Summertime Again

Summertime and her crew are finally underway on our next trip.

Cleopatra marina

We had wintered the boat in Cleopatra Marina near Preveza in the Greek Ionian. This has all worked well and the team there are very professional.
But what they charge for doing work on your boat is in proportion to their skills, inflated by the abundance of work available. It is a huge yard and the various technical departments are constantly overwhelmed with work so getting stuff done is not cheap, nor are your emergencies an urgent issue to them.

For these reasons I had a quick trip out a couple of weeks ago to spend a few days getting stuff in order. The list of jobs to be done was daunting, however they had to be done. Many of them were reversing what we had done when the boat was laid up for the winter. The principle list was:

Fibreglass repair to rudder and bow thruster . These had been damaged when the previous owners had the old antifouling removed by grinders.

Sorting out the reefing and outhaul lines which had very high friction.

Replacing the lost main sail track car ball bearings – (vide infra)

Gel coat repairs to the sugar scoop caused by the gang plank.

Rig an AIS antenna

Fit automatic bilge pump

Fit new engine raw water strainer

Change fuel filters

Adjust loose steering cables

Change round Genoa halyard and Spinnaker halyard.

Mark anchor chain

Change leaking raw water inlet pipe.

Set up running rigging and control lines.

Fit sails

Fit new cockpit speakers

Fit new holding tank suck out fitting 😱.

Put down like that it does not sound a lot but with the potential for things to go wrong this is a significant amount of work,

I have been told to issue a technical alert here as only those interested in boat stuff should read the next section.

Rudder injury after sanding - a Brain?

Bowthruster Tube damage

The first job was the GRP repairs. I ground out and sanded the two areas. The ding in the rudder was deep and into the laminate so that was repaired with two layers of chop strand matting and epoxy with an epoxy fairing finish. The defect in the bow thruster tube was more superficial. I am not sure of the history of the finish to the hull but the easiest thing was to do this with a few layers of epoxy and fairing compound. This all went well although the epoxy took longer to go off than I expected given the ambient temperature. I have found the youtubes made by Andy at

https://www.boatworkstoday.com

are fantastic for explaining everything to do with GRP, different resins and when to use them, and gelcoat repairs.

Readers of previous blogs may remember that I liberated 94 ball bearing from the main sail head board car by accident. I managed to source replacements but mounting them in the car and fitting it back to a section of mast track and then refitting it to the mast was a triumph of ingenuity. The Z spar website said this was difficult - correct.

One of the problems was remembering where things had been stored and once you find them, what goes where. It is perhaps no surprise to most people but as you get older recalling where you put things 6 months previously gets trickier. There is a feeling of certainty that you put such and such a crucial item somewhere sensible, you would be sure to find it – but no it is not there. Until a few hours later when it suddenly pops into consciousness where it is, but too late as you have already bought another from the chandlers.

Anyway I refitted all the control lines – not quite sure they are as they were but they work. I changed over the halyards- an exercise a bit like the Christmas puzzles you get with two bits of wood, four holes and two bits of string attached. The reason for doing this was that they had been set up wrongly in the first place, with the heavier duty Genoa halyard exiting the mast at the wrong angle causing a “halyard wrap”.

The amazing endoscope

Last season the main sail reefing and out haul lines had a huge amount of friction in them, which was a real safety issue. I bought myself a fibre optic endoscope to look down inside the boom to see what the issue was. Now I remember when these devices were so expensive that they almost bankrupted NHS hospitals and consultants were appointed to optimise the use of endoscopes at weekends. This one cost £ 5.99 on eBay, including 6 intrinsic LEDs to show you the way.

With the help of the endoscope I worked out that the reefing lines were passed through sheaves inside the boom that were un-lubricated and hugely increasing the friction. Similarly the outhaul had been set up with a 2:1 block and tackle inside the boom that was knackered. I removed all the lines and rerouted them in a straight run that has improved the situation hugely.

