“Let’s go see if there any monarch butterfly eggs on Grape Island” said Lesley and that was the start of our island explorations.Grape Island is literally one mile’s distance from our slip at Hingham Shipyard Marina. It has a dock but it’s restri…
Dolphin Watch
Today we did a day-hop offshore from St Johns Island Yacht Harbor in Charleston to Dataw Island Marina. As we were approaching the inlet we heard that distinctive snort that can only mean one thing. The crew ran to the pilothouse door with faces full o…
GREEK MOUNTAINS ROAD TRIP
Envoy is currently in Lefkas marina, Greece, and we are in England.
During our recent visit to Lefkas we hired a car to visit some of the mainland’s mountain villages just an easy half a day’s drive north-west towards the Albanian border.
The great thing about driving in Greece and Italy is that every couple of miles there are stunning things to see – the natural rugged scenery, interesting villages and historical ruins – not only Greek but from the Roman and Turkish occupations. The not-so-great thing is sharing the roads with local drivers for whom speed limits and no passing zones represent a challenge not a restriction. You need to keep a constant lookout for drivers approaching you on the wrong side of the road as they overtake, expecting you as oncoming traffic to pull well over to avoid them. However I must say that we’ve not seen any accidents or cases of road rage. Greece has some superb toll motorways, where the speed limit ranges up to 130 km/hr, with spectacular viaducts bridging valleys and long tunnels piercing mountains – we drove through some up to 3 km long putting to shame anything we have home in New Zealand.
On the other hand when you leave the motorways and climb into the mountains, the roads are winding, narrow, potholed, mostly one-way through the villages and frequently shared with flocks of sheep and herds of goats.
During our recent visit to Lefkas we hired a car to visit some of the mainland’s mountain villages just an easy half a day’s drive north-west towards the Albanian border.
The great thing about driving in Greece and Italy is that every couple of miles there are stunning things to see – the natural rugged scenery, interesting villages and historical ruins – not only Greek but from the Roman and Turkish occupations. The not-so-great thing is sharing the roads with local drivers for whom speed limits and no passing zones represent a challenge not a restriction. You need to keep a constant lookout for drivers approaching you on the wrong side of the road as they overtake, expecting you as oncoming traffic to pull well over to avoid them. However I must say that we’ve not seen any accidents or cases of road rage. Greece has some superb toll motorways, where the speed limit ranges up to 130 km/hr, with spectacular viaducts bridging valleys and long tunnels piercing mountains – we drove through some up to 3 km long putting to shame anything we have home in New Zealand.
On the other hand when you leave the motorways and climb into the mountains, the roads are winding, narrow, potholed, mostly one-way through the villages and frequently shared with flocks of sheep and herds of goats.
The sheer walls of one of Lefkas’s medieval castles
First stop for us was Papingo, high on the slopes of Mt Astraka, looming 2,436m above sea level, where we stayed in a traditional inn (see a previous Foodies comment). This is within a national park featuring rugged mountains, forests and rivers, although high on the mountain slopes the trees give way to stubby shrubs, rocks and slopes of scree. The hewn-stone village buildings with slate roofs blend with the landscape as if they were always meant to be there. This is a noted skiing area during the winter months.
Next we make a lunch stop at Ioannina – a bustling town built from the 6th century around the western side of Lake Pamvotis. Here the notorious Ottoman-Albanian ruler Ali Pasha ruled the larger area from a formidable, largely still-intact castle.
We found this incredibly interesting and rustic antique shop
We moved on to the village of Metsovo, using it as a base to visit the area’s highlight – the monasteries of Meteora, a word meaning “suspended in the air”, as the monasteries are built on seemingly inaccessible towering rock pillars. There is evidence of cave habitation here 23,000 years ago, but the first monasteries were built around the 12th century. Eventually they numbered 20 but today only six remain, each inhabited with less than 10 monks or nuns. In former times the monasteries could only be accessed by long wooden or rope ladders, or using wicker baskets lowered by hand-powered winches. But these days roads have been built to accommodate the lucrative tourist trade – as Diane said, “these nuns have got a right little earner going” as you pay for the entrance fee and then extra to visit certain areas. As Lonely Planet says – visiting two or three is probably going to suffice, but they sure are spectacular.
