Seems I’m always playing catch-up. This article was written in Albany (actually Rensselear on the east side of the Hudson) on Wednesday while we were waiting for parts (an ECU and a SAM) to get the Pershing 64 moving.Context: This article covers …
Is all the hype true?
You betcha! First experience with the Flexicat sanding tools today. Oh boy do these things work great! They do live up to their reputation. I’m amazed at how well they work. They take some getting used to and a lot of muscle to move them but they remov…
Day 131 – 365 Project…Bluebirds fledge
Welcome to day 131 of 365 photos…I’ve knew that it was about time for the bluebirds to fledge and this morning as we were about to walk out the door, I noticed a baby bluebird about half out of the box. Needless to say, that brought our leaving to a halt. I grabbed the camera… Continue Reading
The post Day 131 – 365 Project…Bluebirds fledge appeared first on Moosetique Musing.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 Fort Bragg from Dana Point
Monday May 12, 2014 – Heading to Point Conception
We spent 5 nights at Dana Point and got a ton accomplished. Jeddy was able to find an appropriate fabric, which if anything goes better with the upholstery than the old, and got the new rugs cut and installed by Thursday am. He is a wonder, fast and very reasonable. Earl and I are each hoping that we will not be the first to spill on them.
The other major accomplishment was the installation by Earl of a beautiful new toilet in our master head. What a Mother’s Day gift! It is a Dometic. It is a simple design and seems to use less water more efficiently than the Raritan that it replaced. We are ecstatic!
On Tuesday night we were able to hook up with my cousin Brad who lives in Pasadena. Brad, Shannon and daughter Cassandra came for a boat tour and dinner. Cassie did not really understand how one could live on a boat until her tour and then she suggested that she continue on with us and send Daisy to keep her parents company. She is a delightful 8 year old and a budding marine biologist. She had a wonderful time with my shell collection and, impressively, quickly identified a partial sea urchin shell. Pretty smart young one as well as cute as a button.
 |
| Brad, Shannon and Cassie |
We were in a slip right on the main dock in front of the Nordhavn offices and Earl was delighted to have a number of people stop to admire Serenity and ask if she was new. Fito has done a great job keeping her looking that way!
We left Dana Point at 5 am on Friday the 9th anxious to make some distance. By mid morning it became clear that the weather was deteriorating and we headed into the Los Angles harbor where we waiting out the winds the next day. It was a great anchorage and we were treated to a show. The winds combined with the breakwater were a godsend to the windsurfers who whipped around us performing acrobatics. Meantime, in the distance we could see tankers, cruise ships and container ships moving in and out of their berths non stop. The Long Beach – Los Angles harbor complex is beyond busy!
 |
| Anchorage at north end of LA Harbor |
 |
| Entertainment |
 |
| Daisy gets an LA trim |
 |
| Container ship |
 |
| Incoming ship |
Convinced that the weather would be great, we head out again at 5 am on Sunday the 11th. Happy Mother’s Day! It was blowing 25, a six-foot swell with a 3-foot chop on top. A very uncomfortable ride. We had planned on a 15-hour 90-mile day to Santa Barbara, but were delighted to tie up in the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, miles short of our goal. It is a ‘moderate’ sized marina – at least by California standards- only room for 2,600 boats.
At 5 am on the 12 we were at it again. Monday the 12th is an important day for at least one member of our family. Our darling Bella turned 10, into the double digits and too rapidly leaving childhood in the rear mirror.
Monday turned into an interesting day – for once not due to lumpy seas. Around 10 am 5 miles of so past Santa Barbara we began to notice a diesel smell. It got stronger and the odor was joined by oil sheen. As we neared a drilling platform (Holly) we started to see substantial amounts of dirty oil in the water. Earl called the Coast Guard who told us that there were natural seeps in the area but gave us the national spill report hotline. Earl called and spoke to someone on the East Coast, and in time we received a call from Brett, from the Coast Guard in Santa Barbara. We sent him some photos and he advised us that he had called the platform and they reported no problems. Apparently there can be natural discharges of oil in the range of 50 to 150 barrels a day. 6,500 gallons is a good deal of oil, but we are still not convinced. Anyway, we went on our way wondering how much dirty oil we would have on our water line.
