Hello for 2009

Sorry no pictures this time... but loads of stories!

Hi there everyone… yep, we have been a bit slack on the old internet chat but in our defence we haven’t been spending a lot of time in town and with various visitors on board things just got away from us.
Soooo… anywhooo… where are we now?? Let’s see… Somewhere in the Khalkidhiki fingers… Sykias I think. But let’s start at the beginning off the season…

After a relaxing trip over with Singapore Air, where we managed a mammoth 11 movies between us, we offloaded in Athens, square eyed and slightly jet lagged and made our way down to the harbour for the next leg of the journey by ferry to Ermioni.
As Team B of New Zealand (Mum and Graham – Team A) we scouted ahead and discovered our last minute ferry bookings had worked and could relax in the knowledge that Team A should also make it to the rendezvous point later in the day. Phew!! Very sleepy now but made it to Uncle Richards in one piece… Good to be back!

Day two… can’t wait to see Mae!! Finally make it down to the boatyard and she has survived the winter well and her cover is still on, miracles of miracles. Unsurprisingly Theo, the Greek engineer, has failed to deliver on his end of the bargin… Evan (the boatyard operator) kicks some ass and Theo arrives to take stock of the situation within 5 minutes… that’s service! The next few days are going to be full on and Team A (having appropriated Uncle Richard into the ranks) go on an adventure to the Mani while we begin a labour of love.

New for season 2009.
ü Dodgers (Thanks Frank they look awesome!)
ü A Delta anchor (16kg)
ü Stemhead for said anchor
ü A 3 bladed feathering Kiwiprop (Must tell the guys that without the blades on it looks like a nuclear detonator on an airport x-ray machine)
ü A sexy Stripper rope cutter
ü A flexible solar panel
ü A fancy blocking diode
ü Humpback whale transfers for the bow (We will never be mistaken for a charter boat again- good job Gazza!)
ü A dingy (Customs never asked us why we had no clothes just a dingy and a nuclear detonator!)

The other list of jobs went on for miles… fix rudder bearing, antifoul the bottom, engine checks, wash down and rewax etc, etc, etc!!!

Needless to say it was all fun and the guys at the boat yard were as lovely as ever, even took in the two abandoned balls of black and white fluff we found under our boat that turned out to be two very cute little boy pups. I think they fancied them as replacements for the slightly erratic Rottweiler bitch they have… I didn’t have the heart to say they probably wouldn’t grow any higher than a grasshoppers knee, does size really matter in guarding matters?? Bramble thinks not so there is hope for them as well!

Launch Day
Due to our “popularity” with the boatyard boys our launch day was exactly when planned just a little earlier in the morning than expected… but wait, I get ahead of myself!!

Launch Day tomorrow and it is full on to get everything finished. Solar panel to be wired in and the bloody wire just won’t fit down the hole. You just know when something isn’t quite right and when Murray suddenly went very quiet then announced he “has” to go and see Evan “now”, alarm bells really started ringing…
Luckily for us we have just inadvertently found the Woodruff key out of our steering blocking the solar panels wire passage… Theo has blundered somewhat and failed to notice its absence whilst replacing the rudder bearing… hell’s teeth is this a lucky break or what! Needless to say Theo is not happy and says he will come back and fix it before launching… Tui anyone!?

Launch Day and the morning dawned bright and beautiful.
0730: With the trailer under us already, Murray tootled off to get the Port Police paperwork.
0800: While I am gathering up the last of our stuff I hear an engine start up and the boys are on the job! I protest and explain that Theo hasn’t finished yet and Murray isn’t here and, and, and. However, “Fred” the trailer operator is resolute in his desire to launch us and thinks for a moment before getting on the phone to kick some butt. Now I am pretty sure Theo was still asleep but apparently you can get out of bed, get dressed and make it from Kranidi to Koladia in 5 minutes if you really try!
0810: “Fred” has had enough and wants to move me to the slip. But Murray still isn’t back yet, and where the hell is Theo!! Oh he can catch up and I am on the move. I felt like Cleopatra on her royal barge as I made a tour of the yard, other boat owners watching enviously, calling out Bon Voyage, waving rather grandly back. The bloke next to us is well impressed that not only are we going in so early, but that I am going to launch alone!
0820: At the slip now and Theo finally rocks up… I show him the spanner he lost and then the key… Now he is happy and apologetic… not having that in really would have been a problem he says… no kidding!
0830: Port Police man must still be asleep, observes “Fred” and eggs Theo on to greater diligence while he puts us in the slings.
0840: Finally Murray saunters up… assuming an air of quiet calm… and Theo has finished… the boat is going in the water… Ok I can stop panicking now!

