STUNNING VILLAGE OF ASSOS DURING IONIAN “INDIAN” SUMMER

Happy New Year for 2014. The Blog will now get back to more regular postings.
Envoy is currently wintering in Lefkas Marina, Greece, and we are home in New Zealand.
On Kefalonia’s wild west coast is the stunning village of Assos with its tiny harbour barely 200 metres by 100 metres. Overlooking the harbour are the ruins of a huge Venetian Fortress, dating from 1593, with impregnable walls totaling 2km long making it one of Greece’s largest. Originally built for protection against Turks and pirates the fortress became a seat of local power until it eventually became a prison. It was used as such by the Germans during WW11, but eventually closed in 1953 after a devastating earthquake, although people continued to live there until the late 1960s.

Envoy anchored in Assos Harbour

The Venetian fortress overlooking Envoy anchored in Assos

Inside the fortress walls is a huge area of fertile land

People lived in the castle until the late 1960s.
During the earthquake much of Assos was badly damaged, but later restored with financial aid from the city of Paris.

Many temporary dwellings built from corrugated iron after the 1953 earthquake still remain

Some of the buildings were too badly damaged and remain derelict

Assos is normally not easy to visit as the tiny harbour opens to the prevailing NW wind, but we spent
three great nights there with an Indian Summer of very light winds and temperatures in the mid 20s.

 

We saw this strange-looking 3-wheeler in Assos

After leaving Assos we cruised around Lefkas Island area again visiting places already mentioned in previous blogs. It was sad to visit some of these with most shops and tavernas now closed for winter – as Diane said it felt like we were the last ones leaving a party.
Wandering around the village of Nidri in Lefkas Island we noticed a billboard advertising a full fish dinner for two including salad and wine for 20 Euro (about NZ$33 or $16.50 each). Again this is less than half we’d expect to pay back home.

Taverna billboard in Nidri, Lefkas Island

The great weather continued, then on the 4 November we approached Lekas Marina with rain and thunderstorms – I think we timed that right. As we entered the marina I thought (as I do each year) what a great cruising year it’s been; fantastic times with visiting family and friends, two new countries visited (Montenegro and Croatia), 25 weeks on the boat since leaving the marina in April, and a total of 1,946 miles cruised with no accidents, injuries or damage to Envoy. Sure there’s been some technical problems along the way but hey – that’s boating.

TECHNICAL One evening I started the generator then turned the switch which diverts 115V AC current from the generator to Envoy’s power system, and the switch came away broken in my hand. I unsuccessfully tried some temporary fixes, but as were under three hours from Lefkas Marina we headed back there for an electrician to look at. He fixed the switch very quickly, but then we couldn’t get 115V power from any source – Lugger’s Seapower, genset or shorepower. After about half an hour of further checks I noticed the electrician had been fiddling with some switches on our Breaker Panel and left one in the wrong position. As soon as I corrected that, all was OK again.

Envoy’s main Breaker Panel is complex

Envoy’s Lugger engine has a dry exhaust with a conventional muffler. Mufflers are a wear item eventually prone to internal corrosion from moisture and exhaust gases, so I decided to check its condition for the first time in the seven years we’ve owned Envoy. The muffler is heavily heat-insulated, and it’s a major job to remove and then correctly replace all the heat insulation, so I decided to follow advice from the owner of N46 StormHaven and use our infra-red pyrometer to check for any hot spots (which would indicate a problem with the muffler in that area). The muffler measures about 390mm high, 350mm long, and 160mm wide so I marked out 35 check spots on the muffler’s insulation. The result was a low of 153dF (67dC) and a high of 214dF (101dC), giving a range of 61dF (16dC). This all seemed OK to me with no obvious hot spots. Higher temps tended to be closest to the exhaust pipe’s inlet and outlet and at the upper end of the muffler. Where the exhaust exits the muffler un-insulated its temp is 260dF (127dC).

We’ve had further instances of the Seapower 115V Lugger-driven generator stopping during use or not starting up when the engine was started. This will have to be fixed at Lefkas Marina.