 |
| Oil in Santa Barbara Channel |
 |
| “Natural Seep” |
The seas were lovely so we decided to go around Point Conception and head on north. Point Conception can be knarly, but it was fine today, except…. We were about 200 yards off the rocky point and had just photographed the lighthouse when the boat suddenly stopped responding to the wheel and started to turn in circles. We had lost our steering. Although this was a pretty bad place to lose control of the boat, Earl was calm as cucumber and knew exactly what to do. As he suspected the bolt connecting the hydraulic cylinder to the tiller had fallen off and with a large crescent wrench in hand he descended into the lazarette and had the problem fixed within 10 minutes. My hero!
 |
| Pt Conception Light House |
Finally about midnight, having left Oxnard at 5 am, we arrived at Port San Luis, approximately 120 miles from our starting point. Determining where to anchor was a little dicey with only the radar and a guidebook. We have great lights, but they are so bright that Earl did not want to turn them for fear of disturbing others. Finally, finding ourselves in 40 feet of water, we set our anchor and collapsed into our beds.
Tuesday May 13th, from Port San Luis to Monterey.
Having managed 120 miles yesterday, we decided to go for it again today. The weather is just about perfect and it was Monterey or San Simeon, with San Simeon only 40 miles from Port San Luis. The weather for today and tomorrow is forecast to be fine, with winds starting on Thursday pm and continuing at least till Tuesday. We will have to cool our heels for the better part of week, so today and tomorrow we will be going for distance. Hopefully Thursday pm will see us in Bodega Bay, nice and snug and maybe with a rental car.
So far today nothing exciting has happened, which is how we like it. The sea is mostly glassy and we are benefiting from a near shore current that has been keeping our speed closer to 7 knots than to 6. The weather is in the 70’s and Daisy is enchanted to be able to run in and out to her look out on the bow.
This is a beautiful and unsettled coast. We were able to see the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, but since then there has been little sign of civilization other than the coast road and the train right by the edge of the shore. Earl has enjoyed watching the reflections of cars windshields disappear as they go through tunnels. The road must have been very expensive to build.
 |
| Big Sur |
As an indication of the remoteness of this coast, for the first time since we neared Ensenada Mexico, we have lost cell phone coverage. Technologically we have made strides since we went south in 09. In Mexico we got used to using the modem and a router to provide us with Wi Fi in the boat. Once we crossed into the USA and using data on our AT&T iPhones became financially doable, we turned Earl’s iPhone into a hotspot and have enjoyed Wi Fi for our iPad and iMac. We are connected!
One nice thing about having the Wi Fi is the weather forecasting. We got used to using Buoyweather and Predictwind in Mexico when there was no option. Although we can get weather from Ocens on our Sat phone or from the NOAA, I find I prefer these programs that let me really study the wind patterns. NOAA has a very long forecast, only a small portion of which is of interest to us.
Thursday, May 15, 2014 – underway from Drakes Bay to Bodega Bay
It was 12:30 Tuesday night when we set our anchor in Monterey. A very long day and about 120 miles from the predawn departure from San Luis, but we agreed that we did not feel as tired as the night before and that we could not remember many more lovely days. It was glassy all day and the scenery was incredible.
There were so many lights and boats in Monterey that even with the radar and plotter we found finding the anchorage a challenge. It is far easier to go into a remote anchorage at night than an unfamiliar town.
Wednesday was another perfect day. Only the scenery changed as we cruised past Half Moon Bay and across in front of San Francisco and the golden gate bridge. The seas continued glassy. We would have felt completely blessed if it had not been for the crab pots that littered our way. It certainly forced us work the watch more diligently than we have in the past. Welcome to the start of the Northwest.
We arrived in Drakes Bay at 10 pm and anchored along side a small fleet of commercial boats under a beautiful full moon. The 100 mile day felt much shorter than the two 120 days that had preceded it. With only 20 miles to Bodega Bay the next morning, we went to bed determined to sleep in.
And we did sleep in. Amazing that leaving at 6:45 can seem so late. It was after dawn and all the commercial boats were gone, so at least by those measures it was late.
 |
| Leaving Drakes Bay |
It was lovely when we left Drakes Bay, but we were soon into Northwest Fog. The radar is on. The weather forecast after Friday is poor. We will stop and visit family.
 |
| Pt Reyes Light House |
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Gale warnings for today, so we are snug in a slip in Fort Bragg. Actually, snug is exactly the right word. One foot less in either direction and we would not fit.
