Last days in Greek waters

We left our Dia Is anchorage, six NM north of Crete, at 0400hrs to make our 12 hour passage to Santorini with plenty of daylight left. This is always a good idea when arriving in an unfamiliar location, so that you have plenty of time to find a good anchorage or berth. The gale had only subsided two days previously, and the seas were about 1.5m, occasionally 2m, but short and steep giving quite a different ride to the waters of the Hauraki Gulf. I just about s..t myself when a larger wave rolled us more heavily to starboard, and our port stabilizer bird launched itself out of the water into the air, and flew like a delta-winged jet for a few metres until it plunged back into the sea (see Technical). During the trip we only saw one cruising vessel, although two huge catamaran ferries roared passed us.
Santorini is a romantic, mysterious and hugely impressive island. In 1440 BC it was the scene of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, when the entire centre of the island, comprising some 30 cubic km blew into the sky, leaving a crater some 6NM long and 4NM wide, which filled with seawater to form the present cliff-lined Caldera. This eruption caused a series of Tsunamis estimated up to 100m high, which devastated Crete, 60NM away, and destroyed the Minoan civilization. Some postulate that Santorini is the lost island of Atlantis, and it is the island on which Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea is based.
Santorini has notoriously poor shelter for visiting yachts, and the Cruising Guide recommends leaving your boat in the marina at nearby Ios Is, and catching a ferry across. The Caldera is mostly too deep to anchor, and the marina on the south side of the island is too shallow for larger vessels. However an Australian friend told us that a Captain Yiannis had moorings available below the village of Oia, provided that you ate in his restaurant.
We cruised into the Caldera marveling at the size of an eruption that could cause such a crater, and headed to the bay below Oia. Nosing up to the jetty we couldn’t find Captain Yiannis, but asked some locals if we could use a mooring. One said yes and waved us in the direction of empty moorings; we thought he was indicating to take any one of those. So we picked one up, and were about to celebrate our arrival when a small boat roared towards us, and the occupant told us very rudely that we weren’t allowed to stay there. He ignored our question about which mooring was OK, so we headed away across the Caldera to O Ay Nikolau. Again we nosed up to a jetty, and a local pointed out a large mooring to us, and said we could use it. We had no sooner picked up its line when a 25m charter yacht’s skipper told us we’d have to move, but he was polite and helpful, and said he’d only be using it for 40 minutes, and then we could use it overnight. So an hour later we were finally attached with a long line to this 2m diameter, square-shaped, rusty mooring buoy. This would have been the happy ending, except that during the night the wind dropped totally, and Envoy drifted forward and scraped her gelcoat on both sides on the mooring buoy. These will be easily repaired out of the water in Marmaris, but is another lesson learned!
The next day Di rowed Doug & Mary ashore to Captain Yiannis’s wharf so they could walk up to visit Oia, and Di managed to find Captain Yiannis. He was very friendly, said New Zealanders are always welcome and directed us to a mooring. Half an hour later a yacht pulled up alongside, and its very p’d off Captain told us this was his mooring, and he wanted to use it. We told him Captain Yiannis had put us there, and this made him even more p’d off. He eventually calmed down and pointed out another mooring we could use, so we moved. Ten minutes later Captain Yiannis appeared in a small boat, and said we couldn’t stay on that mooring, then roared off. Di rowed ashore again (it was too deep to anchor) and found a very different Captain Yiannis, who now very rudely said there were no moorings available at all. What a saga! By now we’d had enough of moorings and decided to anchor off a beach on the south side of Santorini. We found a delightful bay called Akrotiri with clear water, and anchored in 7m. Ashore were some very picturesque tavernas, and a road with regular buses to Fira and Oia. We should have come here first..
We met Doug & Mary in Oia, and after a wander around the quaint cobblestone alleyways got a table in a restaurant overlooking the Caldera with a perfect view of the sunset. Oia is supposed to have one of the world’s greatest sunsets, and there were hundreds of tourists and backpackers selecting vantage points to see it. Our restaurant was a very comfortable spot with bubbly for Mary & Di, and beers for Doug & I. There is no doubt the Caldera is amazing and spectacular, and that the atmosphere of the whole sunset thing was great, but the sunset itself was a bit disappointing. There is so much haze that when the sun drops low you can’t actually see the horizon itself, and the sun disappears into the haze before it drops over the horizon. Auckland’s west coast is more spectacular for the actual sunset.
Around Santorini there was a noticeable increase in the number of cruising yachts as well as several superyachts.
The next day we explored Fira, had a farewell lunch, and then Doug & Mary flew to Athens after 18 days with us. Each and every visitor we have contributes to our enjoyment of this experience. Doug & Mary are a wonderful couple, and they’ve been an absolute pleasure to have as guests. We’re missing Mary’s infectious laughter, and their great sense of fun.
When you are cruising a couple of days in Santorini is sufficient. It’s quite crowded, and very much caters to the tourist with endless shops and restaurants – all very good, but not the “real Greece”. If you’re staying in a hotel for a holiday it would be a great place to chill out and enjoy.
We left Santorini on Saturday for an eight hour cruise to Astipalaia. During a relatively calm passage we saw only one yacht, and despite the fact Astipalia is one of the most sheltered anchorages in the Aegean there were only about six other cruisers in this island group similar in size to the Mercurys.
The weather has been amazing; the last rain we had was late April. Most days there are very few clouds, and the typical temperature has been 29-32dC. We’ve had the odd day as high as 37dC. The sea water temperature varies between 26-28dC. Most days there is little or no wind to start, then the wind builds to about 12-15 knots, and then dies in the evening. We have had some days with winds in the mid 20 knots.
We are now on the eastern side of Kalimnos Is, and can see Turkey in the distance.
In Greece they have the Schengen Treaty, under which New Zealanders are allowed to stay only for 90 days in any calendar year and then must leave. This does seem crazy when Greece is basically broke, and can use all the visitors’ spending money they can get. Our 90 days expires on 3 September so we’re “clearing out” of Kalimnos, and will then “clear in” to Turkey at Bodrum. Then we’re going to cruise up Turkey’s west coast towards Izmir to met Don & Kerrin Waterer on 18 September.
In late October we also meet Steve & Jane Wilson somewhere near Izmir, and then our last visitor Chris O’Brien meets us in Bodrum 1 November, and will cruise down to Marmaris with us, arriving 15 November.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 149
Engine hours and distance this trip: 192hrs, 937NM
Technical: No major issues. Improved charging system running very well – thanks Doug.
While in Bodrum I’m going to change the engine oil in the Lugger (required every 200hrs). We’ve also arranged to get our Vacuflush guest head serviced, as the vacuum pump keeps running all the time. Up to now we’ve solved this temporarily with a separate on/off switch on the toilet, so it’s only switched on when being used.
I had to climb up the mast to fix the anchor light. I’m not good on heights, but waited for a calm day. Turned out to be just a loose bulb, and easily fixed. For the few days we had no anchor light I removed the bulbs from the port and starboard navigation lights and used the masthead and stern lights as a temporary all round white anchor light.
The prop shaft sealings seem to have settled down and allow about the right amount of seawater through to cool the shaft. I check it regularly with my infra-red pyrometer and it’s running at about 32dC – about 6dC above the ambient seawater temp, so this is fine.
I have good quality shaft sealings on board now if any problems arise.
Our stabilizer “birds” – the steel plates which suspend 5m under water – have adjustments. At the front of the bird is a weighted section to make the bird want to dive deeper. A chain connects the bird to the stabilizer paravane. The further aft on the bird you connect the chain, the deeper the bird wants to dive, and the more effective it becomes, but the more it slows Envoy down. As a result of a bird flying out of the water I have adjusted the connections so the birds dive deeper.

