ENVOY'S FIRE DAMAGE REPAIRS PROGRESSING IN EARNEST

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina undergoing repairs for cosmetic damage caused by fire on an adjacent boat. We spent last week in Corfu with our friend Chris but are now back in Lefkas staying in an apartment near the marina.

It's now three weeks since YachtPaint started Envoy's repairs. Progress has been slightly slower than we expected but they are still saying it will take four weeks, meaning completion in one week. However looking at Envoy on Saturday we can't envisage this and expect a further week or so and then one to two weeks to complete various other jobs that can't be done while YachtPaint are working. This includes a routine 5-yearly service of the Naiad stabilisers involving changing over the fins' through hull seals scheduled to take about 4-5 days but if time becomes a problem we can post-phone this to next season.

YachtPaint's first task was lifting off Envoy's aluminium mast to ground level. It's been sanded back and primed for repainting with two-pot epoxy, including sandblasting of a few areas where oxidation of the aluminium occurred under the old paint causing blisters.

When the mast is re-stepped in the coming week all of the lines are being replaced although the stainless steel stays are OK.

Envoy's mast at ground level

The insurance is paying for repainting the hull's port side and polishing the port side. After discussions with YachtPaint we decided to pay some extra and have both sides repainted using Awlgrip. These areas have been repainted and now just need some paint runs removed and touching up.

Yachtpaint are due to work on the hull below waterline in the coming week as well as re-varnishing some teak coamings, and polishing those areas that aren't being repainted.

The flat windows and portholes have been repaired and will be refitted in a few days. The curved window has been an issue though. It's 10mm thick and curved in two planes. We finally found a Greek company that can build a mould to make this and got insurer's approval to proceed last Wednesday with delivery two weeks from then.

The next two to three weeks should see most jobs finally come to fruition and we're still on track to start cruising about 4 July.

We haven't posted any pictures for a while so here goes.

Outside and inside views of the atmospheric three-story house in the hills built in 1888, where we spent our first month

Amy was able to join us for a week in Lefkada and here we're enjoying lunch at Sivota

With Amy we did a three day road trip to Meteora where there's several monasteries over a thousand years old built on the top of inaccessible hills.

Look at the "cable car" used to access the monastery

This would have been quite a climb in the old days

But then you can partake from this 12,000 litre barrel of wine

Amy at Meteora

MAJOR PROGRESS ON ENVOY'S FIRE DAMAGE REPAIR

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina undergoing repairs for cosmetic damage caused by fire on an adjacent boat while we're living ashore in a nearby village.
Tomorrow, Tuesday it's a month since we got back to Lefkas and progress seems to have been painfully slow, but on Friday we got the insurer's approval to proceed with repairs and our repair contractor, YachtPaint, started today. In fact they were on the job by 0830 – the earliest we can ever recall a contractor turning up for work on Envoy. Let's hope that's a good omen!

We had expected repairs to start much sooner but with insurance there is a process to go through and here's a timeline of this whole affair so far:

Tue 25/4: arrive Lefkas the day of fire
Thu 27/4: meet assessor and YachtPaint manager
Fri 28/4: receive quote from YachtPaint to clean Envoy of fire debris and forward to insurer
Sun 30/4: organise accommodation and rental car as we can't live on board
Tue 1/5: insurers approve cleaning quote
Thu 4/5 – Fri 5/5: crane hoists RHIB down from Envoy and YachtPaint clean Envoy so damage can be properly inspected
Tue 9/5: assessor returns for full joint inspection with YachtPaint and us. Degree of damage identified and YachtPaint to quote for total repair
Wed 10/5: original expected cruising start date
Fri 12/5: meet YachtPaint at Envoy to discuss repair quote
Sat 13/5: Sailand and I list all rigging needing replacement
Mon 16/5: Sailand remove all broken windows and portholes and send to glass factory. I obtain quote for 3 soot-damaged covers that need replacing. YachtPaint's quote received and forwarded to assessor, who sends to insurer
Tues 17/5: Sailand do a considerable amount of non fire-related work
Fri 20/5: insurer's verbal approval to proceed obtained. YachtPaint advised
Mon 22/5: insurer's written approval expected. YachtPaint start work
Sat 24/6: projected completion date
Fri 30/6: projected launch and sea trial date
Tues 4/7: projected departure and start cruising date

Looking back it doesn't seem so bad to get repair work started four weeks after the event, although with the benefit of hindsight we could probably have saved a few days. Presuming everything now goes according to plan we will have lost nearly two months of our 2017 cruising season.

There's still quite a bit of non fire-related work to do, the biggest job being an overhaul of the Naiad hydraulic stabilisers expected to take 4-5 days. We'll be doing our best to have work done concurrently, although it's not possible during grinding, sanding and spraying.

UPDATE ON THE CRUISING SITUATION IN TURKEY

We are staying ashore in the hills behind Lefkas Marina, Greece where Envoy is on the hardstand awaiting repairs to heat and soot damage caused by fire on a nearby boat.

It's over three weeks since the fire and not much has happened except for a major clean-up so the damage could be properly assessed. The broken windows and portholes have also been removed for repair so that's a start. These windows are a bit unusual since each toughened glass pane is set into a stainless steel frame which is then sealed into a further stainless steel frame attached to the GRP cabin's window cavity. All the windows have rounded corners and one is slightly curved as well. The insurance assessor and local contractors tell us that usually the boat's manufacturer supplies replacements for broken windows but Nordhavn told us they don't stock these, and in fact haven't been very helpful at all.

The quote to repair Envoy was received Tuesday and it will take several days to get insurer's approval for work to start. The contractor says he'll have six guys working full time on Envoy and it will be completed within five weeks. So our best guess for completion is end June.

Now to Turkey - we've heard that lots of cruisers are leaving there, so here's an update based on our best information.

Turkey has arguably been one of the world's greatest cruising destinations with great anchorages, spectacular scenery, mostly clean waters, an interesting and different culture and cuisine, loads of excellent well-preserved historical sites dating back thousands of years, friendly honest people, low cost, political stability, reasonable safety, competent technical infrastructure and proximity to interesting Greek islands.