We had a nice stop in Bodega Bay. Spud Point Marina is a very nice marina with lovely cement docks. But what a change from Mexico! This is primarily a commercial fishing marina. We were something of a rarity and got a lot of interest from the locals, who like us had heard nasty weather forecasts.
 |
| Bodega Bay – Not a cruiser hang out |
This was our first chance to wash the boat since leaving Oxnard. As we expected, we have an oil ring around our boat from the “natural seeps” in the Santa Barbara Channel. We were only able to get to one side of the boat. She will really need a wash when we get to Anacortes.
Friday we rented a car. This required taking a bus to Sebastopol to pick up the car since Enterprise’s pickup range was only 10 miles. While I was getting the car, Earl was getting some crab. There had been no live crab available Thursday, but Friday morning we saw a crab boat unload. Prices are very high. We paid $20 a piece for some beautiful ones. We cooked them all and ate two for lunch, bringing the others with us to Teri and Stuart to share.
Teri and Stuart, our son and daughter in law, live in Santa Rosa, about 45 minutes from Bodega Bay. Of course, we had managed to arrive the one week when Stuart had warned us he would be out of town. He had a big conference in Monterey and Teri drove down to join him for a weekend of R&R. Teri had left a key under the mat and we made ourselves at home, which included giving their kitty the unending love that he demanded.
On Saturday I drove down to San Jose to see my nephew and his two daughters. The eldest, Sarah, I had last seen on our way south in 2009. She remembered our boat and, even more, Daisy. Alison was in utero at the time, so this was my first chance to meet her. We met at Happy Hallow, a combination zoo and amusement park. The girls are delightful and we had a great time getting to know one another.
 |
| Sarah and Alison |
Sunday, we did some minor shopping for an eclectic assortment of items. That evening Stu, Teri, daughter Meaghan plus Meaghan’s young man John had dinner with us. Instead of having crab cakes, Earl having eaten all the crab, we went to Willi’s Wine Bar and had a very California experience. We drank lovely wine while sharing little small plates of good things. It was a very nice, if expensive, evening.
Monday, everyone went off to work and we headed back to Bodega Bay and unloaded the clean laundry and groceries. Then I drove back to return the car and killed 3 hours waiting for the bus to return to the marina.
Tuesday the alarm went off at 3:30 and we were off by 4 am on our trek north. Our destination was not yet set. Fort Bragg is the only marina within reach but there are several anchorages that we could use, although most were not ones we would be comfortable going into after dark. The morning was not bad. There was no wind and the swells were in the 6-foot range. Then we rounded Point Arena and the swells grew and got closer together. The USCG announced that the bar conditions at Fort Bragg were hazardous and posted gale warning starting at 3 for outside waters. We decided against anchoring out. Luckily we had no wind, but we certainly had big swell relatively close. Some of them must have been 15 feet with ‘feathers’ on top. I did not enjoy the afternoon.
Because of the warning and being unfamiliar with Fort Bragg, Earl called the Coast Guard to tell them that we were coming in. They helpfully provided an escort, but actually the bar here was something of a non-event. It was much pleasanter than the swell outside. That said, I was pretty whipped by the time we got into our slip. My knees felt like jelly and Earl said his did too. Thank God for the stabilizers. Even with them we had things tossed around. My major worry was that they would choose that moment to go out.
Tomorrow we will try to get around Cape Mendocino. We are forecast to have about a 12-hour weather window. Once north of the Cape we can start to look forward to better weather as we get up to the Oregon Coast.
Wednesday May 21, 2014 Fort Bragg from Dana Point
Monday May 12, 2014 – Heading to Point Conception
We spent 5 nights at Dana Point and got a ton accomplished. Jeddy was able to find an appropriate fabric, which if anything goes better with the upholstery than the old, and got the new rugs cut and installed by Thursday am. He is a wonder, fast and very reasonable. Earl and I are each hoping that we will not be the first to spill on them.
The other major accomplishment was the installation by Earl of a beautiful new toilet in our master head. What a Mother’s Day gift! It is a Dometic. It is a simple design and seems to use less water more efficiently than the Raritan that it replaced. We are ecstatic!
