February · Late winter
The Eastern Crossing
Valletta, Malta → Alexandria, Egypt
- Dates
- February
- Duration
- 8 nights · ≈ 830 Nm
- Yacht
- Imladris
- On board
- Up to 8 guests in 4 suites
The real crossing. Days of open sea, a horizon that stays empty for hours, and the strange calm that comes with it.
Past Gozo the yacht settles into the rhythm of a genuine passage. Watches, steady wind, deep blue days and nights where the wake glows behind you.
Crete gives you a pause. An anchorage on the west coast, dinner ashore in Chania if the weather is kind, and then the long run down towards Marsa Matruh.
Alexandria comes out of the haze slowly. Sailing into the oldest harbour in the world, quietly, on your own boat, is something you keep for the rest of your life.
Waypoints
- Valletta, where you step aboard
- Gozo
- The Ionian passage
- Western Crete and Chania
- Marsa Matruh
- Alexandria, where you step ashore
Included on this leg
- · Your own captain and crew, nobody else on board
- · Every night watch handled by the crew
- · A chef who cooks around you, not around a menu card
- · All clearance and paperwork handled by NAORA
What you take home
Three moments from this leg.
Your first night offshore
Land goes, the stars come out, and the crew take the watches. You fall asleep to the hulls hissing through black water and wake up somewhere completely different. It changes how people feel about the sea.
Balos and Chania
Western Crete arrives like a reward: pink sand, water in three shades of blue, and if the wind allows, a long dinner ashore in the old Venetian harbour.
Sailing into Alexandria
The oldest harbour in the world comes out of the haze slowly, minaret by minaret. Very few people arrive here under sail. You will not forget the smell of that city from the water.
“Two days without seeing another boat does something to people. They come back on deck at night just to stand there.”
Sven, captain of Imladris
Sea, wind and light
What it feels like out there.
The leg for people who want to actually cross something. Watches, night miles and the quiet that only open sea gives you.
- Sea
- Real blue water, two multi-day offshore passages
- Wind
- Steady winter breeze, reaching most of the way east
- Water
- Cool in Crete, noticeably warmer off Egypt
- Light
- Hard clean daylight, wake glowing behind you at night
The rhythm of the passage
What this 8-night passage actually looks like.
- February
Valletta and Gozo
Board in Valletta and sail north for a first swim in the blue lagoon.
- February
The Ionian crossing
Two full days offshore. The crew take the night watches; you sleep straight through them.
- February
Western Crete
Anchor off Balos, dinner ashore in Chania if the wind lets us.
- February
Marsa Matruh
Egypt appears. Pale sand, turquoise shallows, evenings that stay warm long after dark.
- February
Alexandria
Into the oldest harbour on the route, and ashore.
The yacht
Imladris
A 24 metre performance sailing catamaran, fast, quiet and built for long water. A Lagoon Seventy 8, refitted for real expedition miles. Captain, chef, stewardess and deckhand. Four people who live for this coast. Cruising 10 to 14 knots under sail, with a silent electric tender for everything else.
- Length
- 24 metres
- Beam
- 11 metres
- Guests
- 8 in 4 suites
- Crew
- 4 permanent
Accommodation
4 en-suite suites, up to 8 guests, one single group on board
- An owner's suite with a king bed, its own lounge and windows the width of the hull
- Three double suites, each with a private bathroom and a rain shower
- Air conditioning, blackout blinds and cotton linen you will not want to leave
- The crew sleep forward, so the whole guest deck belongs to you
This leg on the chart
January
Palma de Mallorca to Valletta
February
Valletta to Alexandria
March
Alexandria to the Red Sea
March to April
Red Sea to AMAALA
The waitlist
This leg is full. The waitlist is open.
Every suite on this leg is taken. Leave your email and if plans change before departure, you hear it before anyone else. One personal email, nothing more.
- Dates
- February
- Yacht
- Imladris
- Accommodation
- 4 en-suite suites, up to 8 guests, one single group on board
Next leg
The Canal