It's also been a huge tourist destination with 42m visitors during the peak year of 2014, but in recent years some of Turkey's circumstances have gradually been changing causing many cruisers to leave, fewer tourists arriving (25m last year) and a less certain future for the approximately 1.6m Turks reliant on tourism for employment.

For cruisers the first major change occurred with regulations limiting the time yachts can spend cruising some popular areas along the famed Turquoise Coast and requiring the purchase of a “Blue Card” (an electronic card) to record the discharge of sewage from holding tanks into shore-based or mobile pump-out stations. This card costs 280 Lira (about NZ$115) and although it appears this regulation is not being rigidly or uniformly enforced it’s causing consternation due to both its added cost and the limited number of pump-out facilities available making strict compliance next to impossible. The CoastGuard does board vessels to inspect their documentation and there have been cases of cruisers being fined 1,000 Lira (about NZ$420) because their card hadn't been used within the last two weeks even when in some cases the local facilities weren't operational. Other reports say cruisers have to account for grey water waste as well as sewage. Not many cruisers have grey water holding tanks so the whole situation is uncertain and worrying.

Basically this requirement seems to exist just so that authorities can show they're trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. In our time cruising Turkey we never found any areas with sewage issues except where the sewage originated from shore, although plenty of beaches and other areas were covered in serious amounts of general litter.

Then a regulation was introduced limiting the time visitors can spend in Turkey to 90 days in any period of 180 days, making Turkey similar to Schengen Treaty countries. Previously a visitor could get a 90 day visa, exit for a few hours to a Greek island before the completion of 90 days and then return to Turkey and get a new 90 day visa issued. A concession was later made for cruisers allowing temporary residency using their boat as an address, but the process still involves some additional cost and inconvenience compared to the previous 90 day renewable visa system.

Although like many countries Turkey has suffered isolated terrorist incidents and some comparatively minor bombings for many years, sadly this has increased since 2014 resulting in many governments including New Zealand, Australia, USA and UK to step up their travel alert levels. While there have been loss-of-life incidents at tourist areas in some major cities, notably Istanbul, thankfully terrorism does not appear to have hit coastal resorts and cruising areas.

Last July Turkey had an attempted coup resulting in considerable numbers of arrests and the declaration of a State of Emergency. This has recently been extended for three months, but it appears the government does intend to revert to normality soon after that. Meanwhile the government led by President Erdogan recently narrowly won a controversial referendum to increase its powers. Turkey's post referendum direction remains to be seen, but many people are concerned that it may be more autocratic, less democratic and less secular.

Last year we heard from cruisers based in Turkey that many cruisers as well as charter yacht fleets are leaving. Incredibly, Turkish marinas have reacted by increasing their prices to compensate for the revenue loss caused by reductions in boat numbers. Previously average Turkish marina prices were quite competitive with, for example Greek marinas, but are now more expensive (although in both countries there is a very broad range of pricing). There are many cruisers who don't concern themselves too much with the local politics of their host country, but nearly all cruisers are budget-conscious and these price increases have further increased numbers of departures.

Many Turkish based and owned boats are registered elsewhere (a surprising number in USA) presumably to avoid Turkish VAT. In an effort to encourage them to fly the Turkish flag authorities have very recently introduced two significant new measures (advised to us by major yachting agency BWA). Boats switching flags to Turkish will be allowed to become VAT-registered by paying a one off charge of one per cent of their insured value and paying a “harbour master's fee” varying according to boat length but for 12-20 metres length set at 1,627 Turkish Lira (approx NZ$668)

Foreign owned and flagged cruisers can also change to Turkish flag under the same conditions, but I imagine that idea won't hold much appeal as cruisers tend to move between countries and take pride in their own country's flag, an exception being larger vessels and super-yachts whose owners mostly register in countries with lenient tax regimes.

We're just glad that we immensely enjoyed part of several seasons cruising in Turkey during the easier less complicated times.

ENVOY'S FIRE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT COMPLETED

We are staying ashore in a country area 10km from Lefkas Marina, Greece where Envoy is on the hardstand.
Vassilis warned us about snakes and although we haven't seen any near the house we've seen two slithering across the road to Lefkas.

Following heat, soot and smoke damage to Envoy caused by fire on a nearby boat the clean up has finished and today Tuesday the surveyor, together with the contractor who will be doing the repairs, visited for the second time to fully assess the actual damage. This was mostly about determining which GRP areas need repairs to the GRP, which need painting and which only need polishing.

The next steps are the contractor has to prepare a detailed quote for every item that needs repair, discuss it with me on Friday, then pass it to the surveyor who will pass it on to the insurers with his recommendations. The one contractor is quoting for everything and will engage subcontractors (eg for rigging, upholstery, glazing) as needed. The surveyor says we should have the go-ahead to start work about mid next week and the contractor advises he can start within a couple of days from then.

The nature of the issues hasn't changed from our previous postings except that our large RHIB stored on the starboard side upper deck, facing the fire, will need a new pontoon cover (known as “chaps”) and its hull (slightly discolored by heat) painting.

Everyone knows me as an optimist, but I can't see this being finished much before the end of June (that is 6 weeks) and maybe that's optimistic. The contractor will be giving me his time estimate with the quote.

Of course things are still happening that aren't related to the fire.
We've successfully tested much of Envoy's equipment but lots of other equipment can't be tested until we're back in the water.
We've taken six fire extinguishers and two inflatable life jackets in for periodic routine servicing.
Or smaller 2,7m “Valiant” is being repaired due to a sea water leak through the transom and is turning out to be a bit of a major with the repair cost about one third the cost of a new one. But we're assured it will be like new so proceeding with the repair.
Sailand are about to start some work including:
- remove keel cooler for periodic servicing involving dismantling and internal and external cleaning, plus remove and re-seal its through hull fitting
- replace leaking domestic fresh water filter housing
- replace failed Robertson auto pilot sender unit with new one
- replace fresh water purifier's u/v lamp

Next update mid next week should include the repair work's start date and estimated completion date.

Meanwhile our daughter Amy is with us and tomorrow we're heading away for a three-day drive to some scenic Greek mainland areas.

