As our blog is usually a couple of weeks behind real time I'm going to start from now mentioning our current location at time of posting. Now we are in Levkas marina, Levkas Island, Greece.
We never leave Envoy unattended at anchor overnight, but frequently leave her a whole day while we do a bit of shore-side touring. This would only be in calm conditions, in winds under 20 knots, with good holding for the anchor, plenty of room to swing, and without too many other yachts nearby. The biggest danger we have to consider is another boat anchoring nearby, snagging our anchor, and not re-laying it correctly causing Envoy to drag. When going ashore we lock the boat (although security never seems to be an issue), leave nothing running, turn off the fresh water supply (in case a fresh water hose should burst or develop a leak, and pump all the fresh water into the bilge), leave the bilge pumps on, leave the windlass power on (so that in case of a problem, crew from another cruiser can still operate our windlass). Strictly speaking we should close all below waterline seacocks, but with a total of 12, there are too many to make this practical.
Ancient Olympia was a must to visit, particularly this year with the London Olympics. It’s a large site covering probably about 100 acres, covered in ruins. Actually there is not much that is recognizable, and this site in our view mainly comes into the category of rubble more than ruins, but it has a special significance, and there are some reasonably well preserved sections including Roman Emperor Nero’s Villa.
This area was first populated from 3,000 BC, and fully developed by the end of the 4th century BC, devoted to the God Zeus. The first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC, and continued every four years until AD 426, when pagan religions (ie worshipping Zeus) were suppressed. Women were not allowed to compete in, or even to watch the Games.
Brian, Carol and Laurie in front of the reconstructed ruins of Olympia
.JPG)
The first Olympic Stadium with stone starting blocks and seating for 45,000 people on the grassy slopes
.JPG)
The most recognizable ruin is Emperor Nero’s Villa
.JPG)
We more enjoyed visiting the medieval mountain villages of Langadia, Dimitsana and Stemnitsa. This included a great lunch of goat soup. In retrospect we would have loved to stay overnight in one of the villages.
The medieval village of Langadia flows down the steep hillside
.JPG)
Picturesque lane in village of Dimitsana
.JPG)
Dimitsana’s main square and clock tower
.JPG)
Laurie exploring a Steminitsa lane
.JPG)
Last port of call for Brian and Carol was Killini, a very ordinary port where ferries come and go to the nearby Greek islands of Cephalonia and Zakinthos.
Initially we thought about mooring Envoy in the harbour, but as we slowly cruised in we couldn’t understand their buoyage system marking the channel, and when I saw the depth sounder reading 1.8 metres (Envoy draws 1.5m) we reversed out and anchored nearby. Local knowledge was definitely needed to enter this harbour, and it turned out there was a deep 4 metre channel, in a not-so-obvious position, marked by a brown buoy and a yellow fender (now anybody should know what they mean!)
We then headed away from mainland Greece to anchor off the seaside village of Pessades on the southern side of Kefalonia Island, altering course en route to avoid a loggerhead turtle swimming on the surface directly ahead of us.
Initially this anchorage was fine, with a gentle offshore wind and a very slight onshore swell, but as sunset approached the onshore swell inexplicably built up to about a metre causing us to roll very uncomfortably, while the nearest alternate anchorage was about two hours cruising away. As there was very little wind we laid out an anchor from Envoy’s stern to hold us stern-to the swell, and deployed our flopper-stoppers – these are stainless steel hinged plates which are suspended from our paravanes at a depth of five metres below the surface, which reduce and dampen Envoy’s rolling motion. The result was we were able to enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep.
Stern anchors are an essential equipment item for cruising, and best laid using the RIB after the main anchor is set.
TECHNICAL - Our stainless steel boarding ladder developed a crack and we got this welded up while in Agia Efemia for what we thought a high cost of Euro 80 (about NZ$121). This is important aboard Envoy as it’s almost impossible to get out of the water without it. But this is not a permanent fix and we’re going to need to get it strengthened.
