided to just bag it and wait for dinner. We went back to the same place as last night and it was great! 😊

We should get our quote for the new cushions and bimini tomorrow. 👌

Pegasus is looking terrific! Lots still to do, but we’ve made good headway! Pics below 👇

Thursday, April 25, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia
Day 89

By the time we got back to the boat yesterday, we were so wet and so cold we decided to stay on board for most of the rest of the afternoon. Mohammed came by and took Ed to a chandlery to go pick up an adapter that we needed so we could hook up our shore power. Without it, we had limited power on the boat. The adapter was only five dollars and in short time we had full power to the boat. Ed went down to the engine room to fire the generator and upon opening the seacock which allows water to pass through and cool the generator, the bolt that attaches the handle sheared off in his hand. Luckily, there was a nut attached that could be accessed with a wrench and he was able to open the seacock and the generator fired right off just like she always does. As he attempted to open the water flow to the motor, the bolt inside that handle sheared off in his hand too. The marine environment is a challenging one and is even more so when a boat is left to sit for almost a year. Pegasus is overall in excellent shape, but little projects are presenting themselves as we move through the boat. We’re in a perfect place to have work done. Prices are reasonable. Workers are friendly and work is done at lightning speed. we asked Mohammed yesterday afternoon for a referral to get the bottom cleaned and as I write this at 11 AM this morning, there’s a diver in the water cleaning the bottom of the boat. Before Ed left last year, he had a gentleman build a new cover for our dinghy. It was installed while we were in the United States and the day we got back to the boat the worker was here to finish the work which included repairing the staysail. There was too much wind to remove it yesterday, but first thing this morning he was here, the sale is gone, and it should be finished in 48 hours.

Mohammed was our agent who watched the boat while we were gone. We could not have chosen a better person to look over Pegasus in our absence. He does a fantastic job! Every detail was attended to and he treated our precious boat as though she was his own. When we leave to go back this year, he will absolutely be watching her again.

Unlike yesterday, today is nothing but blue sky and sunshine and T-shirt weather. Ed went out this morning and located the bathrooms and got the lay of the land as to what facilities are available to us as marina guests. Bathrooms are a shared facility. Each toilet and each shower stall is private with a full door and a lock. Much like the bathrooms, toilet paper is not provided. Instead there is a stainless steel hose coming out of the wall with water to clean yourself. The bathrooms are clean and well kept.

We don’t have a plan going forward exactly. We expect to be here for approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Eventually, it will become too hot to be able to stay, with temperatures exceeding 100° and about 80% humidity. For now, we’re working on projects making sure that P is in great shape and adjusting to life in the Magreb.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Monastir, Tunisia 🇹🇳
Day 88

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. - Dorothy -The Wizard of Oz

What a difference 2 hours makes!

We had one of those travel days that you log in your memory books to look back on when you have a crappy travel day.

We started off easy with a 5:45am wake up call and met Fulvio for a lovely and easy ride to the airport in Bari. We’re going to miss our Italian family so much! This was a wonderful time at the chapel this year. It was filled with good friends and laughter and we’re sad to leave.

Once at the airport we headed to the lounge. Having a ride with Fulvio and just a little more time with him meant arriving about four hours early for our flight. We enjoyed a little breakfast and relaxation, then headed to our gate for our 1 hour flight to Rome. We had a very nice four hour layover there so we cleared through passport control and found the priority lounge. It was huge and the food was wonderful. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch of curry chicken and rice and relaxed until our flight to Tunis.