ENVOY'S FIRE DAMAGE PROGRESS REPORT

Following smoke and heat damage to Envoy caused by fire on a nearby boat one of our priorities was to find somewhere to stay since we can't live aboard while the clean up, sanding and then GRP repairs and painting are being done.
As the arrival of May signals the start of the local summer season and accommodation becomes more difficult we mention this to our contractor, Sailand, whose staff member Vassilis advises the house next to his is available for rent. Last Sunday we check this out to find a large four-bed-roomed, two-bath-roomed stone villa fully furnished and equipped, built in 1888 but completely refurbished while retaining its historical charm based on a mostly wooden interior decorated with antiques and artifacts. It's located high in the hills about 10 km from the marina where it's nice and cool with a stunning view over the Lefkas area and sea beyond. All of this for a most reasonable 600 Euros (about NZ$923) for a MONTH – that is about $30 per day. Ironically Di and I have often said we'd love to spend some time in a traditional Greek mountain village and the three nearby fit this bill perfectly.
Vasillis did say that as this is a country area to keep a watch out for snakes and scorpions but we've so far only seen one snake crossing a road.

Our agents, A1 organise a near new Nissan Micro 4-door rental car for us at the extremely favourable rate of 20 Euros (about NZ$31) per day including insurance.

To top it off our London-based daughter Amy is going to fly over on Sunday and stay with us for a week.

Now to Envoy. It seemed to take ages for anything to start as we awaited feedback from our insurers, but on Thursday a huge crane lowered our RHIB down from Envoy's upper deck so that it could be cleaned and Envoy's upper deck accessed for cleaning. Then a team from Yachtpaint started the complete cleaning of Envoy's exterior and the sanding of heat blisters from the hull and gelcoat.

Two days of work made a huge difference and all of the soot and debris aboard Envoy has been removed. What remains are some fairly extensive ingrained soot marks on the starboard side white topsides gelcoat as well as a small area of peeled burnt gelcoat.

The blisters on the hull and stabiliser fin have been removed with the hull being taken back to bare GRP in those areas.

The surveyor is visiting again on Tuesday when decisions will be made regarding what areas can be polished back to the near-perfect condition that existed before and what areas will need repair and painting. The more areas that require painting, the longer the job will take since extensive masking will be required.

Thankfully Yachtpaint are available to start the job as soon as the insurers accept the surveyor's recommendations, but Envoy will need to be moved undercover (site is available) and we don't expect anything to start much before the end of next week.

Best indication of time required at this stage is about a month so that takes us through to about mid-June and even that is quite speculative depending on what the surveyor suggests and how things go.

Meanwhile we're making progress on sourcing replacement flat windows but having some difficulty with the curved pilothouse window. The crack in this is fairly minor (about 60cm) so we could cruise with it cracked and get it replaced during winter, although people tell us the insurers might not agree to this as they will want to wrap up the claim.

A local rigger will also inspect damage to Envoy's rigging next week and quote for her repair.

The time issue is going to be GRP repair and painting since most other issues can be dealt with simultaneously and by late next week we should have a pretty accurate idea of what is to be done and the time required.

ENVOY'S NEAR DISASTER

We are now staying in a hotel at Lefkas Marina, Greece.

On the way to Lefkas we spend ten great but cold days at Scotland's Orkney Islands, famous for their scenic beauty, wildlife and history including Neolithic and Viking settlement and the Royal Navy's Scapa Flow base which saw extensive action during both World Wars. A future Blog posting will describe the Orkneys.

In the cruising life you have mostly great days and some not so great, but this one would end up one of our worst.

We arrive at Lefkas by five hour bus trip from Athens on a beautiful sunny Tuesday late afternoon. After checking into the marina hotel we wander over to check Envoy on the hardstand, approaching from her port side. We're firstly surprised to see Envoy's location surrounded by wide red “crime scene” style tape. As we get closer we see marina staff standing watch over the area, then closer still we smell a bitter aroma in the air and see the burnt-out remains of a large motor boat at right angles to Envoy with her stern about four metres away from Envoy's mid starboard beam.

Burnt vessel to left of Envoy with debris from fire on the ground

The marina staff initially advise we can't enter the area until they realise we're Envoy's owners.

The burnt out wreck and debris littering the ground is so much in our faces that we don't initially notice any damage to Envoy except that her starboard side's rigging and white topsides are badly stained by smoke and soot. Very soon though we notice a large area about 7 x 2 metres of heat blistering on her hull's gelcoat, heat blistering and peeled gelcoat on a white outboard facing topsides area about 3 x 2 metres, two cracked portholes and four cracked windows.

Looking down from Envoy on Dorset Urchins 

While we're still in a slightly dazed state the marina staff explain that a British motor boat named Dorset Urchins had only been taken out of the water that morning and positioned next to Envoy.

The fire started with nobody aboard during lunchtime and although the marina staff and Fire Brigade (located a few hundred metres across the road) were on scene quickly Dorset Urchins was badly damaged and most likely an insurance write-off. Envoy was close to and downwind from Dorset Urchins and the damage is not from flames but heat and smoke.

Fortunately nobody was injured and there was certainly plenty of potential for injury from lpg bottles, diesel and petrol for outboards.
We stay around the boat for an on-site meeting with the marina's manager who explains Dorset Urchins is fully insured and assures us the marina will do everything possible to help us. He explains they didn't phone us as they knew we're arriving today. By now it's about 7.30pm so it's off to the marina bar for a calming drink!

That evening we contact our insurers – Pantaenius, who respond quickly and next day they advise that Nikolas will be our surveyor and will visit Thursday.

During that night's dinner we ponder how we'd planned to commence cruising in week of 8 May and wonder how long repairs to Envoy will take. This is now a busy time for all contractors with more cruisers arriving daily and wanting to start their journeys so it may be difficult to get work done.
On the bright side the fire could have taken hold on Envoy and caused irreparable damage.

In the meantime during Wednesday we're not allowed back on the site as it's under investigation by Fire Brigade inspectors and other local authorities.

