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Envoy is now in Trapani Harbour, north-west Sicily.
Leaving Sciacca we headed further west along the mainland coast in near-perfect conditions until several miles later we spotted a nice sandy bay, partially protected by the breakwater of a nearby marina. It looked idyllic with people swimming in the calm water, the sun shining down on golden sand and a good anchoring depth of four metres. Then the sulfurous smell of sewage hit us – how can people swim in this?
Unfortunately Sicily has a huge litter problem ashore – on roadsides and beaches as well as a sewage problem at many harbours, marinas and beaches.
We moved on to anchor under the protection of the breakwater outside Mazara del Vallo harbour, where it was flat calm, the water was clear, everything smelled good and it was the first time we’d anchored in 11 days – unusual for us as we normally mostly anchor. I wasted no time in getting in the water to inspect under Envoy’s hull, clean the RHIB and clear our speedometer impeller which had gotten fouled with something. It was great to be “on the pick” again and we had a calmer night than we’d mostly had in marinas.
The Egadi Islands beckoned and we’d had enough of towns and marinas so bypassed Marsala, the home of Marsala dessert wine, to visit another time. Marsala’s name comes from when the Arabs conquered it in 830 AD and named it “Marsa Allah” – Port of God.
We were cruising in glorious conditions with smooth seas for the first time in many days. The weather seems unsettled and summer is later this year – in mid-June the daytime temperatures are only reaching low to mid 20s.
There are three main islands in the Egadi group, about five miles off Sicily’s north-west coast. We headed to the largest called Favignana, about five miles long and two miles wide, roughly the shape of a butterfly, and found a great spot on the southern side called Lido Burrone to anchor off. Here are several small sandy coves set in between a rocky coastline, with crystal-clear water. Although Envoy was the only cruising boat there, the beaches were busy with land-based locals and tourists.
Being used to New Zealand’s stunning beaches it’s difficult to get hugely excited by those in the Med, but these were much better than average with the plus of the imposing fortress of Santa Caterina looking down on us from 300 metres above.

Envoy at anchor with castle (barely visible) on hill behind

The fortress was originally built by Normans in the 11th century, re-built by the Aragonese (Spanish) at the end of the 14th century, and over the centuries mostly used as a prison.
From late afternoon until late next morning we had the area pretty much to ourselves until the tourists arrived. They don’t call Sicily “the windy island” for nothing, and the forecast showed southerly winds up to 32 knots, so we moved to anchor off the island’s main village – Favignana. The biggest problem in strong winds is other boats dragging their anchors so we anchored outside the harbour, well clear of a throng of a dozen yachts anchored closely together in shallow waters inside, deploying our flopper stoppers to combat wakes caused by numerous hydrofoils and ferries.

Hydrofoil zooming in to Favignana harbour passes close to Envoy

Favignana is an attractive village, albeit centered on tourism.
The deep waters and strong currents of the Egadi Islands have always been a breeding ground for tuna and for centuries different conquering countries have fished here. This culminated in the late 19th century when mainland entrepreneur Ignazio Florio bought the islands from the Spanish, developed a fleet of 90 fishing boats and built two canning factories. Then they grossly over-fished anchoring large nets between the islands catching 5,000-10,000 tonnes of tuna annually. In those days many weighed 200-300 kg, and some up to 500 kg. But sadly man’s greed depleted the fish and the industry closed down in the early 1980s, although there has recently been a revival in tuna fishing on a smaller scale. The canning factory is now a museum. 

Over fishing of tuna caused the demise of the industry like elsewhere in the world

Favignana’s now-abandoned tuna canning factory

Open 18 metre wooden tuna fishing boat in museum 

These derelict trawlers laid-up ashore will never taste salt water again

Initially we couldn’t find a place to leave our RHIB as the fishermen and locals jealously guard their spots, but found a supervised jetty where we could leave it for 10 Euros (NZ$16 ) per day with no security concerns, and obtain water in our plastic jerry cans. Mostly this was free but one day they asked for 15 Euros (NZ$23) for 220 litres. Another day it was only 5 Euros (NZ$8) for 150 litres.