We boarded the plane and found our seats only to discover Ed’s seat had a sign on it that said, “Seat inoperable. We are sorry for any inconvenience”. It was simply missing the headrest and since Ed had his neck pillow and really wanted to sit with me, he didn’t mind. Next thing we know, a female flight attendant came by and said he had to move and that choosing to keep the seat wasn’t an option. Not a huge deal, but we love to sit together and I don’t enjoy landings so Ed always holds my hand. Don’t get me wrong, I sit alone on planes all the time. Ryan Air doesn’t put people together unless you pay extra and we never do, so it’s not like I can’t manage, I just like sitting with my hubs. ♥️
Anyway, just as she’s about to take him away from me (I’m by the window, he’s in the middle and there’s a guy in the aisle seat) a male flight attendant comes up and asks if we’re together. We tell him we are and he tells us to come with him. We are taken to first class. The man in the aisle seat immediately jumped up and said they should move him instead because he was only one person. He suggested that Ed could sit in the aisle seat and I could stay by the window. The male flight attendant ignored him and led us away. This is only a two hour flight and this isn’t the same luxury as a first class seat on Alaska or one of the bigger airlines, but it’s nicer than economy. So, giggling like a couple of idiots who just won the lottery, we hustled up a couple of rows in front of the curtains and sat ourselves in first class. I’ve never been in first class before but honestly didn’t expect much on a two hour flight. As soon as we reached cruising altitude I started to see meals being distributed to the other first class passengers. I told Ed not to expect anything as I imagine they only order enough meals to feed the ticketed first class passengers, which we were not. We were shocked when this same sweet male flight attendant brought us both dinner, which he immediately followed with bottled water, a bottle of Prosecco and a lovely little Tiramisu for dessert. We thanked him profusely and set about our meal. Next thing we know, he’s back and smiling as he delivers two glasses of Limoncello. He says, “I thought you might be thirsty”. 😊. We thank him again and can’t believe our good fortune. Not a minute later he comes back again, this time with two bottles of Aperol Spritz and says, “For later tonight to celebrate your arrival in Tunisia”. Again, grinning like a couple of loons. We had so much fun. 😊💯

After landing in Tunisia, we headed off to the lost luggage counter. Since leaving the boat in Monastir last year, Ed has been a member of a WhatsApp group for boaters there. A fellow boater had posted two days ago asking if anyone from the marina was coming to Tunis Airport as they had a bag that had been lost by the airline and they were hoping someone could check to see if it had been found yet. We happily offered to help. Unfortunately, their bag would not be back at the airport until the next day, so we were unable to help. Next on the agenda was finding transportation to the marina. Our Italian SIM cards don’t work here and Mint Mobile doesn’t have much in the way of an international plan, but Ed was able to purchase a very small block of data to get us online to find services to get us back to the boat. The primary languages here are Arabic and French and once in a while you find someone who speaks English. Because Ed had been here once, he knew that we first needed to take a taxi to one of the louges. A louge is a central hub where you can catch a mini bus to Monastir. They are like a little ant hill. These mini buses run all over the area. Taxi drivers are hustling for fares and approach us repeatedly outside the airport. There are new and exotic smells in the air. This is not totally unlike Turkey, very different from anything we’re used to. The first driver quotes us 30 dinar. The second quotes 60 dinar. Ed did this ride last year and paid 15. Unsure of what to do or which exact louge is the correct one to catch the mini bus to Monastir, we head back into the airport to find an information desk. Security here is tight and police are everywhere. You and your bag are subject to invasive search as they see fit. We cleared passport control and were immediately stopped again to have our passports checked once more. When we came back in the airport to find the information desk we had to scan our bags again to enter. We found the name of the louge and used an app called Bolt to secure a taxi. (Cost: 15 dinar which is about $5 US)
Much like Uber, the app has a map showing the type of car, license plate, driver name and where they are on a map. Four minutes later we were in a be**er Kia Rio with Ibrahim and on our way. Just leaving the airport we were stopped by foot patrol police officers to check Ibrahim’s papers. Once on our way, we discovered that driving here is much like Italy. Only here, it’s more aggressive in that they don’t let each other in as easily. Drivers are more likely to cut you off or box you out. It’s not violent, it’s just competitive. Every man for himself.