Thursday comes and we meet Nikolas who immediately impresses us with his professional and cautious attitude plus his knowledge gained as a naval architect and marine engineer. Together we inspect Envoy outside and inside to find apart from above mentioned damage:

-damaged starboard navigation light and vhf aerial
-paint damage to aluminium radar housing
-several rigging blocks, stainless steel wires and rope lines damaged and/or discoloured
-starboard side teak coaming and teak Envoy name sign's varnish damaged

Close up of Envoy's blistered gelcoat

He examines the hull gelcoat blisters and gives an initial opinion that while the blisters are mostly in the paint, the gelcoat will need to be stripped off damaged areas and new gelcoat applied. When the area is laid bare it will also be inspected in case of structural damage.

Fortunately there is no damage whatsoever inside, not even a smoke smell.

Envoy's smoke and heat damaged rigging

Nikolas decides the first priority is to get Envoy's exterior professionally cleaned to get rid of damaging soot and be able to better assess the damage. As this is insurance work quotes have to be obtained and approved by the insurers, but we now have a quote awaiting approval and the contractor can do the clean-up mid next week (Monday being a local holiday). Then he is able to start the gelcoat repairs the following week.
We also have a contractor who will quote for the repairs to rigging late next week after the clean-up and he can start the work within a few days of acceptance.

The other major issue is windows and portholes. Nordhavn advise they don't supply these as they're normally sourced from local glass contractors. Sailand have inspected them and confirm local supply should be possible. There is one exception – a curved window in the pilot house and we'll have to find a specialised glass provider to supply this one. Fortunately the crack in this window is only about 70mm and virtually out of sight so we could go cruising with the crack and have the window replaced on our return.

While all this is happening we still need to complete quite a bit of regular work in parallel not connected to the fire. In fact Sailand haven't completed as much of this during winter as we'd expected.

Best guess now for the start of cruising is mid June, but we'll have a more accurate assessment about mid May.
Meanwhile we're looking for somewhere to stay as we can't stay aboard Envoy with the dust, fumes and noise from GRP repairs.
People tell us we seem very calm considering the situation, but we're thankful nobody was hurt and that damage to Envoy is superficial and easily repairable. A yacht alongside Dorset Urchins is much more seriously damaged.
Look for our update in about a week.

ENVOY'S 2017 CRUISING PLANS

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter while we're home for the New Zealand summer, returning in just a few days.

We have exciting plans for this year's cruising!
After a brief shakedown cruise to ensure Envoy is performing well in the vicinity of our Lefkas home base, around mid-May we'll head north to Corfu and then north-east to Albania. From there we head west across to the north-east coast of Italy and south down the Italian Boot to Sicily, where we'll spend the bulk of our time, with two side trips to Malta , a destination we haven't visited before about 50 miles offshore from Sicily. We'll also visit the Aeolian Islands off north-east Sicily and while leaving Envoy in a marina take the hydrofoil to Stromboli Island.

Then around early September we'll start a leisurely northwards cruise back to the northern Ionian area to go into Lefkas Marina second week of October. Yes we're having a slightly shorter cruising season this year, being away for only a bit over six months rather than the usual seven plus.

When we get back to Envoy we'll have been absent for nearly seven months so there'll be quite a bit to do, although hopefully Sailand and other contractors will have completed most of the 25 or so maintenance issues we asked them to tackle during winter ranging through replacing zips on vinyl covers, repairing a sea water leak on our smaller RHIB, checking the windlass motor and several preventative maintenance jobs on each of our three engines.

It's always fun getting Envoy cruise-ready as we see her come back to life around us and are enthusiastic about getting cruising, but it's quite a logistical exercise involving not only Diane and I but contractors involved in marine engineering, electrical, upholstery, RHIB repair, outboard maintenance, hull polishing and anti fouling, Naiad stabilisers (to replace the seals on the fins) and HRO water maker (to repair a leak).
Envoy will be pulled out of the water before we return so that some of the out-of-water jobs can be started, particularly anti-fouling and hull polishing.

Over many cruising years we've met a huge number of owners and some rely almost completely on contractors, doing virtually nothing themselves. At the other extreme some owners do nearly everything themselves, and I say nearly because it would be virtually impossible for any owner to have the skills and specialist knowledge to tackle everything. We're probably about in the middle of the range, doing as much as we can ourselves but relying on contractors for technically demanding work like reconditioning alternators, rebuilding water pumps etc as well as physically demanding work like anti-fouling. Apart from these factors, without help from contractors it would probably take us about an additional three or four weeks to get cruising.

We'll update progress after our arrival.

CRUISING ABOARD MORITZ - PART 2

CRUISING ABOARD MORITZ PART 2

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter while we're home for the New Zealand summer – but not for much longer as in early April we start our journey back end of next week.

First we'll be spending 10 days in the Orkney Islands off Scotland's north-west coast, where I'm sure there will be plenty of boating-related material to write about. Then we head to Athens for the six hour bus trip to Lefkas Marina and Envoy.

Continuing on from our last Blog posting we're aboard stunning Maritimo 48 foot motor yacht, Moritz,  owned by our friends Morris and Gail.

On day two we wake up well-refreshed and while eating breakfast quietly cruise across to Waiheke Island to anchor in Matiatia Bay. 

Matiatia Bay wharf from Moritz at anchor

Here we go ashore to walk around the headland overlooking Matiatia while culturally enriching ourselves by viewing the Sculpture on the Gulf Exhibition supported by about 50 sponsors including respected international names like Jaguar, Sothebys and Mazda.

The 30 or so sculptures are spread along a hilly coastal track about two miles long and range from “is that art? Gosh a five year old could do that” to incredibly clever. Sedately viewing them amongst stunning landscapes is a great way to enjoy our morning walk.

This "sculpture" has us scratching our heads

But we liked this one

And the views along the walk are great

Looking down on Matiatia Bay

Later we cruise along Waiheke's northern shore and across a flat-calm Firth of Thames to Elephant Cove (so-named as the imposing rocks on its northern entrance look like an elephant's head) on Motukahaua Island.

Inside Elephant Cove

There's not much anchoring room in the small cove with two boats already there, but Morris finds a great spot still leaving room for two more boats that come in later.

Fishing is a huge part of the New Zealand boating scene and next morning we try several spots down the coast, but without success. For some reason Auckland's summer sea temperature at 19 degrees is about two degrees cooler than usual and the snapper don't like it, but we see a nearby school of kahawai and manage to catch several in just a few minutes with trolling lures.