Loading supplies at jetty costing 10 Euros to leave our RHIB

Huge pile of discarded anchors formerly used for tuna nets

In one of Favignana’s piazzas is a statue of Ignazio Florio, who controlled tuna fishing in the 19th century

He must have done alright as he lived in this mansion, now a tourist office

This great atmospheric shop offered a combination of delicatessen delights and local crafts

Favignana’s harbour has a great sandy beach

Envoy anchored with flopper stoppers to reduce the roll caused by ferry wakes

TECHNICAL Nothing to report (that’s great!)

ENVOY LOG As at 24/6/14, we’d spent 77 days aboard and cruised 681 miles for 126 engine hours.

Envoy is now among the Egadi Islands, north-western Sicily.
At Porto Empedocle it was nearly time for Chris to leave us, and the marinara, Giuseppe, was a huge help during the five hour process of getting a stamp in Chris’s passport. First we went to the Customs office, and were directed to Coastguard. They were happy to record Envoy’s arrival, but directed us to the Border Police for Chris’s stamp. The officials are friendly, but everything takes time and patience is a must. Nothing seems to be computerized and information is hand-written into huge, heavy ledgers, reminding me of what we used in banks about 50 years ago. They wanted to photocopy some documents but their copier had broken down. It was a 15 minute drive to the other side of town to see the Border Police, and the first challenge was to get into the Police complex as it was fenced and gated and the intercom on the gate didn’t work. So we waited for a car to leave and bounded through the gate before it closed. After a 30 minute wait we explained what we wanted, but he Police weren’t going to make this easy and wanted to see all our passports, our ship’s papers, Chris’s flight ticket, details of how he would travel to Palermo to catch his flight, and a statutory declaration from me as Captain, stating why Chris was leaving Envoy. We assembled the required papers and a policeman came down to the harbour to check them, gave Chris the much needed stamp and made him 100 Euros (NZ$156) poorer. I offered to pay something to Giuseppe for his considerable time and help but he declined. Chris later said that when he went through emigration at Palermo Airport the official didn’t even look for an entry stamp.
Chris left us after six weeks and 625 miles of fun cruising, and holds the record as the guest who’s spent the most time aboard Envoy (and who’s done the most work!)
With a Scirocco (strong southerly wind) forecast, we decided to stay on at Porto Empedocle for a few days. Our neighbour, Michel, showed us his compact but stunning Fiat Rabath, with a 1.4 litre, 16 valve turbocharged engine capable of pushing the car to a cracking 200 km/hr. One night they drove us 25 km down the coast for dinner so we had a heart-stopping demonstration of the Fiat and Michel’s driving prowess!

Michel’s grunty Fiat Rabath is capable of 200 km/hr

Close to our position in the harbour was a sombre looking prison now turned into a museum. Here in 1848, the prison’s governor fearing a revolt had 114 prisoners moved into a pit accessible only through a narrow opening through the floor above. He also ordered that firecrackers be thrown down among the prisoners to quieten them down, and it was later found that all 114 had been asphyxiated by the sulfurous fumes. 

Sombre-looking prison where 114 prisoners tragically suffocated

The Scirocco didn’t eventuate and we cruised on to Sciacca. We had a wind up to 23 knots on the nose with 1.5m seas and a head current so could only made good about 5 knots at 1,600 rpm towing the big RHIB.
Sciacca doesn’t have a proper marina, but two yacht clubs rent berths to visitors. It’s not well-protected and numerous trawlers coming in and out of the harbour added to the swell causing Envoy to roll at her berth (it was too shallow to use a flopper stopper). The floating pontoons moved around so much it was even difficult to walk a straight line down them, and that was before our evening drinks!
Sicily is still a major fishing area and several dozen 15 to 25 metre trawlers are based in Sciacca, leaving and entering at all hours, and making no speed concession to the pleasure craft moored at the yacht club. 

Looking down on Sciacca harbour where there are many fishing boats. Envoy was moored right side of picture

Cost was 40 Euros (NZ$63) per night including water and power, but there was some problem with low voltage (190 volts) so we didn’t use it. It’s going to be fixed some day soon (yeah right …read some month or year).
Sciacca’s an interesting place to wander around, and here the wind really was blowing so we stayed three nights waiting for the wind and seas to drop.

