Stories from the sea, the road and the wild.

A peaceful day in the Rila Mountains visiting the incredible residents at Bear Sanctuary Belitsa. Knowing that these beautiful brown bears are finally living a life filled with safety, open spaces, and endless treats makes these photos so much more special. Big shoutout to Four Paws and the Fondation Brigitte Bardot for giving them the second chance they deserve.

An old electric pole stands alone against the sunset near Kremikovtsi Monastery, above Sofia, Bulgaria. It's a weathered post from another time, with ceramic insulators still on its arms. Its wires sway slowly in the evening wind. Behind it, the sky burns from gold to deep orange, and the pine forest on the ridge turns to a black silhouette.

Late September moon over Bulgaria: clouds drifting past the moon in Skravena and a moonrise from Vitosha above Bistritsa. Photos and video.

My third Friendship Regatta, and the most international one yet. Same boat, same skipper, a brand-new crew from five countries, and a route that took the fleet from Thassos across open water to Lemnos. This year the result matched the spirit: we won our division and finished 2nd overall. But as always with this regatta, the story is as much about the people on board as about the scoreboard.

A year after my first Friendship Regatta, I was back in the north Aegean, back among crews from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia and beyond. But 2025 was a different regatta for me, and not only because of the wind. A few weeks before the start, I injured my shoulder in a fall from my motorcycle. Trimming the mainsail, my usual job on board, was out of the question. So instead of staying home, I moved to the bow. This post is about seeing the regatta from the very front of the boat.

A year after my first Hydra race, I went back. Same boat, Hakuna Matata, the Comet 41S. Same skipper, Dimitris Sofitsis. Same plan: deliver the boat from Kavala to Athens, then race to Hydra and back. This time the delivery was one way for me. Right after the race I had to fly from Athens to Sofia to become the godfather of a close friend's son. Before any of that, though, the sea had other plans. This is the story of the worst conditions I have ever sailed in.