Morris then takes us to his “secret spot X” where a rock awash at low tide has a surprisingly abundant supply of green-lipped mussels, so that night we're anchored on the eastern side of Waimate Island just north of Coromandel Harbour having a great feed of fresh sashimi and mussels.

Gail in Moritz's galley

The village of Coromandel is quirky and arty, embracing what you might call “alternative culture” and just before next day's high tide we anchor off the shallow creek heading to the town. We don't really need any supplies but it's a tradition to head up the creek in your dinghy while high tide allows and sample pies or doughnuts from the bakery and a beer from the pub, though on this occasion we opt for coffees.

Morris guides us up the very tidal Coromandel Creek

 

New Zealand regulations sensibly require all boats to carry correctly-sized life jackets for all people, while on those boats under six metres they must be worn unless the skipper determines it is safe not to do so. For example crossing a bar is dangerous and they should be worn but perhaps the're not necessary (except for non swimmers) if you're simply going a few metres from one boat to another. However Coromandel comes under a different jurisdiction requiring jackets to be worn at all times and we're pleased to have complied when the harbourmaster's boat passes nearby.

Coromandel village is at the creek's head

After a night anchored in serene Te Kouma harbour we're heading back across the Firth of Thames to Hooks Bay on the eastern side of Waiheke to meet mutual friends for brunch aboard their boat.

Next day we pull the fishing rods out again without landing a single fish, then anchor off Rotorua Island which used to be an alcohol rehabilitation centre run by the Salvation Army off-limits to the public. Recently the centre moved and the island has been opened up to the public, also making available some stunning formerly inaccessible beaches. Ashore there's an interesting museum documenting the valuable work done by the “Sallies” with addicts over several decades.

Rotoroa's stunning beaches like this one are now accessible

Our last night is spent nearby anchored off Waiheke's Man O'War Bay where we visit the Man O'War Vineyard – an excellent place to enjoy a pre-dinner glass of wine or three.

Laurie, Di and Morris enjoy a wine at the vineyard

Thanks very much to our hosts Morris and Gail and the good ship Moritz.

CRUISING ABOARD MORITZ - PART 1

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter while we're home for the New Zealand summer, returning next month.

It's early February, nearly three months since we left Envoy and after such a break from boating we're ready for some more, happily accepting an invitation to join long-time friends Morris and Gail Watson for a few days aboard “Moritz”, a Maritimo 48 motor yacht in Auckland's superb Hauraki Gulf.

Maritimos are upper end of the market planing motor yachts built in Queensland's Gold Coast. 
The company's owner, Bill Barry-Cotter, is well experienced in the marine industry and formerly owned Riviera – also builders of popular planing motor yachts. We presume the brand name is inspired by Maritimo Island, one of the Egadi Islands located off the north-west coast of Sicily where coincidentally we visited in 2014.

Moritz is a big volume luxury boat

We meet Morris and Gail at Half Moon Bay Marina and quickly settle on Moritz – not only have we been aboard previously but Morris and Gail have cruised aboard Envoy with us in the Aegean Sea. In fact they're also meeting us this year for a week in Sicily.

Being a weekday there are no other boats around and the sun is shining with little wind as we cruise sedately down the Tamaki River sipping a cold welcome-aboard beer.

Moritz is a luxuriously appointed big-volume boat with two staterooms, two having en-suite heads and bathrooms plus a third cabin with bunks that doubles as a utility room with a built-in washer/dryer ( a great feature aboard a cruising boat). The saloon has plenty of seating and a generous sized dining area while access to the huge flying bridge area is by an easily manageable staircase rather than the glorified ladder that many boats have.

The staircase to Moritz's flybridge is way better than the ladder we had on our last boat

Full walk-around decks give great access for crew duties, while a huge cockpit and boarding platform give ample space for outdoor entertaining and fishing. Previously I've been one of about 18 people aboard Moritz for a day's fishing without the boat feeling over-crowded.

Apparently there's a trend away from flybridge vessels to sedan style, but I honestly find this difficult to understand unless a buyer is really particular about a sportier appearance or has an issue with air draft. Flybridges work really well on larger boats providing much greater usable space and storage space for the same length, vastly improved unobstructed visibility and reduced engine noise at the helm. Advocates of the sedan style say it's nice to have all the crew in the same space, but I believe it's a much greater plus to have an additional and separate area of space. Another factor is that when seas are a bit rough, it's less claustrophobic and all looks a bit better looking down on the waves from on high.

Moritz's flybridge is perfect with full headroom, just the single helm position (in my opinion additional helm stations below add unnecessary expense and take a lot of space), glass windows (vinyl clears have restricted visibility in rough conditions and don't stay pristine for more than a couple of seasons), plenty of comfortable seating, a small fresh water sink and refrigerator, and easy staircase access.

With a flybridge like this who'd want a sedan style cruiser?

Some critics of flybridges also cite their additional windage, but in fact windage is generally not a problem applicable to boats (it has negligible effect compared to the drag caused by water) except perhaps for some inexperienced skippers encountering high beam winds in marinas and let's face it - most boats like this have twin engines and bow thrusters making maneuverability a breeze. Moritz even has stern thrusters! Incidentally for the technically minded hull drag caused by water increases at a phenomenal square of the increase in speed.

I do agree that flybridges don't work so well on smaller vessels (less than about 40ft) as their seating and headroom is too low, access is more difficult and vessel stability can be impaired by a higher centre of gravity.

This trip is also interesting to us for another reason. We're starting to think about what sort of boat we may buy back in Auckland when our Med adventures aboard Envoy are completed and so far all motor vessel options are on the table including conventional shaft-driven planing boats.
Moritz's twin 670hp Cummins diesel engines purr away driving their shafts with minimal vibration as we clear the channel and increase rpm slightly to 930 giving a still-sedate speed of 9.2 knots and fuel consumption of 14 litres/hour for each engine.
We're in no hurry and like many owners of fast planing boats Morris sees no benefit in going very much above displacement speed and then getting a bumpier ride and greatly increased fuel consumption. Later we're cruising at 1090 rpm providing 10 knots and 18 litres/hour.