On Tuesday night we were able to hook up with my cousin Brad who lives in Pasadena. Brad, Shannon and daughter Cassandra came for a boat tour and dinner. Cassie did not really understand how one could live on a boat until her tour and then she suggested that she continue on with us and send Daisy to keep her parents company. She is a delightful 8 year old and a budding marine biologist. She had a wonderful time with my shell collection and, impressively, quickly identified a partial sea urchin shell. Pretty smart young one as well as cute as a button.
|
| Brad, Shannon and Cassie |
We were in a slip right on the main dock in front of the Nordhavn offices and Earl was delighted to have a number of people stop to admire Serenity and ask if she was new. Fito has done a great job keeping her looking that way!
We left Dana Point at 5 am on Friday the 9th anxious to make some distance. By mid morning it became clear that the weather was deteriorating and we headed into the Los Angles harbor where we waiting out the winds the next day. It was a great anchorage and we were treated to a show. The winds combined with the breakwater were a godsend to the windsurfers who whipped around us performing acrobatics. Meantime, in the distance we could see tankers, cruise ships and container ships moving in and out of their berths non stop. The Long Beach – Los Angles harbor complex is beyond busy!
|
| Anchorage at north end of LA Harbor |
|
| Entertainment |
|
| Daisy gets an LA trim |
|
| Container ship |
|
| Incoming ship |
Convinced that the weather would be great, we head out again at 5 am on Sunday the 11th. Happy Mother’s Day! It was blowing 25, a six-foot swell with a 3-foot chop on top. A very uncomfortable ride. We had planned on a 15-hour 90-mile day to Santa Barbara, but were delighted to tie up in the Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, miles short of our goal. It is a ‘moderate’ sized marina – at least by California standards- only room for 2,600 boats.
At 5 am on the 12 we were at it again. Monday the 12th is an important day for at least one member of our family. Our darling Bella turned 10, into the double digits and too rapidly leaving childhood in the rear mirror.
Monday turned into an interesting day – for once not due to lumpy seas. Around 10 am 5 miles of so past Santa Barbara we began to notice a diesel smell. It got stronger and the odor was joined by oil sheen. As we neared a drilling platform (Holly) we started to see substantial amounts of dirty oil in the water. Earl called the Coast Guard who told us that there were natural seeps in the area but gave us the national spill report hotline. Earl called and spoke to someone on the East Coast, and in time we received a call from Brett, from the Coast Guard in Santa Barbara. We sent him some photos and he advised us that he had called the platform and they reported no problems. Apparently there can be natural discharges of oil in the range of 50 to 150 barrels a day. 6,500 gallons is a good deal of oil, but we are still not convinced. Anyway, we went on our way wondering how much dirty oil we would have on our water line.
|
| Oil in Santa Barbara Channel |
|
| “Natural Seep” |
The seas were lovely so we decided to go around Point Conception and head on north. Point Conception can be knarly, but it was fine today, except…. We were about 200 yards off the rocky point and had just photographed the lighthouse when the boat suddenly stopped responding to the wheel and started to turn in circles. We had lost our steering. Although this was a pretty bad place to lose control of the boat, Earl was calm as cucumber and knew exactly what to do. As he suspected the bolt connecting the hydraulic cylinder to the tiller had fallen off and with a large crescent wrench in hand he descended into the lazarette and had the problem fixed within 10 minutes. My hero!
|
| Pt Conception Light House |
Finally about midnight, having left Oxnard at 5 am, we arrived at Port San Luis, approximately 120 miles from our starting point. Determining where to anchor was a little dicey with only the radar and a guidebook. We have great lights, but they are so bright that Earl did not want to turn them for fear of disturbing others. Finally, finding ourselves in 40 feet of water, we set our anchor and collapsed into our beds.
Tuesday May 13th, from Port San Luis to Monterey.
Having managed 120 miles yesterday, we decided to go for it again today. The weather is just about perfect and it was Monterey or San Simeon, with San Simeon only 40 miles from Port San Luis. The weather for today and tomorrow is forecast to be fine, with winds starting on Thursday pm and continuing at least till Tuesday. We will have to cool our heels for the better part of week, so today and tomorrow we will be going for distance. Hopefully Thursday pm will see us in Bodega Bay, nice and snug and maybe with a rental car.