Readers may remember that I came across the famous Rod Heikells boat parked near ours in Cleopatra. Recently I have been reading the blog of an Irish chap who did the same journey we are planning a couple of years ago in a 55 footer called De Dannan. https://hyc.ie/news/571-dedannan-sails-to-the-cyclades.

Well blow me if it is not now parked beside Rod Heikell's boat. Strange but true.

DeDannan, Skylax in the background. Bloggers corner.

So I returned home feeling I had broken the back of the main jobs.

The sands of Africa!

Margaret and I then travelled out with a 48 hour window to finish off stuff before the launch date. What we had not bargained for was that in the two days before we arrived there were Southerly Scirocco gales and deluging downpours. These storms come straight from Africa and carry enormous amounts of dust and sand, which was deposited on Greece.
The boat was covered in a layer of red muddy dust. So our first job was to try to clean this lot off. It is strange stuff. If you just wash it for ages with fresh water it eventually comes away but if you try to brush it too early in the process it just ingrains into the gel coat.

Then the sails. After much huffing and blinding we managed to wrestle them out of the aft cabin and up the companionway. I have to say these sails are as big as we can manage and the main reason I doubt we will ever have a bigger boat. These are recently replaced sails made by a company called First Sails based in Marmaris, and much heavier than the original Elvstroms we still have.

Mounting the main sail involved balancing on the boom, attaching each nylon loop to its car by inserting a metal bar and securing a retaining bolt with a very small Allen key. Tricky but mission finally accomplished.

Then the Genoa. As the luff rope was inserted up the rotating foil it suddenly jammed about half way up. On closer inspection it became clear that many of the screws holding the elements of the foil together were loose and sitting sufficiently proud to cause the top swivel to jam as it was hoisted.

We went to the local riggers, and M took her place in the queue of boaties with similar rig problems.

Barvery medal awarded.

The boss sucked his teeth and declared they were unable to help until after the forthcoming Easter holiday weekend. Even when M pleaded that she was scared of being hoisted up the forestay, and the bloke behind her in the queue stated, “ I wouldn’t do that luv”!

We debated the issue – it was either sit about in the yard for another 5 days – or just get on with it. M galvanised her self respect, took her bravery pills and off we went. For the record I did offer that I should do the climbing and M could manage the ropes but I think that prospect filled her with greater horror.

So up she went with her Allen keys and screw drivers and nailed it- so to speak. However when she got down she had a proper set of jelly legs and had to sit down for a bit, but she now wears her pants outside her trousers.

All was going so well.

So most of the list was complete. I still needed to change the fuel filters but needed the boat in the water to do this, I did however test that the engine would start OK.
The next morning we were launched with the usual impeccable precision by the Cleopatra team. They have a continuous flow of boats being launched every 15 minutes and everything runs to a tight schedule.

We stepped aboard, turned the key to start the engine – nothing -zip, nada. Not a glimmer of the starter motor turning. I checked everything was on – all seemed in order but not an iota of optimism from the motor. &*%”**.

The Marina guys were actually quite relaxed but it was clear our presence in the launching bay was going to be an issue. M was dispatched off to the maintenance department – you’ve got it - they can book us in for after Easter. In the meantime we were obstructing the entire launching schedule.

I managed to manufacture a connection from the domestic batteries to the starter circuit and just as they were calling the tow boat – broom. Happy days, then the engine stopped again. The supervising marinero said to M "tell the captain to turn the fuel on". I guess they have seen it before. So off we jolly well went. We later learned from Dave our forthcoming neighbour in Preveza that the tow boat costs 350 Euros!

We motored across to Preveza and anchored up on the familiar town quay. I spent the next morning investigating the problem. I could not work it out. The starter battery seemed to have a good voltage of over 13v, and following charging with the solar panel or shore power it would start the engine – sometimes. I checked through and remade several connections and tested several hypotheses before coming to the conclusion that as the engine started consistently when jumped from the domestic batteries, despite having a lower resting voltage, that the starter battery was shot. I must be looking at a fully charged but knackered battery.

So off we went to the local chandlers who fortunately had an equivalent unit of the right dimensions, though at a cost that has made significant impression on the Greek balance of payments deficit. They even loaned us a trolley to take it the mile or so back to the boat and all is now well.