ENVOY LOG as at 22 October, 189 days spend aboard and 1,836 miles cruised for 360 engine hours.

OBITUARY – BRIAN RESTIEAUX

It’s with great sadness I mention the passing of our very special and closest of friends Brian Restieaux.
Since we met through boating in 1984 we’ve shared many boating holidays and adventures in New Zealand including the co-ownership of a 12 metre power boat, Rapport. That name was chosen as it perfectly symbolised our relationship. Brian and his loving partner Carol did three cruises aboard Envoy with us in Turkey and Greece, including Crete and were due to join us in Croatia in July. But while in Australia on the way to meet us Brian fell ill and had to return home. He passed away peacefully in Auckland Hospital on 20 December. We will always remember Brian for his loyal and sincere friendship, his wicked sense of fun and his laconic sense of humour.
Brian, you’re leaving a big gap in our lives - rest in peace until we meet again in that final cruising ground.

Laurie and Brian at Mistras castle in Greece, 2012

 

TIGHT SPRINGS AND LOOSE BREASTS

Envoy is currently wintering in Lefkas Marina, Greece, and we are home in New Zealand.
With a forecast of Force 7-8 NW winds, thunderstorms and very rough seas we moored quayside in Kefalonia’s Ay Eufimia harbour together with Bruce and Lesley from Midi. There had been light easterlies for several days kicking up a slight swell in the harbour, so we deployed our port flopper stopper to reduce roll. This was the first time we’ve ever used one alongside a jetty.

Envoy alongside Ay Eufimia quay with flopper stopper deployed to reduce roll

We prepared for the blow laying our car tyres alongside the rough concrete wall to reduce wear on our fenders and deployed our lines. The correct way to moor a boat alongside is to have both spring lines and breast lines, and as our friend and seamanship guru Kevin O’Sullivan says, you need “tight springs and loose breasts”. The long spring lines stretch aft from the boat's bow to shore stern, and forward from the boat's stern to shore bow, and these should be as tight as possible. In fact the spring lines tend to keep the boat slightly off the jetty. They do stretch and loosen so need occasional re-adjustment for this reason as well as for tidal movement where applicable. The much shorter breast lines go from the boat's bow slightly forward of the bow to shore and from the boat's stern slightly aft of the stern to shore. The purpose of these is to prevent either bow or stern from pulling away too far from the jetty and they should be loose so that the spring lines take most of the strain and the breasts don’t “twang” with tension. These also require occasional adjustment. As we disembark from amidships we also use a third breast line amidships to secure Envoy while (dis)embarking.

Envoy’s car tyres secured quayside as protection from the rough concrete

Laurie holds a stainless steel flopper stopper

The NW wind arrived and stayed for two days but in the harbour only reached low 20 knots and blew across Envoy’s starboard now, keeping her off the quay.
While in Ay Eufimia the four of us had breakfast ashore - Full English Breakfast was 5 Euros each (about NZ$8.30) consisting of orange juice, coffee, toast, eggs, bacon, sausages, beans and tomatoes. Then we were thanked for our custom and given a free bottle of wine! This is under half what we pay at home.
When the weather settled we cruised south to Kefalonia Island’s capital – Argostoli.
Laurie with Envoy’s smaller RHIB on great sandy beach close to Argostoli

Here we found some great year-end sales and even I bought some clothes (a very rare event but their brand was “Admiral” so I couldn’t resist)

 

 Argostoli on Cephalonia

Laurie “modeling” his Admiral brand tracksuit and shoes

At Argostoli, Envoy and Midi parted company with Midi heading to Sicily for the winter. We decided to head up the west coast of Kefalonia to complete our first circumnavigation of this largest of the Ionian Islands. Normally the west coast of Kefalonia is particularly rough but current conditions were ideal.

TECHNICAL – nothing to report
ENVOY LOG as at 22 October, 189 days spend aboard and 1,836 miles cruised for 360 engine hours.

Travelling home to New Zealand

We are currently en route back to New Zealand, so will continue the blog from where we left off this coming weekend.

