Fram's Voyages

March 2011 Turkey - Greece

 

13 March 2011

N 35 31.128 E 24 01.220

Chania, Crete

 

Distance traveled: 238 NM

Total time at sea: 48 hours and 13 minutes

Sailed: 32 hours Motored: 16 hrs

Weather: Sunny. Out of the wind it is about 20C but the north wind makes it chillier. Winds have been calm up to Beaufort 3-4 from N

 

We were waved off by Debbie and Moshe from Poppa Joe and Bill from Fafin II at 11.00 on Friday morning, 11 March, and headed out of Marmaris Bay. It was a beautiful day, though no wind until we got south of Rhodes, then a lovely northerly came across our starboard beam. It got dark early and light late so we each had 2 dark watches. Dinner was Moussaka which I made before we left and we just had to heat it up in the oven. It tasted really good, if I do say so myself, but took a long time to heat up even though I made individual portions, so don’t think I would do it again as requires too much gasol. Darkness came at about 18.00 and our breeze lasted almost through the night; we had to motor a few hours from midnight till about 05.00, then the wind came back and we hauled up the sails again. It got light around 08.00 in the morning.

 

We kept strict night watches; 4 hours on, 4 hours off and it worked out really well for us. During the day, we are both up in the cockpit anyway so if one gets sleepy the other takes the watch and then we would switch. Sometimes it’s nice just to get out of the weather and lie down in a bunk with a good book for awhile. But at night starting at 23.00 Dan takes 4 hours’ rest while I sit watch and then at 03.00 I go down and go to sleep.

 

Our trip was pretty uneventful. We saw a swordfish just outside Marmaris bay jumping out of the water a few times. We crossed a shipping lane or two, SW of Rhodes but other than that, we didn't see a thing, not even Tom and Bev on the ferry from Rhodes. Our AIS didn’t seem to be picking up cruise ships and tankers so Dan hailed them on the radio to find out if they had their AIS on. They insisted that they did and suddenly, their signal popped up on our computer. We were greatly relieved that there was nothing wrong with our computer and AIS system. It got pretty chilly at night, down to about 10C so we bundled up with long underwear, hats and mittens to keep warm. The red light bulb Dan installed in the overhead cabin light works really well at night, it’s enough to see by but not enough to destroy our night vision when we go back up on deck.

 

We sighted Crete’s northeastern coast on day 2 but calculated that we would reach Aios Nikolaos Marina after dark so decided to continue on for one more night and headed for Chania instead. The winds were good and it was sunny when we passed the rocks of Zefora. For most of the 2nd night we were sailing along the north coast of Crete and could see lights from towns and houses. When it got light in the morning we could make out the mountains which are totally snow-covered, not just capped.  The snow goes down past the tree line. Looks magnificent. The wind totally died during the night so we motored the last 8 or so hours. As we approached Chania, we sat in the cockpit with the autopilot doing all the work and ate egg sandwiches and drank coffee, watching all the fishermen in their lovely wooden boats. We entered the harbor around lunchtime. There’s a very beautiful outer harbor with restaurants lining the sides, but only ferry boats are allowed to dock there. We continued on into the inner harbor. It’s a far cry from what we have become used to in Turkey. Small, crowded, no showers, no services and lots of junk lying on the bottom. But on the other hand, no one has come around asking for money either. We went to the Customs Office to officially enter Greece and EU, but no one was there. Hmmmm.

 

We went for a walk around the city and took our jerry cans to fill up. Had to walk about 2 km to find a fuel station. They don't have that at the marina either... Yes we have gotten very spoiled at Netsel Marina!

 

14-15 March 2011

 

N 36 55 141 E 21 42.001

Pilos, Peleponnisos

Distance traveled: 151 NM

Total time at sea: 32 hrs 42 min.

Sailed: 12 hours  Motored: 20 hrs 42 min

Weather: Sunny, barometer steady, 20C. Winds from SE Beaufort 1-7

 

We left Chania early in the morning on Monday. I have to admit we were a bit put out that there were no services, the town looked run down and the people were not very friendly so we just decided, chuck this, let's go to Malta. We left on Monday with the intention of

going to Malta which is about a 4 day sail for us. But the weather report on the VHF at 08.00 quickly disabused us of this plan. Strong winds from W, Beaufort 8-9 were coming and we did not want to get embroiled in the swells that we knew this would create so after a quick check of the charts, we decided to take the shorter route to Pilos; 150 NM to the Northwest compared with 460 NM West to Malta. The wind was light and sun was out and we drifted along at about 3-4 knots. We lolled our way northwest, had a sea shower on deck and sun-dried ourselves, read our books and had a very nice lunch of rice and bean salad. In the afternoon I was looking out over the side of the boat and suddenly saw that the water was churning, like someone had kicked water from below. It turned out to be a small dolphin that swam beside our boat, off our bow and then took off to the west leaping out of the water periodically and doing what looked like a little pirouette before disappearing into the depths again. He did this several times and we clapped our hands and cheered. It was very entertaining. Then he disappeared just as abruptly.