The hilltop monasteries of Meteora
Our last night was spent at the delightful seaside town of Parga with its incomparable harbour overlooked by what remains of an 11th century castle. Nearby there’s yet another of Ali Pasha’s many castles, but this one has only ruins left. Ottoman rule of Greece lasted nearly 400 years until 1821.
Parga waterfront scene
Looking down on Parga from Ali Pasha’s castle
FOR FOODIES
In the Med countries we’ve visited so far the dynamics of most restaurants are quite different to what we’re used to at home. Most of them are operated by families who between them do the cooking, maitre de duties, waiting and clearing. Hardly any of them seem to employ chefs, although the larger ones employ additional waiting staff.
In Greece there are very large numbers of restaurants (called tavernas), particularly in tourist areas where they only open from about May through October and then close for the winter. Although we’ve always found the fare to be good and well-priced there is little variety from one to another. Home in New Zealand we’re used to a huge ethnic diversity of eateries but apart from the occasional Italian restaurant and an even rarer Chinese one, it’s all very much Greek. We always get a very courteous and friendly reception and menus are available in English. A custom we really like is that they always offer you something a little extra for free – typically an appetiser, a plate of dessert fruits, a round of wines or ouzo.
Across the Middle Again
the reading we look for
We arrived in Boalemo, the midpoint of the rally to find four other boats, the only ones of the fifteen starters who made is this far. The rest of the fleet took a different route to Raja Amput. We seemed to just miss the big festival in Boalemo, but the rally still had a great reception. Quite a large entourage of people from the Department of Tourism were there with the sole purpose of taking care of us and boy did they. We enjoyed nice albeit often rolly moorage. There were buoys to tie to and the dinghy dock was great. We hit the beach and were greeted like royalty, no one matches the unabashed open friendly spirit of the Indonesians, it is pure, unafraid and from the heart. i had a mechanical problem, the starboard stabilizer ram broke a seal and i needed help. the group there all tried to help and brought a good mechanic. They put in a four day effort to find the seals with several trips to a distant Manado. This was again a result of my poor planning. the stabs have over 7000 hours and the port ram broke a seal a while ago, i should have figured if one is shot the other one is short lived,, another lesson learned. While we waited we were royally entertained with side trips for the girls and a dive trip for me along with many meals. Like other parts of rural Indo, the people are amazingly friendly and they love to have their picture taken with us, “Picture with you Mr.?” is a common call. Makes me feel like a rock star, hahaha
King Neptune pays a visit
a make shift repair and limited results we head south on a cloudy equatorial morning. We have about fifty miles to go for the Togian Islands and the equator lies right in our path. This is my seventh time across that mystical line in the middle of the earth. King Neptune always makes a visit at this time initiating all the pollywogs into full fledged Shellbacks. This is when one should celebrate the turtle, the symbol of the veteran Shellback and we did by getting all the girls stuffed terrapins. I prepared certificates for each noting this worthy equation.
i asked Chloe just how many of her college friends have crossed the equator on a boat, not many she guessed. This is one of those occasions when we must reflect on the very small percentage of people we know live such a life. As we travel in groups of likeminded and experienced folks, we sometimes loose awareness of how small a group we are. So the toilet flushed the other way now and we are off for great diving adventures.
official certificates and new Shellbacks on Furthur
Fall Colors From Our Past
Joe Wheeler State Park — Alabama
The Tennessee River
Nordhavn Exumas Abacos Bahamas trawler Caribbean Pickwick Boat dogs
Memphis Downtown
Memphis Downtown
Makin’ Hay
The aCappella crew spent several days at Morehead City Yacht Basin waiting for weather. It was a great place to be. The marina is terrific, there’s a field where the crew can chase a bumper, and we were joined by lots of friends including numerous boat…
Six Year Report, the Captain
Six years ago a very scared, excited and nervous chap left the home turf he had known and loved for over fifty years and set out for the greatest adventure of his life, that was me.