Cruising north to Santorini

We had two great nights back at Gramvousa (photos and details in previous postings) with Mary & Doug. We missed Brian & Carol when they left Agios Nikolaos, and after several weeks by ourselves it’s great to have company once again. Doug & I snorkeled around the shipwreck, and with the water temperature at 28d stayed in the water for ages, although the sea life is not as interesting as the Hauraki Gulf. From Gramvousa we went back to Soudha, and ran into Dave & Lindy from “Raconteur”, who we met in 2007, and in Marmaris earlier this year. They told us the manager of Maramaris marina has been shot dead during a dispute with a car park security guard, who pulled his gun and shot him five times. Must have been quite a heated argument!
Rethimno was great, not unlike Chania except they don’t have the noisy discos. Rethimno has an ancient harbour – filled with tour boats and local fishing boats, ringed with tavernas, and dominated by the 16th century Venetian Fortressa.
Here we left Envoy alongside the quay for a couple of days while we did some further touring in the mountains by rental car to give Doug & Mary a taste of “real Crete”.
In earlier blogs I mentioned the strong winds. Well they dropped from late July to mostly 8-15 knots from the north, and we had some glassy calm days. However while in Rethimno a gale warning was issued (the first one since we arrived), and we got three days of about 30 knots NW. Not really a gale, but it kicked up quite a sea, with waves crashing against the harbour breakwater throwing up plumes of spray. On the nearby beach there was quite a reasonable surf of about 1.5m, so Doug & I grabbed some fins and went bodysurfing. Not for long though – when we were about 50m offshore enjoying the waves the lifeguards blew their whistles, and signaled us to come to shore, where they gave us a telling-off, and said swimmers were not allowed to go out more than waist deep in “these rough conditions”. I wonder what they would make of Piha.
As I write this we’re half way through a 12 hour passage to Santorini. We have a 15-18kn NW wind with 1.5m seas on our port bow, and although there is some pitching, the “birds” stop most of the rolling. Several dolphins swam alongside us a few minutes ago to wish us good luck. Most of our cruising so far has been westwards, and now north, so mostly into the prevailing north westerlies. As we head back towards Turkish waters it will be good to be pointing east for the next few weeks, and have the wind and seas behind us.
Di & I have been doing some forward planning. We go back into Marmaris marina for the winter on 15 November, then on 19 December fly to London, where we’re going to spend Xmas with Amy. John & Alice may join us, but we’re not sure yet. During this time we’ll also catch up with my brother Charles, and Marie. We then fly back to Auckland on 2 January, and stay until mid-April, when we’ll return to Marmaris.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 142
Engine hours and distance this trip: 156hrs, 760NM
Technical: Currently no major issues, but I’m going into a bit of detail here for the benefit of people who’ve cruised aboard Envoy.
As mentioned in the last posting Doug is an electrician, and a very practical guy, and we’ve been doing a few jobs together – that means Doug doing the jobs, and me making cups of tea for him!
The forward facing loud-hailer on the Portuguese Bridge has been removed – I always considered this a nuisance, as most people have to duck below it when walking in front of the pilothouse.
The engine room lights have been improved so that the CCTV gives clearer pictures, and we can now see the two sets of Lugger vee-belts on our screen.
Doug considered that the charging voltage from the Lugger (main engine) alternator was too low as displayed on the digital voltmeter. It was showing about 12.8v with the engine running, and should be about 14v. Actually Frank told me the same thing in 2007 – I should have taken more notice Frank! So Doug did a series of tests on the Balmar alternator, wiring loom, and Balmar ARS 4 regulator, and discovered the regulator was faulty. This sounds easy, but took most of a day as you go through a logical step-by-step process. The wing engine has the same regulator, and that tested out OK so we interchanged the two regulators, and the Lugger’s charging voltage is now above 14v. In fact this doesn’t affect the charging performance of the wing engine, because the wing generates 110v AC, which in turn powers a battery charger. It’s not clear what the real purpose of the wing engine’s alternator is. I have now ordered a new regulator to be installed on the Lugger, and we’ll put the replaced one back on the wing engine.
We have a small issue that the Lugger and the Genset occasionally don’t start first turn of the starter. This has been the case for some time, even back in 2007. As they always start second or third try, it’s not a major issue, and if it becomes one, we can parallel the battery banks to start either engine. It doesn’t seem to be battery-related, and we have checked the battery connections and isolating switches. It may be a problem with wiring to the ignition or sticking solenoids. I’m going to resolve this one back in Marmaris.
Brian & Carol – you’ll be pleased to know we’ve improved the fridge door closure. Not only is it more secure, but 2-3d colder.

Horse & carriage passing our stern while moored in Chania

Gramvousa shipwreck with envoy anchored in background

Di within Gramvousa castle - church ruins in background

Envoy at Gramvousa with 17th century Venetian castle in background

Envoy in beautiful Gramvousa anchorage. Only a fishing boat here for company

German war cemetry overlloking the Maleme airfield where fierce fighting occurred

Herd of goats on Cretan mountain road

Di enjoying glass of wine - note Greek salad!

With Doug & Mary in a carriage - Chania

Doug & Mary in Envoy's cockpit in Chania

Chania area

Chania is a great town with very quaint narrow streets and the ever present reminders of the Venetian fortress which once protected the harbour. Much of the fortress walls remain, and many more recent buildings are built into them. We were moored Med-style (i.e. stern-to) at the town quay. It was cheap here – Euro 150 for eight days – but also very noisy, as we had two tavernas within 20m of our stern. These tavernas started playing loud music about 2300hrs, which didn’t stop until 0400hrs. We slept using our engine room ear muffs to keep out most of the noise. The pedestrian traffic was huge after about 1900hrs, and we felt like goldfish in a bowl as passers-by peered down into Envoy, cockpit and salon. We visited the extremely interesting Maritime Museum. They have a large photo of the harbour entrance taken during a storm in 2008 showing 5 metre breaking waves crashing across the entrance. The locals told us such conditions are rare, and only occur in winter (thank goodness).
We hired a rental car for two days and drove into the mountains, and to the south coast. To me the mountain villages are the “real Crete”, and many have changed hardly at all for decades. In many places the roads are too narrow for oncoming cars to pass, and one has to back up. At other times the roads are blocked by herds of goats, and you have to patiently let them pass. Fortunately the traffic is very light, as most people flock to the beaches on the coast.
We visited the German War Cemetry at Maleme. The cemetery is located at the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the Battle of Crete. This is Hill 107 overlooking the airport, and held by New Zealanders. They were decimating the German paratroopers on the airfield below until German aircraft arrived and wiped out most of the Kiwis. The cemetery is well designed and maintained, containing the remains of 4,460 young German men, disinterred from about 60 graveyards around Crete to be finally laid to rest in one location. It is typical of the generosity of the Cretans, that despite the appalling atrocities of the Germans to civilians during their occupation, they donated the land for the cemetery. The Cretans did of course fight very fiercely, and bravely against the German occupiers, eventually forcing them to retreat to the town of Canea, where they remained until the surrender.
Last Monday our friends Doug & Mary Gooch arrived. Doug & Mary are the parents of one of John’s closest friends – Bevin. We had two great nights in Chania and then left for some cruising. Doug is a bit prone to sea sickness, and was feeling a bit seedy on the first day. I’m not sure how much of that was due to the sea, and how much to the inevitable festivities on arriving aboard Envoy. Mary gave Doug a pill, but he wasn’t getting any better. She then discovered she had given him a pill for diarrhea, not sea sickness! At least our guest head will be getting a rest for a while.
As I type this we’re heading back to Gramvousa. With Doug & Mary we’ll cover several places we’ve already been to, then head to the picturesque harbour of Rethimno, before crossing 75NM north east to Santorini.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 129
Engine hours and distance this trip: 127hrs, 616NM
Technical: Pleased to say nothing much to report. With Doug being an electrician, boatie and excellent technically we’ve been doing some checks and small maintenance jobs. We’re also checking the Lugger’s charging system (Balmar alternator and regulator), as it seems a bit light on charge voltage – this is work in progress.
Our smaller 2.7m Arimar RIB was in a sad way. The wooden transom had parted from the vinyl, air leaked out of the tubes, and water leaked into the boat. It was going to cost Euro 800 to get repaired, so we decided to buy a new one. Availability is limited here, but we opted for a Portuguese-built Valiant 2.7m rigid hull inflatable. This is now on board and great. It’s useful to have a second, smaller RIB as our 3.7m Nautica RIB with a 25hp Yamaha, weighing about 350kg can only be launched and retrieved from the boat deck in very calm conditions using the boom winch; in the event of an emergency we might not be able to launch it.

NW coast of Crete

Kissamos was a nice little town – not touristy, and we anchored inside the harbour wavebreak. I used the dinghy to top up our water supply from a free tap ashore using our 30 litre water containers. At 0400 the next morning we heard a very loud rumbling sound. I went up on deck and saw a huge ferry, about 90m long, berthing nearby. The loud rumbling was the ferry’s engines and thrusters. It’s amazing here how such large ferrys berth in quite small harbours.
We cruised around the most westerly point of Crete’s north coast to the island of Gramvousa. This is a spectacular area and the island has a couple of bays on its south side, making it reasonably sheltered from the prevailing NW-N winds. Crowning the island are the ruins of a huge Venetian fortress built in 1579. This fortress is triangular in shape, with each side 1km long. It was the last Cretan stronghold to fall to the Turks in 1692, having been held for three years by 3,000 Cretans. In the early 19th century the area became a haven for pirates until an Anglo/French expedition rooted them out in 1828. Why can’t we do the same to the Somalis today?
On rocks separating the two bays is the wreck of a steel ship, about 40m long. Most of the parts are still recognisable, and a sombre reminder of what can happen at sea.
We spent two nights there, and from mid-morning to late afternoon ferries brought day- trippers to the island, but after the last of the ferries left it was very peaceful, with only a fishing boat and runabout moored in the bay, and a few campers ashore.
Gramvousa is as far west as we’re heading this year, and the furthest distance from Marmaris. The whole time we’ve been heading west from Rhodes, and then along Crete’s north coast the wind has been NW or W. We thought from now on we’re going to have the wind behind us or on Envoy’s port quarter, which does make more pleasant cruising. Guess what! When we left Gramvousa to head east back to Kolimbari we had our first NE wind, albeit quite light.
When we’re cruising we mostly leave our paravane arms in the down position, and if we’re in the open sea we have the stabilizing fins deployed, as it’s much easier to launch these when it’s calm, using a block and tackle that Kevin O’Sullivan & I set up back in ’07. When we anchor we either leave the stabilizers in the water, or replace them with our flopper-stoppers, which are more effective at reducing roll when Envoy is stationary.
During this passage we watched the All Blacks play the Wallabies using our Vodafone USB plug-in for internet access, and a site Di found called www.watchliverugby.com. If this proves to be reliable it may save us having to invest in satellite TV to watch the World Cup next year.
We spent a further couple of nights around Kolimbari and then came into the delightful Chania harbour, which we’ll cover in our next posting.
I do harp on about how few boats we’ve seen. Since leaving Agios Nikolaos marina we spent 21 nights anchored at some of the most sheltered and beautiful locations in NE Crete. Out of those nights we had 17 with no other boats in the bay, or in sight. The most crowded was a night when we had a runabout, a yacht and a fishing boat in the same bay. As we sit in Chania harbour there is only one British yacht and two local motor yachts here. Where are all the cruisers?
This 21 nights gave us a good opportunity to monitor our water usage, averaging 44 litres/day. This means that with Di & I aboard we have about 34 days’ supply, while we expect to have about 15 day’s supply with guests aboard – but then we have more hands to help replenish water!
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 122
Engine hours and distance this trip: 120hrs, 584NM
Technical: No real issues. We now have from Piraeus the correct stuffing gasket material for our prop shaft. Our smaller Arimar RIB is away getting repaired, or may have to be replaced.