 

In the early evening the wind completely died, somewhere off AntiKithera and a swell came along from the west, so we had to rock and roll our way through it, (barf). Dinner which would have been a lovely cassoulet de porc seasoned with fresh onions, spicy beef sausage

and potatoes was left in the various cans, bags, etc. All our stomachs would allow was a cup of chicken broth. We took turns sleeping during the night; Dan with his 23.00-03.00 and me with my 03.00-07.00 (I actually got to sleep till 07.30) The wind had come up during

the night directly behind us. Dan had put out the genoa to soften the jolting and rolling and now we put up the main as well. The spinnaker boom was put into use to hold the genoa in place and a rope was employed as a preventer to keep the main boom in place. Once we were steadied we put Nelson to work steering the whole shabang and he did a super job. Thank the gods for him as he takes over all the heavy steering that would have absolutely knackered us. Then we sat down and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to Caroline whose big day is today, 15/3.

 

The wind increased steadily so we reefed at about noon. By 13.00 we had Beaufort 7 and were making good time to Pilos. The only downside of the day really, was the swells that got bigger and bigger as the day progressed. When we were in the trough of the big ones,

we felt that they were at least one story high. They were definately high above our cockpit anyway.

 

We sailed into Pilos bay which is very large, very protected, and very beautiful, lined with lovely beaches and headed directly for the marina, as Rod Heikell describes it as being a fully modern and functioning new marina. Well, obviously, something happened with the

pretty picture because there is nothing here but a breakwall and some boats. No water, no electricity and according the Norwegian that is on the boat next to us, full of thieves.

 

We quickly got the boat in order, both below and topsides and then sat down in the salon for a whisky and beer chaser. There's nothing like the feeling of having completed a route and being able to relax and not think about strange sounds and wind changes.

 

The town looks cute enough so we will explore tomorrow.  Sorry, we have no pictures to put up because our camera battery is dead and we can only charge it when we are hooked up to electricity. It is charging now as I write, in a wifi café on the waterfront. On our list of tasks for today is getting ourselves legal in EU by finding the Customs Office and announcing our presence.

 

This is no simple matter; when we found the Customs Office, they told us we had to go to the Police Dept first. So we got directions and made the short walk there but it was closed. We went back after lunch but there was no one that spoke English so we were told to come back tomorrow. Sigh.

 

The windy weather will continue tomorrow and Thursday so will sit tight here or perhaps sail off to Zakinthos in the next day or so. Judging by the way the authorities work around here, it could take a while!

 

 

 

 18 March 2011

 

N 37 38.874 E 21 19.083

Katakolon, Peleponnisos

Distance traveled: 51 NM

Total time at sea: 10 hrs 12 min

Sailed: 7 hrs Motored: 3 hrs 12 min

 

Weather: Sunny once the morning clouds burned away. Winds 0-4 Beaufort from W

 

We woke up at 06.30 this morning and stumbled out of our bunk, readied the boat for a day's sail, turned on all the instruments, warmed up the motor and left the pier at 06.50. It was cloudy out and complete calm. We were even ahead of the fishing boats this morning. We had our newly stamped and signed Greece Port Authority Police paper showing that we have entered Greece legally.

 

It actually took 2 days and about 3 hours of running around to different authorities, all of which looked at our papers and passports like it was the first time they'd ever seen such documents. There was much gesticulating and grunting and calling over more police so eventually the entire police force in Pilos was involved and because so many of them were involved, they actually lost some of our papers between the 2nd and 3rd floor and Dan and I had to help them relocate them.  They had been crumpled up and thrown in the wastebasket….. We never did get stamps in our passports to show that we've entered Greece and EU, but we have a stamped crew list paper! And after all the running around and involvement of so many Customs and Police officials we figure they won’t forget us in a hurryJ On the upside, it didn't cost us anything as we are under the standard boat size for being subject to taxes and fees in Greece.

 

 

While Dan steered us out of the big bay, where the last 'ships under sail' battle was fought in 1827 during the Greek War of  Independence between the Turks/Egyptians and the British/French/Russian navies in the battle of Navarinou, I made coffee and breakfast. 

 

By the time we were out of the bay and finished with a breakfast of marmite sandwiches and coffee, the wind came up very tentatively from the East off the coast. We, being the optimists that we are, shut off the engine and hoisted the sails. We got up to a screaming 2 knots. But with a little perseverance, the wind soon moved over to West and increased enough to get us to Katakolon by 17.00. All the clouds soon disappeared and we had a lovely sunny day on the sea. We sailed along the coast which is very mountainous and in the distance could see snow-capped mountain peaks. As we approached Katakolon, we could see a very vague mound out to the northwest which is Zakinthos, and the beginning of the northern Ionian.

 

The harbor here is enormous with concrete piers for at least 3 cruise ships and duty free shops all over the place. We are tied up along a gigantic parking lot that looks like it could hold about 500 cars. It looks very incongruous against the town which is truly teeny tiny; just one street about 400 m in length with restaurants and shops and that's it. Behind this street is a sheer sandstone face reaching up about 40 m with Cypress Trees and Orange/Lemon trees growing out of it. We took a walk through and then stopped at a taverna for an Ouzo before dinner. I think Ouzo tastes better than Raki, but Dan says Raki is better. I think the real draw to this place must be Olympia which is 30 km away and is historically famous for being the original site of the Olympic Games. 

We had a long Skype wedding meeting with Caroline last night, ironing out details. For once our Skype connection was great.