So far today nothing exciting has happened, which is how we like it. The sea is mostly glassy and we are benefiting from a near shore current that has been keeping our speed closer to 7 knots than to 6. The weather is in the 70’s and Daisy is enchanted to be able to run in and out to her look out on the bow.
This is a beautiful and unsettled coast. We were able to see the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, but since then there has been little sign of civilization other than the coast road and the train right by the edge of the shore. Earl has enjoyed watching the reflections of cars windshields disappear as they go through tunnels. The road must have been very expensive to build.
|
| Big Sur |
As an indication of the remoteness of this coast, for the first time since we neared Ensenada Mexico, we have lost cell phone coverage. Technologically we have made strides since we went south in 09. In Mexico we got used to using the modem and a router to provide us with Wi Fi in the boat. Once we crossed into the USA and using data on our AT&T iPhones became financially doable, we turned Earl’s iPhone into a hotspot and have enjoyed Wi Fi for our iPad and iMac. We are connected!
One nice thing about having the Wi Fi is the weather forecasting. We got used to using Buoyweather and Predictwind in Mexico when there was no option. Although we can get weather from Ocens on our Sat phone or from the NOAA, I find I prefer these programs that let me really study the wind patterns. NOAA has a very long forecast, only a small portion of which is of interest to us.
Thursday, May 15, 2014 – underway from Drakes Bay to Bodega Bay
It was 12:30 Tuesday night when we set our anchor in Monterey. A very long day and about 120 miles from the predawn departure from San Luis, but we agreed that we did not feel as tired as the night before and that we could not remember many more lovely days. It was glassy all day and the scenery was incredible.
There were so many lights and boats in Monterey that even with the radar and plotter we found finding the anchorage a challenge. It is far easier to go into a remote anchorage at night than an unfamiliar town.
Wednesday was another perfect day. Only the scenery changed as we cruised past Half Moon Bay and across in front of San Francisco and the golden gate bridge. The seas continued glassy. We would have felt completely blessed if it had not been for the crab pots that littered our way. It certainly forced us work the watch more diligently than we have in the past. Welcome to the start of the Northwest.
We arrived in Drakes Bay at 10 pm and anchored along side a small fleet of commercial boats under a beautiful full moon. The 100 mile day felt much shorter than the two 120 days that had preceded it. With only 20 miles to Bodega Bay the next morning, we went to bed determined to sleep in.
And we did sleep in. Amazing that leaving at 6:45 can seem so late. It was after dawn and all the commercial boats were gone, so at least by those measures it was late.
|
| Leaving Drakes Bay |
It was lovely when we left Drakes Bay, but we were soon into Northwest Fog. The radar is on. The weather forecast after Friday is poor. We will stop and visit family.
|
| Pt Reyes Light House |
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Gale warnings for today, so we are snug in a slip in Fort Bragg. Actually, snug is exactly the right word. One foot less in either direction and we would not fit.
We had a nice stop in Bodega Bay. Spud Point Marina is a very nice marina with lovely cement docks. But what a change from Mexico! This is primarily a commercial fishing marina. We were something of a rarity and got a lot of interest from the locals, who like us had heard nasty weather forecasts.
|
| Bodega Bay – Not a cruiser hang out |
This was our first chance to wash the boat since leaving Oxnard. As we expected, we have an oil ring around our boat from the “natural seeps” in the Santa Barbara Channel. We were only able to get to one side of the boat. She will really need a wash when we get to Anacortes.
Friday we rented a car. This required taking a bus to Sebastopol to pick up the car since Enterprise’s pickup range was only 10 miles. While I was getting the car, Earl was getting some crab. There had been no live crab available Thursday, but Friday morning we saw a crab boat unload. Prices are very high. We paid $20 a piece for some beautiful ones. We cooked them all and ate two for lunch, bringing the others with us to Teri and Stuart to share.
Teri and Stuart, our son and daughter in law, live in Santa Rosa, about 45 minutes from Bodega Bay. Of course, we had managed to arrive the one week when Stuart had warned us he would be out of town. He had a big conference in Monterey and Teri drove down to join him for a weekend of R&R. Teri had left a key under the mat and we made ourselves at home, which included giving their kitty the unending love that he demanded.