As an amusing aside to this tale Theo assumed we were from Australia and when Murray pointed out to Theo and the launching team that; no, we are in fact from New Zealand, Theo made the fatal mistake of saying that it must all be the same place as they are so close together. Murray politely pointed out that did that make him Turkish as Greece and Turkey are also close together… The launch team laughed their heads off and he will never live that one down… so remember to say Gudday to “Turkish Theo” next time you are in Koladia!

And so it was that we were launched and to celebrate our first day onboard we went for a swim… and wow wee… was it cold!! Maybe should hold off on that for a bit but as liveaboards we don’t have much choice as showers are few and far between!

Cats and Creteans

In Erminoni there are several places to go on the quay side and we generally choose the outside wall; loads of room, out of the way of the hydrofoil and great holding. When we say loads of room we mean about 30 metres of quay to aim at. Lots of space for boats our size but they don’t make them like they used to! There we are minding our own business when first one, then another, then another giant boat turns up. Power boats, 52 footers, you name it and they came and then horror of horrors a floating island (catamaran to those not in the know). You guessed it; it wants a piece of our action. We dutifully attempt to make enough room but there is only so far we can breathe in and the bugger gets stuck half way! With fenders on the point of popping Murray lets off the boat next to us and Mae take the opportunity to mark her territory (quite literally, right down the side of the cat) but they make eventually wiggle their way to the quay. Phew!! Certainly wont range around tonight! Sorry about the scratches, must do Mae’s claws tomorrow!
Only other thing to report here is that there are in fact polite Greeks and they live in Crete. Lovely people on the charter boat next to us… even give us a quick Greek lesson. Efharisto J.
Team A is back from the Mani and will join the good ship Key West for a few days sailing.

The joys of age

Today is the big boat show day in Poros (Oh and Murray’s Birthday!) and we join the fray by anchoring off in Naval Bay. It is a real spectacle; enormous powerboats and superyachts line the quay and complete over how many spa pools and boy toys they can fit on the transom. Underwater lights abound and the shorter the skirts the better.
Wanting to get a better look and track down some scran at Theo’s we dingy ashore. It is the new dingys first trip out and it is like one of those as seen on TV things… somehow he looked bigger on the box… Turns out “Scooty Puff Junior”, as he has now been christened, can’t carry more than three at a time (at a push!) and in marginally choppy seas has a tendency to ship rather a lot of water. It’s wet bums all round but Uncle Richard is far from flustered (what this after last years dunking from Sloppy?!) and after Graham has cleared a suitable landing site when shouts of “75 year old coming, make room!” he gracefully crawled out of the dingy amongst the superyachts, dropped his pants and wrung them out. Needless to say there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (well our house anyway; the yacht flunkies didn’t know where to look!) Great stuff Uncle R. One for the books… maybe one day we will have the right dingy for the job!
Murray had a great birthday as well even though Theo’s wasn’t open and revelled in his new toy, a Weatherman. (Thanks Jez) I can see plenty of fun being had installing that and it should be useful to know what weather is coming rather than the tried and tested look out the window and guess method.

The Anchoring Dance.

Just love Perdika; quaint, cute, small… never any room at the weekend!! We anchor off and wait for a space to appear. Finally one does, oh goody the one with the rock but we get sorted and settle down. Not so fast the guy next to us is leaving and has failed to point out his anchor is in fact no where it looks (who anchors at the entrance and then backs in a long loop and ends up at 90 degrees to it!!?).
Ok so he picks ours up and the powerboat’s opposite and proceeds to tie them in a knot together, hands them to me in Scooty Puff Jr and buggers off. Besides disappearing under the water with them there isn’t lot I can do and I have to chuck them over the side. Anchoring take two! We pull out and pull up the two anchors and Graham and Mum get their first lesson in untaffling anchors.
1: Secure both anchors to boat. 2: Untangle anchors. Take care not to lose too many fingers. 3: Attempt to relay other person in straight line as far out as possible. 4: Re-anchor one’s self. 5: Apologise to other person… obviously this is optional as I have never seen it happen!
Still it could have been funnier; like the time Jez saw two opposite powerboats pick up each others anchors and end up with them hooked together, stretched to breaking point right across the harbour. Apparently neither one wanted to give in first and the screaming match that ensued could have been heard in Aegina Town!

Don’t cry for me Evia.