　

20 March 2011

Katakolon, Peleponnisos

Weather: Overcast, blue-black rain clouds all over. Temperature: 16C

 

We took a train this morning (that's right, a modern train) from this teeny tiny town and for 3 € each we rode with it to Olympia where the Olympic Games originated and where the flame is brought down every 4th year for the Olympic Games. The train, we learned, is a one-way deal. It would take us there but we would have to take a bus back. Go figure. Anyway, it left on time and off we went through very fertile Greek countryside. We saw Orange groves, Olive groves, and grapevines. Apparently back in the 1800s when France

suffered its grapevine plague, they bought masses of grapes from Greece. The grapes were brought to Katakolon and shipped from here. This is why the railroad was laid. All along the way the ground was covered with red poppies, and blue and purple anemones. It was really

beautiful. Spring is definately here.

 

After several stops, one of which was in a big town called Pirgos, we arrived at our destination, Olympia. There were plenty of signs to show us the way to the site but we were escorted by a very sweet Greek teenager who was happy to practice her English on us. She left us at the gates to the archeological site. Although there had been a temple dedicated to Hera here for ages, Olympia's main reason for being was a temple dedicated to Zeus. Inside the temple was a statue of Zeus that stood 13 meters high. This temple is one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient world. Although there is barely anything left. The statue which was made of bronze and gold is gone completely the temple is there but in pieces. The foundation still stands but the columns have all toppled like dominos during an earthquake in the 5th century AD. We walked through the site which was very well marked and information signs in Greek, English and German told us what we were looking at. We saw Hera's temple, the temple of the Oracles who decided when it was propitious to hold the games, and most importantly for us, the Olympic Games track, wrestling facility and baths. We saw the site of the eternal flame but the eternal flame was not there. Must be hidden safely away somewhere where no one can blow it out...

 

The track was 197 meters long and had marble start and finish lines. It was built with natural bleachers so to speak, in that the track itself was sunken down into the ground and surrounded by enough hillside on all 4 sides to accommodate 45,000 people. A lot of teenage tourists were racing each other on the track while we were there. It was rather impressive to sit there imagining the early Greeks cheering on the best of the best as they ran, jumped or tossed. We eavesdropped on an English speaking guide who was telling her charges

about the 2004 Olympics and all the palaver about having the Olympics up here, then deciding against it in order to protect the place, Athens insisting that it be there, etc and finally deciding that the Women's hammer throwing event would be here. Must have been very expensive to get it ready and fix up the surrounding areas so Greece would look good on TV. In the end, the scandal was that the gold winner, a Ukrainian, had been tested positive for steroids, so was disqualified after the fact.

 

Our last thing to do there was to climb the peak that looks over the track and indeed the entire site and gives a fantastic bird’s eye view. We had to shimmy through a fence, but since we weren't the only ones doing it, we didn't feel bad. It took about 15 minutes to get to the top which was really just a small perch, enough for maybe 10 people to stand still and look out. It was worth the effort as the view was stupendous. As we climbed down it started to sprinkle, but didn't last long. So far we were lucky with the weather. We went out and back to the town to the bus station. Of course, there were no timetables and no one seemed to know when the bus to Pirgos would come. In the end, we only had to wait about 20 minutes. It cost 2€ each and I only had a 20€ note, so the driver just told me to sit down. No wonder this country is in the state it's in! The road was patchy pavement, very narrow, and he stopped anywhere along the roadside to drop off or pick up passengers. After about 40 minutes we arrived in Pirgos where we caught another bus to Katakolon. The rain came

once we were safely back on the boat.

 

 21 March 2011

 

N 37 47.083 E 20 54.129

Zakinthos Port, Zakinthos

Distance Traveled: 26.1 NM

Total Time at Sea: 6hrs 14 min

Sailed: 5 hrs Motored: 1hr 14 min

 

Weather: Sunny in the morning, clouding over in the afternoon, thunder and rain on mainland to East. Temperature: 18C Winds:

Beaufort 1-3 NE

 

By the time we motored out of the harbor and came around the point of Katakolon the wind came up and we had a good sail, beating to weather. Couldn't quite make Zakinthos Port so had to tack out and then back in again. But it was a relatively nice day until the thunder started rumbling over to the East. We watched it but it seemed to be pretty stationary over there, albeit slowly, ever so slowly working its way to the West. We came in to the harbor and saw that there were some sailboats moored off the town quay so joined

them by dropping our anchor and backing in stern-to the quay.

 

Unfortunately, all the boats were empty. Left for the winter, I suppose. Upon closer inspection, they looked totally abandoned by their owners. Lines were frayed, red/orange rust marks were all over the hulls and one of them looked like it had been side-swiped by another boat as the toerail was smashed along a 2 meter strip. Scary.

 

There were electric boxes along the quay but none of them were turned on. I tried to connect to a wifi but all of them were locked with passwords this time. Booo. We locked up and took a walk along the waterfront which was lined with palm trees and cafés/restaurants. It's a pretty place with Venetian designed buildings. None of them are original; there was the earthquake of 1953 that devastated this whole area and the town had to be re-built. But they rebuilt almost everything in the same Venetian style with lovely latticed balconies. Behind the town is a ridge of mountain peaks with very strange geological shapes, almost

conical peaks. Otherwise this island is very green and lush. We found a café close to the boat with wifi and ordered Ouzo and beer and then got the wifi password. This way, we get the code and can continue to use it once we are back on the boat. Ingenious isn’t it? Imagine our chagrin when we got back to the boat and found that their signal didn't come up on our wifi choices. Sigh.