I then went to change the fuel filters. The primary filter was fairly straight forward though access is difficult. It was amazingly clean and the fuel inside was crystal clear. However the secondary filter could not be budged. I had brought some specialised filter wrenches with me but the filter was beginning to deform with no sign of it releasing its hold on the housing. Faced with the probability of a non functioning engine if I persevered (until after Easter), I rationalised that as the primary filter was pristtine there was no likelihood that the secondary filter was contaminated. So it will stay in place until we get to Marmaris.

Technical blog over.

We do like Preveza, it feels a bit like coming home. There also seems to be genuine sense of community and a very friendly atmosphere.

Something to do with Easter

Being the orthodox church Easter it is really busy with local people celebrating. They performed a candle light procession along the waterfront holding aloft various plinths, presumably containing artefacts of some sort. There were several hundred people processing, family groups as well as older and younger couples, and groups of young men and women in the procession which was all well ordered and in good spirits. There was Gregorian style singing and chanting from the lead groups. The overall impression was of a cheerful celebration and not in any way solemn.

The partying then went on into the small hours, although the boom boom music abated at midnight to allow the church service chanting which was broadcast over speakers throughout the town centre. The boom boom then recommenced until 2.30am.

Greek knees up

The next morning there was a cacophony that sounded like volleys of gunfire or fireworks that went on for an hour or so. M went for a wander later and found piles of broken pottery lying in the back streets. It would seem this was the ultimate manifestation of Greek earthenware smashing culture. Pots were smashed all over the town.

Further chanting and partying went on all weekend. In the evening we went to find a back street bar we had discovered on our previous visit. When we got there we found the entire area was a heaving mass of young Greeks indulging in traditional dancing, drinking and Balalaika music. Great fun but too rich for our blood.

Our neighbours in Preveza have been good. On port was a chap called Dave, singlehanding on a Jeanneau 43. His boat is a similar age to ours and he bought it about the same time. He had actually been looking for a Beneateau 423 as his preferred option when he came across his Jeanneau and was besotted. So we had an interesting discussion about relative merits. He had overwintered this year in the Preveza marina but avowed he would never do it again,. He gave a graphic account of how miserable it had been, particularly the biting NE wind whose chill could not be defeated on a boat. So that has helped answer a question I had been considering.

Margaret's amazing vegetable rack.

On starboard were a Dutch family of four sailing with a group of several boats on a rally organised with friends they had met sailing over several years. They were clearly intent on having fun. They decked their boat out in orange bunting and trimmings and all wore orange clothes in honour of the King of Holland’s birthday. They explained that each day the group arranged challenges and competitions. A bit like the Wacky car rally for boats.

Today we are finally underway. I think I have said before that the anticipation of leaving port can become overwhelming, and we were getting close to needing to go. The prospect of having to wait until after Easter to get something else fixed would have been a serious body blow. However I am aware that this need to leave port can lead to dodgy decision making.

We set off down the well buoyed channel out of Preveza into the Ionian. The forecast had been for not a lot and no particular direction, but when it came to it there was a very sailable breeze from the SW. We shook out the sails, sorted out a few issues of lines running in the wrong places and tramped briskly down to Lefkas. We waited for half an hour trying to hold station in 15 knots of breeze before the Santa Maura floating bridge allowed us into the canal. After transiting the canal we sailed on down to the island of Meganisi and moored up with anchor and shore lines in Abelike bay. 

The green, green hills.

One noticeable change from the last time we were here was the amount of greenery in the landscape. They clearly had experienced a wet winter and the hillsides were reminiscent of the UK rather than the brown hues we are familiar with in the Med.

Those who have read previous blogs may remember that there is a small community of liveaboard “Crusoes” in this location. I am pleased to say they are still here and flourishing. However I have to give them a large measure of respect having heard from Dave what conditions over winter had been like. Hardy souls.

There is a bit of a NW breeze that has resulted in something of a rolly night but I think we will sleep.