We are really on the move now as we need to be in Skiathos before Jez arrives and give Mum and Graham as much sailing as possible. So it is off round Cape Sounion and up the Evia Channel we go. As usual it starts to get a bit bumpy as we get close to the cape and despite reefing down we end up crawling under engine around the point and bounce our wet way up to Olympic Marina. It is freezing cold and Murray and I are in full sailing kit while Mum and Graham hunker down in just about every scrap of clothing they have.
Olympic Marina must use the same advertising agency as Zea in Athens and as we head up the bay a stricken yacht is strategically placed on the rocks to welcome you in. Visitors are allowed about 30 feet of quay space (we are 34ft remember), on the outside of the pontoon, side on to the waves please and are encouraged to pay 52 Euros for the privilege. If the showers and loos hadn’t been so fantastic I think there might have been munity. Good parking Murray; I particularly liked the way you avoided the dingy the guy parked in the way to prevent you actually taking the easier route. At least we are attached to something I suppose! Cup of soups all round and well done team!

Talking of toilets… we have noticed many changes in Greece but one that has amused Murray the most is the new obsession with toilet hygiene. Toilets are now chemically sanitised 24 hours a day by little boxes attached to a pipe under the lid. It is just a shame really, all that effort, when you still have to sit next to the pedal bin overflowing with crappy paper! Perhaps the time should have been spent on the plumbing because, as the sign said in Olympic Marina, you still can’t put toilet paper down your bowel!

Mum has been renamed “Valdo the Hatch Hobbit” as it is still too cold to sit on deck for long while sailing and so sits in the companionway most of the day. Up the channel we continue as we have been told the bridge at Khalkis doesn’t open on Fridays and costs more at the weekends, so Thursday is the day to get there. Meanwhile “Gringo” Graham having scored a fabulous straw cowboy hat out of the Poros Harbour is having a great time chugging away the miles.
Porto Rafti is our next stop and should really be renamed Porto Graffiti. It’s really close to Athens by road and it shows. It is the first time we have been warned not to leave our dingy on the beach for too long without keeping an eye on it. We dine out hurriedly and take half the food home for lunch.

A note about BBQ chicken Greek style… preparation is everything.
First take one dead chicken. Lay it in the road and allow the days traffic to mow over it so the bones are good and splintered. Next sprinkle with MSG enhanced flavourings, now BBQ. No wonder it never tastes the same at home!
Please note the initial tenderisation methods can and should be applied to all meat products.

Next day we are having a wonderful sail only to suddenly grind to halt as the foresail falls down. Damn stitching has failed. So much for having them checked and fixed over the winter! We pull into a lovely bay and it is up the mast for Cate to recover the halyard. Great view from the top and you can even see the wreck mentioned in the pilot book as being in the centre of the bay. It is just under the water as Rod says; ready to catch out the unwary! Not sure why Greeks love a good wreck in the bay, it is not like you can even admire them from the beach.
Murray spends quality time with his palm fixing the damage and Mum and Graham take a trip ashore to take in some local scenery only to be accosted by a breathless girl on a bike trying to entice them into her restaurant. Unfortunately for her it rains heavily and we are confined to the boat.

It is “B Day” today and Murray is working himself into a frenzy. The bridge jap doesn’t sound good in the pilot book as the current can be very strong and even with our new found speed under engine (Thanks Kiwiprop it is an awesome product!!) we are worried we might not be able to stem the flow which sometimes runs at 6 knots.
Hopefully as the wind has stopped in the last couple of day the current will be slower.
The bridge spans a narrow gap in the centre of Khalkis (39.3m wide) and we have to wait for the Coastguard to open it sometime after midnight. Apparently this is where Aristotle drowned. He threw himself into the water when he couldn’t work out why it changes direction every 6 hours of so.
First we have to find the Coastguards office to register ourselves. As we cross the bridge we are a little concerned to see kids’ white water kayaking on the tidal stream!! Holy crap I hope it slows down before we go through!
The coastguard is apparently an incognito outfit here and after an hour of asking directions we finally find them tucked behind a building where we started from. With all the instructions sorted out, money paid and lots of encouraging “be very careful” from the man in charge we settle down to wait for the grand opening which we are told will happen somewhere between 12am and 4am. The reason for the lack of definite timings is not due to Greek awkwardness but rather an inability to accurately tell when the current will slow. The coastguards are “very experienced” and go down every once in a while and look over the side to judge it…
We have been told to be ready by 10pm just in case and 11, 12 and 1 o’clock pass without a call… has to be shortly surely?! Finally just before 2am the call comes to get ready. It is tense… Mum gets called Valerie several times by Murray and finally we are lined up for the gap… then at last we are going and what a pleasant letdown, the channel is dead flat… not a ripple or a current to be had… yay! We moor up on the other side and look back; within the half an hour it has taken us to get through and moor up the flow is back up to speed. Phenomenal!
Unfortunately we have chosen to moor up alongside a café that is intent on partying till dawn but what the hey it is after 3am before we hit the sack. We all sleep like logs then suddenly then is the sound of lute musical and some Greek dude telling some sort of gospel music and it sounds like it is right inside the boat. Graham is convinced it is a cruel trick by us and we are sure Graham is fiddling with the radio, then we all think the damn café is testing its sound system but no, when we struggle up the companion way we are greeted by the café people, all in dark glasses and very hung-over, looking just as bemused. Some sort of recital by school kids is taking place at the end of the quay at full volume. So much for a lay in!
We provision up (Graham resisting the urge to buy the tiny working model singer sewing machine he has found) and head up the channel. Our exit is monitored by a lone dolphin who escorts us for a short distance before turning back for the next boat.