Envoy nearly at western end of Crete

It was so great at Ormos Milati that we stayed there for seven nights - I think this is the longest we’ve ever left the anchor down anywhere. We always wanted to arrive at some nice place, and stay there without feeling we had to rack up the miles and move on; well Ormos Milati was just one of those places. We anchored in eight metres and could see the anchor. It was very sheltered, although we mostly had a wind of 15-25 knots that kicked up a bit of chop, so we kept the flopper stoppers on. Actually the breeze is good, as it keeps us a bit cool in the 30-34d temp. We’ve had no rain at all since leaving Marmaris on 1 June, but the wind is always with us. Incredibly there were no other boats anchored there the whole time we were there, in fact that’s been the case pretty much everywhere, and surprising considering this is now mid-season. Imagine going to Kawau or Waiheke in Dec/Jan, and finding no boats there. Consequently we haven’t met any other cruisers at all. There was water on a jetty, where we filled up on average 60l/day, and tavernas ashore. We spent one night in Soudha bay itself. This is a deep and beautiful harbour, and a NATO base. There were about 13 warships berthed there. In WW2 many allied ships were sunk here by German aircraft. Here also where 446 Kiwis, who were killed during the battle of Crete, are buried – see photo. It was very sad reading the gravestones of the mostly 20-30 year olds, although we did see a Private J A Jamieson, aged 44. We found this significant, as one of late closest family friends – Trevor Jamieson fought very bravely in Crete, was captured and escaped several times. Annette – is J.A.J. any relation to you? It was nice to see the cemetery maintained to a very high standard by the Allied War Graves Commission.
In the last posting I mentioned we would be meeting Kostis. Well we did and he had very interesting stories about the war years, together with cruising information for heading further west. He also insisted on buying the drinks.
We anchored off a village called Kolimvari for a couple of nights. There it was only 4m deep, again very clear with a beautiful sandy bottom. At these villages we always go ashore to have a look around, buy some fresh bread and yoghurt, and sometimes have a drink in a taverna.
As I write this we en route to Kissamos for a couple of nights. The visibility has now improved, and we can see about 25NM.
We’re going to spend until next Monday cruising around this area, then go into Chania marina. Chania is supposedly the most beautiful town in Crete, and we’re going to have a good look around, and rent a car to see more of Crete’s interior. There we meet Doug and Mary Gooch on 9/8, who are staying with us for a couple of weeks until we drop them at Santorini, about 75NM to the NE. As we can only remain in Greek waters for 90 days, at that point we’ll be heading east towards the Turkish coast again.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 114
Engine hours and distance this trip: 106hrs, 520NM
Technical: We’ve now done about 40 hours on the repaired gearbox and all’s fine. Envoy’s prop shaft has a traditional stuffing box to prevent sea water entering the boat through the shaft. You are supposed to have a little water coming in – about 1 drop per 10 seconds – to keep the shaft lubricated. In the stuffing box are seals impregnated with Teflon to keep the water out. I’ve been finding the Teflon is exuding out of the seal down the shaft, and it’s difficult to get the pressure in the stuffing box adjusted correctly to regulate the drip. Panagiotis suggested replacing the Teflon with silicone impregnated seals, and I think I’ll do that in Chania.
Our smaller RIB has developed an air leak, and deflates within a day, so we’ll try to get that repaired in Chania too.

This tiny harbour at Kolimbara is typical of the many harbours too small for Envoy. Our smaller RIB in foreground.

Laurie with Kostas in Envoy's cockpit.Sorry about the "budgie smugglers". Kostas's Dad was a leading resistance fighter in WW2.

Diane by some of the 446 Kiwi war graves at Soudha Bay, sadly mostly 20 to 30 year olds.

Typical beach with loungers and taverna. Note the holidaying geese.

Envoy anchored in bay at Dia Is, off Iraklion. Note the bleakness of the land.

Cruising west

When cruising, or in fact doing any traveling, you meet some great and interesting people. Since our return to the Med we’ve met a number of people from our 2007 trip and still keep in touch with others. In Agios Nikolaos we met a charming Scottish couple; Alan and Ann McIlravie who live on their boat “Sula Mac”. Alan and Ann have the temporary use of a friend’s car and kindly took us sight-seeing around some of the inland Cretan villages (some of the photos on the last posting were taken there). Coincidentally they are coming to New Zealand for a holiday in February, and we’ve arranged to catch up.
We left Agios Nikolaos as planned on Tuesday 13, and spent the night anchored in the lagoon beneath the fortress at Spinalonga. Once the last of the day-tripper boats departed we had the place all to ourselves. In fact there are hardly any cruising boats around, we only see the occasional fishing boat. It was amazing to sit at anchor only 50m from the fortress and think of its violent past – both the 16th century battleground of Christians and Muslims and later, the forced settlement of Greek lepers.
The next day was an eight hour trip to the island of Nisis Dhia. The visibility here in Crete is very hazy (maybe some ash from the Iceland eruption?). As I was writing this we were only three miles offshore, but any detail was difficult to pick out through the haze using binoculars. Although N Dhia is several hundred feet high, it only emerged through the haze when we were 13NM away – nothing like our Hauraki Gulf where we see Great Barrier Island from over 50NM. N Dhia is correctly described as “bleak”. There are four bays on the south side, sheltered from the predominant NW wind. We cruised through the first three with our paravanes still out, and saw several fishing boats moored before anchoring in the nicer fourth bay, and soon afterwards a Coastguard launch roared towards us. It came close and stopped while the crew studied us for a while, and then roared off again. We think one of the fishing boats thought we were towing fishing nets, and reported us to the Coastguard.
Our next stop was a small town of Ormos Bali. The Cruising Guide says there’s “a bit of a roll here”, and it’s not wrong. Although there was little wind we had about a 1m swell coming into the bay, so to be comfortable we put out our “flopper stoppers”, and used a stern anchor to keep us lined up with the swell.
There are very few areas to anchor on Crete’s north coast offering good shelter, because the “Meltemi” wind is consistently from the NW or N generating a 1-2m swell. It’s a bit like anchoring off Waiheke in 20kn of northerly. Only in the winter does the wind turn south, opening up dozens of additional coves where a boat could safely anchor. The coast is roughly 140NM from east to west, but there are only about six marinas and five good anchorages along its entire length. There are many more very small, shallow sheltered areas suitable for use by small craft, but not for visiting cruising boats.
On Saturday we arrived in a beautiful bay called Ormos Milati, protected from all except easterlies, and although this is one of the best anchorages on the coast we’re the only boat anchored here, and plan to stay here for a few days. Ashore are excellent clear, sandy beaches although in typical Greek and Turkish style they are covered completely with deck chairs. Some of the tavernas have loud music playing, spoiling the tranquility, which is one of the nice aspects of going to the beach.
As usual Envoy is attracting a lot of attention with her distinct and unusual appearance, paravanes out, and flopper-stoppers gently rising and falling. Many people in small craft, and even people swimming come up to us to talk and ask questions. Yesterday we met Constantine, Costas for short, who was intrigued by the boat, so we invited him aboard for a look around. He has a beach house ashore and has invited us for drinks tonight. This is one of the areas where very heavy fighting took place during WW2, and Costas’s father was a well-known partisan leader. I hope we’ll hear more about that tonight.
Ormos Milati is on the NE side of a four-mile long inlet running east-west. Further up the inlet is a NATO naval base and the town of Soudha – probably our next destination. There is also a military airfield nearby, and we get jet fighters roaring over our heads.
One of the very nice things about the Med is being able to dine outside in the very atmospheric tavernas. Unlike New Zealand there is no rain during the summer, and the temperature is still warm enough after dark to enjoy eating in the open. After they close for the night all the furniture is just left out, without the need for security – we imagine in New Zealand it would soon disappear.
Water management without the water maker is working fine, and with just the two of us aboard we only use about 50L/day, including use of the washing machine about every 3-4 days.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 105
Engine hours and distance this trip: 93Hrs / 448NM
Technical: All OK (for once!) The paravane stabilizers have been working well, and even in 2m beam seas our tea doesn’t spill.
When we came back aboard Envoy the four diesel tanks contained a total of about 1,380L – about 36% full. All of the fuel had conditioner added when we left in early 2008. In Rhodes we bought a further 1,000L (at Euro 1.348/L or about NZ$2.40/L) bringing us up to about 60% capacity. We’re using the old fuel first, and still have about 600L to go. For the distance we’re likely to cover this year (of maybe 1,200NM?) there’s no point in carrying a full load.

Mountain pass to the Lassithi Plateau

Rural Crete showing the rugged terrain - this was the cloudy day!