Sciacca cathedral – we’ve seen more than a few similar but never tire of them

Stunningly ornate pipe organ in medieval Chiesa di Santa Margherita

Sciacca is famous for ceramics and mosaics and this stairway is adorned with them

Quirky ceramic chop in Sciacca

This Sciacca medieval courtyard drips atmosphere

Even small supermarkets have fantastic delicatessen areas

TECHNICAL – Nothing to report

ENVOY LOG As at 19/6/14, we’d spent 72 days aboard and cruised 649 miles for 114 engine hours.

Envoy is now in western Sicily’s Egadi Islands.
Next stop was Syracuse – first settled 3,000 years ago, a major city by the 4th century BC, and once one of the most powerful in the Med, “rivaling Athens in prestige” to quote Lonely Planet. Here Archimedes was born in 287 BC, and lived until he was accidentally killed during a Roman invasion. Grand Harbour, protected by Ortygia Island, is sheltered in most conditions, and we anchored off the town to sit out an approaching front with winds expected up to 30 knots. In fact we got a few days of winds only in the low 20s with occasional gusts to 30, but it was very rough in the open sea and we were pleased to be safely in shelter with our floppers stoppers down to reduce roll.

Waves breaking on the shores of Syracuse as front passes 

This fortress at the entrance to Syracuse is off-limits as still in use by the military

Sadly the sea is too polluted by sewage coming from the land for swimming or use of the water maker; in fact we’ve found sewage odours to be quite common in harbours so far – part of a wider problem of poor infrastructure quality in Sicily.
After the front passed it became fine and sunny with temps in the mid-high 20s; everybody says the Med summer is late this year – maybe it’s arrived at last!
One day we visited the dark and eerie Catacomb of San Giovanni, where passageways beneath the church have about 10,000 niches carved out of solid rock to hold the dead. These date from the 3rd century and were built into aqueducts dating from the classic Greek period several centuries earlier. No human remains are visible today, and these sites have been targeted by grave robbers throughout the centuries, who’ve long since taken items of value. You wouldn’t want to get lost in here!

Grave sites in the Catacomb of San Giovanni

Plan showing layout of the underground Catacombs

The cobbled lanes of Ortygia’s Old Town are fascinating to wander through, and history seems to have blended well with present day functionality.

Stunning courtyard of a Venetian mansion

Cathedral in Ortygia’s del Duomo Piazza

Sicily has a three-legged symbol, similar to the Isle of Man’s – apparently it came from the Normans who brought the symbol to both places

Syracuse has an interesting food market – far smaller and quieter than Catania’s but where it’s easier to wander around, smell the roses and chat with stallholders about their wares.

Fabulous delicatessen at Syracuse market

Hiring a car is expensive in Sicily at about 75 Euros (NZ$117) per day, but we explored the nearby countryside, finding it relatively quiet and traffic-free, with a huge amount and variety of agricultural activity including wheat, grapes (Sicily has stunning wine), olives and citrus fruits.

Church in village of Palazzo Acreide

We also stumbled across a fascinating typical Sicilian cemetery with numerous family mausoleums, some of the older ones being about the size of small houses.

Typical family mausoleum

One of the larger mausoleums

I felt safe withdrawing cash at this ATM with mounted police nearby

TECHNICAL – nothing to report
LOG – As at 8/6/14, we’d spent 62 days aboard and cruised 602 miles for 97 engine hours.

Envoy is now in Sciacca (pronounced “Sharka”) harbour, south-west Sicily.
We soon discovered that eating out in Sicily is slightly dearer than Greece, although the restaurant fare is far more diverse and generally better. The Italian wine selection is of course superb, and very reasonably priced with good bottled wines available from about 2.30 Euros (NZ$3.60). Supermarket prices seem very reasonable, and with some real bargains; chicken legs 2.90 Euros (NZ$4.53) per kg, wings 1.90 Euros (NZ$3) per kg, pork chops 5 Euros (NZ$7.80) per kg, extra virgin olive oil from 3 Euros (NZ$4.70) per litre.
Sicily’s population is similar to New Zealand’s at about 5 million, buy locals tell us the economic situation is not good with over 20% unemployment, compared with 10% for Italy as a whole. The average wage in Italy is about 1,200 Euros (NZ$1,935) per month, whereas it is only half that in Eastern Europe. Consequently manufacturers have been shifting their plants – an example being the relocation of a major Fiat plant from Palermo to Poland.
Next stop was Catania where we berthed in the marina for 55 Euros (NZ$89) per night – this is one of the cheaper marinas! There was so much roll coming into the marina that we’ve had many calmer anchorages, but the marina was a good base for a tour of Mt Etna. Many marinas here are just walled-off sections of the open sea, and subject to swell and surge. Also they often have large fleets of fishing boats which move around at speed setting up wakes.