Going Greek

It was a lovely days sail to Theologos and we anchor off the tavernas in preparation for dinner. Murray and Graham set off first and slowly drift out to sea as the outboard fails… rule number one of dingying; always take an oar! Take two sees Graham rowing and Murray pulling on the outboard cord but they finally make it to the beach! The tavernas are very Greek here and no one really speaks English so Cate has to bash out some choice phrases to get some food on the table. Everyone is most impressed including the Greek staff who then assume that we all speak Greek better than we do and rattle off… we must be getting better though as we get what we order and it all tastes good.

We can virtually taste Skiathos now as it is just around the corner but it is still a couple of days away. We stop the next night off the point of Likada. Grahams mate Graham has a boat named after the point so a shore party is sent to collect a pebble to commemorate the occasion. Its OK Mum I am sure NZ customs won’t mind one pebble.

Beery nice!

We want to stop in a pretty little Greek harbour we have read about at the entrance to the big bay of Volos and the day starts with an excellent sail up the last part of the channel. As we reach the point of destination though the normal pattern happens and the wind picks up. It should be noted that you can always tell the best place to park your boat by observing where the fisherman have theirs and as usual when we get in all the deep water berths are lined with tiny fishing dinghies. We assess the situation and due to the mat of floating mooring ropes and whistling winds decide to head to the next pretty Greek harbour further into the bay of Volos. As we round the point the wind drops completely, fantastic, you can still see the white caps outside but it is looking good for the next place. No so fast as we round the next point the wind starts up again and the next place is even worse than the first! There is a Seafarer lead boat in, bouncing up and down on the rusty barge that is serving as a quay and the bay is a little small for trying to anchor off, not to mention the severe chop going on, so we head over to an unmarked bay and anchor off an olive grove. Beautiful spot. Great in these southerly winds but open if it turns to the usual north. Luckily it doesn’t and we all have a peaceful nights sleep. Only down side was we had run out of beer… Sorry Murray, must work on the shopping muscles so I can carry more back from the kava.

Today it is Skiathos and everyone is looking forward to being in Mama Mia territory. There is no wind today and we motor out of the channel and across to the island. It’s nice to be back in the islands. The channel was really interesting but not very pretty in parts and the water quality was not as good as it could have been. Hopefully we will get more swimming in now. Mum is currently going for the world record of the longest time without a shower standing currently at 7 days. The weather is just not conducive to outdoor ablutions yet and the sea temperature is well below the optimum 20 degrees. Skiathos town is quietly buzzing with English tourists and although a little stinky (it’s those toilet bowels again!) has retained the look of a working Greek village. We seek out a laundry but still no showers to be found… well done Mum another record broken. After provisioning we decide to head out to a bay rather than spend the night on the quay. Mum and Graham are off on their 4 star European adventures tomorrow (plenty of showers to be had we hear!) so we want to go over to Skopelos before they have to go. After a night in a bay shared with three large German men who insist on parking on top of us we head over to Ormos Panormou. A lovely spot and Graham is finally enticed into the sea by sunnier conditions. He seems to be amazed by the clarity of the water…” it’s like skydiving!”.
One more night for Mum and Graham in Skiathos and then it is off on the hydrofoil and bus to Athens and more sights and sounds of Europe. Just make sure you don’t get run over by a “dither of pensioners”, we hear these bus trips can be a nightmare at pee breaks!
Kalo taxithi – It was great having you on board; hope the rest of the trip is as much fun!