It all sucks

 We spent the weekend impounded in Paros doing a few boat jobs. The main bogeyman for me was the holding tank suckout deck fitting.

It is illegal to discharge raw sewage waste into the sea. In Greece, and almost everywhere else this is ignored as impractical but boats are required to be fitted with a holding tank that can be emptied out in port. Except that there are no facilities to do this. However most accept it is reasonable to discharge well out at sea and not in port, so use in port is the main function of the holding tank.

Apart from in Turkey, where we are heading. In Turkey they do have facilities for sucking out holding tanks in major ports. Not the best job in the world, but probably the best potential job title. Suggestions welcome?

Aaaaaah

To support this they have an administrative system known as the Blue Card scheme. You are issued with a blue card and when you undergo your suck out, this is registered, with the volume, against your boat in order to demonstrate that you are keeping to the law. A kind of equivalent to the star charts used when infants are undergoing potty training.

Our problem was that the suck out deck fitting to our holding tank was completely seized, having never been opened during the life of the boat. It is an aluminium fitting with a cap that is screwed in and out using the the star shaped end of the winch handle.

 Last year I had a good go at opening this but the aluminium was in danger of disintegrating. I soaked it in WD40 for several days but it would not budge. I finally resorted to the tried and tested method of hammer and big screwdriver, but the material was disintegrating.

I therefore bought a new fitting and brought it from the UK to fit. However when I got it here I realised that although the pipe fitting diameter into the tank was correct (I had measured that), the flange on the deck was too small, and to use it would mean new holes being drilled and a mess on the deck from the previous sealant.

Dodgy moto hire, but good yacht services.

We went to the two chandlers in Paros. The Fisherman’s Shop is an excellent little chandlers with a good range of stock. They had several deck fittings but not one that served my purpose. We then went to Afros Yacht Services. Both these shops are highly recommended. Afros are more of a boat maintenance firm, but had a good selection of bits of kit. They managed to find a cap that would fit into my fitting, though of stainless steel not aluminium. The English chap running the Afros outfit recommended trying a local product called Aquaforte to dislodge the corrosion. Basically strong hydrochloric acid, this is freely available in the supermarket in a red squeezy bottle amongst the loo cleaners. This is really powerful stuff, fizzing everything it touches, so gloves and goggles are essential and careful not to put it on your chips. I had a go with this but it failed, although I was worried it would eat the rest of the boat.

A little gem up a back alley in Naxos

The stage was now set for the final battle with the suckout cap. The task being to remove the cap by destruction, without damaging the threads of the fitting.

Having been in port a few day, the tank was about ¾ full so I was expecting the worst. I first drilled two holes through the cap, and survived the experience. I put two heavy screwdrivers through the holes and a large lever to have one final attempt at removal but the drivers bent before the cap moved.

Scene of the murder

I then drilled a series of holes across the cap and completed the bisection with a chisel. With a fine hack saw blade I cut the edges up to where I could see the cap material ended and the fitting started. Still I could not get any movement with hammer persuasion. By this time all the edges of the cap were gone and the rubber gasket was removed. Finally I made another series of drill holes and cuts at 90 degrees to the first and with this the pieces lost their hold on the fitting and could be hammered free. Hurrah. 

Amazingly after cleaning up the threads, the new cap fitted nicely. I will just have to remember to grease and service it regularly to prevent galvanic corrosion. One other unintended outcome of all this was that M was despatched off to find more tools and managed to find the best hardware shop in the universe. I didn't believe her so had to go and check it out. It was true. So if you ever need any kind of widget turn left on the main road out of Paros, past the petrol station and it will appear like a mirage down a little alleyway.

On Monday morning I returned to the Port Authority as instructed, equipped with my duly completed DEKPA application, my eTEPAI application, my insurance document in Greek and all supporting paperwork. I had been concerned that the new eTEPAI system might have a few teething problems. Was I proved to be right!

There was a new policeman today. “Have you paid the TEPAI tax?”

“No, that was what I was coming to do, it says in the instructions it can be paid in Port Authorities” I replied.

“Ah yes, but the Ministry has not given us the receipts we require, you need to go to the Bank!”

Fortunately Paros is replete with banks, there being four within 100 yards of the harbour. So I went into the Alpha Bank. The banks in Greece are much more security conscious than in the UK. They have a double door system like an air lock that you have to press a button to activate each element. There is no restriction on getting in, but presumably have you are planning a stick up, it is a bit more difficult to get out.

Frankish Castle made of ancient marbles

Inside it was also a bit like the Wild West, with people milling about everywhere, a range of staff, some behind security grills, some behind desks and some just watching. Staff and punters are wandering about with large wads of cash. There are also a bewildering array of electronic devices. Some look like ordinary ATMs, some seem to be for paying government agencies and some for receiving cash deposits.

After standing bemused for a while I was approached by a smartly dressed young lady. I explained what I was here for and she very kindly took me and my form to a machine, entered all my details, including my unique payment number, the names of my Mother and Father, inserted the required amount of cash (cards not allowed) and issued me with a receipt. I was delighted and skipped back to the Port Authority confident in what I had just achieved.

Ancint marble column kerbstones!

However the Port Policeman remained stony faced when I re-presented my documentation. After about twenty minutes of phone calls and conversation with everyone else in the office, he returned my documents and said that it would not do, there was a mistake, and I had to return to the bank!

It would seem that the money had gone into the wrong account and I was still illegal.

So I hurried back to the bank, through the security doors, which this time felt a bit more intimidating, and made contact with my previous assistant. I presumed she would correct the error, but no, she returned my cash and explained they could not take the payment. I enquired as to who could take the payment, but she did not know.