We were about five minutes from our destination when an oncoming mini bus flashed his lights and waved us down. An interchange between drivers, and we were out of the taxi in the middle of the street. The driver of the mini bus smiled, opened my door and in broken English said, “Ok. Monastir. Ok” with his hat and glasses and cute smile, he reminded me of my grandpa at that age. So, in the middle of the street, we shoved our bags in the back and the existing passengers made room for us to climb in. When I say, “mini bus”, you can picture a very old, rattling mini van that’s white with red stripes. It’s awesome. We can’t believe our good luck in making this connection, and in the middle of the road, no less. 😊

It’s a two hour ride to Monastir. Tunis is the capital of Tunisia and Monastir is two hours to the south. It’s 6:45pm by the time we get in the mini bus. Halfway through the trip they make a rest stop for coffee and bathroom breaks. My experience at the airport tells me that bathrooms here don’t have toilet paper (at least the airport one didn’t). What it did have was a hose coming out of the wall to spray one’s self after using the bathroom. (but no way to dry one’s self after, that I could see). Luckily I travel with Kleenex always so didn’t have to hose myself down. That being said, I decided I didn’t need to use the bathroom until we got to the boat. Anyway, two hours later we were dropped off at the louge in Monastir which is a short ten minute walk to the marina. The weather had been off and on rain which had turned into heavy rain about fifteen minutes before we arrived. Luckily, it had tapered off by the time we had to make our walk and we didn’t get wet.

We made our way down to the marina and headed for P. When you leave your boat for almost a year in the water, you never know what you’re walking into. Lucky for us, we had an agent, Mohammed who’s been checking on the boat every day. He checks lines and bilges to make sure she’s not taking on water and that the lines are secure. As an added bonus, he cleaned the outside of the boat and polished the stainless two days before our return. As for the inside, you never know if you’re coming back to mold and mildew or what to expect 🤷‍♀️

P is a fantastic boat. Every time we’ve ever returned we’ve found her in fantastic condition. Historically, we’ve always left her in a boat yard on stands. This is the first time she’s been left in the water. We were delighted to find her exactly as we left her. Not a speck of mold anywhere. I love this boat! She’s been absolutely great and I’m always happy to be back aboard. We got unpacked and headed for bed.

It was a long day, but arguably one of the best travel days we’ve had.

At 4am I woke up to rain and as I rolled over and slid a hand under my pillow, I felt dampness. A leak! There wasn’t a drop of water anywhere when we arrived. We’ve had a leak above my pillow before, but had fixed it and didn’t see any signs that it had leaked in the past year. Lucky me, it waited until I was sound asleep to begin again. I woke Ed up and we hustled to find a solution. Once we had it stopped, we fell straight back to sleep and woke up at 9:30am. Best sleep ever! Our bed on the boat is super comfortable.

We got up and the first thing on the agenda was to get some cell service. We walked to town in between rain storms. It’s only about a five minute walk to the main shopping area and by the time we got there the rain had begun again and I was regretting my decision to wear a sweatshirt instead of a fleece and a proper coat. Tunisia is a poor country that seems to be full of hard working and lovely people. Shopkeepers are outside in front of their stores hustling patrons in off the street. It’s aggressive hustling, but in the very kindest way. They are just trying to support their families and getting people into those shops is how they do it. I’m not annoyed by it. I understand the motivation and appreciate the kindness. We stop and talk with a few shop keepers and listen to their stories and share polite conversation. Sometimes we’re offered tea, always, we’re offered a great deal. Shops are nice but filled with crappy knockoffs. We ask directions to the cellular store and head off to find a SIM card. Ed still has his from last year and just needs to pay for another block of service. I tried to get one, but the new iPhone 15 doesn’t even have a physical SIM. Instead it accepts up to 8 E-Sims. The girl at the cellular store had never even heard of an
e-SIM and was unable to help me. It’s fine. Ed got his up and running and just gave me a hot spot to use. All is well. The girl who helped us offered a lunch spot recommendation, so we followed her advice and headed for a traditional Tunisian lunch. They weren’t open yet, so we decided to kill a little time and visit the mausoleum dedicated to the former President of Tunisia who ruled for 30 years from 1957-1987. It was really beautiful.