On Saturday I drove down to San Jose to see my nephew and his two daughters. The eldest, Sarah, I had last seen on our way south in 2009. She remembered our boat and, even more, Daisy. Alison was in utero at the time, so this was my first chance to meet her. We met at Happy Hallow, a combination zoo and amusement park. The girls are delightful and we had a great time getting to know one another.
|
| Sarah and Alison |
Sunday, we did some minor shopping for an eclectic assortment of items. That evening Stu, Teri, daughter Meaghan plus Meaghan’s young man John had dinner with us. Instead of having crab cakes, Earl having eaten all the crab, we went to Willi’s Wine Bar and had a very California experience. We drank lovely wine while sharing little small plates of good things. It was a very nice, if expensive, evening.
Monday, everyone went off to work and we headed back to Bodega Bay and unloaded the clean laundry and groceries. Then I drove back to return the car and killed 3 hours waiting for the bus to return to the marina.
Tuesday the alarm went off at 3:30 and we were off by 4 am on our trek north. Our destination was not yet set. Fort Bragg is the only marina within reach but there are several anchorages that we could use, although most were not ones we would be comfortable going into after dark. The morning was not bad. There was no wind and the swells were in the 6-foot range. Then we rounded Point Arena and the swells grew and got closer together. The USCG announced that the bar conditions at Fort Bragg were hazardous and posted gale warning starting at 3 for outside waters. We decided against anchoring out. Luckily we had no wind, but we certainly had big swell relatively close. Some of them must have been 15 feet with ‘feathers’ on top. I did not enjoy the afternoon.
Because of the warning and being unfamiliar with Fort Bragg, Earl called the Coast Guard to tell them that we were coming in. They helpfully provided an escort, but actually the bar here was something of a non-event. It was much pleasanter than the swell outside. That said, I was pretty whipped by the time we got into our slip. My knees felt like jelly and Earl said his did too. Thank God for the stabilizers. Even with them we had things tossed around. My major worry was that they would choose that moment to go out.
Tomorrow we will try to get around Cape Mendocino. We are forecast to have about a 12-hour weather window. Once north of the Cape we can start to look forward to better weather as we get up to the Oregon Coast.
May 20 – An Afternoon on the Water
Lamb’s Yacht Center
“Life is simple…just add water”
We put the first coat of Cetol gloss on the cap rail, flybridge and port door this morning. It’s getting a little tedious going around and around; coat after coat, so this afternoon we decided to take the dinghy up the Ortega River. It’s not a long river…or at least the navigable portion, but it is beautiful. The area around the marina looks more like a small lake and is lined with beautiful, large expensive homes. All with beautiful yards and boat houses. A couple of miles from the marina the river begins to narrow and it looked like we were back on one of the small creeks off the St. John’s River…lush, green and remote. I’m sure just beyond the wooded shore there was civilization, but it was very relaxing and it felt great to be on the water.
We love having the boat under cover at the marina, but we haven’t seen much sign of wildlife since we arrived. We did watch an eagle do a little fishing the other night, but other than that and a few cormorants fishing behind the boat, it’s been a little dull around here, but it wasn’t dull today. Once we got into the narrower part of the river we spotted an eagle and a small alligator, but the real fun was spotting a manatee. At first we thought it was a large alligator, but once we got a better look we noticed it was a manatee. We turned the motor off and just drifted for awhile. The curious creature decided to come investigate us and stayed for a nice long visit. It was so much fun seeing him up close. What a great way to spend the afternoon.
I don’t drive the dinghy very often…so Stan gave me a driving lesson.
The narrower part of Ortega River
Our little visitor. I think he was as excited to see us as we were to see him.
Not a bad little spot to relax in while Stan fished
Stan did a little fishing, but no luck…we had chicken for dinner!
Getting to our Summer Home
With a feeling of disappointment we pulled out of Grand Harbor. Fortunately Pickwick Lake was as beautiful as ever and quickly took us to a happy place once again.Grand Harbor Sunrise.Homes of all shapes and sizes line the lakeside.A few…
CRUISING TO CORFU
Envoy is now at Santa Maria di Leuca, East Coast of Italy. We don’t have proper Internet access here yet so I’ve made this post without pics, which I’ll add later (the captions are here).