Cheese as a building material ?

At this moment I spotted the yacht owner I had identified in the Port Authority a few days earlier. He was in conversation with another member of staff and was just scurrying out the doors saying “National Bank, yes, thank you.”

I followed him. Though the National Bank security doors things seemed a lot more ordered. I took a ticket number from the machine and sat done beside my fellow TEPAI seeker.

“ I know why you are her” said I. We struck up a conversation which was very pleasant, which was just as well as it would continue for several hours. We swapped anecdotes, did Brexit, the management of change, retirement , solidarity with humility in the face of bureaucracy and all aspects of sailing,

A little zen in the chaos

Wim, my new associate, is a very experienced sailor having built his own steel boat 37 years ago and sailed extensively in the Med and the Caribbean on it. His boat is currently ashore on Paros in another town. He has extensive experience of the Port Authority in particular as he had received a significant fine for failing to inform them that his boat was out of the water!

We approached the desk when our numbers came up together. A very helpful and pleasant assistant examined, and phoned and scowled for a long time and eventually said the bank could not process the payment! She said to go back to the Port Authority and get them to phone her. So off we went, through the double doors, back to the Port Authority, through the offices to the back of the building, where we were now regulars.

Not to be forgotten

It transpired that when Wim and I had registered on Friday, before the site was taken down over the weekend for updating. At that time the system had failed to deliver us a second download relating to the payments. So we then logged into the Port Authority computer, downloaded and printed our new payment forms in Greek, returned to the National Bank, through the security doors, made our payments, back out the security doors and returned to the Port Authority in joyful expectation of completing the process. 

Fat chance. The issuing of a DEKPA is a grave and serious matter. It needs careful consideration at the highest level, preparation of documentation, signing and stamping with official ink.

It was now after midday. We had to return in the morning!

Full of disappointment, I returned to the boat and watched a few episodes of Yes Minister to take the edge off it.

Our plan had been to leave the harbour and sail round to a bay on the North of the island and anchor overnight before carrying on our journey.

The Tempest

About midnight the wind picked up and overnight we were subjected to a fairly ferocious tempest with consistent wind measuring over 40 knots gusting over 60 knots. This led to a very disturbed night, the destruction of our solar panel, and I am sure thankful we were not anchored on a remote bay. I was quite concerned that we should have additional lines ashore but the prospect of getting on and off the boat with the gangplank in this storm was probably the greater risk. But I worried a lot and poor M was up all night. The main concern was that none of this was forecast on any of the weather sites we use. Indeed when it was howling outside the Windy forecast was indicating we were in 6 kts.

Wrecked solar panel.

The wind direction was SE and I suspect this is a local phenomenon due to an unusual wind direction, unusual general weather and night time katabatic effects.

On a more general point the winds around the islands are much more influenced by land effects, topography, headlands and channels than we are used to in the UK.

It is good to be confident in the forecasts and this has shaken us a bit.

Dekpa and Tepai, Thank Apollo

The following morning I returned for my new DEKPA certificate, which was waiting ready for me. I even managed a smile and handshake from Costas.

I paid up my harbour dues. As part of the conversation I mentioned the overnight blow. Apparently that was a mild event compared to one they had the week before.

The solar panel is FUBAR so we will need to find another, which for the time being means no refrigeration without charging the batteries either from the engine or shore power.

The forecast showed fairly mild conditions projected and we were emotionally at a point of needing to move. However with us having been stationary, and several boats having come and gone beside us there was a significant risk of crossed anchors.

We agreed to a short sail, N around Paros to Naxos, and off we went. Then it all went wrong.

A Turkish gent in a very nice (new) Moody 48 had moored alongside us the day before. And guess what, up came his anchor over our chain.

Raki with Cinnamon and Honey..Rakomelo

We sprang into action with the new version, anchor disentangling, G clamp, prepared with ropes attached. It worked fine in that we hooked his chain and dropped ours, but we could not get the geometry such that they disengaged.

The problem was that normally the lifting anchor appears holding the fouled chain. In this situation we had pretty much emptied the chain locker and he only had about 30m out. So our anchor was still bedded in – 50m distant and his anchor was looped over the top of our chain.

We passed warps around his chain and repeatedly dropped our chain down, motoring fore and aft, bow thrusting left and right, but they remained entwined.

By this time the harbour wall had metamorphosed into an amphitheatre and tickets were being sold to watch the games.

Naxos from Apollo's temple

Eventually the combination of aggressive chain hauling and motoring hard towards our anchor resulted in our anchor lifting and we ended up with the two anchors ensnared together. Of course now we were drifting and in danger of lying across all the moored yachts. By this time a couple of boats were circling trying to claim our vacated berth, and getting in our way. Fortunately the harbour master produced his large whistle and indicated to them to toot off.

I managed to get a line through the roll bar of our Rocna, made it off, dropped the anchor and this tripped it such that the Turkish chaps’s anchor fell free. Whew.

Apollos Temple never completed, Prototype Building project

We gathered ourselves together and exited stage left, to a very pleasing ‘well done’ shouted from the head marinero and audience ashore. As we motored out the Turkish boat was leaving his berth to re-anchor. It was nobody’s fault. No harm done. No shouting or panic. Just becoming a bit of routine. Each time, it provides us with subtle new challenges to keep the old grey cells firing.

We then motored for a bit around to Naxos. During the last couple of hours the wind picked up from the S until we reached the Naxos channel and sailed into a 25-30 knot breeze, with reefed main and Genoa straight into the harbour 7knots. A nice finish to the day.