Crumbling archway of ruined monastary

Taverna in village of Fourni - always beautiful flowers

The pressure plate that connects the gearbox to the engine - the inner disc was loose against the outer

Typical rustic building in Cretan village

A happy Panagiotis (right), Steve & I after installing repaired gearbox - note his t-shirt

Further impressions of Crete

Crete is a large island measuring some 260km from west to east and 50km from north to south, with three mountain ranges rising over 2,000m. The topography is extremely rugged, and there are very few major inland roads. With the many rocky ravines and caves it’s easy to see how in WW2 the Cretan partisans were able to resist the Germans so effectively. On every spare piece of land there are olive trees – over 21 million of them in fact. It’s hard to imagine how all of these trees are harvested due to their sheer number, and in many cases poor accessibility. We were told that large nets are placed under the trees, and then the branches are mechanically shaken to bring the olives down. This provides employment during the harvesting time of October to February, when the tourist numbers are down. Crete is very windy, and windmills are still used extensively to pump water from bores. There are many remains of ancient stone windmills. A modern variation of this is windfarms to generate electricity – there are many hundreds of these tall, silent wind towers around the island. The Cretan villages are exactly as you picture them – narrow winding streets, where a car has to pull over to let an oncoming car through, ancient, rustic buildings, mostly in a poor state of repair and some derelict, peeling paint in white and blue, old men with waistcoats and moustaches sitting outside small tavernas, elderly hunched-over women dressed totally in black.
There are very few tourists here – a matter of great concern to the many taverna and café owners who still hope that August will bring the numbers to fill the arrays of empty café seats. It appears to us there are far too many tavernas, car & bike renters, and tour operators for the numbers of people.
There is not much traffic on the roads outside the main towns, but the driving is atrocious – much like Turkey. It seems that nobody is content to sit behind you, and drivers overtake on blind corners, double white lines or anywhere, forcing oncoming traffic to move over to the verge. Speed limit signs are a waste of space and there seems to be no traffic law enforcement.
They have small supermarkets and we’ve been able to buy everything we need. We found a good quaffing dry white wine called Kpaei Aeyko which is sold in bulk for Euro
1.80/litre. Better quality white and red wines cost about Euro 5-9 per 750ml bottle.
Here they have VAT, like our GST bt the level varies according to the product. Due to the tough economic times the top rate has just been increased to 23%.
We’ve now been in Agios Nikolaos since 22 June and plan to leave next Tuesday 13 July and head west along the northern coast. Sorry to hear of the bleak weather back home – must say the weather here is great; sunny, not humid, temps in high 20s to low 30s, sea is 26d. Yesterday there were a few clouds about, which we thought was a bit poor! It is windy here though – every day about 15-25kn from the NW kicking up a 1.5-2m sea in open waters – but the wind and sea should reduce as we head west.
Log
Days aboard this trip: 97
Engine hours and distance this trip: 70 hrs / 345 nm
Technical
Last Tuesday Panagiotis, the engineer from Piraeus, came back with the reconditioned pressure plate. Quite amazing that within 4 days, including a weekend, it had been sent to Piraeus (an overnight ferry trip), reconditioned and returned here. Panagiotis is a really knowledgeable guy – he was an engineer in the Royal Greek Navy for 29 years, and he’s also a real toiler. The gearbox weighs about 60kg, and when the local engineer Steve and I removed it we struggled together to carry it off Envoy to the shore. Panagiotis picked it up and carried it back on board by himself! After installation he spent some time aligning the prop shaft with the gearbox (which is attached to the engine) and found that the rear of the engine needed to drop down on it mounts quite a bit. He says this was the cause of the gearbox problem. Also three out of the four engine mounting bolts were loose. On Wednesday Di & I went for a cruise of a few hours duration and all seems OK – there is no vibration, no oil leaks and no other challenges (until the next one, but that’s boating!)

Agios Nikolaos

We’ve now been in this really nice marina for 12 days. The cost structure is such that after 12 days you go on to the monthly rate, so our next 18 days would be free if we stayed that long. We can’t leave yet anyway, as our gearbox is not back in (see below). We’re going to use this time to do some further inland exploration of Crete by rental car. We’ve also been enjoying the beaches and watching World Cup Soccer at the tavernas. We’re likely to resume our cruise westwards along the north coast of Crete in about a week.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 89
Engine hours and distance covered this trip: 66hrs / 329NM
Technical
The gearbox has been fixed; the oil leak was due to the prop shaft coupling and gearbox not being correctly aligned after we had a new prop shaft made and installed in Marmaris. This has caused some vibration (which I must say we didn’t notice at all) and subsequent internal problems. Today an engineer came from Piraeus to re-install the gearbox, and found that the pressure plate – goes between the gearbox and the back of the engine – is a bit rattly (the inner plate is loose against the outer plate). He said the pressure plate might only last for a few months and suggested getting this fixed or replaced while it’s readily accessible. That’s going to take another few days. Then he’s going to put everything back and ensure it’s all correctly aligned.

Link to Map

Don't forget that on the bottom right hand side of this page is a link to a map showing where we've been and where we are.

Envoy at anchor in Spinalonga Lagoon, viewed from the fortress

"The Island of the Living Dead" - Venetian fortress turned leper colony

Cretan fishing boats on the jetty where Envoy berthed in Sitia

Lindos Castle viewed from our anchorage

First week in Crete

We had heard Cretans are friendly, and this has proven correct. We first went ashore at the tiny village of Kato Zakros on the east coast. While Brian & I downed a Mythos beer or two in a taverna, Carol & Diane went off to buy some vegetables.
They returned with a large bag full of tomatoes, aubergines, beetroot, parsley, onions, capsicum, eggplant and carrots. They had gone to a restaurant, and asked Carmen, the waitress, where they could buy vegetables. Carmen said there was no shop in the village, but they would be happy to give us whatever vegetables we needed. Later we had dinner at this restaurant and the owner, Costas, told us that his father grew all the vegetables, tending the garden from 5am. Before the night was out they gave us an additional beer crate of vegetables and two bottles of red wine –all for free.
Costas told us that in the 1950s his father was ploughing some of his land and came across some stone slabs and ruins. This turned out to be the Minoan palace of Zakros. The Government confiscated that piece of land, and now charge the public admission to see the ruins.
Like his father, Costas was born in this tiny village, and is now raising his three children there.
We cruised NW to Sitia, where we laid alongside a rough concrete jetty.
The skipper of a neighboring British yacht told us to be careful, as the previous night someone had stolen some expensive mooring lines from his deck, including some in-use mooring lines. Local fisherman were extremely upset over this and were convinced the thieves were not from Sitia, making it very clear what they would do to any thieves they caught. We still understand that instances of theft like this are very rare and we had no problems.
There was no electrical power on the wharf, and the closest water tap was about 150m away, well beyond the reach of our hoses (although we could have lugged it using our 30L jerry cans). Brian and I found a closer tap, half submerged in muddy water, and with a broken handle. We managed to make a temporary tap handle and get our water OK.
From Sitia we went further west to the Spinalonga Lagoon, a large inlet only about 3m deep, with the entrance protected by a Venetian fortress built in 1579. When it was eventually taken by the Turks the Venetian and Genoese defenders were allowed to leave, while the local Cretan defenders were all enslaved. This island fortress later became the infamous Greek leper colony, where lepers lived and died in appalling conditions, the last one dying in 1953. Today the locals still call it “the island of the living dead”.
At anchor during dusk we noticed a snake swimming towards the boat. At first I thought I’d had one rum too many, but we all saw it approach within about 10m. There are several varieties of snake on land in this area, but we were not aware of any sea snakes. The internet advises there are no sea snakes in the Med, as it’s too salty, and that the “snake-eel” is commonly mistaken for a snake. We’re going to believe that, but it certainly damn-well looked like a snake, with its head well up out of the water.We also saw a large turtle swimming around.
The weather has been hot – in the mid to high 20s, but the wind has been exceptionally strong – most days reaching over 20 knots. As the wind is always from the NW, it puts up quite a choppy sea outside of sheltered areas.
We had decided to spend our last few days with Brian & Carol touring some of inland Crete by rental car so went to Agios Nikolaos marina where we are now. This is a good marina, with power and water, in a very picturesque location with swimming beaches nearby, along with lots of tavernas.
We spent two days driving through some of the mountain villages to the southern coast, and spent the night at a great fishing-village-turned-tourist-spot called Aghia Galini. We also visited the famous ruins of King Minos’s palace at Knossos, dating from 1700 BC. This is where the (mythical?) half man, half bull Minotaur lurked in the labyrinth, until a warrior killed it, finding his way out of the labyrinth with a ball of string. The palace, and indeed Minoan civilization, ended with the huge volcanic eruption at Santorini and the ensuing tsunami.
Times are more than a bit tough in Greece. The official unemployment rate is 12%, but probably closer to 20%. Tourist numbers are down, so tavernas, restaurants and shops are quiet. Taxes are going up and all pensions have been reduced by Euro 200 per month (about 30%). Nonetheless, the Greek people are stoic, largely cheerful and seem to think everything will be OK.
We had a wonderful time with Brian & Carol, who left on Friday. We’re now in Agios Nikolaos for the next week (see below), and will then head further west along the northern coast of Crete.
Technical
On the last day of Brian & Carol’s cruise I noticed some oil in the bilge and then found an oil leak from the Borg Warner gearbox. Fortunately it was only a short distance to our destination at Agios Nikolaos marina, and on arrival here an engineer from A1 came aboard and saw the leak. Thanks to my friend Brooke Archbold for arranging a Borg Warner gearbox expert in NZ for me to speak with – James Mobberly of Moon Engines. James was able to give us some useful advice about repairing the leak, which is being done currently while we're in such a nice place to stay. Should be under way again late next week.