ENVOY CONTINUES CRUISING THE IONIAN ISLANDS

Envoy is currently wintering in Lefkas Marina, Greece.
Temporary problem loading images so text only this posting.
In early October it was starting to get cooler, and in Gouvia Marina we had some heavy rainfalls and needed to dig out our jeans and sweatshirts again - it was now getting too cold to sit outside after dark. It looked like our long summer had ended.
From Gouvia we cruised 22 miles down the east coast of Corfu in perfect conditions, being in the lee of a moderate westerly wind. We were heading back to Lakka Bay on Paxos Island, about seven miles south of Corfu. But this seven miles is highly exposed to 150 miles of fetch all the way to the Italian coast, and with a 20 knot westerly wind directly on our starboard beam we took a bit of a hammering from breaking two to three metre seas, spaced so closely together that our hydraulic stabilisers had trouble coping and our inclinometer showed Envoy rolling up to 20 degrees each side. Normally we don’t need to re-stow things like ornaments and fruit bowls under way as there is negligible movement, but this time the roll was sufficient to require Diane to do a quick re-stow.

You encounter some unusual sea conditions in the Med where the “roughness” of the sea seems out of proportion to both the wind speed and the size of waves, and this was one of those times.
After one night in Lakka we cruised 46 miles to Ormos Vlikho on Lefkas Island, to re-join our Kiwi friends, Bruce and Lesley, aboard their Catamaran, Midi.
Conditions in the Med are mostly great, but not always and we stayed in the well-sheltered Ormos Vlikho for five nights waiting for a front to pass over, during which we had gloomy grey skies, regular showers, mild thunder storms, but only light winds. Here the jellyfish-infested water is a bit grubby for swimming as well. We wondered if we’d done the right thing booking our return to New Zealand in six weeks time, but blue skies finally appeared again and temperatures went back into the low-mid 20s.

Anchored in Ithica Island’s Ormos Vathi we awoke to a thunderstorm, lightning, heavy rain and 25 knot squalls. The forecast was for a Force 6 SE wind, changing later to a Force 7-8 NW wind with thunderstorms and very rough seas. I discussed the situation with Bruce (from Midi) and we both decided to head to Kefalonia’s Ay Eufimia harbour (which opens to the east) and moor alongside the quay.
I have commented before about the surprising speed difference that different wind and sea conditions make to a heavy-displacement motor vessel and during this trip I made some interesting observations. Aficionados read on!
With a 20 knot wind on the port bow and 1.5 metre breaking seas we averaged 4.7 knots (range 4.4 to 5.0) at 1,475 rpm. The speed was taken from GPS so is speed made good. - In the same conditions with wind and seas just aft of the port beam rpm increased to 1,488 and we averaged 5.6 knots (range 5.2 to 6.0). - In the same conditions with wind and sea on our port quarter to almost astern rpm again increased to 1,494 (with the same throttle setting) and we averaged 5.9 knots (range 5.5 to 6.3). Conclusion – the wind and sea conditions affect Envoy’s speed at the same rpm by an astonishing 25%.
TECHNICAL – nothing to report
ENVOY LOG as at 16 October, 183 days spend aboard and 1,780 miles cruised for 347 engine hours.

AUTUMN CRUISING WITH AMY IN THE IONIAN SEA

Envoy is currently anchored at spectacular Meganisi Island where we’re enjoying the last day of our 2013 cruise before going into the marina for the winter.

Laurie aboard Envoy in Paxos Island’s sheltered Lakki Bay (Amy photo)

We anchored in northern Cephalonia’s idyllic Foki Bay for a couple of days, from where it’s a short walk to stunning Fiskardho.
In Foki Bay there’s a lone taverna ashore, and while enjoying an evening drink there we heard the faint ring of a goat bell that shortly turned into a cacophony as a huge herd of goats passed close-by.

Herd of goats cross road outside Foki Bay taverna

Going back to places we always find something different to see, and in Fiskardho visited the ruins of a Venetian lighthouse and a 6th century Christian basilica. Amy and Di also found some new shops!