First stop is Motutapu Island's Station Bay which is perfectly calm with only three other boats swinging at anchor. For me it makes an enjoyable change to be crew rather than skipper and not have tough decisions like deciding where to drop the anchor and how much chain to deploy. Morris and Gail are long time cruisers, originally aboard sailing yachts and we have the utmost confidence in them.

Leaving Motutapu Island's Station Bay

Planing boats tend to have a different sound at night compared with their displacement cousins as wind-driven wavelets hit their planing strakes and make a little bit of noise, but we're used to this from our former days of owning planing boats so it's no problem.

Next Blog we cruise to Waiheke Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.

AHOY THERE CAPTAIN

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter and we're home for the New Zealand summer, returning April – not too far away now!

This is an article we wrote published by Pacific MotorBoat magazine – not to be taken too seriously!

Boating is one of the few freedoms left, a hugely relaxing pastime and as such we shouldn't allow many things out there on the water to annoy us. I don't easily get annoyed and even smile and wave when high-powered speedboats towing water skiers pass within a few metres of Envoy at anchor – that's how it is in the Med.

But I'm not perfect by any means so I do find the odd thing irritating.

High on the list is boats at anchor displaying incorrect lights – I mean Rules are Rules. I must admit it tends to be mostly sailing yacht skippers who display white or coloured flashing strobe lights instead of the regulation all-round continuous white light. They justify this by saying the white light is not clearly visible to other vessels, especially against a background of lights ashore and /or high above eye level aloft the mast, whereas a flashing strobe is more visible. This is probably true, but if they're going to display strobe lights they should also display the legally-required light. It would be interesting to see what liability was attached to a skipper whose boat was accidentally hit while displaying incorrect lights and whether he/she would be covered by insurance. Incidentally it is illegal to display any anchor light, other than an all-round white light, that could be mistaken for another navigation light such as a nearby channel marker.

Another on my list is inconsiderate skippers laying out stern anchors and/or buoying their anchors in busy anchorages.

Stern anchors are useful in exposed anchorages to keep your boat aligned with the swell to reduce rolling, but they cause problems in normal anchorages when boats swing to changing wind or tide, except of course the one with the stern anchor.

Anchor buoys can be useful in very rocky anchorages when the buoy's line can be used to lift a fouled anchor (sometimes this works but not always), but some skippers also use them to mark the position of their anchor in an effort to discourage other skippers from anchoring anywhere nearby. There is a common misconception that a newly arriving boat should not anchor in a position where it ends up over another boat's anchor. There's actually nothing wrong with this practice – it could all change with the slightest wind shift, but what you shouldn't do is lay your anchor chain over that of another boat, making it difficult for them to retrieve their anchor. These anchor buoys and their lines can be a menace when boats move with wind and tide and I have no hesitation in removing any buoy that threatens to snag our running gear and politely returning it to its owner.

Stern anchors and anchor buoys should not be used in busy anchorages like this one at Knidos, Turkey

Then there is the incorrect use of the title “Captain”. When tradesmen come aboard Envoy they usually greet me and then carry on referring to me as “Captain” which always strikes me as rather ridiculous aboard a 14 metre vessel with mostly only two people on board.

In most navies including the US, British, Australian and New Zealand the rank of Captain is very senior, in fact equating to that of Colonel in the army, whereas an army Captain equates to a navy Lieutenant (three ranks down from a navy Captain).

You don't have to hold the rank of Captain to command a navy ship and often they are commanded by lesser ranks such as Commanders, Lieutenant Commanders or even Lieutenants on smaller vessels. By tradition in these cases he or she in command is referred to as “Captain” aboard the vessel regardless of actual rank.

Whereas “Captain” is a rank in the Armed Services, in the Merchant Navy the term “Master” describes the person in command and “Captain” is a courtesy title that correctly used applies to those marine professionals holding an internationally recognised Master's certificate of competency and who command or have commanded a seagoing merchant ship. Those who command pleasure vessels should be referred to as the “Skipper”.

A naval Captain is a higher rank than that of Captain in the army or air force

Sometimes in boating magazines you find letters to the editor or advertisements for services signed by somebody prefixing their name with the title “Captain”. This is fine if the person concerned is or has been a Captain in the Navy or a Master in the Merchant Navy, but should not be used by for example a pleasure boat skipper, a charter boat skipper or someone who has completed a course, even those offered by leading providers such as CoastGuard and the Royal Yachting Association. Some other marine education providers call their offering a “Captain's Course” but a graduate cannot correctly be called a Captain; this is about as ridiculous as the local Darts Team Captain using the title outside of the pub.

STABILISERS PART 3

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter while we're home for the New Zealand summer returning to Greece in April.

Our last Post discussed passive stabilisers.

This shot shows Laurie holding a bird, connected to a winch for lowering into the water. You can see the holes on top of the bird for adjusting the stabilising effect

Active stabilisers consist of a fin mounted below the waterline extending out each side of the hull using mostly hydraulics but in some systems electric motors to move them like aircraft ailerons to counteract rolling motion.

Envoy out of the water with stabilising fin visible

Envoy has hydraulically driven fins with the hydraulic pump powered by vee-belts from the main engine crankshaft and a 12 volt DC pump providing a constant flow of sea water to cool the hydraulic fluid. An electronic motion detector signals the hydraulics to move the fins to suit differing sea conditions with adjustment available via two thumb wheels in a pilot house control box.

The main advantages of this active system are that it's more effective than passive stabilisers providing 80-90 per cent roll reduction (compared to about 70 per cent), it deploys quickly with no physical effort required, it's easily adjustable using the electronic control system and causes negligible speed reduction.

However on the negative side the initial and ongoing cost of active stabilisers is expensive and during ten years we've spent several thousands of dollars replacing seals, sea water cooling pumps, vee-belts, filters, a hydraulic pump with its load adaptor, a servo valve and electronic components. Another issue is that they are highly specialised equipment and generally require trained and authorised engineers to provide service.
We're just about to make another significant investment to remove the fins and replace the through-hull seals, something which is required about every five years. This is a job the majority of owners including ourselves wouldn't attempt do themselves and special equipment is needed to remove the fins.

