Coleman Sailing Trip 2017

Well we got away at about 9am and set out for Sounion which is south of Athens.  It is famous for its Greek temple which is set up on a hill.  Again there was little or no wind and what there was, was on the nose.  So another long day motoring. We arrived here at about 2:30pm and anchored and had a late lunch.   This is a very beautiful spot.   The sea is almost turquoise and the hills around made a wonderful setting with the temple columns sitting over it all.   The only problem is that it is rather rolly.   It isn’t really protected from the swell and wash of the big shipping that goes past.   Nonetheless it is worthwhile being here.   We were a bit worried about the holding which the pilot says is bad.   But we seem to have found a sandy patch to put the hook on.   It is rather deep however and we have put out 40 meters of chain!   A record for us, I think. We should go up to the temple, but it was far too hot t...

Well I forgot to post  last night so now I am doing this under way in the morning of the 15 th . It was a strange day yesterday.   We wanted to leave fairly early but we had no arrangements to pay or get water which we really needed.   The harbour master did turn up yesterday evening and attached us to electricity.   He said he would be around first thing in the morning to connect us to the water.   But by nearly 9am still no sight of him.   We did find one tap with low pressure but decided to use that as being better than nothing.   It was taking forever to fill when the harbourmaster finally turned up.   He is very affable, but inefficient.   Jerry says he is just lazy.   Anyway he puts us on a high pressure nozzle and we are filled up in no time.   He charges us 4 Euro for the water and electricity.   We ask about mooring fees and he says there is a girl who should come around and collect them.   However we are tol...

So, after yesterday’s marathon trip we were determined to stay put for a day and rest up. But it was just as well because the wind decided to go mad.  By lunch time it was blowing up to 29 knots.  Also tons of boats keep arriving.  Everyone has terrible trouble mooring up in the wind which is blowing everyone off the line they want.  The nice man who helped us to tie up yesterday is rushing around helping others.  We finally introduced ourselves.  He is Jerry and his wife is Rhona (unsure of spelling). They are from Perth and have chartered a boat for a month.  They are really nice.  We were able to repay his help with our mooring up when he had to move and got in all sorts of trouble when his anchor wouldn’t hold.  At one stage a 50 foot yacht tried to moor up against the wall and had such trouble, nearly bashing into the next yacht.   In the end he moored alongside behind us!   We had to move forward to give him enough space....

Well first it is happy birthday to Richard.  Though we haven’t organised anything to make a fuss of him.  I had to admit days ago that I forgot to pack his birthday card and buying one in Greek was a step too far! So we start out very early with a view to get to Hydra.  It is 50 miles, so we are talking 9-10 hours.  We raise anchor at 6am.  We have a coffee right away under way.  As the forecast says there is virtually no wind, though the very little 2-4 knots is from behind.  Richard cannot even be bothered to take the cover off the mainsail he is so convinced that we will be motoring all the way.  The sun starts off shining, but it soon clouds over, though that too was in the weather forecast.  What wasn’t in the forecast was the fact that within about 2 hours the wind picks up to a force 4.  Richard then decides to put the sails up.  We just put the Genoa up at first but when the wind gets to 12-13 knots the main go...

We hoped to get away early but after sorting out everything including returning the car early (they did not charge us for the second day) we finally slipped our mooring just before 9:30.  On our way we passed the hill village Kastro which used to be the capital and where we had dinner last night. Richard put up some sails along the way, but the wind soon faded and it was really just a 4 hour motor slog.  We decided that as the weather is settled today we wouldn’t try the marina on this island and instead identified Koutala bay as a suitable place for the night.  We do however have a problem which we discovered on our way here to Serifos.   The holding tank.   We tried to pump it out but the light indicating it is over half full is still on.   We asked the marina in Leros to overhaul the whole thing because we were having problems last year with it not emptying properly.   They put in a new pump, but it still isn’t right.   What we don’t...

Well we are still here.  The very high winds sort of came, but it was not as bad as we feared.  There were gusts of up to19 knots here in port but they quickly disappeared and by 10am it was fairly normal.  Nonetheless we stuck to our plan and took a car around the island.  We first stopped at Chrisopigi, a monastery built on a promontory into the sea between two lovely bays.  The church was small, but heavily decorated, but the real beauty of the place is its location. We then went on to the capital, Apollonia.   It is another little village on a hill.   There is a narrow pedestrian street which goes up to the end of the town.   It has smart boutiques, cafes and restaurants.   However as we are in the very beginning of the season there were not many people there and some of the cafes and restaurants were not open.   I did spot a butcher shop, but decided not to buy fresh meat for the moment. From Apollonia it is suggested o...

Well, the weather forecast turned out to be correct.   It absolutely poured with rain all morning. So as planned we did our domestic chores.   I finished cleaning and polishing the woodwork in the saloon and gave the heads a once over.   We have had a problem with the bilge pump.   It keeps turning on automatically which means we are accumulating water in the bilges.   Richard did look at the stern gland under way yesterday and it was letting in a lot of water.   We hope that is the problem.   So we tightened that up.   Only problem is that the bilge water is brackish, so some fresh water is getting in.   We hope it was the rain, not a leaking water tank!   As of this evening we haven’t heard the bilge pump go on again. The afternoon cheered up a bit and we finally got to clean the side decks.    They are better, but still stained.   The damned marina left chrome polish all over the place and we can’t get rid of...