Now after six years of seeing, doing and experiencing the wonders of half the world, how am i doing? i ask myself this question each year at this time.
surrounded by cruising friends on my birthday at Kota Kinabalu
Health wise i am fantastic, no worries at all. Could drop a pound or two and actually have recently. i stay fairly fit with the boat work, diving, walking and running when in a home port. This can be a challenge when i have such great cooks aboard! Ye ol back is holding up albeit with some complaints and i seem to be getting a bit stiffer, to be expected. So physically i am fit as a fiddle.. a real old fiddle that has been dropped and scratched many times haha
Age may be taking a slight toll on my memory, but i can still sit down and sing fifty songs with all the lyrics.. saw a great post the other day, showed a pic of Jerry Garcia; caption read “i can remember every song this man sang but not why i am in the kitchen” that may be very telling haha. I continue to love playing music, especially joining local bands as i did in Samal every Friday night. I also ran an open mic at the marina on Wednesday nights which brought out some of the cruisers.
joining the Good Friday procession
Spiritually i keep growing, albeit in spurts. Recent trips to small villages, dancing with bright brown eyed children, seeing the wonders of the world above and below the water feed that growth. Recently a series of events put me in a twitter, short fused and abrasive. i quickly did an inventory and shamefully realized how trivial the list of problems were and how extraordinary my list of blessings is. i actually read one of my own blog posts on my blessings and thought, gee i ought to listen to this guy, hahaha
So this past year is much like the last few, great adventures, returning to familiar loved places and people. But there is big news!! i am in love! For the past six months i have had the sublime joy of the love of a great woman. Donna has been on the boat for half this last year now and loving the boat and even more amazing, me! i have written much on the wonders of Asian women, their ability to meld with older western men and make spectacular couples, and now i am one of those guys.
So after six years of amazing adventures i am healthy, happy, playing music, diving, much closer to God and in love, what more can a man ask??
Six Year Report, the Crew
This marks six years of rotating crew on Furthur, most from the Godsend; findacrew.net. I have had crew from twenty eight countries onboard and what a joy it has been. This has been the most unexpected and rewarding component of my adventure. I left Seattle with friends and soon found that people who could drop everything and jaunt off across the globe a limited pool. Next i found boat hitchhikers and had some great and not so great luck but it was all based on luck not science. It was at the end of my first year that i found findacrew.net and have used them almost exclusively ever since.
crew from around the world and most of the USA, Texas and California here
After ever age, gender and combination of people, i found that my formula for picking works for me. Females in the 20ish to 40ish years from mixed countries with little or no experience seem to have the flexibility, curiosity, eagerness to learn, ability to bond fast with other crew and the lack of challenges that make great crew and company. Of course there have been glaring exceptions, some of the best crew do not fit in the formula but most do. Other combinations work for other boats so my formula is just for me. We are now seeing past crew come back for second and third stents on the boat.
My success has been largely in part to a in-depth seven page letter each potential crew receives. This letter has evolved over the years and grown in length. It covers daily life, what to expect, what is expected and what is not tolerated. Recent additions have been aimed at sorting out possible challenges inexperienced crew might find; the unpredictability of cruising, the lack of independence and the lack of private space can be issues that are not thought of by the starry eyed back packer.
