When is a plan not a plan... when it involves a boat and sailing!

May 2018 

As with all things boating, plans change. We were due to be launched into the water on Wednesday 9^th May, but we were no-where near ready. After a number of long debates and procrastination, we postponed our launch date, three times in fact. Finally, we ready, we launched on Monday 14^th May. 

For those who have never seen a boat launch before, I attempted to make a video to give you some idea, and show what the interior of our boatyard looks like.

Before Alhambra was (very professionally I must say) lowered into the water in the slipway, we had arranged to stay on the quay owned by the boatyard. This was quite handy really, because as soon as David started everything up, we found that we had no depth gauge... 

This can be a bit of an issue on a boat! It was also a bit of an issue as David had just fitted new instruments and was now not sure if they were faulty or it was just the depth gauge. 

We had fully intended to stay a night, maybe two, on the quay, but who knows how long it will be now...at least the sunsets are good.

As with all things boats and David, he went through every possible reason why the depth gauge was not reading. Nothing seemed to be the problem. The only practical reason could be was that the transducer was faulty (clearly, these are David’s words and not my own). The only problem with it being the transducer is that there is no way of testing whether it is faulty, apart from taking it off, and putting a new one on.

Fortunately, we found a Raymarine supplier in Lefkas and our friends, Steve and Bob, have a car with them and were up for a trip to Lefkas (and a Lidl supermarket run could be incorporated into the trip, always a good thing). Off we all trundled, finding the shop very quickly, David went in to see if they could help. Steve, Bob and I stayed in the car, waiting anxiously, well chatting and watching the world go by is more like it. David appeared about ten minutes later with a bag of goodies, and highly recommending the shop. (For the sailors among you who might want to know, the shop is called Metronix).

Back on board, David plugs in the new transducer, hangs it over the side, holds his breath, and watches the depth gauge as it sparked into life. Success. All we have to do now is run the new cable all the way through the boat, from the bilge in our cabin, all the way up to the helm. What could be more fun! Living the dream, as they say.

Having finally made sure that all was ready, we had our last suppers in the very nice restaurant near the boatyard, said our farewells, and left Preveza on Saturday 19^th May. 

We made our way through the channel markers and to our delight there was wind, in the right direction, at the right strength allowing us to sail nicely down to the Lefkas Canal in time for the 2pm bridge. Bob had left earlier that day in his boat, and Steve was driving their car to Vlicho to meet us that afternoon. (Steve isn’t ready to launch his boat yet). 

Once in Vlicho Bay we found a nice spot, just off the port side of Bob’s boat, and duly joined them at the Yacht Club for a sundowner.

The following night was to be a belated birthday treat at my favourite restaurant – The Seaside 

(http://www.seaside-lefkada.com/ ).  

Unfortunately, the wind started to pick up and the clouds closed in, so we postponed until the following night. It was, as always, a wonderful evening. 

The following morning, we headed up to the pontoon on the Iris Hotel, for what turned out to be four nights, as we spent the days and nights fixing final things on the boat and visiting old friends as the season starts up.

This year’s plan is to go around the Peloponnese. We circumnavigated this area back in 2015, but this time have decided to head east and visit some of the islands. The problem is the Meltemi Wind (for further reading http://www.sailingissues.com/meltemi.html ). This wind blows stronger than in the Ionian, but also for longer, up to ten days at a time. You therefore have the chance of being ‘stuck’ in an anchorage for a long period of time. But hey, we have another 4-5 months, who’s counting...

Our first port of call will be Poros, on Cephalonia 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalonia). We have not been to Poros before, and the sailing guide does not give it the nicest of reviews. Yes, the harbour is a major ferry port, there can be a swell inside the harbour wall, and it’s not very picturesque. On the up side, not many sailing boats visit. We are only planning one night, so not a problem. We will visit Kioni on Ithaca on the way.

We left Little Vathi on Meganisi on Monday 28^th May, heading for Kioni. It’s Monday, not may charter boats should be around, and if we get there before 2pm, we should be OK to get on the town quay... well maybe not the town quay, but the little quay on the opposite side. Which we did. Unfortunately, as we sat watching everyone else arriving late, our anchor tripped out. However, a very nice couple on a Dutch Flotilla lead boat helped David take up the anchor, drop the whole lot in the dinghy, take it out and drop it again... still not holding. Repeat procedure. This time it held. However, it is very frustrating and hard work. 

Next time we will stick to our favourite spot further out of the bay. The reward however is the view from a little cocktail bar above a restaurant.