RHODES TO CRETE

Thanks for various comments about the blog. We don’t intend the blog to be a travelogue, but more about our experiences and impressions. The content has been very technical, because our main focus has been getting Envoy ready to cruise, but now that we are cruising the balance will change ("phew!" says Trish).
We arrived in Rhodes on Mon 7 June and went into ancient Mandraki Harbour, once lined with war galleys, and where the 35m high, bronze Colossus of Rhodes had one leg astride each side of the harbour entrance. Built in 290 BC, the Colossus was destroyed by an earthquake about 60 years later. We booked a space using an agent,
A1, who operate throughout Greece and we’ve used previously, as we wanted to ensure we would be in the harbour to meet our first guests, Brian & Carol. A1 do charge a fee, but it’s worth it for the advice and help they give. Other cruisers without bookings were turned away to roll outside at anchor in the wakes of numerous ferries. The water and power supply were not working (due to waves washing over the breakwater in a storm!), and A1 were able to organize an alternative for us. As with most harbours of this type the procedure is to drop your anchor in the middle of the harbour and reverse to the quay, where you secure with stern lines. The watching skippers of the adjacent vessels were pleased to see that we managed this without any problems.
Greece has passed a law introducing a new cruising tax for visiting boats. Under this law boats are only allowed to visit for a period of 60 days in any one calendar year; then they have to pay a tax – supposedly several thousand Euros. Obviously very few cruisers would pay this much, so if the new law does take effect cruisers would be leaving Greek waters in droves. A1 are close to developments and tell us the law is unlikely to proceed for the above reason. In any case, under the Schengen Treaty we can only stay 90 days in Greece, and then have to leave and re-enter.
Rhodes is a wonderful, interesting town, blending the historical aspects of the well-preserved fortress and Old Town, good eateries, excellent shopping and availability of most things you need, eg our two favourite brands of rum – Mt Gay and Lambs Navy! The supermarkets are well stocked up and the four of us spent a couple of hours doing a big shop for the supplies needed during Brian & Carol’s visit. The standard of shops was excellent and Carol and Di spent a very happy day checking them all out. All the major European brands are represented, and even during siesta time, when the shops were closed, they managed to come back with the odd parcel or two. We found an excellent wine shop, and as well as buying some good Greek & Italian wines bought a 10L cask of Tsambi quaffing dry white for Euro 17 – this has turned out to be quite reasonable drinking. As we’d moved from Turkey to Greece we also had to get a new Greek SIM card for the phone and Vodafone USB for internet access (costs 2 Euro/day for unlimited access).
All around Rhodes are piles of large round stones, and these were hurled by catapult into Rhodes during a siege by Demetrius around 300 BC. Much later in 1522 the vast fortress was held by about 1,850 Crusaders against 100,000 Turks for five months, until the Crusaders surrendered and were allowed to leave.
We spent five days in Mandraki and one of the days hired a car to tour the whole island, easily done in a day. Plenty to see including ruins from various periods in history, great beaches, villages and wineries.
Leaving Rhodes on Saturday 12th, we cruised about 20NM down the coast to spend two nights in Lindos. Inhabited since 2000BC, Lindos has a blend of architecture from then until now, including the usual hill-top fortress. Lindos has a maze of narrow alleyways lined with shops and restaurants, and cars are not allowed to enter; instead they have donkey taxis which patiently transport you around the town.
Like Rhodes, Lindos was surprisingly un-crowded – there seems to be not that many tourists yet and very few cruisers.
We then did quite a long cruise of 10 hours to the island of Karpathos. This was a good test of Envoy’s systems and all is working well. Most of the 10 hours was in a 25kn wind on the starboard bow with 2m seas and the paravane stabilizers were excellent. As we approached the lee of Karpathos we expected some shelter from the wind. Instead, due to the very high hills, the wind increased to 35knots kicking up a short, sharp, offshore chop. The wind overturned our smaller RIB, which had been under tow, fortunately without the outboard; another lesson learned. Carol noticed this, otherwise er might have lost it altogether. We had hoped to spend a night in the main harbour, Pigadhia, but in the strong wind I preferred to anchor in better shelter. We did go ashore in Pigadhia, and while Brian & I found a water hose and filled eight 30 litre containers Di and Carol went shopping for supplies. Surprisingly they found in the local supermarket frozen NZ green-lipped mussels and NZ legs of lamb. A small dog fell in love with Di, and when we set off in the dinghy back to Envoy, the dog jumped off the quay into the water and tried to follow us. I had to fish the dog out of the water and we had a very quick debate about whether we wanted a dog on board. Di tied it up ashore (with much heart-wrenching) so it wouldn’t follow us again, after arranging for it to be released after we’d left the harbour.
Karpathos has some great beaches and we spent a couple of days chilling out, anchored off one of them. We have to call in at Karpathos on the way back to Turkey, as I promised to visit a particular Taverna there.
As I write this we are cruising from Karpathos to the eastern end of Crete, a journey of about 9 hours and all OK. Conditions 6 knots on the nose and half metre sea.
Technical
We took on 1,000L of diesel at Euro 1.348L, bringing our total fuel up to about
2,000L or 50% of capacity. There’s no reason to carry more than about this level with the comparatively short distances we’re cruising this year. The diesel is carried in four different tanks, so we’ll be careful to use our three-year old fuel (which is stabilized) first, before going on to the new supply. The Groco 12V pump that drives our fuel transfer and filtering system failed, so we mounted the spare and all OK.
Since leaving Rhodes I’ve been monitoring our water usage and it’s about 75L/day, including use of the washing machine, and without making any real sacrifices; so that means we’re carrying over 2 weeks supply. We were contemplating a quick trip back to Marmaris in July to fix our water maker and Naiad stabilizers, but more than likely we’ll leave that until we return to Marmaris in November.

READER'S COMMENTS

Several friends have told us they have made comments on the blog, but they didn't appear. I changed th settings concerning comments a few days OK and see that a comment from Deidre has been published. I guess this means comments will be OK from now on. Today we're leaving Lindos, Rhodes, for the Karpathos Islands - about half way from Marmaris to Crete. This is about a 7 hour run. All OK.

FIRST DAYS OF CRUISING

Our first six days of cruising were spent in Turkey, between Marmaris & Bozburun. Today in Bozburun we completed the exit formalities to leave Turkey tomorrow and cruise over to Rhodes in Greece – only about 20NM. Since we left Marmaris everything has gone perfectly well and according to plan….almost. We anchored in a beautiful bay near Bozburun and switched off the engine for a swim and relaxing afternoon. When I went to start the engine later it wouldn’t start. The engine was slowly turning over so I figured it wasn’t the starter motor. I went to the start battery bank and put the multi-meter probes on the battery connections; the readings were very inconsistent, eg 7.5 to 13.5v. Then I put the probes on the battery terminals themselves and got a consistent 13.5v. The connections didn’t look bad, but one was slightly loose. I cleaned and sprayed them all with contact cleaner, tightened them up and hey presto – all OK and the engine started with sighs of relief all round. The only thing I don’t understand is having done that, the volt readings were still inconsistent on the connections, however problem solved, and when our friend Doug Gooch (electrician) joins us in August, he’ll be able to explain that.
In 2007 we towed the dinghy around most of the time and paid the price – growth on the hull and general deterioration. We’ve now had the dinghy’s hull sanded back and repainted so we want to keep it in good shape. This means lifting it aboard, at least after a few days towing – not a real major, but takes about 20 minutes and can only be done in calm conditions. For the sake of safety we replaced the lifting lines with 12mm spectra (Kevin’s suggestion). Apparently 12mm spectra can lift over a tonne, so more than adequate for our 300kg RIB, and we feel happier about that. We’ve also noticed an increase in our cruising speed by about half a knot when not towing the RIB – not important in a planing boat, but when you’re averaging about 6 knots, it makes a difference.
So for we’ve been covering old ground – as I post this we're 8NM from Rhodes and new territory.

Leaving Marmaris Tues 1 June

Yesterday the carpenters finished putting the Guest Cabin back together. Diane & I just have to varnish the cabin sole. The watermaker is not going to be fixed any time soon as parts need to come ex USA (ouch!) Very few boats have watermakers and they all manage just fine, as you can get water for little cost at most ports and villages. We've bought 8x30L jerry cans giving us an extra 240L of water capacity plus the ability to move large volumes of water by dinghy, so we'll cruise without making water for a few weeks. We're going to leave the marina on Tues and put a few hours on the engine cruising in the immediate vicinity for a few days. We plan to arrive Rhodos next weekend (in fact its only about 25miles from here)to meet our first guests - Brian & Carol on Mon 7 June.