One thing i have learned to make perfectly clear is that there is NO schedule, we move at the whim of weather, mechanical demands and safety. Our plans are fluid. I find that crew who have limited time in an area and want to see and do many things in a short time often feel constricted by the slow pace of a cruising boat.
we even have mermaids on the crew
The other circumstance that can cause angst is the balance of crew feeling at home, which i promote and respecting that the boat is my permanent home. i do have some quirks about my limited possessions that might seem odd. i am a mad stickler for protecting my boat, equipment and most of all people aboard. So there are rules, most come from experience that crew just do not have nor may understand. i do supply kayaks, dive gear and other fun toys so keeping them in tact is important. I find most of the crew accept this and appreciate the rules, mostly the ones for their safety, but there have been some bumps here for sure. Six years of cruising, dozens of crew, half way around the world and there has been no significant damage to the boat and most important, no injuries to the crew, this does not come from being sloppy about safety.
we make frequent land trips
i take great joy in making sure the crew gain experience and learn as much as they desire. As this is a power boat and equipped with most of the modern devices there is little hands on “work” most things happen with the push of a button. My crew needs are different than a sailing vessel, no strings to pull so strength is not an issue. My needs are more domestic, cooking cleaning and provisioning. i also need dive companions. Most of my crew are diving enthusiasts, the frequency of our diving is of great value to the crew usually. The crew learn the basics of navigating with modern devices and if they like the “old school” techniques as well.
i explain that there are two types of decisions i make; ones that are arbitrary, like where to eat or dive or next stop. this type i usually give the crew options to pick. The other type are safety decisions, go/no go, weather, anchorages and such are made for the safety of the boat and crew and there is no debate on these decisions.
even the work can be fun, bikini boat wash time
The most important element is having fun. The crew have duties but rarely interfere with having a great time. I have found that crew from around the world bond fast and we make sure there is an environment that enables such bonding. One of the most endearing traditions on Furthur is the gratitude sharing time just before dinner. Although some are reluctant at first, soon it becomes a favorite time. i do like to tease and be teased and have a quirky sense of humor for sure.. plus i am a morning person, big time. One girl told me if i am ever murdered by my crew it will be before seven AM! i strive to get crew to balance the fun and the duties and to make sure each gets to do the things they like, spend quality time with the group and some alone time.
A look at my findacrew site and the references will show how wonderful my crew experiences have been. After six years i am more excited about future voyages with new crew than ever, there are adventures to be had and memories to be made.
Six Year Report, the Voyage
The sixth year of the Furthur Adventure took us once again out of Thailand, the Land of Smiles, and back to Borneo and the Philippines. It was an unremarkable and familiar trip with a long stop at our favorite marina in Kota Kinabalu. After a month of decadent living, swimming pools, expansive exercise room and my favorite, a sauna, we headed back to the Philippines. There had been a report, that later proved dubious, of a pirate attempt along our path so we contacted the Malaysian Navy to keep an eye on us. They did radio checks along the way but we saw no one, evil or friendly. When we came to Puerto Princessa to check in all the anchorage was abuzz of the impending typhoon. We watched intensely as it built and collapsed then made our way north. Back in the oh so familiar and friendly waters of Coron and Puerto del Sol for Christmas, i connected with old friends. The dive center there was swamped and asked if i would assist guiding some dives, sure i said. I spent the holidays and a few months there after diving the WWII wrecks by day and playing music at the two resorts by night, ah the life. The need for fuel, repairs and change of scenery took us back to Subic Bay. A adverse weather pattern settled in which extended our stay before we could venture to the next destination. I used the time to do more boat work and have some fun.
From Subic we set out for a new destination, Puerto Gallera, a favorite with cruisers and now mine too. With new crew onboard we worked south to the Filipino party hot spot Boracay Island. This is where all the Filipinos want to go, epic white beaches and constant party. I found the anchorage so unpleasant that my stay was not one i would repeat soon. We did have the extreme pleasure of buddy boating with our friends, Peter and Rose, on Lost in Asia, something we will hopefully do again. Both Lost in Asia, a multi circumnavigation veteran and Furthur are featured in the latest edition of Voyaging Under Power.
