Croker Is. anchorage Weather finally started to cooperate as we headed to the Benjamins, an easy cruise from Little Current. The Benjamin Islands are a circular grouping of islands unique in their geology. Their pink granite is worn smooth from glacial action and has an appearance that, from a distance looks like sand […]
Aug. 17 – Ithaca, NY
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“Change is the process by which the future invades our lives.” —Alvin Toffler
Today we drove up the lake to Beacon Bay Marina in Cayuga to sign the contact for our winter storage. The marina is located at the top of the lake, by staying on the lake we won’t have to worry about the Erie Canal schedule or closures. At the moment we are planning to put the boat up the first week in October.
CRUISING NEAR CORFU WITH FRANK AND MARIE
Envoy is now cruising around the Ionian Sea with our daughter Amy aboard for a six week stay.
I’m going to add photos tomorrow.
I’m going to add photos tomorrow.
I forgot to mention in our last posting that due to our delayed departure from Lefkas we were able to meet up with long-time friends Kevin and Diane O’Sullivan and family, who were starting a week-long yacht charter from Lefkas. We had a great dinner and, as I’ve often mentioned, the taverna owners nearly always give you something for free – in this case dessert. After we paid the bill and walked back about a kilometre to the marina the taverna owner came up to us on his motor scooter; “my friends … I’m so sorry … I forgot to give you this gift.” He handed over free bottle of wine and one of olive oil.
Our first night out anchored at Two Rock Bay we had a problem. I normally check the condition of Envoy’s start battery bank at the beginning of each season and this becomes increasingly important as the batteries age. Checking the voltage isn’t sufficient – it’s necessary to use a load tester, a device which most marine electricians have that places a significant load on the battery and monitors the result. When we ran Envoy’s Lugger engine for the first time in June after seven months of non-use it started instantly and I assumed the battery bank must be OK. I had asked an electrician to load test the batteries but despite repeated calls he never showed and as our cruising had already been delayed by two months we really wanted to get cruising so I decided to forget the test – big mistake! The second time I ran the engine it was a slow start. The third time I had our generator running powering our Freedom Combi inverter/battery charger. This charger is an older unit dating from 2002 and doesn’t have all the safety systems that a more recent unit would have. Because the start battery bank was down in capacity the start process drew too much load from the charger blowing a relay and causing some internal printed circuit board damage. Damn it!
We went on to Corfu’s Gouvia marina where Leonardo, an electrician we know well, did a load test and found our battery bank down to 60 per cent capacity. He also pointed out that since our batteries were six years old this was not surprising. So the result of not doing the battery test was we damaged our inverter/charger and had to spend a couple of cruising days sourcing and installing new start batteries – all because we broke our own rules.
The new battery bank consisting of two Optima 975A batteries is performing well and Leonardo installed our spare Xantrex 3Kw inverter (which doesn’t have a charger) while we try to get the Freedom Combi repaired in Athens. He’s also fitted an automatic transfer relay so that if the generator is started while the inverter is running AC power is only sourced from the generator. Meanwhile for battery charging with the generator we’re using our AC-powered Charles 60 amp charger that we normally use only on shore power.
Once these issues were sorted we spent a few great days cruising around bays close to Corfu. At Kalami we met Kiwi sailors Alistair and Nichola plus their dog Tiny aboard Bavaria 47 Tiny Nical.
On 12 July Frank and Marie Curulli joined us at Corfu for their third Envoy cruise. We were originally going to meet them in Malta but Envoy’s fire damage spoiled those plans so Frank and Marie went by themselves to Malta, Sicily and Stromboli, where Frank’s Dad came from.
Unfortunately Marie’s luggage didn’t arrive but never mind – this was a perfect excuse for Marie and Di to hit the Corfu shops. Her luggage showed up two days later.
Frank and I go back a long way as we met as 15 year-old surf lifesavers and since then have enjoyed with our families numerous great boating, diving, camping and four-wheel driving holidays and adventures. This was another one with two weeks going all too quickly in perfect sunny and calm conditions. We visited some places that we’ve been to previously – Kalami, O Ay Stefanos, Petriti, Sivota, Parga and Gaios but also two new places.
The first was Loggos on Paxxos Island where it’s often too uncomfortable to anchor. This is a small but stunning village with several great quirky shops and very friendly locals. In the evening after an excellent meal ashore we visited an art exhibition being held in a disused former olive oil soap factory.
The second was Corfu’s village of Levkimmi reached by using our RHIB to navigate a shallow two kilometre canal from the sea. We only stayed here a couple of hours but were very impressed by the canal-side atmosphere and tranquility – not to mention great cakes from the bakery!
For Frank and Marie’s last night we went into Corfu’s Mandraki Marina for the first time (as Gouvia was full). This is a small but highly atmospheric marina right below the Corfu Castle’s north side. For the first time ever we were asked to berth bow first and this meant we could only disembark using the RHIB as our bow was too high up to use a plank to step down onto the jetty. The marina wall is only about a metre above sea level so waves regularly break over it and we understand the marina is untenable in strong northerlies – a yacht being wrecked there just last year. Above the marina behind the castle’s imposing walls is the Ionian University School of Music and were able to listen to some practice sessions as well as a full-blown concert.
So after two great weeks Frank and Marie left us here on 26/7.
The Broughtons
Forward Harbor to Cracroft Inlet: It is an early morning departure as we have another 15 miles of Johnstone Strait ahead of us. Strong wind warnings are in effect for this afternoon of 20-25 knots. This is a typical forecast for Johnstone Strait. On most days, you need to be off the Strait by early […]
Eclipse 2017
Nordhavn 57-26 Istaboa
North Channel
Little Current Gov’t Dock We departed Baie Fine under overcast skies, cool, damp and windy! Winds were out of the WSW at about 15kt, but a tolerable cruise day to head to Little Current, gateway to the North Channel. There’s no other way into the North Channel without heading around the south shore […]
Maretron N2K Data System – Starting to Make Sense
Extensive N2K data systems, like we use in the FPBs, are costly, and take a substantial programming effort on our …Read More
Aug. 16 – Lick Brook Falls
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.” —Natalie Babbitt.
Stan has been doing a little work on our teak this week. He’s been repairing a few worn spots, a few coats of Cetol and we’ll look like new. Each coat goes on quickly and it leaves us plenty of time to play. Today we decided to hike the Lick Brook Falls Trail.
[KensBlog 2017-07] Tribune Bay
It’s funny how you can be surprised on a boat. We were looking for a place to drop anchor while running south to Nanaimo and noticed a horseshoe shaped island (Hornby Island) that seemed like it had a nice big anchorage in the middle. At first we ruled it out because it was wide open to the south and the cruising guides said the anchorage could be dangerous in a south wind. The forecast was for wind from the Northwest only, which meant the wind shouldn’t be a problem. That said, we’ve been foo…
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Tides In Our favor
After a nice couple of days in Georgetown, the weather settled and we continued our trip north.Leaving Georgetown, SC was a trip. Inside the little harbor things were calm, a bit of current, but as soon as we made it into Winyah Bay the tidal surge gra…