This cute, compact Twizy electric car parked in the marina has a 100km range before needing recharging

Catania’s 4th century elephant statue in Duomo Piazza

Catania’s gorgeous cathedral

Our Mt Etna tour was as part of a group of eight traveling by Land Rover with a passionate and knowledgeable guide, Sebastiano. The full-day tour cost 55 Euros (NZ$86) including lunch, so we thought it was pretty good value, and although we’ve seen several volcanoes home in New Zealand, Mt Etna has fascinating historical aspects. It’s too dangerous to visit the summit but the tour took us 2,000 metres up the 3,323 metre mountain, where despite the fine day it was about 5 dC. Europe’s largest live volcano’s changing moods have had a big impact on the history of eastern Sicily – a violent eruption with a mile-wide lava stream largely destroyed Catania in 1669. These days there are typically 25 eruptions each year, some resulting in loss of life and damage.

One of Mt Etna’s impressive lava flows

House buried in lava from recent eruption

Laurie and Chris wearing helmets needed for lava cave exploration

Lunar-like landscape of Mt Etna

One of Catania’s most famous features is La Pescheria – the fish market and adjoining food market.
Catania’s La Pescheria market

This is the most exciting and interesting market we’ve ever been to – a gastronomic delight where locals treat their shopping as a pleasure, not a chore. The market’s mayhem assaults all your senses – the bellowing of vendors advertising their wares, the chopping of fish fillets, the clink of ice and splash of water being cast over fish to keep them glisteningly moist, the angry yell of an accidentally splashed elderly lady dressed in black, the good-natured bargaining between sellers and buyers, the aroma of dozens of fish varieties, fresh breads, cheeses and cured meats, live octopuses slithering across the stalls, the kaleidoscope of colours and textures, and the whole experience set in an atmospheric spider’s web of cobbled lanes straight from a movie set. We see so many varieties of fish, including some very large tuna and swordfish, that we wonder why our fishing has been so unsuccessful.

The market sells every imaginable type of food

Large swordfish in La Pescheria

There are dozens of stands like this selling varities of seafood

Slabs of delicious cheeses abound

There are so many people here that we can only walk at a snail’s pace, and after buying what we need we find a small café with outdoor tables to enjoy a none-too-healthy breakfast of cappuccino and chocolate croissants.
TECHNICAL Chris has been helping us with a number of both maintenance jobs and improvements:
– Our refrigerator door stopped closing properly so Chris modified the gasket
– On the advice of another Nordhavn owner we checked the sealant around the base of the mast for water leaks, and Chris laid a new bead of 3M 5200 to keep it watertight. For this job we used an unopened sealant cartridge dating from 2005, and it worked perfectly (so much for 1-2 years shelf life!)
– Resolved a sound quality issue with our DVD player
– Modified our BBQ to make it easier to keep cooked food warm
– Repaired our guest shower nozzle and fitted a new adjustable mirror in the guest bathroom
– Repaired our port forward teak rubbing strake
– Fitted a protective cover around our guest head power switch
– Installed a new clock mechanism in our brass bedroom clock
– Made improvements to the dinette table
– Our main Raritan electric head is not working well and we’ve tried a few ideas to fix it. Next step is to replace the joker valve

LOG As at 30/5/14, we’d spent 52 days aboard and cruised 463 miles for 79 engine hours.