 

This morning we listened to the Greek weather forecast on the VHF radio which predicted thunderstorms for this area so we are staying here today. There's currently no wind at all yet and Dan doesn't want to use the motor more than we have to until we get to Levkas where we can buy oil filters and change the oil. We are many hours past the limit for changing. We are at a café having morning coffee and connected to their wifi with the computer.

 

 23 March 2011

Zakinthos Port, Zakinthos

Weather: Sunny, temperature 16-17C, wind still Beaufort 6 from N but coming down

 

We have been here since Sunday. Believe it or not, there’s been a harbormaster here so we have been charged 10€ per day and 5€ for electricity. On Monday afternoon the wind came up and thunder clouds rolled in and covered the sky to the horizon. We are on a breakwall and the spray from the waves came crashing over the breakwall and covered our boat in sticky salt. We had spent the day trying to find an oil filter for the engine so Dan could change the oil. He got the help of a very nice Greek named Spartacus who runs a taverna on the waterfront. He was out getting his restaurant ready for the season and heard Dan asking someone for help. He speaks good English so offered to make a call to a guy he knows who carries engine parts. While we were waiting for the guy to call back, he made us coffee and we sat in the sun and talked about Greece. There is much dissatisfaction with the government amongst the Greeks. He told about the taxes and how almost everything has gone up in the last year. We asked about tourism and he told us that the big all-inclusive hotels and cruise ships are wrecking business for the local restaurants and town centers. The all-inclusive deals mean that tourists stay mainly at their resorts and don't come in to town to eat and spend money. They come in for a cup of coffee or a beer, that's about it. Spartacus said that it's a real problem for the local businessmen.

 

Anyway, his friend called back and confirmed that he had the filter Dan needed so Spartacus called a taxi and off Dan went. I went back to the boat with groceries and unpacked them. Dan returned a while later with a filter that didn't fit, despite all assurances to the contrary, so we were back to square one. Right then a man showed up to work on his sailboat which was right beside ours. He's an Austrian named Peter and is a retired fireman. He has lived on his boat for the last 2 years here and now moved into a house that he

shares with a Greek woman, Sofia. Dan and Peter got to talking and Dan told him the problem with the oil filter and Peter just threw out his hands and said, "I know where to go, c'mon, get in the car and we go there!" So off they went. They returned 45 minutes later with a car filter that works and handed the other filter back. Dan gets very frustrated being in a sea port with sail boats all over the place and thousands more to come when the season is on and there not being a single outlet for Volvo Penta or Yanmar parts nor fuel stations for boats. We invited the Peter and Sofia onto the boat for a beer. Sofia had a whole pocket full of sunflower seeds that she shared with us. It's a lot of work for a very small kernel, if you ask me. But she seemed to be addicted to them. Dan got the oil filter in and changed the oil and the motor is now good for another 200 hours.

 

Yesterday the wind was still blowing and the seas were big so we decided to do some sightseeing. It was sunny out so we put our walking shoes on and climbed up to the fortress just outside the village. It was a lovely walk up winding roads and past pretty stucco houses. The fortress was built in the 1500s by the Greeks to protect against the Turks. It is huge and housed an entire village called Zantos inside its walls. It’s been conquered by the Turks, the Greeks and even the British had a garrison there in the early 1800s, but now it is just grass and foliage-covered ruins with amazing views of the island. We walked down to the town again and checked out the major shopping streets. We decided to treat ourselves to a Greek lunch. I wanted to have moussaka and Dan wanted a gyro. We walked and walked and looked for a taverna but the only nice places that were open were cafés serving coffee, drinks and sweet snacks, and we recalled what Spartacus had said about tourists not eating outside their hotels or cruise ships anymore and realised that the locals have adjusted by turning their restaurants into cafés instead. We eventually found a

hole in the wall eatery but they didn't have moussaka so we both had a gyro. As we sat eating the chef who was preparing all kinds of grilled meat for take-out orders, asked us where we were from and we got to talking. He was very disgusted with the Greek government, but blamed the crisis in Greece mostly on the French and the Germans but ultimately on the USA.... Hmmm.

 

Zakinthos island has an airport, we think it's mainly charter planes that come in here but of course domestic flights come in as well. The hotels look really nice and there is plenty to do here; long beaches, caves, mountains, fortress, churches, looks like plenty of nightlife too. One could easily spend a week's vacation here and not get bored. The Ouzo tastes divine, the feta is grand and the grilled Greek food will always be one of my favorites.

 

Today, Wednesday, it's sunny but still pretty windy. The seas are big and we are very safe and protected in here. We have had trouble deciding what to do and where to go next. Sicily and Malta, where we want to go, are impossible for the next few days as the winds are NW going over to W which would be right on our nose. North would be good wind-wise, but it's not really the direction we want to be going right now. So for today, we are happy to be here on Zakinthos.