Set of through-hull seals

We're also going to make a modification so that when the system is not in use the fins hydraulically lock in the centre position. Currently the fins move at rest (which is noisy and potentially damaging) in all but the most sheltered of anchorages, so when necessary we secure them in the centred position through a fiddly process of using manual locking bolts. The actions of locking them and then unlocking them takes about 15 minutes.

An active stabilisation system also requires a significant investment in spare parts and we carry a spare sea water pump, hydraulic motor, load adaptor, set of vee belts and oil filter. The fins can potentially be fouled by flotsam or lines although this has only happened to us once in a marina. Although some active stabilisation systems can be used at anchor with a generator running to provide power ours cannot, in any case we wouldn't want to have an engine running overnight.

Partially hidden by the starboard side of the wheel is the stabilisers' control system

Using both systems we've occasionally found it necessary to alter course by about 30 degrees to “tack” and take the waves more on Envoy's bow when encountering closely-spaced, steep waves over about two and a half metres breaking directly on our beam.
A full displacement hull like Envoy definitely requires some form of stabilisation and the vast majority if not all Nordhavns have a system fitted. We're pleased to have both active and passive systems aboard Envoy but if restricted to one would undoubtedly select the passive system for its reliability, economy and ability to use at anchor.

Next Post will take a light-hearted look a the use of the title “Captain”.

STABILISERS PART 2

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter and we are home for the New Zealand summer, heading back in April.
Upcoming Posts - Stabilisers Part 3, Cruising in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf aboard 48ft motor yacht Moritz, Using the title Captain, Envoy's 2017 cruising plans.

Our last Posting introduced the subject of stabilisers, now we'll talk more about passive stabilisers.

A passive stabilisation system consist of two poles each about seven metres long mounted near amidships on the vessel's beam, which are stored vertically and when in use lowered to be deployed out from the vessel's side using a downhaul, topping lift and fore and aft guy-wires to keep them in position. They are mostly made from aluminium or steel though less commonly using laminated timber.

A large metal plate weighing about 25kg and shaped like a delta-winged aircraft, known as a “paravane”, “bird” (the term we use) or “fish” suspends from the end of the pole using a combination of chain and nylon line, the latter providing some spring to reduce shock loads. The front of the bird is weighted to make it “fly” through the water in a nose-down position approximately five metres below the surface and the top of the bird has several chain attachment points to adjust the bird's angle through the water. The further aft you attach the chain the more the bird tends to dive deeper and the more aggressive becomes the bird's stabilising action at the expense of increased drag.

This image shows the port pole and bird deployed with the downhaul, topping lift and fore and aft guy-wires

Due to the birds' weight and large awkward shape some form of winch is used to deploy and retrieve them (we use a light block and tackle) and with familiarity this process takes about 15 minutes.

When not in use we store the birds well out of the way on the boat deck, but if intending to use them we move them down to the cockpit so they're ready for immediate use.

Centre-right is a bird stored on Envoy's upper deck

The poles provide a distinctive fishing-boat-like appearance that won't suit everybody but certainly creates interest among other cruisers.

Stabiliser poles provide a distinctive appearance - love it or hate it! Port deployed, starboard raised

On some boats the poles are stored in a near horizontal position along the superstructure and this probably makes for a tidier appearance.

This system's big advantages are effectiveness - reducing roll by about 70 per cent, low initial and ongoing cost and reliability since there are no mechanical or moving parts - in the ten years we've owned Envoy no part of the system has needed replacement or maintenance. Just now we're having the birds epoxy-painted over the galavanising which is rusting slightly.

It's disadvantages are that it slows your boat down by about 10 per cent, there is some risk of the birds fouling flotsam or lines in the water (although ours never have) and the system cannot be rigged and de-rigged in shallow water or confined spaces.

Another huge benefit of this system is that by suspending a different type of metal plate the system provides highly effective stabilisation at anchor. Envoy's plates, known as “flopper-stoppers”, each consist of two flat plates of stainless steel plate joined together along one side with a hinge. When the boat rolls downward the hinge allows the plates to close together and drop rapidly and when the boat rolls upwards the hinge allows the plates to open and resist upward pressure. This system is extremely effective enabling us to anchor in places where roll or wakes would normally make it too uncomfortable. Flopper stoppers are comparatively light and easily deployed and retrieved by hand.
They can be used in depths over four metres.

Laurie holds a flopper-stopper

Here the port flopper-stopper has been deployed alongside a jetty to reduce the effects of a side-swell during a gale in Cephalonia

Next posting will look at ACTIVE stabilisers and our view on what is the "best" option.

STABILISERS PART 1

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter and we are home for the New Zealand summer returning to Lefkas during April.

This posting is based around an article I've written for Pacific MotorBoat magazine.

In pre-Envoy days boating around Auckland's Hauraki Gulf we owned several planing boats culminating in a 40 ft Oliver Royale GRP planing boat with twin Yanmar diesel shaft drives. We never then considered rolling to be an issue, however we realised very soon after buying our Nordhavn 46, Envoy, that full-displacement hulls are another matter, definitely requiring stabilisation to provide acceptable levels of comfort and safety when cruising moderate distances in beam seas higher than about one metre. I'm sure there are reasons for this that a boat designer could properly articulate. As much as I know is that in slight to moderate seas the flatter hull sections of a planing boat resist rolling to a greater extent than the rounded sections of a displacement boat. Also I have found that a fast boat on the plane seems to sit quite comfortably on beam waves without too much roll. On the negative side I understand that planing boats can roll dangerously in heavy beam seas and are more prone to capsize than ballasted displacement hulls like the Nordhavn. Additionally planing hulls pound when their flat sections hit waves, whereas the rounded sections of displacement hulls rise and fall more gracefully with greatly reduced noise and violent motion.

In our experience a planning boat like our previous 40 ft Oliver Royale doesn't roll under way to the extent that a displacement hull does

What follows isn't a technical treatise but comments based on cruising thousands of miles using Envoy's three stabilisation systems.

Stabilisers have been used for many years aboard commercial vessels but aboard pleasure craft only for about the last 40 years, considerably reducing rolling motion in beam seas, but with minimal effect on pitching caused by seas on the bow or stern.