Envoy is in Porto Empedocle, waiting for a Scirocco (southerly blow) to pass before cruising further westwards along the southern coast of Sicily.
Leaving the Albanian port of Sarande we sailed west to the Greek island of Erikoussa for an overnight stop, positioning ourselves for the next morning’s seven hour cruise to Santa Maria di Leuca, our port of entry for Italy. It wasn’t a great re-introduction to Italian marinas as there was no answer to our VHF radio calls and no sign of help available for berthing until a reluctant marinara eventually arrived to allocate a berth and take our stern lines as we backed into the pontoon. Again we used an agency – JLT Yacht Agency (affiliated to A1 Yachting) as we needed sound advice on meeting Italian documentary requirements in the best way. 1930s fascist dictator Mussolini and his cronies had their holiday villas at Santa Maria di Leuca, and many of these still remain. He was also responsible for the construction of an impressive stepped walkway to the lighthouse overlooking the harbour. 

Looking down Mussolini steps to the marina at Santa Maria di Leuca

Laurie and Chris pose with statue of Pope Beneditto 16th who visited here in 2008

There’s not a lot to see along this stretch of coastline, but we enjoyed berthing alongside the quay in the port of Ciro – a typical small Italian working town with few traits of tourism. Here we found a Vodafone shop and were able to get Italian SIM cards for phone and Internet connection. This process is always a bit of a hassle in a new country, and like at home the Vodafone shops are always busy, but they do try their best to help.

Laurie organizing Italian phone and Internet connection

Entering the port of Rocella, further south, can be daunting in a heavy swell as the entrance is only about three metres deep and a very shallow sandbar protrudes from the starboard side of the entrance. In 2004 a 37 ft yacht attempting to enter the harbour in Force 5 winds and large swells was rolled over by a wave estimated at six metres high, fortunately with no loss of life and only minor injuries. We saw a Spanish yacht hit the sandbar with a sudden stop, but conditions were good and she was able to maneuver her way off.

Map showing Rocella Harbour’s dangerous entrance

In the nearby taverna they sell mouth-watering pizza by the metre

SICILY
As we cruised down the “boot” of Italy, the island of Sicily gradually came into view and we spotted a mountain that we thought was Mt Etna. But as we came closer another mountain came into view, and at 10,700 feet high it dwarfed the one we’d seen. It’s sobering to view the mountain and realise it’s still very active with typically 25 minor eruptions annually.
Sicily is the largest Med island and the main focus of this year’s cruise, as we plan to spend about four months here. The wind had been light with glassy calm seas on a gentle swell as we approached the Strait of Messina. Looking ahead I observed whitecaps and closer inspection through binoculars showed an approaching squall. In about ten minutes we had 30 knot winds and breaking two metre seas on our beam. Our stabilisers were coping well, but Envoy still rolled up to 20 degrees each side. At one point our starboard side rolled downwards off a wave just as an extra large wave hit us, breaking over the starboard gunwale and filling the cockpit with water. The water drained out through the scuppers within about ten seconds, but not before some seawater came up over the 150 mm high lip into the saloon. Fortunately the carpet soaked up most of the water and later we found less than ten litres in the bilges.

Taormina
For the first three days we anchored off the town of Giardini Naxos, close to the enchanting medieval village of Taormina – playground of the rich and famous.

View of Taormina from Envoy’s anchorage

In Italy we have to be more careful about personal security as theft is a problem, and it’s always recommended to lock your dinghy to the quay, something we’ve never needed to do in Turkey or Greece. We wanted to leave the dinghy for the day to visit Taormina, and as we approached a jetty in Giardini harbour a young guy came to take our lines, introduced himself as Gabriel and said we could leave our dinghy there. He’d recently had a great holiday in Australia and took a shine to us antipodeans. Diane asked where we could find a butcher’s shop, and Gabriel immediately offered to drive her there.

Di with very helpful Gabriel at the pier we left the tender

Later that day I picked up Chris from the shore from a different jetty, and as he climbed into the RHIB a guy came running down the jetty, waving to us. He told us this was a private jetty and there’s a 10 Euro (NZ$16) fee for using it. We thanked the guy for letting us know and said if we use it again we’ll know to pay.

