Islands and Cracks

The next day I set sail for a little island across from Athens. It is close and has a ferry connection back to Athens. The wind is quite strong and the waves show their white tops. It is only a couple of hours away. As I enter the port, my starboard engine starts to make a strange whine sound. I lay down the anchor and back into the quay. With the help of some kind Greeks, I get the boat secured. It is a cute little island with a very small and very old town. Things have not changed much over the years except tourist have replaced fish as the main harvest. The port however proves to be not very well protected from the strong winds that blow in this part of Greece during the summer. My boat name, Etesian actually comes from the name of this breeze that blows through the isles. You would think that would gain me some favor with the winds of change, but I get knocked around about the same as everyone else. I decide that this port is not suitably protected to leave my boat and after reading in my pilot book decided to head to Mykinos. There is a new harbor there and the rates are cheap. Ferry connections to Athens are easy and it is only about 5 or 6 hours sail. As I head out, that starboard engine is giving more trouble than I thought. I stop the boat in the harbor and decide to dive down to see if I can determine what the problem is. It turns out to be a big problem. Instead of the propeller staying in a fixed position, it freely rotates from left to right. Clearly, this is something that needs some serious attention. I limp back to Athens using just my port engine.

With only one engine I find it impossible to turn left. So with luck and a prayer, I managed to bring the boat alongside the quay. No one is happy with my arrival. A Greek man starts yelling that I cannot stay. Charters are coming and there is no room for me. I tell him I have no steering. It is irrelevant to him. I must move. I have found that a lot of ranting and raving can go on, but in the end, nothing happens. So I just stay there. I don’t hear another word from the guy. I do however report to the marina and they start ranting that I cannot stay. I tell them that I will get the problem corrected as soon as possible. I don’t go back to the office, but just stay where I am. Fortunately there is a Lagoon dealer across the street and I arrange to have my boat looked at the next day.