A sailor's best friend.

It is said that a sailor’s best friend is his Mum, but could be his toothbrush, or the toilet brush. But there is a very strong case that it is his diesel engine.

However many skippers seem to have a profound disinterest in mechanical matters and deride those that do as geeky, a bit like Scottie on Star Trek. However at sea the well being and reliability of the iron topsail is probably the single most important item for the safety of the vessel. It is therefore beyond me how people will go off to sea without a working knowledge and skill set to address engine problems.

While berthed in Kalymnos, I became aware that the Turkish family, two blokes, two ladies and kids, on the large powerboat next to us were having some issues. There had been repeated attempts to start and stop the engines during the evening, some of which were successful and others not.

The next morning a mechanic arrived and the back end of the boat was elevated on it’s powered hydraulic rams to expose the two enormous Volvos. 
A conversation began between the Turkish chap and the Greek mechanic – in somewhat imperfect English on both sides. It would seem that one of the engines would not start. The mechanic tried to take a detailed history – does it go click, or does it go ng-ng-ng, or does it do nothing. It seemed that at various times it did one or other, but sometimes all or none of them.

They finally decided the problem lay with the starting circuit and there was then a discussion about how each component could be tested. 

The first thing was to  establish how the battery switches were configured, one, two, both or none.They then had to find the batteries and try to establish which was the starter battery. The various batteries were disconnected to try to establish which was the starter battery by starting up the good engine. Surprisingly they all seemed to start it. Finally the good engine started with them all disconnected!

At this point the Greek chap was feeling out of his depth and after a loud phone call and a 20 minute wait his boss (I think also his Dad), turned up. The procedure was repeated until finally the boss asked the Turkish chap whether there were any other batteries on board. Well of course there was the one up front wired to the windlass and bow thruster. This revelation was a bit of a test for Turkish/Greek relations but they managed to carry on. I had a chuckle as I had similarly confused myself by leaving the shore powered battery charger on while doing similar diagnostics at the beginning of this trip back in Preveza.

New batteries were brought and inserted into the debate, theories emerged on a regular basis to be discussed and disproven, but little progress was being made and it was soon going to be siesta time.

Now from what I could gather the starter battery started the one engine fine, and when the other was cranked, the solenoid on the starter motor clicked but the engine would not turn. When a brand new battery was used the first engine fired up on the button, but the second turned over really slowly and just about started. So it is either a connection to that starter motor that is duff or the motor itself might be weak.

Another 40 minutes of debate in both party’s second language took place and finally a similar conclusion was reached. A new cable was inserted from the battery to the motor, during which new connections would have been established, and bingo, the engine fired up perfectly.

Hands were shaken, they all parted the best of chums, and friendly international relations were re-established.

A bit later I noticed that one of the Turkish chaps was back inside the engine compartment so I felt obliged to enquire about the health of his engine. He replied that the mechanic knew nothing and he had discovered water in his oil, and that must have been the problem. Anyway he had changed the oil and now the boat would be safe to drive back to Turkey.

I chose not to enquire any further - it is not very far and he does have two engines.

We had a gentle sail from Kalymnos to Kos, about 15 nms or so. At this point Turkey and Greece are very close to each other. On several of the headlands on the Greek side they have mounted a military post, a church and a great big Greek flag painted on the rocks. On the Turkish side on the hilltop there is a huge Turkish flag waving in the breeze. Just in case anyone is in any doubt as to who owns what.

As I have said before one of the joys of cruising is the personalities you meet en route. We met John, a retired dentist, who was attracted by our EU flag and I think could not prevent himself from talking to kindred spirits. He and his brother have been sailing in the area for many years in an elderly, but well cared for Camper and Nicholson 35. We met him first on Kalymnos and then were surprised when he was also in the harbour on Kos when we got there, as that had not been in their plans.

They had some issues. The first was that their engine, a similarly elderly Mitsubishi Vetus suddenly started belching black smoke. They had tried to get help locally in Kos but had opted to get back to their base in Turkey where major work might be less expensive. I don’t like things that suddenly happen like this. We had a discussion about the various things that might cause this incomplete combustion, but apart from a birds nest in the air inlet, none of them are good. At least he had the advantage over the Turkish family in that, in his words “we are a sailing vessel”, but he will still need the engine to get in and out of port.

In fact the getting back to Turkey enterprise failed at the first hurdle. As they tried to leave the harbour their anchor was fouled on an immovable object on the sea floor and the last I saw of them they were waiting for the diver to turn up.

Kos castle wall - a bit of pointing needed.

We arrived in Kos old harbour nestled under the walls of the medieval castle and radioed the harbour master on VHF 74. There was an instant reply and an efficient berthing process with friendly and professional staff took place. I wandered along to the kiosk to do the paperwork. As I was waiting my turn a superfast Coast Guard jet boat, with a wolf’s head snarling on it’s side, was coming in to berth.

Back end of dead jet boat - surreptitious photo

Now I did not know this but these craft, as well as having water jets, also have an ordinary propeller. It is obvious when you think about it that they need this for close quarter manoeuvring and especially going astern. How do I know this? Well as it was approaching its berth, the crew picked up the lazy lines and managed to get one wrapped round the prop – and the engine blew up! A huge plume of smoke emanated from the engine compartment and an acrid smell of burning filled the air. There was the requisite amount of running about, shouting and line passing. At one point they tried restarting the engine but the smoke started pouring out of the engine compartment again. Eventually they were brought alongside.

I know they have two separate propulsion systems as later I saw the “wolf” being towed out of its berth backwards by a tug, and then it managed to go forwards using the water jets and moved outside the harbour to the Coast Guard security area where it has sat looking somewhat forlorn, tail between its legs, ever since.

I had booked into the Marina at Kos at eye watering expense to allow M to undertake her trip back to the UK. We had arrived 2 days earlier than intended as some stronger winds were forecast and I did not want any hiccups. The Marina and the old harbour are run by the same outfit. I enquired at the office kiosk if I could change my booking and just stay for the whole visit in the harbour. Not a problem, Zoe in the kiosk managed to change my booking arrangements and sorted all the paperwork very efficiently. Well done.

Casa Romana dolphin mosaic

Casa Romana Kos

Kos itself is the centre of the local tourist industry and as such gets a bad press from various sources, such as Rod Heikell. I have to take issue with him here. Clearly it is a very busy place with loads of bars and tripper boats, but the town itself is very well cared for, maintains a significant grasp on its cultural heritage and in many ways is a very pleasant place to spend a few days. The history is interesting and the museum, reconstructed Roman villa and archaeological sites are well done.

Kos Town

Yachties should not have a monoploy on visiting these islands in our boats, enjoying the wonderful weather and culture. Some may see tourists as Grockles and portray them pejoratively. I actually like seeing them spending their cash here to support the local economy.

I think Heikell, having been working in the area for many years, is romanticising for a lost past that will never return. Fortunately so, as the past in this region was not rosy, with much greater poverty and sociological repression than is now the case. So there, I have got that off my chest.

Kos Local Coop Market - good prices

Having said that, Kos town is really noisy at night. I think there are two distinct groups, those that come out during the day and those that come out at night, a bit like in HG Wells “Time Machine”. The day time inhabitants are mainly young families and the retired, then the party animals emerge around midnight, keep going till about 5am when the sun comes up, and then retire underground awaiting the next darkness.

Earthquake damage

There was a pretty serious earthquake two years ago with a lot of injuries and two deaths. The town is only just recovering and the repairs of the harbour front are recently underway. The story is that the insurance company only covered quake damage above force 7 on the Richter scale and this one only measured 6.7. There was a lot of fairly dramatic damage however.