Ruined Venetian lighthouse

 

 On close scrutiny the “new” lighthouse didn’t seem much better than the old as it had broken windows and crumbling stonework.

6th century Christian basilica – not bad after more than 1,400 years

Having complained about wasps in Croatia, to be fair we must say there were many wasps in Fiskardho, making it difficult to enjoy this stunning village to the full if eating or drinking. Locals said that previously the nearby countryside had been sprayed with insecticide, but this year there were no funds to do this – most taverna and shop owners told us that business this year is down on last. Tourist numbers are similar, but they’re not spending as much.
In Foki Bay we again met our great Kiwi friends Bruce and Lesley from catamaran Midi, and next day Amy joined Midi for a sail to Sivota Bay.

Laurie, Bruce, Lesley and Amy at Stavros taverna in Sivota Bay

Sivota Bay’s Stavros taverna has a great atmosphere, and provides free water to visiting cruisers.

Envoy anchored in Sivota, Midi is to the left

We needed to start heading north to Corfu again for Amy’s flight to London, and stopped off at Preveza, Gaios and Mourtos along the way.

We bought some olive oil from this dusty shop in Gaios where you taste the oil and they decant it into plastic bottles from huge barrels for 7 Euro (about NZ$12) per litre

Great photo of Mourtos anchorage taken from Envoy by Amy

Back in Greece we’re again pleasantly surprised by the very reasonable taverna prices. Here is a typical offering: coffees from 1.5 Euros (NZ$2.45), full English breakfast 7.5 Euros (NZ$12.30), omelet 4.50 Euros (NZ$7.40), 1arge beer 3 Euro (NZ$4.90), 1 litre of house wine 8 Euro (NZ$13.10), bottles of wine ranging from 14 Euros (NZ$23), Greek salad 5.5 Euros (NZ$9), main courses 7 to 9 Euros (NZ$11.50 to NZ$14.75). Then they nearly always provide free dessert, so we generally end up paying roughly half what we pay in New Zealand for a meal out.
We had a fantastic two weeks with Amy aboard, and no sad farewells as we’ll be all be meeting up in Auckland in December.
After Amy’s departure we returned to nearby Gouvia Marina to have a problem with our generator checked, and stayed there several days at the reasonable off-season rate of 28 Euros (NZ$46) per night.
TECHNICAL Shortly after Amy joined us we encountered a similar generator problem to the one we had in May. If we applied a load of more than about 10 amps the generator dropped rpm and started smoking from the exhaust and emitting lumps of carbon. We had decided to leave fixing this until after Amy’s visit, and during that time because we wouldn’t be able to use the water maker (which needs the generator to power it) took on water from shore.
At Gouvia marina Leo and Theodore are very competent guys who’ve worked on Envoy before. They said it would be best to first address the issue of the failing bearing in the AC power unit. They explained the tolerances are very fine and maybe with the worn bearing the stator is getting too close to the rotor. The bearing was removed and found to be badly worn. Leo advised this is common and these bearings need to be checked and replaced every few thousand hours. The housing that seats the bearing had to be machined and shimmed to hold the new bearing dead-centre, and this was done within a couple of days.

View of the genset showing AC power unit

Close-up of AC power unit

This housing had to be modified to hold the new bearing dead-centre

Although the genset now sounded better without the rattly bearing, the basic problem wasn’t solved. So next was a full check of the exhaust system, and the exhaust elbow was found to be badly clogged with carbon. These elbows are prone to carbonizing as this is where hot exhaust gases meet up with cold seawater before going out of the exhaust. In fact the Manual advises checking this every 600 hours and it was 1,050hours since the last check – I’d been planing to check it this winter. As soon as the elbow was cleaned the genset ran fine once again.
Also had a minor issue with the Seapower generator powered by the Lugger. One day it didn’t power up until we were about an hour into our passage. I don’t know why, and there’s more on this issue to follow.

OUR DAUGHTER AMY VISITS ENVOY

Envoy is currently at Sivota, Lefkas Island, Greece.
Amy arrived in Corfu 14 September, and at Gouvia Marina we added her passport details to our official Crew List, and had it stamped by the harbourmaster, as required in Greece.

