The Ballad of Adam & Eve

A musician's journey across four seas.

One early springtime two boats were built in France to be delivered from French waters to Turkey. Not a luxury cruise, not a holiday. No stopping for pleasure, only to hide from bad weather and stock up on provisions.

Three Irishman on a sailing vessel they named Eve crossed the western Mediterranean into the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Aeolian Island of Lipari. Onward they travelled under an erupting Mount Etna through the Messina Straits into the Ionian and eventually crossing the Aegean Sea to the coast of Turkey.

Eve was joined by Adam on their heading east to Eden. In the Turkish port of Fethye, two identical boats awaited the worn out crews. Eve became Farceur, the jester, Adam the Bienvenu. These boats had to leave Turkish waters, headed for the company headquarters in Greece. Four thousand sea-miles, thirty five days aboard, Dublin singer & guitarist Stuart Doyle kept a journal. 'It's another world out there!'

Armed with footage, photographs, his journal and a collection of songs written at sea, Stu has returned to Irish shores, recruited his own crew and has set about bringing the Mediterranean Sea to Ireland.

Final Destination

0125 hrs

38°23.749N 020°59.506E

Speed 5.3

Course 332°

After our fry last night, we had another beer, and decided the anchor watch schedule. Dan took the first at nine o’clock, mine was three hours later. The boat was still being pushed around by the westerly. Torch lights still moved about onshore. I dropped into my bunk. Sleep came quickly. As did waking up bang on midnight. And so it came to be that I crept on deck with my knife out. We all have knives, us mariners. The badge of honour. I’ve a four inch…

April 2nd 00:45 local time

N E
Well, what a day April Fool’s day was. After banging our way through the military area, happily without a hint of submarines, I slept a little and got up five nautical miles from the Corinth canal. Captain briefs us as to how we’re going to moor and we carry it off just about successfully, the slightest crunch from the boat as one of the lines gets pulled a bit tight. We’d passed a tanker that we recognised from the Straits of Kithira, many moons ago, it seems. I should have taken the name…

April 1st 2012 0517 local time

Oh what am fool am I. hehe A tired fool, me. So tired. Again. Up at 0300 for watch. Woke up automatically fifteen minutes before we were passing south of the shipping lane out of Athens. Ships everywhere. Skipper was up, pointed out a vessel on the port bow gradually closing in with their starboard light showing. We slowed to let it pass, Mark went below. I checked the plotter and looked again to see the port light of this ship. It had turned. Revs up to two thousand and let the big fella pass behind us. No…

Anchored at 36°52’57” 025°55’20”

0740 Local sunrise over the hill. Dan cooks a fry, wind’s dropped, we head towards Corinth today.

0810 Up anchor, course 290° to waypoint at 36°51’55” 025°37’15” From Nicos Amorgos with Nicos Honousa to the north, towards Nicos Naxos through the gap between Nicos Skhoinousa to the south and Nicos Koufonisos to the north. Greek islands, for sure.

We left the bay we found shelter in through the big exit, rather than taking the small entrance we’d shuffled over yesterday. A deep breath, we only had two…

EPILOGUE:

March 30th

And so ends the ballad of Adam and Eve, we just have the simple task of delivering a different boat from here to Vounaki in Greece. It’s a short run compared to our marathon crossing from France. An epic journey, by all accounts. Many deliveries go to Croatia or directly to Vounaki, making ours one of the longest you can do in the Mediterranean, and it’s rare to get another job that brings you in the direction of home. Normally, we’d now be looking for flights out of here. And here, what to say…

Dalisa Yasak

0537 GMT+2 (We think. Has daylight saving come in yet? What time is it at home? What time zone are we in? Really, we’re clueless)

36°30’849N 27°55’296E

Speed 5.2 knots, course 85°T

The first glimpse I have of Turkey is the lighthouse at Dalisa Yasak. With the height of it we can see it from a great distance, even allowing for the curvature of the earth. As we pass the reassuring flash of Nicos Sesklio’s unwavering beacon to those on the sea, the Rhodes channel opens up to us. Rhodes and mainland Turkey…

Sunrise over Santorini

0700 GMT+1

Dan woke me slightly early, eight miles east of the islands. A red ruby crimson sun rose over the northern headland. As red as the blood in my veins. So beautiful, but I can’t help thinking of the bang this place must have made when it blew up so so long ago. A tsunami wiped out the Minoan civilisation on the islands south of here. Buildings cling to the hilltops, roads zig zag their way up from the small access points along the shoreline. There’s no harbour here. Plans exist to build a marina but…

NOT FOLLOWING

1030 GMT+2

36°23’216N 023 01’538E

Now and again the plotter, our GPS navigation system, loses it’s satellite signal. It announces this with a few beep beep beeps and describes itself as “not following”. This can also be said for us, Eve’s trusty crew. Not following. Just now and again, when the head goes slightly awry. We play Lisa Hannigan for the umpteenth time and come back to our senses.

Heading due east towards Santorini through the Straits of Kithira at 5.8 knots. No wind, only 0.8knots registering…

New Moon

0500

34°04’353N 20°42’435E

ETA Pylos 8h39

On watch since 0300. So tired. Ate duck last night. Lovely, with baked spuds and honey. Nearly puked it all over the side at the start of my watch but I managed to hold it. I need the nutrition. Grand now, but so tired. I wonder if Pete is thinking of bypassing Pilos altogether but they seem to be holding relative to our position. Pete knows this port from before, Mark hasn’t been there. The Captain isn’t sure we should stop here. Last night he was thinking of…

Dawn Watch

Where that first night of our voyage the sea had a quiet menace to it, the wilder sea of the Ionian is pure fierce energy. Dangerous, terrifying and also wonderful. Perfect wind for experienced sailors but chaotic for us others. No time to contemplate, no time to think. We’ve had it too easy. The endless hours on calm waters have been no preparation for this. The waves look big, but are they only so because they are the biggest we have seen yet? They come from starboard along with a healthy twenty knot…