A dredger clearing mud from the Lefkas Canal
On our first night we anchored in Meganisi Island’s Port Atheni – a beautiful bay with clear water, picturesque surroundings and a beckoning taverna. Soon after we’d anchored a Greek fishing boat, about 9 metres long, came into the bay and her captain started shouting at us very loudly from about 50 metres away. We had no idea what he was trying to say and looked around for any fishing nets, or rocks or other possible problems, but seeing nothing we ignored him. In early evening we went ashore to the taverna for a beer, and as mostly happens the friendly proprietor introduced himself and spoke with us. When we recounted our experience with the fisherman and pointed out the boat in question he said, “Oh don’t worry, that fisherman’s quite crazy, just ignore him.”
Envoy anchored in Port Atheni with the taverna behind Port Atheni waterfront
While having a beer in a waterfront taverna in Preveza we noticed a British-crewed charter yacht backing into the quay, so Chris and I went over to assist with their stern lines. The skipper was using far too much throttle and the yacht’s transom was about to hit the rough concrete quay when Chris leaned forward to fend the yacht off. Then the skipper gave a big burst of forward throttle moving the yacht away from the quay. Chris was now over-balanced and to avoid falling in the water had to take a gigantic leap onto the yacht’s stern. There he stayed for about 20 minutes while the yacht berthed some distance away, leaving Diane and I joking that Chris had jumped ship after just a week.
Laurie and Chris enjoy a beer in Preveza after the incident with a charter yacht
Wending our way to Corfu Island’s Gouvia Marina to clear-out of Greece, we spent one night anchored at Parga and one at beautiful End Bay at Mourtos on the mainland.
Stunning Parga
We’d planned to spend two nights in Gouvia and then head to Albania, but on the morning of departure day Chris had a medical concern. In late February he had a serious case of appendicitis involving peritonitis, and thought a complication had arisen. This turned out to be a great test of the Greek medical system (and I write this at Chris’s suggestion). At midday we met with our agent, A1Yachting, who arranged an immediate appointment with a GP. The GP was highly professional, charged 40 Euros (about NZ$65) and concluded that Chris needed to see a specialist for tests. Chris saw the specialist late that same afternoon for a fee of 50 Euros (about NZ$65) and was asked to get a blood test the next morning, also costing 40 Euros. Chris received a full clearance from the specialist after he’d reviewed the blood tests leaving us all impressed with the speed, efficiency and cost of the system.
We waited another day in the marina for 30 knot winds to subside and then cruised about 15 miles to Sarande in southern Albania. There were only three boats at the quayside, and they told us they’d had a bad couple of nights with swell from the strong winds coming into the harbour, two of them having elected to abandon the quay and anchor off. All about Albania in next post.
TECHNICAL We’ve always had some intermittent starting problems with our Lugger main engine. There was a slight delay from turning the starter until starting, and occasionally the engine wouldn’t start with the first turn of the starter, but only on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th turn. During winter we had the starter motor and solenoid serviced, hoping to solve the problem, but it hasn’t. Chris and I used the multimeter to check the ignition switch and voltages to the starter motor and guessed the fault lay with the relay that powers the start solenoid. In Gouvia we had the mechanic, Leon, take a look at this, and he confirmed the problem lay with a big voltage drop, and installed a new relay with heavier wiring located closer to the solenoid. So far since then the Lugger has starting quicker and always first time. We also spoke with Leon about the genset, as its exhaust often leaves some very light oily residues on the surface of the water. The maker – Northern Lights, had already advised that 95% of the time this is caused by under-loading. The genset is rated 7.5 Kw, but most of the time we’re only running refrigeration drawing about 8 amps. Leon confirmed under-loading to be the issue, so in future unless we’re running the water maker (which requires about 30 amps) we’ll run the forward Aircon to increase the load.
Flexicat’s, not Flexy Cats
The saga of the Flexicat’s have been a long and drawn out drama. I originally ordered the 22″ fairing compound application tool and a 33″ sander in October of last year. Reviews of these tools on the Interwebs rave at their ease of use and effectivenes…
River Passage from Papendrecht to Germany
Scenes along the river from Dordrecht, Netherlands to Emmerich Germany.
Ru
River Passage from Papendrecht to Germany
The Piet Hein the ship reminded me of Piet Hein who, among other accomplishment wrote Grooks. Though that Piet Hein was Danish, not Dutch though I’m not absolutely sure where this ship is from.
Piet Hein (16 December 1905 – 17 April […]
