When is a blog not a blog... when it's not been added to for over two years!

It has been over two years since my last blog update, and I won’t bore with you with work and holidays spent in that period, but will crack on with the real blog stuff.

 

For those who are new to my blog, welcome. As a blog, it has no real rhyme or reason, and due to the nature of our life style, it gets updated an ‘ad hoc’ basis when I can find time, in a safe place to get sit down and put fingers to keyboard to write it, oh and when I have something of interest to write about.

 

19^th April to 1^st May 2018

As most of you know, we left the UK in what was to be an all too short heat wave – I’m not sure we can call it summer, as I’m sure that’s booked for 27^th June, and as I see from the UK weather forecast, the cold and rain has returned!

 

We had, what I can only describe as an extremely calm and leisurely trip, even by Ryanair standards, and arrived in Corfu around 8pm. Just in time for dinner, back in the balmy Greek evenings, although it’s still cold enough for jeans and a fleece.

 

The following day was also extremely pleasant. Our bus left at 13:15, which then catches the 14:30 ferry (yes the bus goes on the ferry, and all the way to Athens), over to the mainland.

The bus then takes a very pleasant coastal road to Preveza where we collected our hire car followed by a five-minute drive to the boat yard. Having located the ladder and power cable, we were on board by 17:45, showered and down to the restaurant for a pre-arranged dinner with friends at 19:30.

 

The following morning, revealed the usual (for this part of the world) red dust covered boat, and time for us to put together a plan of action. However, I was very confused by the amount of mildew and mould marks on all the surfaces, and David could not understand why the battery monitor was misreading. All was revealed when he lifted the companionway stairs to check the battery, only to find the engine compartment, and all the bilges, full of water. As we are not afloat yet, this could only mean one thing, we were not sinking! It did mean that there was a major problem with our water tank and pump... So, before anything else, we now had to buy a new pump and suck out all the water from the bilges, and we hadn’t even unpacked.

 

Next on the list was a trip to the supermarket to provision... there’s only enough gin in the bottle for one glass, and not a drop of wine to be seen – eek! Whilst driving to Lefkas, we saw the first of what would become quite customary tortoises crossing the road, and not being able to find anywhere to stop and remove it from the middle of the road, were relieved on our return not to see a flattened tortoise anywhere en route!

Having been away from Alhambra for an extended period (in this case two and a half years), one is always greeted with surprises and frustration. Frustration in trying to remember where everything lives, especially as everything that normally lives on the outside is now on the inside (sails, outboard engines, oars, outdoor cushions, bimini, solar panel), but also discovering what you left behind in wardrobes - a whole new set of clothes awaits me.

 

However, as we start to put things back in their place (nope, we’re nowhere near putting sails up yet), new and exciting areas of the boat are revealed – I believe that when we get to the back of the rear cabins, we will actually find a an undiscovered tribe of people living in there!

One of the most important things to be done is to put the bimini cover up (shade is required asap), but also this is where the solar panel lives, which is currently taking up a large space in one of the rear cabins. Over the years, David and I have discovered all of the “gotcha’s “ when putting these items back up. So, it came as a pleasant surprise for the whole lot to get erected with no arguments and no bruises...must be a first!

A second nice surprise was the arrival of our two Fedex boxes full of goodies. Their expected delivery date was Monday.

 

The most important items of which included  25m of white material for me to make a new sun awning, 25m of grey material for me to make a new winter storage cover, but more importantly than that, my new apron and oven glove, and a collapsible salad spinner – salad has never been so easy!

 

We finished our second day on board with another meal at the marina restaurant. Here we were greeted by one of the many cats that hang around the restaurant an boat yards.

 

This one in particular looked just like our foster cat, and the two kittens we looked after three years ago.

 

In fact, she was so nice she even got up on my lap for a cuddle – and then she decided to take a dislike to me and bit my hand – fortunately, the very nice waiter behind the bar sterilised it for me by pouring neat vodka over me. All in a day’s work for him!

 

This year we have decided to be ruthless with unwanted items on the boat, including all unwanted old clothes, bits of odd material, and our blender is no exception. Having bought the blender in Tobago in 2007, the intention was to make cocktails whilst sailing around the Caribbean. After we bought it, took it out of its box, we found a suitable place in the bottom of a cupboard and never saw it again, until today.

 

Whilst rearranging the bed linen cupboard I found it, hidden in the corner, behind many long lost books (Caribbean sailing guide, guide to Minorca and Majorca, Shark Stories etc – you never know when you will need a reference book!). I took the blender out of its safe storage place, inspected it for wear and tear, realised that it was for US voltage and plugs and that we couldn’t use it on board now  having changed all the sockets, discussed in detail the pro’s and con’s of keeping it and finally agreed to disposed of it. I will just have to make cocktails by hand now!

One of this year’s main projects is to make a proper awning, which will fit perfectly over the boom and shield us, and the boat, from the harsh Greek summer sun. For those who have been on board, you will know that although our blue binimi looks great, it also attracts the heat of the sun and makes it unbearable to sit beneath in the middle of summer. The solution, we found, is to place a white awning over the top of the binimi, to deflect the sun’s rays and bring some cool shade both inside and outside the boat.

 

To this end, before we left the UK, David and I sourced, what we hope will be the correct material, waterproof, lightweight and easy to store. On board, we have a 1950s Singer sewing machine, which has been made use of many times over the years. Making an awning should be simple, I hear you cry. Which it is, I reply. The difficulty lies in trying to measure and cut to size two sets of 4.5m lengths inside a boat. The only real place to do this job is in our cabin, by removing the mattress from the bed.

Now we have a reasonably large, flat surface in which to do so. Once cut to length, another ingenious gadget I brought with me this year came in to play. It is number two in usefulness to the collapsible salad spinner (did I mention how wonderful that is).

 

Rather than pinning two sets of 4.5m strips of material with traditional pins, I have used SupaClips. They slide into a feeder, (the box informs me they can hold up to 40 pieces of paper at a time, or in this case, layers of waterproof material). The days where pins where sticking in me from all angles are gone. Once sewn, the clips slide off and replaced into the feeder ready for next time – Brilliant!

 

It’s Friday and we have been here a week already! Today, David embarked on fitting the new VHF radio we bought at the boat show. Now, as with all things David, you cannot start one job without another becoming the primary task. In this case re-varnishing the cupboard door in which the VHF radio will fit, which of course leads to the entire navigation table being strewn with wires for a couple of days until the desired effect of varnish has been accomplished.

 

 

However, as it is Friday we finished early and headed to the bar for a well-earned cold beer, or two.

 

The remainder of the weekend continued in the same vein, me sewing, David varnishing and fitting the radio, well earned beers at sunset and collapse before 10pm!

 

The idea of having a day of rest on my birthday was dispelled rather quickly this morning, with more sewing and final touches to the awning, all interspersed with many, gratefully received birthday wishes from all corners of the globe.

The day finished with an exceptionally good meal at the marina restaurant with sailing friends we’ve known since 2011, back in Almerima, Spain.

 

D-Day. The awning is up, and bottom sanding has begun. David is now walking around looking like a smurf in the making, and I can begin my next sewing project – the winter boat cover. Watch this space.