 

 24 March 2011

 

N 38 18.177 E 20 36.038

Ayia Efemia, Cephalonia, Greece

Distance Traveled: 52.6 NM

Total time at sea: 12 hrs 21 min

Sailed: 4 hrs Motored 8 hrs, 21 min

Weather: Sunny, chilly wind from the North. Wind Beaufort 0-5 NNW

 

We left our berth at Zakinthos Harbor at 06.30 this morning. Our goal for the day was Sami on Cephalonia, basically North. There was virtually no wind so headed north towards Cephalonia and Ithaca under motor. After an hour the wind came up sufficiently to sail but it was head-on so we put Roam on a port tack and headed NE towards Patras at about 4 knots. The wind picked up and then died down to almost nothing. The day was wearing on so we decided to bite the bullet and put the engine on. Down with the sails, on with the engine and now we could bee-line for Sami. We were clipping along at 5.5 knots which should have gotten us in to Sami at 18.00. As we approached the southeast side of Cephalonia and southwest side of Ithaca, the wind suddenly picked up, dead ahead again and in the space of 5-10 minutes was over 10 m/s. The waves got bigger, Roam slowed down to 2-3.5 knots. When big waves came along and crashed into Roam's bow our speed was almost down to O before it slowly picked up again. Ugh. It was such a slog and the wind blew a strong Beaufort 5 the rest of the way.

 

As we rounded the corner towards the southern end of the bay where Sami lies, we could see that the wind was blowing right into the harbor, so we changed course and headed for Ay Efemia which was just a few NM farther and tucked in to the northern end of the bay. We finally made it in at 19.15 just as night fell. There wasn't a single boat on the visitors' wall so after checking that the depth was all right we laid up alongside the quay. There are no moorings provided and we were not interested in laying an anchor. This worked out fine. Dan put on lots of spring lines and shock absorbers as there seems to be a bit of a surge in here. But otherwise it is quiet and calm. The village is very pretty but looks pretty dead still. My guess is that they will open in mid-April. There are a few fishing boats in the harbor, but it's otherwise empty. No harbormaster, but no electricity or water either…

 

Once we were settled I made dinner (spaghetti carbonara) and we tried our Made-in-Zakinthos red wine that we bought in town the other day. It was a nice light red wine, nice bouquet that did not last long on the palate.

 

 26 March 2011

 

N 38 57.567 E 20 45.419

Preveza, Greece

Distance Traveled: 43.4 NM

Total Time at Sea: 9 hrs 35 min

Weather: Partly cloudy, wind Beaufort 2-6 SE in the morning to W in the afternoon.

 

(For those unfamiliar with Beaufort multiply Bft with 5 and then subtract 5 to get a rough knot speed and then divide by 2 if you want m/s. Works well enough for Bft 2-8).

We spent yesterday, Thursday, in Efemia. It was a beautiful calm day and the village is really pretty, a picture perfect Greek village. While we were having breakfast, we suddenly heard a marching band outside. Hmmm, we thought, must check this out. So we hastily put our shoes on, Dan grabbed his baseball cap to cover up his uncombed hair and jumped off the boat and headed in the direction of the music which was actually only a couple hundred meters away from our boat. The entire town had turned out (they are not very many), children were dressed in the Greek national dress, the marching band was in pea-green and mustard-yellow uniforms, the mayor was there, the police chief, and a very impressive looking orthodox priest. They were all standing in front of a monument commemorating the men from the village that were lost during different wars and during the war of independence. We were told by a spectator that today is Independence Day. There was much blessing by the priest, hanging of wreaths by the mayor, the police chief and a couple of different school classes. Dan found us a perfect place to stand slightly behind the monument facing the crowd, so we could see all the dignitaries and the faces of all the children and the marching band. At one point they all bowed their heads for a silent minute and Dan very politely took off his cap. I looked up at him and when I caught sight of his morning coif all askew and pointing in different directions, I burst out laughing and had to cover my mouth with my hand so I would not make any noise. What a sight he was at this solemn moment and in front of the entire town. 

Once all the wreaths had been laid and speeches made, the marching band struck up a song and filed past, the children lined up and marched off and the dignitaries all moved up the street to see the kids perform Greek dancing. The marching band came through a couple more times back and forth on the main street. It was, all in all, a very nice ceremony. The down side of this day was that all the stores were closed so no chance to stock up on provisions such as fresh fruit and vegetables and bread. Never mind. It was a glorious day and we took our first swim. The water was so clear and the temperature we figured to be

about 17-18 C. Refreshing!

 

This morning, we set off at 08.00 for Preveza. It's supposed to be a good place for wintering on a boat and we have a friend who is coming here next winter so we thought since we are on our way to Corfu, we would stop and check it out. We had no wind at first so had to motor up between Ithaca and Cephalonia. We saw the cove where we took Kimmie and Fredrik for a lunch swim back in September. When we came to the open water between these two islands and Levkas, the wind came up from the SE so we set the sails and turned off the engine. It's such a wonderful feeling to turn off the engine and go by sail. All was quiet and peaceful, the sun was shining and it was nice and warm in the cockpit. Dan got Nelson working and I took out my knitting. I'm making a wool sweater for Dan. I finished the back piece just as we got to the channel that leads up to Levkas Marina where we needed to make a stop to get some Volvo filters. We spent all of 10 minutes and 70 EUR -(Volvo Penta oil filters cost 22EUR while normal car filters cost 5EUR. Are they really 4 times better??)- and then had to race off to make the 16.00 bridge opening at the north end of the channel which would let us out to the sea again. If we missed it we would have to wait another hour till it opened again. I called the bridge keeper on the VHF and he in true Greek fashion belts out "What you want!" I wished him a good day too and asked him to please hold the bridge for us. He said OK but