Greek fishing families live in these rustic cottages just across from Envoy’s Gouvia Marina berth

What an anchorage - Laurie and Amy on Envoy’s foredeck with Corfu’s Castle in background

Corfu Old Town has stunning cobbled alleyways with quirky shops and cafes

Many cruise ships visit Corfu and we decided to give Norwegian Jade a wide berth as she crossed Envoy's bow

With Amy aboard we visited some of the delightful places we’d already been to, and we knew Amy would enjoy – Kalami, Mourtos and Lakka, where we enjoyed the sun, swam, walked, drank in tavernas and caught up on family news.

Envoy anchored in gorgeous Kalami

Near Agni, Laurie behind a probably hundreds of years old olive tree

We cruised further south to Lefkas trolling a lure and caught a small tuna, unfortunately too small to keep, but the first of three small fish we landed during Amy’s visit.

In Lakka Laurie gets free water from shore using Envoy's small RHIB. This is often easier than using the water maker all the time, and these two 30 litre containers provide about one day's usage

Lakka was a surprisingly busy anchorage, and Envoy was the only motor vessel

Amy took this photo of Laurie Di in the picturesque main street of Lefkas

In Lefkas we met Canadians Bill and Joanne Vanlenthe aboard their 44 ft Kady Krogen, Pescadou. This was great as we’ve been in email contact with them for some time. Bill told us they motored across the Atlantic, encountering waves up to 18 feet high. Then they navigated the inland waterways of the Rhine and Danube rivers to enter the Black Sea. Recently they had a bad experience though – like Nordhavns, Kadys need their stabilisers in any beam sea. During a recent trip heading north from Lefkas their Naiad stabilisers failed, and the boat rolled so much that their large RHIB broke its wire strops and fell off their boat deck into the sea. Conditions were too rough to recover it, although it eventually washed onto rocks ashore and was returned to them in a badly damaged condition. Bill said the waves they encountered on this trip knocked their boat around more than those in the Atlantic.
Having drinks aboard Envoy at one of our favourite bays, Ormos Dessimou, we heard some music playing. At first we thought it was a CD, but then noticed somebody playing the guitar on a small powerboat nearby. He was anchored close to cliffs which acted as a natural sound shell, and he sounded pretty good. We could see from the boat’s flag that the singer was German, and this was confirmed when he sang the Beatles’ song, Let it Be, as “visper vords of visdom, let it be” and Norwegian Wood as Norvegian Vood. Anyway he was a good act combining the guitar, singing and mouth organ. Later we had the chance to talk to our guitar-playing friend to discover he lives aboard his 5.9 metre outboard-powered trailer boat for five months of the year, while spending the winters busking in Germany. Incredibly, he motored his small craft from Germany down the Rhine and Danube rivers into the Black Sea, through the Dardanelles to cruise the coast of Turkey, then across the Aegean to the Ionian Sea. Some voyage in a 5.9 metre outboard cruiser!

Our German guitar-playing friend lives five months of each year aboard this boat

TECHNICAL Nothing to report
ENVOY LOG as at 28 September, 165 days spend aboard and 1,647 miles cruised for 320 engine hours.