At noon, we headed for lunch. We were really cold and soaking wet. The wind is howling and it’s raining hard and we were happy to be inside for a hot meal. I would love to give you all sorts of details about what we ate, but the truth is, I have little idea. I’ll leave what little I know as captions on the photos. The food was exotic and good.

After lunch, we hustled back to the boat to hunker down and dry off. Then we had a knock at the door. Addi, the man who made our new dinghy cover last year, stopped by to discuss repairing our staysail and possibly replacing our bimini. He’ll give us a quote in a few days. Comminication is challenging here. Google Translate is awesome. In an hour or so Mohammed is coming by for payment. I haven’t met him yet, so will be nice to say hello and thank him for keeping a watchful eye over Pegasus.

On to Tunis!

We had a nice layover and enjoyed a wonderful priority lounge with great food.

We had just settled into our seats when the flight attendant notified us that Ed’s seat (in the middle of the three seats) was inoperable. She was about to move him away from me when another flight attendant came up and asked if we were together. When I said we were, he moved both of us up to the priority rows up front. It’s ITA Airlines version of first class. While it isn’t first class by any other standards, it is a bigger seat with more leg room and a curtain separating us from the economy seats behind. How lovely!

Next stop…AFRICA!

Monday, April 22, 2024
Altamura, Italy
Day 86

Your life doesn’t not get better by chance, it gets better by change. - Jim Rohn

Today, Italy. Tomorrow, Africa. I’d say we are squarely in the throes of another change.

Yesterday, we were treated to a lovely lunch at the farm and last night we were so lucky to have one more outing with our Italian family. Leo is the artistic director at the theater here in Altamura and as a result we are the grateful beneficiaries of concert tickets from time to time. Last night just happened to be a 14 piece orchestra playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which is one of my all time favorite pieces of classical music. What an amazing opportunity! Leo got us an amazing box right next to the stage and we had such a wonderful time! After the concert we headed to our favorite pizza place, Levonte, for a nice meal together. Fulvio’s father was a poet and although he has passed away, his mother is still with us. At dinner, Fulvio presented us with a book of poetry that his father wrote. It was dedicated and signed by his dear mother. What a special gift!

Also, today my baby boy moved into his new apartment. A big, fresh, new start for him. I’m happy to see him in his own place. 😊

As for us, we’ve cleaned Laudati and packed our bags and tomorrow morning we’ll catch a ride with Fulvio to Bari where we’ll board an 11:30am flight to Rome. We’ll have a four hour layover there and then we’ll hop on one more flight to Tunis, landing at 5:30pm. From the airport, there are some mini van style shuttles that run all over and we’ll grab one of those to get us to the marina in Monastir which is about 90 minutes away. We should be sleeping on Pegasus tomorrow night. 😊

In the lead up to the festival, there was a small horse parade so I’ve included a few quick photos. 😊

Thursday, April 18, 2024
Altamura, Italy
Day 82

I know things have been so quiet on here. I’ve really struggled with being motivated to post every day. I guess that’s a sign that we’ve just settled into a life here. The day to day just isn’t all that exciting to put on paper.

We did some farm sitting for Fulvio and Arcangela while they made a brief trip up north. It was so nice to be able to help out our friends. 😊 We watered flowers and crops and took care of chickens, cats and one duck. 🦆

We had an electrician out to wire up the buzzer at the gate to the courtyard so visitors can ring us when they arrive. This makes it so much easier to receive packages now! As an unexpected bonus, we also have a video feed on the screen in the chapel that allows us to see both outside the gate and inside the courtyard. This was a nice surprise.

Altamura is preparing for a festival, Federicus 2024. There are flags being hung and preparations being made for April 26. Sadly, we booked our tickets to Tunisia to leave on April 23 before realizing the date of the festival, so sadly, we will miss it.

We’ve just been living daily life and now are preparing for a major shift with our departure to Tunisia in five days. With no linguistic touchstones and such a vastly different culture, it’s sure to be interesting.

We’re excited to get back on the boat and find a new rhythm to life in a strange new land.