kept coming on the VHF, telling us to "hurry hurry!!!" We did our best and swept through the narrow opening, 9 meters wide just as the bridge keeper lost patience and started to close the bridge. With a wave and an "afaristo" from us on the radio, we were on the other side and headed out to sea again for the short sail of 8 NM over to Preveza. Rain clouds started rolling in from the West so were happy that we didn't have far to go. To approach Preveza you have to follow a long narrow channel in to Preveza marked out with red and green bouys. As we were coming in the AIS alarmed us that a boat was in the vicinity and on a collision course with us. We looked around but saw nothing close by to alarm us until we saw this spider looking vessel skimming the water behind us at 30 plus knots. It was a high speed ferry on its way to Preveza. It looked freaky as it loomed up behind us in no time at all. I was on the tiller so was concentrating on the path ahead of us while Dan watched the ferry come up behind us and then move over to pass us. I'm glad I didn't have to watch it.....

 

Preveza Marina is a disorganised place and does not seem to have a live aboard community like Netsel. We tied up alongside one of the docks, like everyone else, and noticed a Hallberg Rassy 352 on the other side with a Swedish flag. The dock has only one outlet for electricity and we haven't found the water yet. No harbormaster has been by to check on us either. It looks rather isolated as the docks are out on an arm with a huge parking lot and you have to walk all the way around to get to the town. Most of the boats look like there's no one on board. Dan talked to the Swedish guy beside us. He has spent a winter here a couple of years back. He says it’s cheap, the town is nice and it doesn't close down for the winter like other places.

 

We locked up the boat and went to a taverna for dinner. As with other places in Greece, it took a while to find a place that served dinner. In the end, there were only 3 places to choose from on the waterfront. The rest were just cafés. The restaurant owner spoke good English and he told us that this is not really a tourist place. It's mostly Greeks from Athens, 4-5 hours distant by car, that come here to get out of the city. The season is much shorter than the other touristy island villages; from mid-July to end August. Anyway, had a great dinner and fed the leftovers to a skinny homeless dog on the way back to Roam.

 

We have been discussing where to go next; Corfu or Italy for a few days now and after looking at the grib files we made the decision to sail to Italy and continue a more direct route home. There were not all that many options so we made a strategic decision to sail for Crotone as it would be a good jumping off point for Sicily/Malta. The winds were also in our favor making the decision a pretty easy one.

 

28-29 March 2011

Preveza - Crotone, Italy

Arrival location: N 39 04.741 E 17 08.278

Distance Traveled: 183 NM

Total time at Sea: 33 hrs 22 min

Sailed: 21 hrs, 22 min Motored: 12 hours

Weather: Sunny calm warm, 20C which turned into cloudy, rainy and 15C

Wind: Beaufort 1 from S and SE developing to Beaufort 7/8 S and SW during the night and next morning

 

Day 1: We left the dock at 10.30, waved off by the Swedish couple (Christer and Lisa). Three years ago they spent a whole winter here with no electricity or showers. Not ideal, we thought, but they said it was cheap and they liked that the town was alive in the winter. We didn't mind leaving Preveza, it did not have much to boast about, and the town looked pretty dead to us. Of course they did have the old fortress, Nikopolis, built by the Romans when they defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium. They have three marinas across the bay where more than 1 000 boats are on the hard. To get there from town you have to take the chunnel at 3 EUR per trip. But most people have their boats taken up and leave them for the winter.

 

The weather report from our Grib files and from Windguru showed light winds from SE-S up to 10 knots. We could see that a rain cloud was going to go through during the night, coming from the West but there weren't any winds of significance attached to it so we figured we would be all right. The sun was shining and there was just a light breeze from the East, not enough to sail on. We motored out of the channel, set our course and then connected the auto-pilot and sat back and enjoyed the sun and warmth. We took sea showers and dried ourselves on deck. After about 5 hours the wind came up from SE sufficiently to sail and soon we were doing 5 knots. Once all the sails were set, Dan got Nelson working so that we were free to move about the boat and read our books and knit. The sunset was an hour later thanks to the change to summer time and we were happy for the extra light at the end of the day. Had a dinner of pork curry with rice and then I went down to sleep for 3 hours while Dan stood watch. We have changed our 4-hour night watches to 3-hour night watches as started feeling that 4 hours was a long time to be alone at night. 3-hour watches works out very well for us.

 

When I came up for my watch at 22.30, the wind had increased to Beaufort 5 (18 knots) and the swells were growing. The wind had gone over to South and we had a good beam wind so were doing great time, now our speed was 6-7 knots. Before Dan went down to sleep we reefed the main to stabilize the boat and in case the wind increased. This only slightly lowered our speed to 5.5-6 knots. During my watch from 23.00-03.00 the wind

increased to Beaufort 6 (25 knots). Not exactly the forecast we had read earlier in the day....

 

There was just a sliver of a moon but it and the stars were covered by clouds so it was pitch black out; the only thing one could see was the breaking foam from the swells near the boat that were lit up by the navigation lights. The swells were pretty big now, and although the boat was doing fine and Nelson was keeping us on course, it was a rough ride as the bow rose up over the swells and then went sliding down the back at a speed of 8 knots. Every few minutes an erratic wave would crash into the boat and send spray flying over the back of the cockpit. Around midnight the rain came pelting down. I was tucked up on the front of the cockpit keeping dry under the sprayhood and listening to podcasts and music while

keeping an eye out for other boats and making sure we kept on course.

