Locked in at St. Katherine’s

If we were going to spend a winter aboard our boat in Europe, we’d look for an idyllic setting with a colorful history where well-traveled international cruisers gather. That’s precisely what Horst Wolff and Julia Shovein have done. After hopscotching across the Med for Istanbul in recent months, they nestled into a cozy spot at St. Katherine’s dock in central London.

When we last saw them aboard their San Francisco-based Island Packet 35 Pacific Star in 2008, they were about to head out to the South Pacific. We recall Horst telling us that, when they decided to go cruising, it was Julie who convinced him to think beyond merely cruising the Caribbean. At her suggestion they traveled the Pacific, up through the Gulf of Aden in ’10, and on to the Med.

In contrast to plenty of mild-weather sailing, the couple saw Force 8 and 9 conditions while rounding the southern coast of Greece’s Peloponnese, on their way from Crete to Ithaca. "We had been warned about taking this notoriously windy route as most sailors preferred to cut through the Peloponnese using the Corinth Canal," writes Horst. "We did not regret our decision as we marveled at the wildly rugged beauty of this little-travelled part of the Med. Along the way we anchored in beautiful, small sheltered bays among the myriad of Greek islands. We were constantly reminded of the stories of Odysseus and Jason and the Argonauts as ancient names on the charts were the same as in the old tales."

Learn more about Horst and Julia’s travels in an upcoming edition of Latitude 38 magazine — which is always free and downloadable from our website.