Now some reader is bound to think “buy a catamaran and you won't have a problem” and I'd be the first to agree you've got a lesser problem, but we've met many folks who complain about their cat's motion both under way and at rest. Of course this is either better or worse depending on their design, as with monohulls.

Envoy at anchor with starboard stabiliser pole deployed with flopper-stopper to reduce roll from slight swell. The port pole can be seen in the vertical position

A web search shows many variations of stabilisers, but the mainstream systems fall into three basic types; passive, active and rotary.
We have no experience with rotary stabilisers, which are a more recent development utilising a flywheel contained in a vacuum chamber to provide a gyro effect, but they're reportedly highly effective in roll reduction both under way and at anchor with the advantages of having no protruding parts to cause speed-reducing drag or become fouled. They are able to be retrofitted either amidships or offset to one side, but have a significant investment cost. Presumably, if used for long periods such as overnight at anchor a generator would be needed to provide sufficient power – something we would not want to do.
Envoy has both passive and active stabilisers providing effective stabilisation under way and at anchor.

Envoy with both poles deployed with flopper stoppers to reduce roll at an exposed anchorage with ferry wakes

Next posting will discuss passive stabilisers in detail.

ATHENS

Happy New Year to our readers from around the world.
Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter and we are home enjoying the New Zealand summer.

Back to early November and after a very scenic five hour bus trip from Lefkas we stop over one night in Athens on our way home. There are so many ancient ruins in Greece that we see many along the way that aren't even signposted. This is real treat for us coming from NZ where there are hardly any structures over 150 years old.

Our hotel is in the downtown Plaka district close to the Acropolis and next morning we go for a walk in a huge wooded park next to parliament. Historically this park was the gardens of the royal family and parliament was their palace.

On the way back to the hotel we encounter a large and very peaceful demonstration of several thousand older folks carrying placards protesting the pension cuts that have been part of Greece's austerity measures. One retired man tells us his pension was formerly 2,300 Euros (about NZ$3,540) per month and has been progressively cut to 1,200 Euros (about NZ$1,850). Although the cut is obviously huge we cannot help feeling that the pensions were too high in the first place.

A cab driver later tells us that employment is very high at about 37 per cent. Greece's family culture is very strong however and most family groups own their own home, resulting in adult offspring often leaving apartments they can no longer afford and living with their parents. He explained there is little government support available for unemployed people but family and friends assist.

Importantly for the cruising community the worsened socio-economic situation hasn't increased crime and Greece remains an extremely safe country, our driver advising that a lone female can safely walk anywhere any time (which is certainly not the case in many parts home in New Zealand).

The same driver stops at a scenic lookout half way up the steepest of the seven hills of Athens for a spectacular view of the city, the Acropolis and the ocean. Athens is a large city of nearly 4m people with few high rise buildings as since the mid 70s new buildings aren't allowed to block views of the Parthenon on the towering Acropolis.

We now plan to continue Blog postings relating to Envoy and cruising in general until we return to Greece in April. Next posting will discuss stabilisation.

FINAL DAYS IN GREECE FOR 2016

Envoy is in Lefkas Marina for the northern hemisphere winter while we're home in New Zealand enjoying summer.

Back to late October and it's always much more fun getting any boat ready to cruise for the summer than to store for the winter, but we get stuck into Envoy's winter storage process. We have this well documented and it's simply a case of spending a few days doing all the jobs and ticking them off.

On the way back to Lefkas we spotted a Diesel Duck trawler. These are a rugged no-nonsense go anywhere passagemaker that we've often admired.

Diesel Duck

At this time of the year there are frequent squally fronts passing over like the one depicted below that chased Envoy down the coast.

Squally front

Envoy in Lefkas marina with winter cover fitted

After a couple of days a cat befriends us and becomes a regular visitor, boarding Envoy in the mornings for a feed. We're very happy to see plenty of cats around any marina as it keeps the rodent population down.


TECHNICAL
Our end of season jobs include running the generator, wing engine and all sea water pumps for about 15 minutes with a mixture of fresh water and Saltoff, then introducing glycol to replace the water in order to reduce corrosion during the period of non-use. This is time consuming as we need to remove the top from each equipment item's water strainer and feed it using a fresh water hose.
We fit Envoy's storage cover, now nine years old, which has been reconditioned during the summer with patches sewn over areas of thinning fabric, plus new velcro and zips. It goes on easily and will keep Envoy dry and clean during winter.

Apart from other routine season-end procedures we:
-Get a RHIB specialist, Nikos, to visit and replace two air valves on our large Nautica RHIB. A special tool and some practice is needed to do this. These valves have been marginal for a while and Nikos says they were close to failure.
Nikos also takes away our smaller Valiant RHIB and during the winter will repair a pontoon's slow air leak and a transom sea water leak.
-Sailand's Velisaris visits to review several jobs to be done during winter.
The dual trumpet air horn has failed due to water ingress and needs repair or replacement.
One of two domestic fresh water supply filters has a leaking filter housing which needs replacement. Our “Water Fixer” U/V water purifying lamp needs a check to see if it's working.
Our Lugger's alternator and Maxwell windlass electric motor need removal and checking.
Our main Raritan Atlantes head needs investigation to determine why it won't discharge through its seacock, but only via the holding tank, which has a different outlet overboard.

-Sailand will also do several other jobs for us during winter:
Our stabiliser paravanes or “birds” as we call them (the metal plates that go under water) need maintenance as the galvanising is starting to corrode. Sailand advise the quality of galvanising in Greece is not good so recommend an epoxy primer and top coat instead which will enable easier future maintenance.
Two Plexiglas deck hatches in the guest cabin need re-sealing into their frames.
Our Lugger main engine, Yanmar wing engine and Northern Lights generator will have all cooling hoses checked and replaced where necessary, coolant drained and replaced, air filters cleaned and a complete visual check.
The generator will also have its mountings checked, fresh water circulating pump checked and sea water pump serviced.
The Yanmar will also have its sea water pump checked and impeller replaced.
Before we return to Lefkas Sailand will lift Envoy from the water to prepare the hull for anti-fouling, clean and check the running gear and remove and clean the keel cooler.

With all complete it's goodbye Envoy until we return in April … but the Blog continues.