 

Day 2: I woke Dan at 03.00 and we reefed the genoa. Now we had minimal sail up and we were still doing 7 knots. I went down to sleep for my 3 hours. We have rigged up both berths on the salon with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags so that a bed is ready for one of us on a leeward side of the boat at all times. Dan lines the inner walls with seat cushions so one has a soft landing when rocked to the down side. It's very cozy. We have a red lightbulb in the overhead light which gives just enough light to see what you're doing but not enough to destroy your night vision when you have been below to check the charts, etc. Lying there I could hear so many sounds; the whistling of the wind in the rigging (scary) water coming from all over the place whishing past the boat, dripping down the drains and thunking into the bow and the steady creaking of wood and ropes along with the occasional clinking of jars and dishes shifting slightly in the cupboards. There was a constant up and down motion as the boat sailed up and over swells and would suddenly heel over in a gust of wind, only to settle down again before the next onslaught. Sometimes I think it's amazing that we can sleep at all with so many noises, but once they are all identified and checked off, they somehow lull one to sleep. The wind and rain continued until sometime around 09.00. Then the skies cleared partially and the wind started to die down a bit...for about half an hour, then it came back with new force. By 10.00 we had Beaufort 7 (30 knots) from the SW. This meant that we couldn't keep our course of 270 anymore. We were doing 300-330 which took us farther away from our goal, Crotone. But there wasn't a heck of a lot we could do about it. It was just to go with the wind and then see where it put us. We watched the skies as strange-shaped clouds came over us and thick gray clouds collected on the horizon and moved towards us. Eventually, around 13.00 the wind died, and I mean died completely. This gave us no speed with flapping sails combined with big waves and swells that knocked us all over the place. (Groan). Dan hates making the decision to start the motor, so I lifted the burden off him and started it myself and set off back on 270 degrees to Crotone. We motored the last 7 hours to Crotone which is on the beginning of the toe of Italy looking from the Northeast; so just before the arch in the foot.... We had to navigate through 4 natural gas platforms to get in here which is why we wanted to come in during daylight hours. We finally tied up with the help of the Italian harbormaster at 19.45. It was very nice to lie still and we were both hungry as can be. Apart from the pork curry and rice the night before, we had eaten nothing in 2 days but a few saltine crackers and some chicken broth. For dinner I took the last of our tomatoes and onions and some smoked ham in thick chunks that I had in the fridge and sautéed them together with some herbs and garlic and served them over spaghetti. We were pretty tired, so wanted to go straight to bed but when Dan threw back the covers, his entire side of the bunk was wet. The water hose that we had stored down there on a plastic mat along with the fenders and docking lines, had leaked all over and rolled off the mat onto the mattress and duvet. Nothing for it but to take everything out and hang it wherever we could in the salon, put the heater on and cover our mattress with fleece blankets and get inside the sleeping bags.

 

Today(30 March): We slept very late, took showers and then went in to town to get groceries and hand in our laundry. Crotone is definately not a tourist town. It has an old fortress from the middle ages and the old town is a labyrinth of narrow alleys with wrought-iron balconies and laundry hanging over the sides. The rest of the town looks like functional apartment buildings built on the coast backed by some kind of lava cliffs. We asked around and found the laundry. They take 27€ for 2 loads of wash here compared to Greece and Turkey's 10 Euro, but I think it's worth it. We will pick it up again tonight. Crotone has a fabulous

fresh-air market near the old town with plenty of fish stands as well as the fruits and vegies. Artichokes have just come in season here so we bought 2 little ones for dinner tonight. Also splurged on proscuitto, salciccio, parmesan cheese, Italian bread and Chianti:) One thing we have noticed is that there is a huge difference in the quality of meat/sausages and cheese in the Levant compared to the rest of southern Europe. Greeks and Turks basically BBQ meat so they don't have much interest in sausage and since they don't use pork, the sausage they do have is limited. Cheese doesn't seem to be part of the diet in Greece or Turkey. They have Feta of course but seem to go more for yoghurt. Which is not to say that either one is inferior in any way. We love Turkish food, but we also look forward to the variety that the rest of Europe has to offer.

 

The rest of the day we will spend drying things out, tidying up and seeing more of the town. People are very nice here and helpful, though they don't speak a word of English. We get by:)

 

 

 1 April 2011

 

N 37 03.725 E 15 17.396

Siracusa, Sicily, Italy

Distance Traveled: 159 NM

Total time at Sea: 27 hrs 48 min

Sailed: 26 hrs 08 min Motores 2hrs 30 min

Weather: High wispy clouds on Thursday, Sunny and clear on Friday. Winds 1-6 Beaufort NW

 

Wifi has been a bit of a challenge in Italy. No one seems to know what it is. We couldn't find anything in Crotone after my initial success in getting onto someone's wifi early in the morning. I was very quickly kicked off as soon as I had uploaded our coordinates on our homepage. We searched all day in vain to find a wifi cafe but with no success.  On top of this setback, my wallet and our camera were stolen in Crotone and I had to go to the police to report the crime for insurance purposes. Our harbormaster who speaks not one single word of English very kindly drove me to the police. But when we got there, there was no one who spoke English so I could not make a report.  We drove back to the marina to pick up Dan who was interrogating people in the area of the disappearance, and then drove to the Caribinieri because the police said they might speak English. Apparently there are 2 police authorities in Italy; the police and the caribinieri.  One is civil and the other is under the military. They both do basically the same things but they have no contact or interface with each other. When we walked up the steps, a caribinieri refused to let us in to the offices. We were completely crest-fallen. What now? Well, it turns out that in Italy, you may not walk into the police or caribinieri offices if you are wearing shorts. Dan was wearing shorts so we could not come in. Our harbormaster went in to talk to them and they said no one speaks English there, so we should go to the police...... And that's how the police authority works for non-Italians in Italy.