NEARLY READY TO LEAVE MARMARIS

Amy’s visit at short notice was really great, and it was not so sad seeing her off at Dalaman airport knowing we’re in the same hemisphere and will see her again soon. We hired a car to collect Amy and then take her back to the airport. Quite a good rate at about $55/day, but petrol here is outrageous at nearly $3 per litre – so we can understand why taxis are expensive.
Apart from enjoying Amy’s visit we haven’t done much except focus on getting Envoy ready to depart, although a few days ago we had a bit of excitement as there was quite a large bushfire on the hillside across the bay from the marina. The response appeared to be pretty good including a large helo with a monsoon bucket, but it took a couple of hours to bring under control.
We bought a SIM card for our Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS plug-in. Quite involved as you have to show your passport and fill out copious forms. Cost is about $42 for 1 Gb. I wanted to buy 2 Gb, but was told you are only allowed to purchase 1 Gb in a month. Anyway – no luck with connecting to the internet, so back we go to the Vodafone shop. They then tell us the Mobile Connect card is obsolete and replaced by a Mobile Broadband USB stick – why the heck didn’t they tell us that in the first place instead of plugging our new SIM card into the obsolete bit? Anyway, the folks at Vodafone were helpful and now all working well.
The new s/s water tanks were completed and installed last Thursday. Now the new (removable) decks are in place and the Guest Cabin is nearly rebuilt, and then the aircon can be reinstalled. Having the water tanks in has enabled us to reconnect the cold and hot water supply, and last week we had our first on-board showers – no more need to go to the communal marina showers. The toilets are working fine except that the for’ard Vacuflush toilet’s vacuum pump comes on quite a lot – indicating there is some vacuum loss in the system somewhere. Tightened all the hose clips but no improvement, but its working and we’re going to leave it that way for time being and maybe it will settle down. In case it doesn’t settle down we’re going to put a separate on/off switch in the head so that this toilet can be switched on only when needing to be used.
The watermaker filters were all changed and the unit tested yesterday. Running OK but there is a water leak from one of the tubes – too large to ignore. So the unit has been pulled out of the boat and taken to the local agent’s workshop to change the 0-rings. They don’t seem to think this should be a problem so here’s hoping.
A new “challenge” has emerged. The Naiad hydraulic stabilizers had their seals replaced while we were on the hard – quite an involved and difficult job, but all went OK. The servicemen couldn’t test the system until we were in the water, so Monday last week they arrived to do this, and we found two problems. The first was easily resolved – a crack in a weld on the steel plate holding the Vickers hydraulic pump to the engine. The plate was taken away, repaired and re-fitted. The second problem is not so easy – the electronic controls are “dead”. The local Naiad agent’s electricians have spent some hours on this and have managed to restore the 24v power supply, but they struggled to find why the actual control system does not power up and got help from Naiad USA. It seems we need a new power board for the electronics. The hydraulic stabilizers are a nice-to-have, rather than essential equipment; in 2007 we spent two months cruising without them using our alternate paravane stabilizers when necessary. Many Nordhavns only have the paravane stabilizers, and have cruised extensively with just them, so it’s not an issue and we’re likely to depart without the stabilizers and get them fixed later when the parts are here.
The reconditioning of our large inflatable is completed and looks great. Our small inflatable is fine, except the Honda 2.5 o/b wouldn’t start. This has now also been fixed. So fingers crossed, things are coming together for us to depart Marmaris early to mid next week – the watermaker is “mission critical” so hopefully all will shortly be OK with that – watch this space!

FINALLY IN THE WATER

Our daughter Amy is here with us for a few days enjoying the very nice spell of weather - we’re having; very sunny and temperature in the low 30s. We all had our first swim at the beach by the marina, and the water is already 22dC. Amy returns to London on Friday evening and starts her new job next week. Yesterday was finally launching day, after 28 months out of the water. Apart from being more comfortable living aboard Envoy in the water, this is important because all sea cocks have been removed, serviced and re-sealed in place, and we needed to ensure there were no leaks. Better that we find any now, with time on our hands. In fact there were only a couple of minor leaks from hoses which were solved by tightening the hose clamps. The Yanmar “Wing engine” is also leaking a very small amount of water through the dripless prop shaft seal. Demir say this is easy enough to resolve and will do so in the next day or two. After launching Demir bled the fuel lines and we started all three engines; Lugger main. Yanmar wing and Northern Lights genset. All started and ran fine and are charging, both AC & DC. It was great to helm Envoy from the haul out area to our berth, even though just a few hundred metres. During the next few days I’ll be checking out the watermaker, aircon, and other equipment which needs sea water cooling, and go for a sea trial to check the stabilizers.
In other areas we’ve also made excellent progress. Cutting and polishing is all complete, with Envoy looking very pristine – the best she’s looked since we bought her. Demir Marine used electric polishers on the hull, but the topsides were done by hand and I assisted with this. Pretty hard work and those guys earn their bucks.
Was good experience for me to learn about the correct application of cutting compound and polish. The engine room fire suppression system has been checked and certified, along with our seven portable extinguishers, that all needed the dry powder replaced. The new water tanks are being made and should be ready by about 19th. It will then take several days to install them and get the guest cabin furniture and deck replaced. We also bought two second hand folding bikes – these are “Genius” by Mobiky and great, weighing only 13kg each and folding up small enough to go into bags which we store below decks. They are aluminium, and have chains that don’t require greasing, so are very clean. We’re finally reaching the stage where most jobs on “the list” are completed and if not for the water tanks needing replacement, we would have been able to leave Marmaris within a few days.
Several months ago I was contacted by Herb Fava. He had come across our blog and wanted to bounce some ideas off me about buying a boat in the Med. Herb has contacted me again advising he has now bought a 74ft Fairline Squadron in Spain and will shortly start his cruise. Check out www.barefootinthemed.blogspot.com.

Good Progress

Today the two freshwater tanks were removed after four days solid work. First an electrician removed the forward aircon that sits on top of the port tank, then a carpenter dismantled the guest double berth, and the settee and pulled up the floor (a major job which involved totally smashing up the previous floor). Two engineers and two laborers came and pulled the tanks out after much wrenching with crowbars. The tanks just fitted down the passageways with a few mm to spare, but I must say the guys were very good – they taped bubble wrap over all of the bulkheads so that no timber would be damaged as the tanks were carried out. The carpenter is a real pro, and has a great sense of humor. I asked him if he will be able to remember how everything goes back together, and he replied “I hope so”. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Demir Marine to discuss the making of new tanks (the old ones are rusty and beyond repair). They estimate one week to make and install the two tanks (from 316 stainless), and then one week to re-build the guest cabin. The floor in the guest cabin was a teak strip veneer over thick plywood. No way we’re going to be able to replicate the teak veneer, so we’ll go for varnished plywood with carpet. Meanwhile everything is finished in the engine room. All filters changed, three engines checked and several suspect water hoses replaced, water pump impellers replaced etc. Actually about 30 different jobs completed down there and nothing more to be done until we hit the water, and see if the engines start! Also the work on the hull and topsides has been progressing well. The cutting and polishing is almost complete and looks great – the gelcoat was dull and chalky, but now high gloss and you need your sunglasses on to look at it. We’ve pulled off the stainless steel rubbing strips as there was rust behind them, leaching down onto the gelcoat. The strips are being polished, the old sealant has been removed, the gelcoat underneath the stainless strips cleaned, and the strips will be re-fitted with new screws and sealant. Sounds easy but so far two very good professionals working for 7 days and two to go to finish. We’re now going to try and get Envoy in the water earlier than May 17, so that we can test the three engines, the watermaker etc. The new freshwater tanks can be fitted just as easily in the water. So, in summary good progress and the end is now in sight, barring any unforeseen problems when we go in the water. Di and I celebrated my 60th birthday on the weekend with drinks and dinner in Marmaris.

UNEXPECTED PROBLEM

Couple of days ago we filled up our two forward water tanks and ended up with a lot of fresh water in the bilge. Our starboard tank has always leaked a bit, but it hasn’t been a major problem, as the leak was at about the 75% full point, meaning we could use most of that tank’s capacity. Now the port tank is leaking, and it must be right near the bottom of the tank, as water goes into the bilge virtually as soon as you start filling it. In fact we left the tank full of highly chlorinated water 27 months ago and on our return it was empty. This would not normally be a major problem – remove the tanks, pressure test them to find the leaks, fix leaks and re-install right? Wrong! Aboard Envoy these tanks are under the floor in the guest cabin. One is under the guest double bed, and has the forward aircon unit mounted over the top of it too. The other is partly under the starboard floor, and partly under a built-in settee in the guest cabin. We met with John today, the Australian who is the General Manager of Demir Marine, and there is no option but to dismantle the guest cabin bit by bit until we can get the two tanks out. These are probably the original stainless steel tanks making them 20 years old, and John has suggested that unless they are in exceptionally good condition we get some new tanks made to reduce the risk of going through this again. Fortunately Demir are able to start tomorrow, after an electrician takes out the aircon. This won’t hold things up too much as this job involves carpenter/cabinet- makers and the other jobs we’re getting done involve painters and mechanics. We guess it’s going to take about 7-10 days to finish and can even be completed when we’re in the water if necessary. Meanwhile it will be abit chaotic on board as we’ve had to shift all gear out of the guest cabin into other areas. Apart from that, jobs are steadily being ticked off (as we were when this tank episode happened).

