Envoy is now at Santa Maria di Leuca, East Coast of Italy.
A dredger clearing mud from the Lefkas Canal
On our first night we anchored in Meganisi Island’s Port Atheni – a beautiful bay with clear water, picturesque surroundings and a beckoning taverna. Soon after we’d anchored a Greek fishing boat, about 9 metres long, came into the bay and her captain started shouting at us very loudly from about 50 metres away. We had no idea what he was trying to say and looked around for any fishing nets, or rocks or other possible problems, but seeing nothing we ignored him. In early evening we went ashore to the taverna for a beer, and as mostly happens the friendly proprietor introduced himself and spoke with us. When we recounted our experience with the fisherman and pointed out the boat in question he said, “Oh don’t worry, that fisherman’s quite crazy, just ignore him.”
Envoy anchored in Port Atheni with the taverna behind Port Atheni waterfront
.JPG)
While having a beer in a waterfront taverna in Preveza we noticed a British-crewed charter yacht backing into the quay, so Chris and I went over to assist with their stern lines. The skipper was using far too much throttle and the yacht’s transom was about to hit the rough concrete quay when Chris leaned forward to fend the yacht off. Then the skipper gave a big burst of forward throttle moving the yacht away from the quay. Chris was now over-balanced and to avoid falling in the water had to take a gigantic leap onto the yacht’s stern. There he stayed for about 20 minutes while the yacht berthed some distance away, leaving Diane and I joking that Chris had jumped ship after just a week.
Laurie and Chris enjoy a beer in Preveza after the incident with a charter yacht
.JPG)
Wending our way to Corfu Island’s Gouvia Marina to clear-out of Greece, we spent one night anchored at Parga and one at beautiful End Bay at Mourtos on the mainland.
Stunning Parga Bay where Envoy anchored viewed from hilltop castle ruins
.JPG)
Laurie in Chris in leafy glade among castle ruins
.JPG)
Laurie and Di enjoy cobbled lane in Parga
Colourful Venetian maisonette turned tourist shop
.JPG)
Recycled oil cans used as rustic pot plant holders - waste not want not!
.JPG)
We’d planned to spend two nights in Gouvia and then head to Albania, but on the morning of departure day Chris had a medical concern. In late February he had a serious case of appendicitis involving peritonitis, and thought a complication had arisen. This turned out to be a great test of the Greek medical system (and I write this at Chris’s suggestion). At midday we met with our agent, A1Yachting, who arranged an immediate appointment with a GP. The GP was highly professional, charged 40 Euros (about NZ$65) and concluded that Chris needed to see a specialist for tests. Chris saw the specialist late that same afternoon for a fee of 50 Euros (about NZ$65) and was asked to get a blood test the next morning, also costing 40 Euros. Chris received a full clearance from the specialist after he’d reviewed the blood tests leaving us all impressed with the speed, efficiency and cost of the system.
We waited another day in the marina for 30 knot winds to subside and then cruised about 15 miles to Sarande in southern Albania. There were only three boats at the quayside, and they told us they’d had a bad couple of nights with swell from the strong winds coming into the harbour, two of them having elected to abandon the quay and anchor off. All about Albania in next post.
TECHNICAL We’ve always had some intermittent starting problems with our Lugger main engine. There was a slight delay from turning the starter until starting, and occasionally the engine wouldn’t start with the first turn of the starter, but only on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th turn. During winter we had the starter motor and solenoid serviced, hoping to solve the problem, but it hasn’t. Chris and I used the multimeter to check the ignition switch and voltages to the starter motor and guessed the fault lay with the relay that powers the start solenoid. In Gouvia we had the mechanic, Leon, take a look at this, and he confirmed the problem lay with a big voltage drop, and installed a new relay with heavier wiring located closer to the solenoid. So far since then the Lugger has starting quicker and always first time. We also spoke with Leon about the genset, as its exhaust often leaves some very light oily residues on the surface of the water. The maker - Northern Lights, had already advised that 95% of the time this is caused by under-loading. The genset is rated 7.5 Kw, but most of the time we’re only running refrigeration drawing about 8 amps. Leon confirmed under-loading to be the issue, so in future unless we’re running the water maker (which requires about 30 amps) we’ll run the forward Aircon to increase the load.
