Sailing by
Apologies to those who were looking for a final blog of the season. Unfortunately I was afflicted with multiple electronic failures that compromised our blog writing ability.
The electronic failures were that the Toshiba notebook that lived in the fridge finally emerged with a label on it's toe, and would not fire up at all.
Since coming home I have actually got it going again by flash upgrading the BIOS and replacing the hard drive and it is now running Ubuntu very nicely.
My android phone developed battery bloat. The battery expanded suddenly and forced open the back cover of the phone. This was very alarming and I am glad it did not happen mid flight. Finally my android tablet suddenly became unchargeable and the battery failed. I am not sure if these failures are due to the heat, the saline environment or just the consequence of being old and cheap. Probably the latter.
This actually became a bit alarming as I had become somewhat dependent on android devices not just for comms, but also for navigation. We have an ancient Raymarine chartplotter on the binnacle on deck, which is a fully ruggedised and robust piece of kit. It gives excellent daylight screen visibility and is great for navigating single handed on deck. However the charts are a bit high level and for much of the time the lowest detail is 6nm across the screen for most of the sailing area, and going down to higher detail for ports. However it does not give good sea bed sonar definition for bays in which you might anchor. The Navionics chartplotter I have on the various hand held devices has much better detail of the entire sea bed that has been surveyed and this is really useful in working out where to drop the hook in an unfamiliar bay.
So this is written in retrospect from our cold house in the UK.
For our last period of sailing we dotted about various bays and harbours waiting for Brexit to happen. The reason for this was that we were keen to be in European waters at the moment of Britain's final leap into the abyss.
The RYA have been negotiating with the Government regarding the implications of Brexit for yachts and yachting. One major issue is that of the "Goods" status of yachts.
It would seem that if a yacht is not in the EU when Brexit occurs it will be considered a foreign vessel. This apples to boats in the UK as well a Turkey, Montenegro etc. However if it is in the EU, and has documentation to show VAT status, it will be considered EU Goods and will enjoy freedom of movement throughout the EU. Otherwise you will need to leave EU waters every 18 months, and then re-enter. This is a lesser problem in the Aegean and Adriatic but in the Western Med there are few options.
Therefore we had rescheduled our return flight (at great expense) in order that we would be able to be in Greece on Halloween, when Boris's Brexit (No Ifs, No Buts, Do or Die, dead in a ditch), was to occur. So we were hanging about the Symi area so we could be sailing by the island at 23.00hrs GMT on 31st October.
Of course it did not happen and I have spent the time since searching ditches for a bloated corpse, but no such luck.
The sailing was nice however and we dribbled our way back East towards Marmaris Yacht Marina. We anchored up just outside to take down the Genoa, which is a sensible stipulation for wintering ashore. However there was a problem. We unfurled the sail and tried to drop it but it jammed half way down. What had happened was that the screws holding the elements of the aluminium extrusion together had come partially undone and were sitting proud such that the top swivel would not pass. This was not something we could resolve sailing about at anchor. Thankfully we managed to raise the sail again and furl it away.
After we moored in the marina we sought help from one of the various service companies with offices in the business section. As far as I am aware the standing rigging is original to the boat, i.e. 15 years old, and probably should be replaced as a matter of course. However I thought getting a rigging inspection would be a sensible first step, but with an expectation that experts would agree it all needed replaced.
The next day a team of three guys turned up to do our inspection. The rigger went up the mast with a magic spray that shows up defects in the metal and proceeded to perform a ballet around our mast and stays, with pointed toes holding his considerable mass in position, while he sprayed and photographed the various components, then pirouetted around the other side.
Unsurprisingly when the report came through there was a recommendation to replace everything at eye watering expense. Interestingly there was an area of damage at the top of the forestay that the rigger correctly identified as being caused by halyard wrap. This was part of the cause of the furling problems we had, in that when tensioned the top swivel would abut on this damaged area. The annoying thing is that this was caused by the original mis-rigging of the genoa when we got the boat.
I have asked for quotes from another couple of outfits but I expect they will be similar.
Over the next few days we did our now familiar de-commissioning jobs. The engine has been serviced, all the canvas taken down, the ropes removed and washed where possible, all through hull fittings blocked up to prevent insect/bird ingress, bilge cleaned, things scrubbed etc etc.
One slight disappointment is that the rudder bushing repair I did last year has not worked and I will need to drop the rudder again. There are also a few bits of GRP and gelcoat needing attention as well as antifouling and other jobs so perhaps I might need a sneaky trip to Turkey early next year to do these.😄
The season is definitely ended. Our last 24 hours ashore were fairly bad with a Southerly storm blowing in. There was 30-40 kt winds with horizontal spray from the sea on the other side of the isthmus
and torrential rain. Being ashore in this was actually more alarming than being moored. It felt a bit like being in a plane with heavy turbulence as everything shook and howled. We discovered a few leaking hatches at the last minute, fortunately the worst into the forward heads. These will need to wait till next year for rebedding.
So that is the end of the blog for this season. We have had a surprisingly good readership with 25-35 viewings per day, which if anything is growing, so I intend we will continue next year. It is also a great aide memoir for us because at our age things we have done can become a bit of a blur, if a very enjoyable one.