Life on the hardstand and good progress

Our days roll by, measured by progress towards getting Envoy into the water.
We’ve just celebrated our 300th night on board, including 19 since we got back here.
Di & I have a lot of experience on boats, but never spent so much time living on a boat on the hardstand.
Brooke – you may find this interesting.
This marina is about the size of Half Moon Bay, but with many more boats on the hardstand – several hundred – ranging from 30ft to 120ft. Very few power boats – we estimate about 5%. The marina has 330t and 70t travel lifts operating flat out from 0900 to about 2000hrs.
There are no restrictions about people living on boats, either in the water or on the hard. If you’re in the water, you’re understandably not allowed to discharge sewerage (black water) overboard, but there seems to be no problem about shower and dish water (grey water), provided you don’t have too many soap suds. On the hardstand you cannot discharge anything overboard. During the day we walk the 100m to the toilet/shower block and during the night use a bucket. Our morning starts with me emptying the bucket at the toilet block. Di passes the bucket down the ladder to me and says, “whoops nearly dropped it on your head”. Some sense of humour! The toilets and showers here are superb – spotlessly clean and there’s always someone in there cleaning and scrubbing. Our dish water is emptied into the nearby garden. The marina water is safe to drink, but many folks choose to buy bottled water for drinking and use marina water for showers and dishes. No problems with power – 220v, and the marina electricians come and connect it for you. Lots of people have dogs and that’s not an issue here either. We were delighted on our return to find no evidence of any insects or rodents. We haven’t even seen a single ant on board, just a gecko in the cockpit. The marina has a nice bar, open most of the day until the wee hours (so they tell me), and a good restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s a dolmus (bus) to Marmaris township departing every 30 to 60 minutes, depending on time of day, for $5 return – about a 30 minute ride each way.
Ladders on boats on the hard are extremely dangerous and the marina workmen are very casual about them. You wouldn’t believe how many people suffer injuries falling off ladders in marinas. Last time we were here, a ladder against Envoy slipped and fell down. I grabbed the guy’s wrist and held him until help arrived (my wrist’s never been the same since!) When we arrived this time I lashed the top rung of the ladder up to Envoy and the bottom rung, back to Envoy’s keel, to stop the ladder slipping.
The marina requires all marine contractors entering the site to register with them, provide evidence of 3rd party insurance and sign an indemnity guaranteeing to pay for any damage caused by their actions. This is a fairly new requirement, resulting from two fires on boats caused by contractors. Contractors also have to pay the marina operators (meaning we, the customer has to pay) 15% commission for all work done in the marina.
There’s quite a social scene at the marina of organized morning teas, lunches, walks, tours to other parts of Turkey, happy hours etc. Di and I don’t really like taking part in these kind of “organized events” so have mostly kept clear of them.
Technical
Good progress! The re-sealing of the after bilge is completed, and then the new prop shaft was installed and the propeller re-fitted. This shaft is 50mm stainless steel and required a hole to be drilled through it to insert the cotter pin, which secures the prop. A Turkish worker spent 3 hours with a hand electric drill doing this hole. Of course, no safety glasses! The steering was then able to be re-connected (the rudder needed to be pushed hard over to get the prop shaft in).
We’ve got the diesel filtration system working and are busy filtering our on-board fuel. This is a system most pleasure boats don’t have. Most have a primary filter, like a Racor, and then a secondary on-engine filter. On Envoy we filter all fuel before it even gets to the primary filter, using a high-speed (450 litres/hr) pump with a two micron Racor filter (lengthy articles have been written about the correct micron rating of filters, but we’ve decided to use two). Then the diesel goes to the primary and secondary filters. It is often said that most diesel engine problems are fuel-related, and this system gives added protection. All equipment has now been checked and OK, except for a couple of “cigarette lighter” 12v outlets not working; these are always a problem, eh Frank. The main head has been re-installed (it was taken out to provide access to some hard-to-access thru hulls) and now we have our fresh water supply system operating. The bow thruster was not working. It turned out to be caused by the thruster’s dedicated battery bank being flat. A circuit breaker in the Guest cabin tripped, cutting power to the charger for the whole time we were away. These batteries are big mothers! So heavy that I found it difficult even to carry one end of a battery. Fortunately the young Demir Marine guys hauled them out of the anchor locker, charged them for a couple of days, checked the CCAs (cold cranking amps), found them to be OK and hauled them back up again. The prop is on and the bow thruster is all go. Everything now completed below the water line.
One unexpected problem is that the port fresh water tank leaks, quite low down, and when we tried to fill it, the water ended up in the bilges – a good test for the bilge pumps. We can’t access the tank except through a 300mm inspection port on the top. We’ve taken off the 10 nuts holding the inspection plate in place but we can’t prise it off at this point; hoping to get some help on this tomorrow. The starboard water tank has leaked for a while, but the leak was near the top. So while we’re doing one, we’ll repair them both.
Next week I’m getting Demir to help with inspecting our three engines (main Lugger, wing Yanmar and genset). We’ll change all filters and belts, re-install water pump impellers and do a general check. The marina doesn’t allow engines to be started on the hard, so we’ll have to hope the engine starts OK when we’re back in the water.
We have a date booked to go in the water – May 17, but it looks like we might be ready about 7-10 days before that, in which case we’ll try for an earlier launch. Once we are back in the water, there should only be about a week’s work, before we’re able to start cruising, as we’ve managed to complete many other small jobs in between the big ones.

Photo shows blocked strainer and the crud from one of our bilge pump inlets. Need to be checked and cleaned more often.

1st photo - the sticks they use to steady 32 tonnes of boat, 2nd is a view from our cockpit.

Photos show Envoy on the hard, partially masked for painting, and view over the marina from Envoy's cockpit.

Launching Envoy comes closer

Weather is getting warmer, with daytime temp about 24d, and since we arrived there’s only been one day of rain. At this stage our blog has been mostly technical, because our whole focus is getting Envoy into the water. I left the boat for the first time yesterday, when Di & I went into Marmaris for a drink and dinner. Every day except Sunday, from 0800 to 1800 we've had various contractors doing their bits, and they want me present.
Here is a contribution from Di.
General living in Marmaris is interesting, sometimes frustrating yet hilarious and never dull. I’ve always enjoyed grocery shopping in different countries; comparing prices and products and looking at the general layout of the supermarkets and shops. In Marmaris there are two large supermarkets and both sell an extensive range of products; food items downstairs and electrical goods, clothing, toys, bedding and general kitchenware etc upstairs - it’s not that much different from home. The challenge of course is the language and trying to somehow understand what it is you are looking at. The pictures on the products are often misleading; on one occasion I bought what I thought was a tin of tuna, only to discover (before we ate it, thankfully) that it was cat food! GST on food here is 8% and goes up to 18% on some items like batteries. All imported food is very expensive; Colemans mustard $19 a jar and my favorite Costello cheese $15 for a small wedge! The local Turks mostly shop in small corner grocery stores, that are everywhere, and so jammed full of things you can hardly move. I always take my “granny trolley “ with me when I go shopping, and leave it parked safely outside any shop knowing that it will be there when I come out. The Turks love to barter, and are delighted to take advantage of a susceptible tourist, but they are honest. They have a wonderful sense of humour, especially the women - who love to play jokes. All laundry at the marina has to be weighed and is priced accordingly - $1kg if you do your own, or $3.50kg if the laundry ladies do it. After they had weighed our laundry they told me to jump on the scales as well. I watched in horror as the kilos kept getting higher and higher - surely I hadn’t been over-eating that much. The ladies were laughing their heads off; one of them had her foot on the scales!
Another surprisingly pleasant experience was going to the dentist. I had chipped my tooth, and it looked like I was needing a crown. We had often been told of the great dentists in Turkey; that they have the latest technology and were extremely well trained. It turned out to be one of my best ever dental visits. The dentist was very gentle and spoke good English, and I had no pain. What a great, quick job he did, and I’m now the proud owner of a lovely porcelain crowned tooth - all for the grand cost of $175. No wonder all the boaties in the marina are queuing up to get their teeth done here!
Eating out is fun, we’ve found a great restaurant close to the marina run by a couple who operated a restaurant in England for the last 8 years and have come home to raise their kids here. Mains range from $20 up to $30 for steak meal. Wine is a worry though, and our tongues hang out for a good NZ chardy or Aussie shiraz.
Ah well, it seems some things in Paradise are not perfect!
Technical
Some major progress in the last few days and launching looks to be in about three weeks, with departure a couple of weeks later, fingers crossed.
- Antifouling is completed (a very nice job), boot stripe to be done.
- Naiad stabilizer fins have been removed, bearings checked and greased and seals replaced. This was a major, taking three guys three days. Parts alone over $2,000. It was also “mission-critical” as the seals had to come from USA, and there are several different varieties of seals. I wanted to be sure this job was completed in plenty of time in case the seals were not the correct ones. One of the engineers will come out for a sea trial to check all OK.
- Our engine is cooled by re-circulating fresh water through a heat exchanges mounted on the keel – called a keel cooler. Our keel cooler through-hull fitting had a slow sea water leak in 2007. Demir were supposed to have removed this, reconditioned the through-hull and re-sealed it. However this was over looked, possibly as it’s in a cow of a position to get out. They’ve now taken it out (after some carpentry to improve access), reconditioned the through hull and re fitted it.
- The pump which supplies cooling water to our refrigeration had a broken outlet fitting. Demir have repaired this, along with our spare pump, which was also broken in the same place.
- Installed reconditioned sea water pump providing cooling water to stabilizers, as was leaking previously.
- The re-galvanized anchor chain has been marked at 10m intervals, and put back on board – windlass working fine.
- Steering checked and seems OK – can’t test fully until in water.
- RIB has been lifted off Envoy by a large crane and taken away for reconditioning. Tubes to be cleaned and slow leaks fixed, new set of tube covers to be made and fitted, seats to be re-upholstered, fiberglass hull to be sanded, faired and re-painted, nav lights & 12v power outlet to be fixed, hole in deck to be repaired, Yamaha to be serviced.
- A small section of the bilge, under the prop shaft has deteriorated and the gelcoat there needs renewing to prevent bilge water seeping into the hull laminate at the keel. A very difficult place to access, but Demir have removed the old gelcoat and we’re now letting the area dry before Demir lay some new glasscloth and gelcoat. Helping the drying process with hot air gun - pretty uncomfortable laying down there!
- Most navigational equipment – radars, vhfs, SSB, Navtex has been tested and OK. Only problems found are bow thruster and side nav lights not working.
- Re-provisioned our supply of flares.
- Our boat cover did a wonderful job in protecting Envoy during 27 months, and represents a sizeable investment at about $5,000. This has been cleaned, repaired and folded into newly-made long term storage bags. We also got Hashim to make storage bags for our two dehumidifiers, recondition the cockpit canopy and custom-make three large deck storage bags.
- The high-gloss varnish on our exterior teak had deteriorated, so the varnish has been stripped back to bare teak and is to be teak-oiled. Demir recommend this as opposed to varnish, due to maintenance issues in the Med heat.
- Checked and repacked our emergency “grab bag”; enough gear in there to last us several days if we ever have to abandon Envoy.
- Mounted four smoke detectors throughout Envoy and checked and agitated all extinguishers.
- Cleaned our three bilge pump pick-ups - see photo.
- Got our HP printer working.
- Checked boat deck winches (one function not working) and replaced all shock cord
Main things to be done now are:
- Get the fuel filtration system operational and start filtering our diesel.
- Get toilets and fresh water systems running.
- Main engine prop shaft and cutlass bearing still to be installed (can’t be done until bilges job completed).
- Get the three engines running.
- The gelcoat on hull, topsides and decks is being professionally cleaned, cut and polished, as not done since 2006.
All sounds simple doesn’t it, but good news is there are plenty of ticks off the list and nothing much being added.