Chris and Laurie enjoy morning coffee by ceramics shop in Taormina

Taormina street scene

Beautiful Taormina church

There are many street vendors in Taormina selling everything from sunglasses to cheap toys. We had to laugh when it started to rain and immediately the sunglasses and hats disappeared and the same vendors were offering umbrellas and parkas!

This Taormina shop sells sweets and cakes to die for

One of several Taormina antique shops

TECHNICAL – nothing to report

LOG As at 26/5/14, we’d spent 48 days aboard and cruised 431 miles for 73 engine hours.

Envoy is now anchored at Syracuse, Sicily.
In posting this I have also added photos to the previous post.
We’d heard mixed reports about Albania, with most of the negative comments coming from people who hadn’t been there, but we found our four days there an absolute delight with wonderful, friendly, smiling and helpful people. Furthermore we found the Sarande region perfectly safe, very low priced and loaded with interesting places to visit.
Albania is a mountainous but fertile country roughly one tenth the size of New Zealand, with a largely rural-based population of 3.5 million, of whom 60% are Muslim with the remainder being Catholic or Orthodox. It was great to hear the regular calls to Muslim prayer again, something we’ve not heard since leaving Turkey. Albania has a rich and colourful history having suffered invasions by Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Turks and French among others. Then for five decades after WW11 Albania was an isolationist, totalitarian, atheist, communist state ruled by iron-fisted President Enver Hoxha, and only in 1991 when the system collapsed did Albania, at that time the poorest country in Europe, start to open up to the outside world.
We used BWA Yachting as agents to clear-in (agents are mandatory), and BWA’s Auron Tate’s best friend is married to a part-Maori New Zealander. She is the daughter of a Mr Taylor who used to be high up in the former New Zealand Communist Party, then emigrated to Albania with his family in the late 1960s to live under the communist system.
BWA had emailed us advising a huge number of documents required to visit Albania, something like 19, including a list of personal effects of all people on board – in fact it all seemed so daunting we were almost put off visiting. In reality though this list applied to commercial vessels, and they only wanted to see our Crew List, passports and Registration Certificate, making it all very simple. The formalities were cheap at 38 Euros (NZ$) and for comparison this costs 150 Euros (NZ$) in Greece. Envoy’s berthage alongside the quay cost 70 Euros (NZ$) for three nights. BWA’s main contact person helping us with practical issues like water and power had the interesting name – Captain Zaho. We shared the same dock with Port Police so the security was excellent.

Envoy quayside in Sarande – security here was very good

Enjoying a delicious and reasonably-priced dinner at a Sarande waterfront taverna

One of our days there we took a 40 minute bus trip, costing 200 Leke (about NZ$2.25) each return, to see the impressive ruins of Butrint, founded about 1400BC and since settled in turn by all of the various invading countries.

Chris, Di and Laurie exploring Butrint ruins

On the return bus trip we bought a cheap bracelet from an enterprising eleven year old boy who can speak ten languages.

Sitting with Chris in the bus, this enterprising 11 year old Albanian speaks 10 languages

Another day we rented a car and drove about 90 minutes to Gjirokasta, the best preserved Ottoman village in the Balkans overlooked by a castle that became the palace of local ruler Ali Pasha. Here we had a cooked breakfast for three for a total of 1,050 Leke (about NZ$12).

Blue Eye freshwater springs on the way to Gjirokasta

Sombre entrance to Gjirokasta castle, once a prison

Gjirokasta is riddled with atmospheric cobbled lanes

Chris bought a carving from this stone carver working beside a Gjirokasta lane

Our last night we had dinner at the castle overlooking Sarande, with entertainment from an Albanian cultural group. Other patrons included a very lively group of Polish ladies seemingly wanting to make the most of their vacation, and everyone danced to the haunting Albanian music based around a prolonged monotone chant with different performers taking turns to add lyrics and gesticulations in a similar form to rap.

Albanian entertainers pose with guests – they insisted Chris and I wear their hats!

By visiting non-EU Albania for a few days Envoy is able to remain in the EU for a further 18 months without any VAT liability, and we’re now rather intrigued by Albania and plan to return.