The itinerary is not yet fully decided but I think we will be heading back through Greece to Italy and Sicily. There are a variety of routes which will depend on the forecasts at the time. We intend returning to set off again the end of April/ beginning of May 2020. I will send round an email when we are setting off.
Many thanks to those who have commented. I have also had quite a few bits of email correspondence as it is still the case that people find it difficult to get comments accepted. I may seek a different blogging medium for next year.
The electronic failures were that the Toshiba notebook that lived in the fridge finally emerged with a label on it's toe, and would not fire up at all.
Since coming home I have actually got it going again by flash upgrading the BIOS and replacing the hard drive and it is now running Ubuntu very nicely.
My android phone developed battery bloat. The battery expanded suddenly and forced open the back cover of the phone. This was very alarming and I am glad it did not happen mid flight. Finally my android tablet suddenly became unchargeable and the battery failed. I am not sure if these failures are due to the heat, the saline environment or just the consequence of being old and cheap. Probably the latter.
This actually became a bit alarming as I had become somewhat dependent on android devices not just for comms, but also for navigation. We have an ancient Raymarine chartplotter on the binnacle on deck, which is a fully ruggedised and robust piece of kit. It gives excellent daylight screen visibility and is great for navigating single handed on deck. However the charts are a bit high level and for much of the time the lowest detail is 6nm across the screen for most of the sailing area, and going down to higher detail for ports. However it does not give good sea bed sonar definition for bays in which you might anchor. The Navionics chartplotter I have on the various hand held devices has much better detail of the entire sea bed that has been surveyed and this is really useful in working out where to drop the hook in an unfamiliar bay.
So this is written in retrospect from our cold house in the UK.
 |
| Yacht race off Marmaris, something is missing. |
The RYA have been negotiating with the Government regarding the implications of Brexit for yachts and yachting. One major issue is that of the "Goods" status of yachts.
It would seem that if a yacht is not in the EU when Brexit occurs it will be considered a foreign vessel. This apples to boats in the UK as well a Turkey, Montenegro etc. However if it is in the EU, and has documentation to show VAT status, it will be considered EU Goods and will enjoy freedom of movement throughout the EU. Otherwise you will need to leave EU waters every 18 months, and then re-enter. This is a lesser problem in the Aegean and Adriatic but in the Western Med there are few options.
Therefore we had rescheduled our return flight (at great expense) in order that we would be able to be in Greece on Halloween, when Boris's Brexit (No Ifs, No Buts, Do or Die, dead in a ditch), was to occur. So we were hanging about the Symi area so we could be sailing by the island at 23.00hrs GMT on 31st October.
Of course it did not happen and I have spent the time since searching ditches for a bloated corpse, but no such luck.
The sailing was nice however and we dribbled our way back East towards Marmaris Yacht Marina. We anchored up just outside to take down the Genoa, which is a sensible stipulation for wintering ashore. However there was a problem. We unfurled the sail and tried to drop it but it jammed half way down. What had happened was that the screws holding the elements of the aluminium extrusion together had come partially undone and were sitting proud such that the top swivel would not pass. This was not something we could resolve sailing about at anchor. Thankfully we managed to raise the sail again and furl it away.
 |
| Engine servicing underway |
 |
| Scrub a dub |
The next day a team of three guys turned up to do our inspection. The rigger went up the mast with a magic spray that shows up defects in the metal and proceeded to perform a ballet around our mast and stays, with pointed toes holding his considerable mass in position, while he sprayed and photographed the various components, then pirouetted around the other side.
 |
| Solar panel re-positioned |
Unsurprisingly when the report came through there was a recommendation to replace everything at eye watering expense. Interestingly there was an area of damage at the top of the forestay that the rigger correctly identified as being caused by halyard wrap. This was part of the cause of the furling problems we had, in that when tensioned the top swivel would abut on this damaged area. The annoying thing is that this was caused by the original mis-rigging of the genoa when we got the boat.
I have asked for quotes from another couple of outfits but I expect they will be similar.
Over the next few days we did our now familiar de-commissioning jobs. The engine has been serviced, all the canvas taken down, the ropes removed and washed where possible, all through hull fittings blocked up to prevent insect/bird ingress, bilge cleaned, things scrubbed etc etc.
 |
| Bigger than mine |
One slight disappointment is that the rudder bushing repair I did last year has not worked and I will need to drop the rudder again. There are also a few bits of GRP and gelcoat needing attention as well as antifouling and other jobs so perhaps I might need a sneaky trip to Turkey early next year to do these.😄
 |
| Place to store your lunch |
 |
| Drookit |
So that is the end of the blog for this season. We have had a surprisingly good readership with 25-35 viewings per day, which if anything is growing, so I intend we will continue next year. It is also a great aide memoir for us because at our age things we have done can become a bit of a blur, if a very enjoyable one.
The itinerary is not yet fully decided but I think we will be heading back through Greece to Italy and Sicily. There are a variety of routes which will depend on the forecasts at the time. We intend returning to set off again the end of April/ beginning of May 2020. I will send round an email when we are setting off.
Many thanks to those who have commented. I have also had quite a few bits of email correspondence as it is still the case that people find it difficult to get comments accepted. I may seek a different blogging medium for next year.
Can you navigate by the stars in an emergency? Have really enjoyed the blog. Look forward to the next chapter.
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