A dredger clearing mud from the Lefkas Canal
On our first night we anchored in Meganisi Island’s Port Atheni – a beautiful bay with clear water, picturesque surroundings and a beckoning taverna. Soon after we’d anchored a Greek fishing boat, about 9 metres long, came into the bay and her captain started shouting at us very loudly from about 50 metres away. We had no idea what he was trying to say and looked around for any fishing nets, or rocks or other possible problems, but seeing nothing we ignored him. In early evening we went ashore to the taverna for a beer, and as mostly happens the friendly proprietor introduced himself and spoke with us. When we recounted our experience with the fisherman and pointed out the boat in question he said, “Oh don’t worry, that fisherman’s quite crazy, just ignore him.”
Envoy anchored in Port Atheni with the taverna behind Port Atheni waterfront
While having a beer in a waterfront taverna in Preveza we noticed a British-crewed charter yacht backing into the quay, so Chris and I went over to assist with their stern lines. The skipper was using far too much throttle and the yacht’s transom was about to hit the rough concrete quay when Chris leaned forward to fend the yacht off. Then the skipper gave a big burst of forward throttle moving the yacht away from the quay. Chris was now over-balanced and to avoid falling in the water had to take a gigantic leap onto the yacht’s stern. There he stayed for about 20 minutes while the yacht berthed some distance away, leaving Diane and I joking that Chris had jumped ship after just a week.
Laurie and Chris enjoy a beer in Preveza after the incident with a charter yacht
Wending our way to Corfu Island’s Gouvia Marina to clear-out of Greece, we spent one night anchored at Parga and one at beautiful End Bay at Mourtos on the mainland.
Stunning Parga Bay where Envoy anchored viewed from hilltop castle ruins
Laurie in Chris in leafy glade among castle ruins
Laurie and Di enjoy cobbled lane in Parga
Colourful Venetian maisonette turned tourist shop
Recycled oil cans used as rustic pot plant holders - waste not want not!
We’d planned to spend two nights in Gouvia and then head to Albania, but on the morning of departure day Chris had a medical concern. In late February he had a serious case of appendicitis involving peritonitis, and thought a complication had arisen. This turned out to be a great test of the Greek medical system (and I write this at Chris’s suggestion). At midday we met with our agent, A1Yachting, who arranged an immediate appointment with a GP. The GP was highly professional, charged 40 Euros (about NZ$65) and concluded that Chris needed to see a specialist for tests. Chris saw the specialist late that same afternoon for a fee of 50 Euros (about NZ$65) and was asked to get a blood test the next morning, also costing 40 Euros. Chris received a full clearance from the specialist after he’d reviewed the blood tests leaving us all impressed with the speed, efficiency and cost of the system.
We waited another day in the marina for 30 knot winds to subside and then cruised about 15 miles to Sarande in southern Albania. There were only three boats at the quayside, and they told us they’d had a bad couple of nights with swell from the strong winds coming into the harbour, two of them having elected to abandon the quay and anchor off. All about Albania in next post.
TECHNICAL We’ve always had some intermittent starting problems with our Lugger main engine. There was a slight delay from turning the starter until starting, and occasionally the engine wouldn’t start with the first turn of the starter, but only on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th turn. During winter we had the starter motor and solenoid serviced, hoping to solve the problem, but it hasn’t. Chris and I used the multimeter to check the ignition switch and voltages to the starter motor and guessed the fault lay with the relay that powers the start solenoid. In Gouvia we had the mechanic, Leon, take a look at this, and he confirmed the problem lay with a big voltage drop, and installed a new relay with heavier wiring located closer to the solenoid. So far since then the Lugger has starting quicker and always first time. We also spoke with Leon about the genset, as its exhaust often leaves some very light oily residues on the surface of the water. The maker - Northern Lights, had already advised that 95% of the time this is caused by under-loading. The genset is rated 7.5 Kw, but most of the time we’re only running refrigeration drawing about 8 amps. Leon confirmed under-loading to be the issue, so in future unless we’re running the water maker (which requires about 30 amps) we’ll run the forward Aircon to increase the load.
No comments:
Post a Comment