We never leave Envoy unattended at anchor overnight, but frequently leave her a whole day while we do a bit of shore-side touring. This would only be in calm conditions, in winds under 20 knots, with good holding for the anchor, plenty of room to swing, and without too many other yachts nearby. The biggest danger we have to consider is another boat anchoring nearby, snagging our anchor, and not re-laying it correctly causing Envoy to drag. When going ashore we lock the boat (although security never seems to be an issue), leave nothing running, turn off the fresh water supply (in case a fresh water hose should burst or develop a leak, and pump all the fresh water into the bilge), leave the bilge pumps on, leave the windlass power on (so that in case of a problem, crew from another cruiser can still operate our windlass). Strictly speaking we should close all below waterline seacocks, but with a total of 12, there are too many to make this practical.
Ancient Olympia was a must to visit, particularly this year with the London Olympics. It’s a large site covering probably about 100 acres, covered in ruins. Actually there is not much that is recognizable, and this site in our view mainly comes into the category of rubble more than ruins, but it has a special significance, and there are some reasonably well preserved sections including Roman Emperor Nero’s Villa.
This area was first populated from 3,000 BC, and fully developed by the end of the 4th century BC, devoted to the God Zeus. The first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC, and continued every four years until AD 426, when pagan religions (ie worshipping Zeus) were suppressed. Women were not allowed to compete in, or even to watch the Games.
Brian, Carol and Laurie in front of the reconstructed ruins of Olympia
.JPG)
The first Olympic Stadium with stone starting blocks and seating for 45,000 people on the grassy slopes
.JPG)
The most recognizable ruin is Emperor Nero’s Villa
.JPG)
We more enjoyed visiting the medieval mountain villages of Langadia, Dimitsana and Stemnitsa. This included a great lunch of goat soup. In retrospect we would have loved to stay overnight in one of the villages.
The medieval village of Langadia flows down the steep hillside
.JPG)
Picturesque lane in village of Dimitsana
.JPG)
Dimitsana’s main square and clock tower
.JPG)
Laurie exploring a Steminitsa lane
.JPG)
Last port of call for Brian and Carol was Killini, a very ordinary port where ferries come and go to the nearby Greek islands of Cephalonia and Zakinthos.
Initially we thought about mooring Envoy in the harbour, but as we slowly cruised in we couldn’t understand their buoyage system marking the channel, and when I saw the depth sounder reading 1.8 metres (Envoy draws 1.5m) we reversed out and anchored nearby. Local knowledge was definitely needed to enter this harbour, and it turned out there was a deep 4 metre channel, in a not-so-obvious position, marked by a brown buoy and a yellow fender (now anybody should know what they mean!)
We then headed away from mainland Greece to anchor off the seaside village of Pessades on the southern side of Kefalonia Island, altering course en route to avoid a loggerhead turtle swimming on the surface directly ahead of us.
Initially this anchorage was fine, with a gentle offshore wind and a very slight onshore swell, but as sunset approached the onshore swell inexplicably built up to about a metre causing us to roll very uncomfortably, while the nearest alternate anchorage was about two hours cruising away. As there was very little wind we laid out an anchor from Envoy’s stern to hold us stern-to the swell, and deployed our flopper-stoppers – these are stainless steel hinged plates which are suspended from our paravanes at a depth of five metres below the surface, which reduce and dampen Envoy’s rolling motion. The result was we were able to enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep.
Stern anchors are an essential equipment item for cruising, and best laid using the RIB after the main anchor is set.
TECHNICAL - Our stainless steel boarding ladder developed a crack and we got this welded up while in Agia Efemia for what we thought a high cost of Euro 80 (about NZ$121). This is important aboard Envoy as it’s almost impossible to get out of the water without it. But this is not a permanent fix and we’re going to need to get it strengthened.
No comments:
Post a Comment