TECHNICAL Chris “MacGyver” has project-managed quite a few jobs for us since coming aboard including the installation of a fresh water consumption meter. Envoy carries a generous 980 litres of water in three tanks, but we don’t have contents gauges and only one tank can be accessed for dipping. Up to now we’ve been getting around this by keeping the tanks filled to a high level using additional water stored in plastic containers on deck. We decided to install a consumption meter so that when we start to use a tank we can record the meter reading, know how much water is left in the tank, and know when to change tanks. This means we shouldn’t need to carry so much spare water, and will eliminate the risk of a tank running dry – which results in difficulty re-priming the water pumps. This is now installed downstream from the water pump and the new system is working well.

Chris holding Sensus water gauge prior to installation

ENVOY LOG As at 18/5/14, we’d spent 40 days aboard and cruised 133 miles for 24 engine hours.

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.

This is a longer post than usual, as the last one was about three weeks ago – will be more regular from now. We returned from Scotland to Lefkas Marina late April where our close Kiwi friend, Chris O’Brien, joined us. We loved north-east Scotland and later will post a Blog about the fascinating Lossiemouth marina. We’ve since departed Lefkas en route to Corfu, where we’ll clear-out of Greece and head to Albania later this week. Apart from the fact that we haven’t been to Albania before, we need to take Envoy out of the EU once every 18 months to avoid hefty VAT (tax).
In Greece it’s not summery yet, with temperatures around 20dC, but for the last few days we have been swimming each morning and barbecuing at night.

Lefkas waterfront just minutes walk from the marina

Envoy at Lefkas Marina with winter storage cover

There’s a small library in the marina where cruisers also leave gear they no longer need for others to use

When we pulled Envoy out after nearly a year in the water the hull was clean but the props were fouled after 5 months non-use

Envoy hidden among a forest of masts on the hardstand – note security fence

On the hardstand it’s a constant climb up and down the ladder

From 1 May there’s a very noticeable increase in boating activity and this is when charters start in earnest. One day in the marina a nearby charter yacht left her berth but her skipper steered too close to Envoy and the yacht’s keel fouled our bow line. This brought the yacht to a rapid halt and the beam wind drove her sideways down onto Envoy’s bow. Fortunately for us Envoy’s point of contact was her large anchor, and the yacht’s crew had a big incentive to hold themselves clear. Shortly one of the marina’s sailors appeared in a workboat to tow the yacht clear with no harm done.

Charter yacht wind-driven onto Envoy’s bow

In Lefkas we paid 5 Euros (NZ$6.50) to have some shoes repaired at this interesting, ancient looking cobbler’s shop

TECHNICAL Apart from the previously mentioned failure of our Seapower 120V AC engine-driven generator there’s been no major issues. For the time being we’re going to use our genset to produce AC power for refrigeration while we weigh up different long term options (which might include staying with the genset). In the marina we tried running refrigeration using our 2500 watt inverter. The refrigeration system draws about 30 amps momentarily on startup, then 7 amps. It started and ran OK but our 60 amp battery charger, powered by shore power, couldn’t maintain sufficient charge. An option would be to run this inverter while charging with our 160 amp Lugger-driven Balmar alternator, but the inverter is a modified sine wave one, and there are some possible over-heating issues around powering induction electric motors with modified sine wave (as distinct from pure sine wave) inverters. The refrigerator manufacturer confirmed it might run a bit hotter, but didn’t think it to be a major issue, since the motor is seawater cooled. However I prefer to play safe at this point. Any expert comment welcome!
So, other technical events have been:
During winter we had some chaps made for our smaller RHIB. These are excellent for protection against U/V, abrasion and impact, and great to extend the life of your RHIB.

Envoy’s smaller RHIB with new chaps fitted

Envoy has a 6 person liferaft that hadn’t been tested for several years and we decided to get it inspected and re-certified. Bought in 1995 the liferaft failed the test due to some glued seams coming apart and being beyond repair – not bad for nearly 20 years though. As we’re only coastal cruising at present and carry two RHIBs we won’t replace it at this point.

