ENVOY CRUISING AGAIN

By on July 23, 2017 in Envoy
We are now cruising aboard Envoy with our friends Frank and Marie aboard at the island of
 Paxxos, south of Corfu.

Nearly all fire-related jobs were completed and now we’re only still awaiting the curved pilot house window and new VHF antenna but decided to commence cruising without these. Subsequently the antenna is at Lefkas awaiting our return while a temporary Plexiglas window has been made to be fitted until we can get the correct tempered glass one made. Currently we have a very temporary flexible plastic cover over the window cavity.

Envoy’s very temporary pilothouse “window”


A crane lifts our newly-painted mast into position


Laurie inspects Envoy’s new hull paint


Repairs almost completed prior to launching


Envoy in the travel lift ready for launching


Other jobs were completed too.

The keel cooler was removed for internal and external cleaning and re-sealing the through hull fitting.
The windlass motor was checked and re-installed.
The air horn motor was repaired and re-installed.
Two technicians came from Athens to replace the through hull seals on the Naiad stabilisers. When doing so they found that the large stainless pins coming through the hull that the fins attach to had a little surface corrosion. So they took these back to Athens to be re-surfaced and polished. At the same time two sets of bearings on each side were replaced. They also modified the hydraulic system so that when the stabilisers are not in use the fins lock in the central position. Up to now they move around if the boat is rolling at anchor and we’ve had to use locking bolts to centre them – a process which takes about 15 minutes.

Looking down onto our stabilisers’ hydraulic rams


A new domestic fresh water filtration system has been installed.
The flush problem for our main head was resolved by replacing the outlet hose and cleaning the sea cock.
A new autopilot sender unit was installed solving an intermittent problem.

Envoy was launched on 30/6 and a sea trial confirmed that all was working well. We were ready to leave the marina on 3 July but strong winds closed the marina – the first time we can recall this happening, so we finally left on the 4th.
It sure was great to be back on the water again and we headed north towards Corfu stopping at Two Rock Bay for our first night out.
There we tested our water maker and that it ran fine, although subsequently we’ve had a problem with it. This doesn’t effect our cruising though as here are plenty of places to get fresh water ashore using our tote tanks. We also have a problem with our inverter so next week will go into Corfu’s Mandraki Marina to resolve these issues. Again the inverter doesn’t stop us cruising as we simply use the generator to produce AC power – indeed we have to run the genset for three hours daily for refrigeration.
Next posting – more on inverter problem and our fun times with Frank and Marie

Visiting an Old Friend. Drift Away.

By on July 23, 2017 in Drift Away

Friday was our buddy Gibb’s birthday, so we treated him to a trip to St. Augustine.  That is where Drift Away now lives, now named Happy Ours.

Pamela was very apprehensive about seeing our old boat, but I wanted to see the progress the new owner…

Visiting an Old Friend. Drift Away.

By on July 23, 2017 in Drift Away

Friday was our buddy Gibb’s birthday, so we treated him to a trip to St. Augustine.  That is where Drift Away now lives, now named Happy Ours.Pamela was very apprehensive about seeing our old boat, but I wanted to see the progress the new owners h…

July 19 – Staying Cool in Ithaca

By on July 21, 2017 in The Pearl

Allan H. Treman State Marine ParkWhen it starts to warm up in Ithaca what can you do? The answer…find a nice little place along a quiet creek. It may seem hot in the real world, but around here it’s easy to find a cool place to spend the afternoon an…

Crookhaven

By on July 21, 2017 in M/V Dirona

Crookhaven Harbour is among the nicest anchorages in southwestern Ireland. We spent three nights there and visited Brow Head, Mizen Head, and of course stopped at the famous O’Sullivans to enjoy “The most southerly pint in Ireland”. The video below shows aerial footage of Dirona and the harbour, and trip highlights from June 17th through…

Saturna Island

By on July 20, 2017 in Idyll Time

So,….the diesel heater saga continues. A new control box was overnighted from Seattle and arrived to Sidney noon Friday. Philbrooks quickly did the install and we said our goodbyes for the second time. Before we could even push away from the docks, the heater failed again. Now what? Nick, the electrician, spent another hour in […]

Canandaigua Boathouses

By on July 20, 2017 in The Pearl
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“At the beach, life is different. A day moves not from hour to hour but leaps from mood to moment. We go with the currents, plan around the tides and follow the sun.” –Sandy Gingras

Canandaigua Lake is one of the Finger Lakes…it’s two lakes west of Ithaca, so we thought we’d check it out on our way home from Toronto. Canandaigua, which means “chosen spot”, is a beautiful village on the north end of the lake that is a popular summer destination. The town was first settled in 1791 and by the mid-19th century Canandaigua was an important railroad junction and homeport for several steamboats that operated on the lake. In the 1850’s single wooden boathouses were built along the City Pier and the Steam Basin, where the Steamboats operated. They were originally used to store small boats, produce and farm supplies delivered by the steamboats.
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July 18 – Black Diamond Bike Trail

By on July 19, 2017 in The Pearl

Allan H. Treman State Marine Park

“People who do nothing are the ones that have no time to do anything.” 

When we first got to Ithaca we were impressed with the bike trails and we’ve used the Cayuga Waterfront Trail quite a bit, but I wasn’t interested in the Black Diamond Trail. I thought it must be something difficult…you know black diamond ski trail hard, but dock neighbors told us more about it, so we gave it a try today. This Rail Trail follows the Lehigh Valley Railroad route who’s Black Diamond Express once ran from Jersey City to Buffalo and Niagara Falls between 1896 and 1959. The luxury passenger line was named for the most profitable commodity on the railroad: coal…black diamonds.

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Peterborough Lift Lock #21

By on July 18, 2017 in M/V Maerin

    Peterborough Lift lock With the successful mechanical consult behind us, we moved through lock 20 just around the corner from the Peterborough Marina, and continued another mile to the Lift Lock. We had planned to bike to the lift lock and spend some time at the visitor’s center, but with our departure coming […]

July 14-16 Toronto, ON

By on July 18, 2017 in The Pearl
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park

“Traveling will destroy the person you use to be to help create whomever you were meant to become.” —Kiana Azizian

We spent two wonders nights at the Marriott in downtown Toronto. It was great to have such a wonderful room to come back to each evening after walking all over town exploring the unique neighborhoods. We walked over twelve miles on Saturday. Friday afternoon we explored Chinatown and the Kensington Market neighborhoods. Kensington Market is Toronto’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhood located in the heart of town. It’s full of eclectic shops and cafes. The neighborhood has always been home to immigrants…the nationalities have changed over the past century, making it one of Toronto’s most multicultural neighborhoods. 

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