Tilly Mint's travels

Tilly Mint got lucky for the end of the season as our last charter involved chasing a classic race around Corsica - I can think of worse ways to spend our time! The Corsica Classic started in Calvi and lasted for 6 days, with only the first day of racing cancelled due to heavy wind and high seas. About 25 classic boats took part in it, and our mission was to follow the fleet every day and act as a luxury sleeping pad for the crew of one of the boats. The race took us from Calvi to the isolated bay of Girolata (one of the only villages in Corsica not accessible by road!), then to Ajaccio, Porto Pollo, Bonifacio, the Lavezzi, Porto Vecchio, with the finish in Bonifacio. Overall it was a lovely week, with good racing conditions and a beautiful show to enjoy every day with the classics sailing all around us. Oh and I almost forgot - the yacht we were chasing won the race! Early start in Calvi Skylark Upwind leg Crossing Alone on the race course On course for the f...

Tilly Mint has done some miles since we have arrived in Sardinia in June, from the Costa Smeralda to the West coast of Corsica, from the Maddalena archipelago to the Lavezzi islands, from jet-set Porto Cervo to stunning Bonifacio... Here are a few pictures of our summer in the Med! Anchored at the Sanguinaires islands, near Ajaccio Typical Corsican landscape Kneeboarding with the guests The entrance to Bonifacio Beautiful Bonifacio Bonifacio by night Bonifacio up on the cliffs Thendara sailing past Lavezzi Islands

After over 5,000 nm, we finally made it to our home base for the Summer: Olbia, on the North East coast of Sardinia. We did a little bit of exploring by land upon arrival, then took guests aboard Tilly Mint to discover the East Coast of Sardinia and the lovely islands of the Maddalena Archipelago. We are now on the move again, currently in Corsica, picking up charter guests tomorrow for a week-long trip. We will be sailing down the Western coast of Corsica,  visiting Bonifacio, exploring the Lavezzi islands and then crossing the Strait to spend some time in Sardinia, finally taking Tilly Mint back to her home port. Pictures of all those beautiful places coming after the charter! Sailing into Olbia at dawn The infamous Costa Smeralda, with Tavolara Island in the background Porto Cervo - home of the mega-rich Colored houses in Porto Cervo Sunset in Porto Pollo

Tilly Mint is now one step closer to Sardinia, where she will be based for the season. 5 days was all it took to sail from Gibraltar to Malta, with a rather steady wind blowing directly from behind us and an incredible amount of traffic at every hour of the day and night. Overall an easy trip with the poled out genoa, and many dodging maneuvers - always keep in mind that the tanker coming straight at you doing 18 knots is about 12 times bigger than you, which mostly cancels any priority rule there could be... Better safe than sorry! Leaving Gibraltar at sunrise Dodging tankers - a national sports in Gibraltar! So Tilly Mint and her crew are now happily docked in Manoel Island Marina, just across the harbor from the capital Valletta. Why happily? Because after 6 weeks of wearing foul weather gear, boots and beanie hats, we have finally found the Summer again! Yes, we might very well be spoiled, but you have to understand since we have started working in the yachting industry, ...

After 1.5 years and many miles, we have sailed Tilly Mint back to where we had come on board for the first time. During the crossing we passed over 30,000 miles on the log, but Tilly Mint is showing no sign of exhaustion! In fact, she behaved beautifully in all weather conditions and took us from Antigua to Bermuda in 5 days, and then from Bermuda to Gibraltar in only 16 days. In the midst of some heavy weather and a few days of dead calm, we were lucky enough to have some absolutely perfect sailing weather. With 15 to 20 knots on the beam, Tilly Mint was perfectly happy and never went under 9 knots for 3 days. After 2 full weeks at sea, the yacht and her crew are now resting for a few days in Gibraltar, where the weather has so far been surprisingly nice (this, after all, is England). By the end of the week we should be ready for the next leg, that will take us to Malta, before sailing on to Sardinia, where we will be based for the summer season. As much as we love the Caribbean, ...

After a full week of preparations, Tilly Mint is now loaded up with food and crew, and ready to head out for her 4th Atlantic crossing! Depending on the weather, we might stop in Bermuda or head straight to Gibraltar, where we will fuel up and get some fresh provisions before sailing on to Malta, and ultimately to Sardinia and Corsica where we will be based for the Summer season. So now it is time to say goodbye to the Caribbean until next December, we had an amazing season here filled with great charters, and we are very much looking forward to our next adventure on the other side of the pond! For updates of our position check out our Facebook page regularly! (look for S/V Tilly Mint) See you on the other side!

When a good looking yacht is at the dock, it seems to be a rule that every tourist walking past her has to ask a silly question. The top 3 of silly questions we get is the following:  - How much is that boat worth? (too much for you is almost always the right answer)  - Who owns that boat? (actually, the Queen of England does. What do you mean, you don't believe us?)  - What is a Tilly Mint exactly? (it's a furry little animal that lives in the mountains of Scotland, what, you mean you've never seen one?) It is true that Tilly Mint is an unusual name for a yacht, even though there actually is another Tilly Mint sailing around (an Oyster 82 that looks quite similar to us, which sometimes causes some confusion). The good part about having an atypical name is that people usually remember it. The bad part is that no one, and by that I mean no one, is ever capable of understanding it over the VHF or the phone. Even spelling it isn't always enough, and the result is...

Tilly Mint has had a busy season this winter, and it is not over yet! Since our last post in January, she has gone from Antigua to St Martin via Barbuda, Montserrat, Nevis and St Barths twice, been photographed under sail in the Virgin Islands, circumnavigated Antigua, watched the Bucket regatta in St Barths and explored lovely Anguilla. In the midst of all that activity, it has been hard to find a moment to update the blog, but here are photos of some of the highlights of the past 2 months. Thanks to everyone who made this a great charter season! Perfect beach in Barbuda Sunset on Tilly Mint Trying my hand at the new rope swing Perfect spinnaker run from Barbuda to Montserrat Night out at the Montpelier Plantation in Nevis Squally sky over Scrub Island, Anguilla Impromptu photo shoot in the BVIs Sailing hard Sailing away to Virgin Gorda Whale breaching near Antigua Maltese Falcon and Adela on the start line of the St Barths Bucket The J...