BACK IN THE GREEK IONIAN WE REFLECT ON CROATIA

Envoy is currently at Cephalonia Island, Greece
We had very high expectations of Croatia as Envoy’s former owners and many other cruisers told us it was their favourite destination – with the proviso about the irritation of having to pay for some anchorages. The September issue of Motor Boat and Yachting magazine had this to say (paraphrased) comparing Greece with Croatia:
“Both locations are stunning – crystal clear water, long sunny seasons and delicious cuisines. We found Greece less crowded and very friendly. The Greek islands offer a pretty unbeatable combination of wonderful anchorages and sandy beaches (Croatia doesn’t for the most part offer beaches) and a long season. The landscape is more varied than Croatia and each island offers something a little different. We also found Greece cheaper than Croatia – almost all the berths are free (either town quays with electricity and water, or pontoons in front of restaurants), the food is varied, supermarkets larger and cheaper and living costs lower. In Croatia provisions were limited in the smaller ports and fuel was quite expensive. Croatia’s proximity to Italy is very attractive and you will be spoilt for choice when dining out.”
Diane and I agree with all of the above but want to stress the friendliness of the Greeks compared to the Croatians. This is generally speaking, as we also found friendly Croatians. We found many of the small Croatian island villages quite dull compared with Greek villages and with less to see of historical interest. Prolific numbers of wasps are annoying in some areas (more wasps as you go north). On a positive note the Croatian medieval towns like Dubrovnik, Split and Korcula are stunning.
Since returning to Greece we’ve discussed this subject with other cruisers who’ve visited both areas, and most seem to prefer Greece.

As we approached the craggy white cliffs of Erikoussa Island a pod of dolphins played around Envoy, seemingly to welcome us back to Greece.

The impressive cliffs of Erikoussa Island

On our first morning back in Greece we went ashore on Erikoussa, where there is a great sandy beach, no wasps and where the owners of a local taverna were totally friendly and helpful, as we generally find in Greece. Very often shopkeepers give you a gift or a complimentary drink when you pay the bill, and after spending 167 Euros (about NZ$274) in a small superette, the friendly owner gave us a jar of local honey.

Beautiful sandy beach at Erikoussa

Note the windmill behind the beach

This boat for sale presumably comes with the geese sheltering underneath

We’ve spent some time in this general Corfu area so decided to check out a place we’d never been – Ormos Valtou, known as “Igoumenitsa Creek” offering superb shelter, but murky water with a few jellyfish. Nearby though is a great sandy beach with sparkling water and almost nobody there.

Envoy anchored in Igoumenitsa Creek

Health and Safety nightmare jetty

 

Run-down shack on run-down jetty

A wider view of the same sheltered anchorage

Stunning Ormos Valtou beach near Igoumenitsa

 

We cleared-in to Greece at Gouvia marina using our usual agents, A1 Yachting, and once again didn’t get our passports stamped but cleared-in as Captain and Crew, giving us a longer stay as the Schengen Treaty provisions don’t apply. Here we would replenish our stores, get some maintenance done and meet our daughter, Amy.
TECHNICAL In Gouvia marina two engineers who’ve worked on Envoy before, Leo and Theodore, tackled several jobs: Load Adaptor: They removed the load adaptor with the failed seal and took it away to do a rebuild. Fortunately only the grease seal had failed so they modified the adaptor so that an available seal size would fit and then re-assembled and installed it. This load adaptor is filled with high temperature grease to protect its bearings, and does not need any subsequent addition of grease, despite there being a grease nipple on the unit. Leo suggested loosening the grease nipple slightly to allow internal pressure to release through the threads of the nipple, rather than putting pressure on the seal. As we’ve “blown” two seals in five years we’ve done this and so far all good. Naiad stabiliser sea water cooling pump: This 12V Groco pump supplies sea water to cool the Naiad’s hydraulic oil, and had been leaking small amounts of sea water. Leo removed the pump, replaced the seal, and all is OK. At the same time we fitted an air bleed valve on the outlet side of the pump to make priming the pump easier after extended non-use. Domestic fresh water pump: One of two interchangeable Shurflo 12V pumps had stopped working. Leo removed and dismantled this, finding a failed water seal and subsequent corroded bearings. It was more economical to replace the pump with our spare new one than repair the old one. Generator: I had thought that recently the generator sounds a bit “rattly,” and asked Theodore to listen to it. He confirmed the cause as a worn bearing on the end of the shaft that supports the AC generation equipment together with the bush that supports the bearing becoming over-sized through wear. He suggested we get this seen to during the winter. I also took my two scuba tanks and regulator to a dive shop. In Greece tanks need to be hydrostatically tested and re-certified every three years and mine are well past that. The regulator hadn’t been used for several years so I wanted to get it professionally tested.
ENVOY LOG as at 11 September, 148 days spend aboard and 1,422 miles cruised for 274 engine hours.