Next day, we wait to see if anyone has crossed anchors, no one had, and we were away by 11:00 for the 20-mile trip to Poros. We arrived at 2pm, to find four other boats in the harbour. After a short while Fonda, the harbour master arrived. He charged us €15 for the first night, and informs us the second night is half price, and the water is free. Looking around the harbour, the hillsides are sprinkled with beautiful villas, and the rainbow colours of bougainvillea. What’s not to like.

Big dangling flying bug wasp things. That’s not what to like.

One flew into the cockpit. David duly goes to find the electric bat, meanwhile I run around like a girl waving my arms around stupidly and then... throw my phone in the water. Yes, let me repeat that, my phone slipped out of my hand and straight over the side and into the sea. David, my hero, runs, gets his snorkel and mask, jumps in (yes in the harbour water – yuck), dives down and amazingly, finds it! 

Unfortunately, as it is in my hand I can feel it getting very very hot. We quickly take the SIM out and do everything that Google tells you to do. But alas my phone is an ex phone (yes it was an iPhone, no thebag of rice didn’t work. I believe the fact it was switched on, and in salt water may have been its demise). Fortunately, I brought a spare phone with me, and the SIM is fine...and fortunately, I had backed everything up, so only a couple of photos missing.

A short walk from the harbour we found a great little bar, actually built into the cliff face, perfect view out of the coast. “I think we should stay another day and get a car out.” I suggested. We asked Fonda if he could arrange a car. “Of course”. To be delivered to the boat the following morning for €30 (all in). 

As the day drew to a close, more boats arrived until the last one arrived at 9pm, and I think we counted nearly 30 boats in the harbour. No-one goes to Poros!

Our day driving around Cephalonia was excellent. The island is mountainous, green in places, barren in others, but what superb roads – Jeremy Clarkson and the team need to come to Cephalonia and drive around in something sporty, not a Nissan Micra! 

However, David was in his element the whole day. Most of the islands we have driven around have great views and windy roads, but the quality of the roads are normally very poor. It is earthquake central after all! However, Cephalonia  roads are in great condition, twisty and winding, the camber in the right direction, smooth and lots of hairpin bends.

On our way out, we drove to Eufemia, a harbour on the east side of Cephalonia. We have not sailed there, so just wanted to check it out for future reference. It looks nice. We continued further on and drove over to the west coast of the island and down a very steep hill (could easily have been a black run for the skiers among you), to one of the most beautiful bays we’ve seen. Only when we arrived at the bottom did we see a Finnish film crew were filming a TV ad and there were marquees and transit vans everywhere. We decided to have lunch back up the hill in the village.

We then drove to to Argostoli, the main town on Cephalonia. It has a stylish promenade along the quay, a nice pedestrian shopping street, and bridge that creates a lagoon. 

Apparently, it is a sanctuary for turtles, including the large one having a bite to eat as we walked along the bridge. 

Next stop Lidl. This is the main thing you do when you have a car for the day, you provision like there’s no tomorrow! Back at the Poros harbour, we check the weather and plan our route down to Zante and onto the Peloponnese.

Thursday, 31^st May and we head to Zante Town. We’ve been here before and have a telephone number for the harbour master, so we book our place. 

We arrive around 2pm and find the fees have increased since our last visit. €15 per night, plus €5 for water and €5 for electricity. Well, we only plan a night, maybe two. 

After a brief wander around the town, we decided to eat out and found the same restaurant a last time, which although has the same Greek food, they also have live music all evening. It was a good night out.

The following day we decide to stay another night and found a very chilled out cocktail bar,

with prices to match. Well, they need to pay for the gold pineapples...

Which then becomes another night.

So, when is a plan, not a plan...

Finally, after long discussions, David and I are in agreement that we’re not really up for a trip around the Peloponnese this season. Alhambra has been out of the water for two years. Getting her ready in the boat yard was a month of very hard work, and we’ve not finished yet. Did we really want to spend three weeks on long sails, only to visit places we’ve already seen, to then go to an area where we may be held up by the Meltemi... So after many hours of deep thought and reasoning, we have decided to retrace our tracks and stay in the Ionian this season. We will head up to Corfu and visit places we’ve not seen before, or been to in a long while, and will take the season slowly and in a relaxed fashion.

So here I am, sitting on Iris Hotel pontoon, (about to go for a dip in the pool), watching the weather forecasts, as some southerlies are due tomorrow, deciding where to go next.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore...Raffle our feathers or sling it out the way!