We completed the circle with a return to Coron, a place i keep going back to and never sorry i do. Round and around we repeat the circle, Subic Bay, Puerto Gallera and then head south.
riding on a water bufflao cart to an enchanting waterfall
Now we are in new terrain and enjoy exploring the zillion islands and anchorages. We do the compulsorily swim with Whale Shark experience then down to Cebu. From Cebu we head back into the Pacific Ocean and follow the eastern Filipino coast to the city of Davao and Oceanview Marina. It is there that i made a change of plan as we had intended a short stay before heading south to Indonesia. Delayed paper work put our departure too late in the weather scheme of things. We had learned about the Sail Tamili Rally which headed to Raja Amput in September and decided to join that group. This put us in the marina for 3 months, the longest Furthur has been tied to the dock ever i think. We fell in love with the small resort island and the marina and developed great friendships with the group we would join on the next adventure. The first of September we left the marina in full dress, parade flags flying with 15 boats. As i write this we are a third of the way around the rally and all is well. We will hit two of the world’s most notorious dive area, Togian Islands and Raja Amput then back “home” to the Philippines.
Jamming with a great local Band at Samal Island
We plan on returning to Oceanview in November which is a tough call after the recent events. The marina was the scene of a recent terrorist raid and several of our friends were taken hostage. We will evaluate the situation next month but i think the security in the area will now be so extreme that it will be very safe. Our prayers go out to our friends and we hope for a speedy resolution and swift justice.
Six Year Report, The Boat
Having completed some maintenance and adding a few major goodies at the end of year five, this year has seen just small repairs and maintenance. The always reliable Cummins Engine now has 7,400 trouble free hours. We put 750 hours on last year, a bit below our 1000 hour a year average.
With the new solar panels there were some charging issues to resolve, once done i added two more AGM batteries raising my capacity fifty percent.
On two instances i grossly miss diagnosed problems, spent a bunch of money and grief on things that turned out to be simple, all in the lessons learned department. On both malfunctions a broken “O” ring was the culprit, one in the generator Racor filter and one in the stabilizer ram.
After years of packing around piles of charts i realized i had not opened one since i left, harsh realization for an old school paper chart guy but true. With four computer navigation systems onboard, everything from my ships computer to my phone is nav and gps equipped. i decided to pass the charts on, first tried the Selene Owners site and other cruising forums with no luck, just pay for shipping was all i wanted for the complete set of charts from Seattle to Thailand.. no takers, then i tried to give them away locally, again no takers so it was great angst that i dumped them in the dumpster, my ol US Power Squadron buddies would cringe. To add insult to the old salts i put a new ice maker where the charts once held domain. i now open that locker every day rather than never in 6 years.
So the “things we love list” goes the solar panels and ya, the ice maker. With the current rolly anchorages the Forespar Rolex stabilizer system has risen to the top of that list. My cruising buddies have all been over peering at it in wonder. For another year the sturdy Mercury 25 hp outboard has performed flawlessly although the dinghy is getting tired and is on the replacement list next year.
Recently i had to tow a buddies boat as he had bad fuel and no fuel polishing system, a lacking he will surely correct, putting the ESI fuel polishing system high on the “don’t leave home without it” list.
Getting fuel in Indonesia is always a challenge
My FCI water maker is a jewel and if found out by just adding another membrane i can raise the production 50%, yikes 75 gallons an hour! My friend ordered one like it and they threw in my membrane in his shipment, i will get it installed soon. If finances allow i might replace my smaller H2O maker as well, it quit years ago and just takes up space. For my crew a water maker is essential and having a backup would be good as well as one small enough to run off the inverter while underway without the gen. maybe Santa will drop on by.
Ten years and six of rugged cruising have taken their toll. I now have rebuilt all major pumps, the windlass, the stabilizer rams and many other things, none of which gave out early, just a lot of ware. Eventually i will get the interior wood work a tune up and repaint the blue hull, but not this year.
Donna marking the anchor chain
This last rally put us in a week of beating up wind in up to forty knots of wind, no fun. Although there are times i envy the sailors sliding downwind in the trades, this last jaunt proved once again that a good full displacement, pilot house trawler is where i want to be!