Envoy slowly comes to life

After six solid but enjoyable days working on the boat we’re making some progress.
When we arrived last Monday everything looked basically OK, but it was hard for us to quite know where to start. Now we are pretty comfortable living aboard on the hardstand with power, water supply from a hose (but no running water on the boat yet), refrigeration, lpg stove, microwave, and all electrics operational.
Yesterday Di went into Marmaris, about 30 minutes by dolmus (bus) for about $5 return and got a new SIM card for our Turkish phone. This is Turkcell, similar to NZ Telecom. Cost is quite high at roughly $50 for an hour of local calls or $50 for 25 minutes of international calls. We’ll be sticking to Skype (free WiFi at the marina).
Di says things have really increased in price here since 2007. For example a tube of Colgate toothpaste cost $10. We might be making our own!
Been busy re-familiarizing ourselves with where everything is. Envoy is incredibly well equipped with spare parts, tools and chandlery, but you have to know where to find something when you need it. We've completed dozens of jobs and during the day it’s a bit chaotic with different tradesmen coming and going. Demir Marine employ about 40 staff and we’ve met about 10 so far. Over here they are very much specialists. They have engineers, electricians, painters, riggers and laborers without much crossover, whereas in New Zealand an engineer would for example happily paint a reconditioned starter motor. The guys are really friendly, although communication is difficult as only a few speak English.
All except one of the sea cocks are back in place, and today I checked all 15 of them, making sure I could remember where they are all located, check the installations, check the bonding wires had been connected, and that they were all in the closed position (except for bilge pump) ready for launching.
Tomorrow is a big day as the Naiad stabilizer seals get replaced (fingers crossed the seals are the right ones!) This is a big job as it involves completely removing the stabilizer fins, and if they don't go back on correctly we're gonna leak!
The hull is nearly ready for antifouling and I imagine that in another week we should have a pretty good idea of a launch date. So far there are no major unpleasant surprises (although a few minor ones) and we just need to keep working away and ticking stuff off the list.
On the social side we’ve so far met four couples we met during our 2007 cruise, and it’s been great to catch up with them again.

Back to Envoy in Marmaris

This is brief, just to let all know we’ve arrived in Marmaris and AOK.
THE JOURNEY
We left Auckland Friday 2nd and stayed a day & night in LA to break the journey and to buy some stuff at West Marine. We also had a brief night’s sleep in a hotel in Istanbul, arriving there midnight and leaving 0600. We chose this route via USA as the luggage allowance is 46kg each, and we had quite a bit to bring over having been away from Envoy for so long. Despite the generous luggage allowance we had an extra suitcase each and it cost us an extra $900 in excess luggage charges. LA airport was much better than we expected, very organized and extra security handled quickly and efficiently. On departure from LA we were sitting in the departure lounge only one and a quarter hours from leaving the Holiday Inn (and we’re cattle class). Istanbul was a different story – a total shambles. We left the airport Holiday Inn at 0600 for a 0740 flight to Dalaman and nearly missed it. Arrived at the airport 0630 and due to heavy traffic our shuttle could only get within 3 traffic lanes of crazy drivers to the Departure entrance, and we had six heavy cases. A porter materialized and was our savior, pushing to the front of queues (we said "sorry we're Australians") and the Euro 20 we paid him was money well spent. But for his help I’m sure we’d have missed the flight.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
As we approached Dalaman the Med was beautiful; flat calm turquoise seas, blue cloudless skies, and the sun reflecting off the nearby still snow-capped mountains.
A 90 min taxi ride later and we were at the marina. The marina staff were very welcoming and we checked into (a fairly scungy) room for the 1st two nights, as we knew it would take a couple of days to get Envoy organized sufficiently to sleep aboard.
Envoy was pretty much how we left her, sitting on the hard. The full cover we invested in had done its job; the cover was dirty but the boat mostly OK - dusty outside, but not too bad inside. The dehumidifiers had also done their job and the boat was dry. The batteries are in great condition having been charged about once a month. To be sure, we’re going to get the start batteries load tested. Demir Marine had mostly completed the work on the hull and were fitting the remaining seacocks including two we brought over from NZ, because in Turkey they don’t have bronze seacocks – only brass or stainless.
Yesterday we moved aboard to sleep:; the first of something like 240 nights we expect to have aboard before we return to NZ for a visit. It’s still a bit chaotic on board with workmen’s tools & dust covers but we’ve arrived! We met with the Manager of Demir - an Aussie called John – and it seems likely we’ll go into the water last week April, and all being well leave here about mid-May (Brian & Carol, our 1st guests, keep your fingers crossed). We’re now working with Demir Marine and concentrating on jobs which have to be done before we can launch and main items are finish installing seacocks, replace seals on stabilizers, fit new main prop shaft, cutlass bearing and stuffing box seals, fit new zincs, re-install the keel cooler, antifoul the hull,change all fuel filters and get fuel polishing system working so we can filter our total on-board fuel (about 3,000 litres), check steering, check bow thruster, test bilge pumps, get all three engines running, change all oil, fuel and air filters, some painting and varnishing, get RIB renovated. We've also decided to get a a full cut & polish and wax to the hull and topsides, as this has not been done for at least 4 years. Demir estimate this will take two guys about 4 days (rather them than me!) The total work list is vast, believe me, consisting of three
A4 pages, one item per line, and goes down to things like checking fire extinguishers (Kevin will be pleased), buying new flares, testing every item of equipment etc, etc. Even when we’re back in the water there are some large jobs to do, like getting the watermaker and Naiad stabilizers working.
But we’re making progress, and there are no major unforeseen issues at this point.
Aboard on the hard, we can’t use the head or shower, but we have 220v connected and all the electrics are working fine. Our fridge/freezer operates with either air or water cooling and works fine – Frank take note.
Roy – the RNZYS hat you gave me has already led to us meeting some other Kiwis.
Will give an update on the weekend.

Link to map now available

If you scroll down the right hand side of this blog there is a link to a map showing Envoy's travels, using Click2Map software. On this map a blue icon shows every destination Envoy has been to since we started our journey from Ostia in March 2007.
It also shows the date and whether Envoy was at anchor or in a marina.
When you load the map by clicking on the link, on the left hand side of the map there are directional arrows and a range scale. On the right hand side you can read the destinations visited with dates. If you click on a destination the relevant tab is labelled, and you can then use the scale to zoom in on that location. What a great system and thanks to my friend Cory Dyer for helping me with setting up the link.
Technical
Demir Marine in Marmaris advised they inspected the main prop shaft (last replaced 2001) and found signs of surface corrosion. They emailed me photos of the corrosion and suggested we get a new shaft made and installed while Envoy is out of the water.
Will also need a new cutlass bearing as the old shaft was 2", while the new one will be 50mm.

Cruising again soon

It is exactly two years ago since we updated our blogspot, and now is a good time to look back on what’s happened so far and advise about our future plans:
October 2006: purchased Nordhavn 46 Envoy, located in Ostia, Italy
March 2007: joined Envoy in Ostia for the start of an intended 15 month cruise
December 2007: signed a contract to sell Hunt Agencies, the company in which I was a major shareholder
January 2008: cut our cruise short to return home and assist the management of the acquiring company
During 2007 our voyage took us down the west coast of Italy to Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, through the Straits of Messina and north east to Corfu, down the west coast of Greece and the Ionian Islands, through the Gulf of Corinth and the Corinthian Canal to the Saronic Islands and Piraeus and then east through the Greek Middle Cyclades and some of the Dodecanese Islands to Marmaris, Turkey where Envoy is currently located.
Envoy has been left unattended since January 2008, but we protected her with a custom-built waterproof cover, installed two dehumidifiers inside, left the batteries on charge and contracted a local marine engineering company, Demir Marine, to go aboard and make regular checks. In addition, several friends have been able to inspect Envoy and independently assure us that mostly everything is OK. Knowing that Envoy would be out of the water for at least two years we also contracted Demir Marine to renew the gelcoat and paint on all underwater hull sections including the rudder and stabilizer fins.
I retire from full-time work on 31 March and we will arrive back in Marmaris on 5 April. When Envoy is ready to cruise again we plan to cruise to the Greek Islands of Rhodes, Lindos, Karpathos and Crete, where we will stay for several weeks. We will then return to Marmaris via Milos, Kimolos, Fologandros, Sikinos, Santorini, Anafi and Tilos.
I have made an arrangement with a premium, coffee-table quality, Australasian boating magazine, “Pacific Motor Yacht”, to publish a regular column about our Med cruising adventures and our first article appears in the March/April edition. Pacific Motor Yacht has a great on-line version which is free, and uses a "flick pages" format making it very reader-friendly. Google Pacific Motor Yacht magazine for details.
Technical
If you read over our blog entry of 6 January 2008 you’ll be able to see the details of what we did to prepare Envoy for long term storage. When we return to Marmaris there will be considerable work needed to get Envoy back into cruising trim, and we estimate it will take 4-6 weeks to complete this and start cruising again.