 

Singapore, our last stop on this Round the World Trip, albeit for only two nights and one full day...what to do?

Easy, a walk through the City to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, infamous for its three towers with an artistic vision of a boat across the top of the towers.

It hosts a hotel, shops, restaurants, viewing tower and of course an infinity pool on the 56th floor...

The views as you can imagine are stunning, although the day was overcast.

 

 

We then went through the shopping mall below the hotel, which hosts shops to suit every pocket, oh and an in door gondola ride...

 

After lunch, we walked around the bay to check out the best spot to watch the nightly light and laser show, before heading back to our hotel, for a quick nap after which we headed out to Raffles.

On the way we went through the area known as Bugis...here's what Wiki has to say. 

 

Bugis was renowned internationally from the 1950s to the 1980s for its nightly gathering of trans women... In the mid-1980s, Bugis Street underwent major urban redevelopment into a retail complex of modern shopping malls, restaurants and nightspots mixed with regulated back-alley roadside vendors.

Underground digging to construct the Bugis MRT station prior to that also caused the upheaval and termination of the nightly transgender sex bazaar culture, marking the end of a colourful and unique era in Singapore's history. Today, the original Bugis Street is now a cobblestoned, relatively wide avenue sandwiched between the buildings of the Bugis Junction shopping complex.

 

 

 

 

 

And now a little bit about Raffles

 

2015 was the 100th Anniversary of the infamous Singapore Sling, created by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. At the turn of the Century, Raffles was 'The' meeting place and it was not uncommon to see 'gentlemen' sipping on glasses of gin or whisky.  However, back in colonial Singapore, etiquette dictated that ladies could not consume alcohol in public and the niche in the market was noticed by Ngiam Tong who created a cocktail that looked like fruit juice, was feminine pink in colour and clear alcohol, leading people to believe that the ladies were drinking a socially acceptable drink.

Raffles Long Bar, where we participated in our Singapore Sling, was first located at the old Ballroom and opened in 1921, at the current hotel's driveway. In the 1960s the idea of the Long Bar was created and was a long counter that covered the breadth of the Ballroom. In the 1991 restoration the Long Bar found a new home at Level 2, Raffles Hotel Arcade.

 

Sitting at our table, tucked away in the heart of the Long Bar, waiting for our 'Slings', you are presented with a large bag of peanuts, still in their shells. Looking around the other tables and the floor, we saw that all of the peanut shells were swept to the floor...a strange custom, or so we thought, until it is revealed to you that this is a tribute to the British planters who used to patronise the Long Bar.

The planters enjoyed peanuts while drinking in their plantations in Malaya and would throw the shells on the ground...! (The above information is to be found in the Long Bar booklet found on every table or at

 http://www.raffles.com/singapore/about-hotel/ 

 

After cocktails and dinner, we headed to the Bay to watch the evening Light & Laser spectacular, which was a good way to end our Round the World Trip. The following day we had a 14 hour flight back to London and then home.

 

On this trip we have been on twelve commercial flights, totalling 27,940 miles and have completed a circumnavigation of the globe. We have visited fifteen islands in six countries, on four continents. We have been on five luge rides, two private flights and sat in one and flown in two of the rarest planes in the world. We spent three weeks in one motorhome, a week on one luxury cruise ship and one on board 100ft schooner, one evening on a steam ship, one evening on a board around Sydney Harbour, and have been multiple dive/snorkel boats, day tripper boats and ferries and a horse and cart twice!

 

We have driven through valleys and over mountains, walked to glaciers and flown around the peaks. We have dressed head to foot in black neoprene on white sandy beaches, and wrapped up in sarongs to visit native villages, we have swam and snorkelled/dived on The Great Barrier Reef, and flown over it and the surrounding Whitsunday Islands. We swam with all manner of sea-life, with an abundance of turtles and jaw dropping coral reefs. We met numerous new people who became our friends, and met up with those who have been long time friends. We've eaten in simple cafes and dinned in wonderful restaurants and also had the most expensive drink we've ever had (£20 for a Singapore Sling) and attended one wedding.

 

For us, this was to be a trip of a lifetime, and it certainly fulfilled its premise. We can safely say we have 'ticked the box' headed 'go round the world'. However, we ticked many more boxes along the way. Although the photographs and video will always allow us to look back and view this trip, the memories in our hearts and mind will be the lasting effect of this trip. It was truly wonderful, or in the words of our Antipodean friends, it was truly awesome.

 

We hope you have enjoyed our travels as much as we did, and so until our next trip...