New main rudder bearing

We tried to get our engine room fire extinguishing system re-certified. The inspector said that since it’s a Halon extinguisher, which is no longer allowed for environmental reasons, he can’t certify it. However he went on to say that Halon is very good technically and advised us to keep it. We’ll do that this year but in the longer term we’d feel happier with a system that can be checked and certified. Also the present system has an interlock so that if the extinguisher is faulty you can’t start the engine. I don’t like that idea and would like a system without that interlock. We’ve replaced two 1kg disposable extinguishers with two 2 kg serviceable ones – according to the same inspector, only extinguishers with metal nozzles (and not plastic) can be serviced. We also had our largest (6kg) portable dry powder extinguisher serviced.
Every three or four years we need to re-galvanize the anchor chain. This year we turned it end-for-end as half of the chain is in near perfect condition, while the other half isn’t too bad and will last another couple of seasons.
Envoy’s fuel system has a Walbro low pressure pump for pressurising the fuel system after filter changes. This has failed and been replaced with our on-board new spare.
Two portholes have been leaking in heavy spray so these were taken out, all old sealant removed, the adjacent hull areas dried out and then the portholes sealed back in place.
All engine mounts were inspected with the Lugger and genset found to be fine. The Yanmar mounts need replacing and this will be done during next winter.
The Lugger’s alternator bearings were found to be worn even though this was reconditioned a year ago. This time heavier duty bearing have been sourced and fitted, and a spare set stored away.
The Lugger’s prop shaft was disconnected from the gearbox flange to be checked, and new bolts and nuts fitted. Then the shaft was re-aligned using a laser,
We carry several cartridges of sealant (such as 3M 5200) aboard in case needed for emergency repairs. Recently we discivered that even unopened cartridges have a limited shelf life of 1-2 year, and to replace them is expensive. Also some sealants can’t be used in wet conditions (although I believe 5200 can). We’ve now gone to another emergency repair product called StayAfloat, which can be used underwater and has a longer shelf life.

We’re now back aboard Envoy in Lefkas Marina, Greece.
Our long flight back to Athens was made more enjoyable by an unexpected upgrade to Business Class on the six hour Dubai-Athens sector. We only book cattle class, so for once enjoyed the different world of great food, fine wines, white tablecloths and attentive service.
Then it was a warm sunny day on our arrival in Athens, which always makes for a good start. It’s a five hour bus ride to Lefkada, and next day we took a taxi to the bus station. As the taxi pulled up a scruffily dressed elderly porter offered to assist with our luggage. We don’t normally need any help but he looked like he needed some work, so we asked the taxi driver how much to pay him, and he replied “whatever you think is fair”. We followed the porter for a less than five minute walk to our bus and handed him 2 Euros (about NZ$3). He looked displeased and said 5 Euros. Diane and I thought this was really funny and didn’t quibble about such a small sum, thinking he’s on a pretty good rate at 5 Euros for five minutes work.
Arriving back aboard Envoy everything was just how we’d left her, except for a little more dust than usual resulting from the major repair work to our leaking fuel tank – cutting steel, grinding and welding. We were particularly pleased there was no diesel in the bilges, indicating the repair has been successful.
One of our first tasks was to start the Lugger engine to check that the serviced starter motor, new injectors, new fuel lift pump and reconditioned Sea Power generator were working OK. Unfortunately the Sea Power wasn’t working. This is important because it produces 120 volt AC power whenever the Lugger is running, allowing us to run the refrigeration system (which is 120 V AC). Without the Sea Power we need to run the generator to operate refrigeration. Further checks in Lefkada, and later in Athens failed to find the cause of the problem. The Sea Power consists of a heavy-duty alternator and an inverter. The inverter seems to be the problem, but this is an old unit – 22 years old to be precise, and it seems beyond repair. Our current plan is to use the generator this season and buy a new SeaPower unit for next season. However we’ll also look at other inverter options.
A few days later we lifted Envoy from the water to find the hull very clean but quite a lot of growth on the propellers, despite using a special antifouling. This season we’re trying a new Italian propeller antifouling called Velox. Other work we had to do was install a new seacock for the generator and a new main rudder bearing. Everything else has been routine seasonal jobs.
Now Envoy is back in the water and we’re in England and Scotland for three weeks.
When we get back we’re planning to head up to Corfu, clear-out of Greece, go over to nearby Albania for a few days, then to the east coast of Italy and cruise down to Sicily where we’ll spend most of our season.