 

A good northerly wind was blowing when we motored out of Crotone harbor on Thursday morning, April 1st. We were a bit tired having sat in the cockpit late the evening before drinking cheap Italian wine and talking with a charming American girl, Tanya Halkyard. We had met her in town and had asked if she would like to visit us on the boat later in the evening. She was an English teacher and had a lot of amusing and interesting things to tell us about living and teaching in Italy. The wine we drank we had bought at a hole-in-the-wall place near the waterfront and it was tapped from a big vat and sold in discarded plastic bottles for 1,60 EUR per liter. It was not bad but left a reminder the next day.

 

We were able to set the sails right away and shut off the motor. The wind was blowing about force 5 allowing us to make really good time. It was still chilly though, so we were in long underwear and foul weather gear. We had a very light lunch of crostini bread and a hardboiled egg each and a cup of chicken broth. When the boat is rolling a lot it is difficult to prepare food down below because nothing stays put; it rolls either into the sink or off the counter and onto the floor and not only makes a mess but also reduces the appeal when on the plate second time around.

 

The wind increased during the afternoon so we reefed the main to get a better balance and smoother ride. It was nice sailing along the coast of Italy, the landscape is very mountainous and there are lots of little villages nestled into the valleys and ridges. Threatening clouds started gathering over the coast to our starboard while we ate our dinner of fusilli pasta and the little pancetta that did not fly off the frying pan and down behind the stove where I couldn't reach to retrieve it, and we could see rain falling over the mountains and rolling hills. We listened to the Italian weather forecast on VHF which said isolated thunderstorms during the next 12 hours. So we had to keep an eye out for lightning and be prepared to put our lightning rods out and stash the computer, GPS and AIS in the oven for protection. From what we could see, though, the clouds were mostly staying over land. As night fell, the clouds cleared away and we had a lovely starlit sky. It gives a bit of light, at least enough to be able to see the outline of objects.

 

I took the 23.00 - 02.00 watch while Dan slept. There was a lot of traffic coming and going through the Messina straits but nothing that I had to change our course for. Our AIS is working really well now and most boats (not fishing boats unfortunately, or if they do, they don’t have it so we can see them) have it so we can see them on our chart plotter on the computer. The wind totally died at 01.00 and I waited about an hour till Dan's watch started before putting the engine on and taking in the genoa. I went to bed and Dan motored for 2 hours until the wind came back up again and he set the sails. It came back as a force 6, still from NW but the waves became steeper as we crossed the strait of Messina making Roam yaw uncomfortably. As we approached Siracusa it got better as we got closer to shore and we started seeing turtles swimmimg in the waves. God knows what they are doing out here but they seemed totally unnerved by the waves. We arrived here shortly after noon. It was beautiful coming in; we sailed around the old fortress and the old town to the marina here on the inside of a protected bay. The modern cathedral was sticking up with it's tee-pee like dome in the middle of the city and even Dan agreed it's a church that he would not mind seeing the inside of.

 

Once we tied up and proceeded with the paper work, we learned that they have no wifi (what else is new in Italy) but they have electricity, water and showers. So 3 out of 4 necessities was not bad. Greece never has showers and seldom has electricity and water, but they almost always have wifi.

 

After an Italian lunch in the cockpit in brilliant sunshine and the warmest temperatures we've experienced yet this year, we took a walk into the old town and marveled at the tiny streets and old sandstone buildings in the Piazza Minerva. We walked around the fortress and then wove our way back to the marina going up and down alleyways and streets in the warren that makes up the old town. There are lots of little trattorias and ristorantes tucked in here and there and we finally, after much searching found a café that had wifi. JOY! We logged in to check our mail and as always, to see the wedding RSVP status. More JOY.

 

Today we started the day by going to the Grande Mercato. It is a beautiful day; sunny and about 25C with a light breeze. The market was by far the most delectable one we've ever seen; even compared with Riems' market. It was a pleasure for both eyes and palate. The Sicilians are obviously very proud of their produce and very happily encouraged us to taste before we bought. We were equally happy to do this and consequently ended up buying

much more than we know what to do with. After an hour, we trudged back to the boat with all our goods; cheeses, salamies, sausages, olives, vegetables, strawberries, oranges, the most divine sun-dried cherry tomatoes, ham, proscuitto, and great big shrimp. We put everything away and then went off to see the modern cathedral which may be an architectural feat, but was not very churchy-feeling. There was a mass going on when we arrived and Dan was

stopped at the door by a woman who said he was not decent in shorts. He gave her a winning smile and pulled out his trouser attachments that he can zip onto his shorts and voila, he is wearing trousers. She laughed and said "Bravo" and then we went in to see the church. Definately would not want to see Caroline married in there. The acoustics were horrific.

But it was an interesting site to see.

 

This evening we leave for Malta. It's a 15 hour sail so should arrive sometime tomorrow morning. Weather looks good.