The diver that inspected my boat tells me my problem is serious and cannot be fixed without my boat being pulled out of the water. Fortunately this port has several cranes that handle this on a regular basis. After meeting with the marina officials, the company that does the lifting, getting notarized by the police, my boat is hoisted overhead and as if in some remake of Peter Pan flies through the air and is put down on dry land. Somehow it seems all wrong to me. This boat is most happy in clear blue water. It is now more like a high-rise condominium.
The mechanic, his assistant, the Lagoon rep and I all look over the problem. It is more than serious. The bottom half of the screw drive to the propeller is broken completely in half. No one is sure what caused the problem. Of course they want it to be something I did so they do not have to pay out the warranty. I of course reassure them it is nothing I did. The jury is still out. We first have to fix the problem. After calling all over who knows where, we try and locate the part we need. I am still waiting for a shipment date. I guess that is the next blog.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
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.
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.
Athens
With a stiff breeze all the way from Corinth Cannel we made it to Athens in about 5 hours. The harbor was crowded but we managed to find a place and settle in. We spent the next couple of days visiting all the tourist spots. The Acropolis is really one of the best historic sites in the world. A commanding view of the city and the grandeur of ancient Greece paints a beautiful picture in marble and fluted columns. There are ruins sprinkled throughout the city. Temples long forgotten erected to important god that is now relegated to myths and legends. There is no order to this city. Streets are strewn along with all the logic of a plate of spaghetti. And with the Greek alphabet coded on all the street signs, it is more like solving a mystery of some forgotten place in time than a modern city. But most Greeks speak English and with their kindness and help, we manage our way around. It seems no matter what city we are in, we are always drawn like moths to a flame to restaurants and tourist shops, and something I quickly tire of. After 3 days of exploring and soaking in the summer heat, my daughters wind up their time here on the Etesian. Reality starts to soak into their bones and with a fond farewell, they catch their flights back to the states and back to the real world. I miss them already. We have become a well-oiled crew with each person knowing just what to do as we cast the lines to the quay. When we set sail, everyone does their tasks with ease. Now I am by myself.
I too have to prepare to go back home. My youngest daughter Malorie is getting married. She was planning on a fall wedding, but seems to be driven to make the marriage happen sooner rather than later. So I schedule my trip for August 14th. I will be home for about a week. The marina tells me I can not leave the boat here because it is way over booked on the weekends when all the bareback charter boats come in from a week sailing in the Aegean. So I start off looking for a suitable port to keep my boat for the week I will be gone.
I too have to prepare to go back home. My youngest daughter Malorie is getting married. She was planning on a fall wedding, but seems to be driven to make the marriage happen sooner rather than later. So I schedule my trip for August 14th. I will be home for about a week. The marina tells me I can not leave the boat here because it is way over booked on the weekends when all the bareback charter boats come in from a week sailing in the Aegean. So I start off looking for a suitable port to keep my boat for the week I will be gone.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Corinth
Not much is left of the old biblical town of Corinth. Most of the ancient ruins have long come down over countless earthquakes. In its place is a bustling city. The harbor is rather small but close to the downtown area. Young boys are diving off the piers with big grins and lanky frames. Shops are filled with the latest designer clothes and restaurants offer gyros and Greek salads which we are quickly getting addicted to. We spent the night and the next morning sailed through the Corinth Cannel.
The cannel is about a 3.2 mile stretch that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Agean Sea. Nero first started digging the cannel back in Roman times using 6000 Jewish slaves, but never finished it. It seems a little uprising in Gault distracted him from the project. Octavia tried to bridge the gap by building a road and dragging his boats across this narrow stretch of lands. The remains of that road can still be seen. It wasn’t until 1893 that the cannel was finally cut through the limestone. We had to wait outside the cannel for almost 3 hours before we were allowed to cross in so the boats from the other direction could clear the channel. The interesting thing is there is a low bridge just as you enter the channel. Instead of raising the bridge, it is submerged into the water and the boats pass over it. When we came out the other end, we had strong winds and were able to sail for 5 more hours all the way to Athens.
The cannel is about a 3.2 mile stretch that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Agean Sea. Nero first started digging the cannel back in Roman times using 6000 Jewish slaves, but never finished it. It seems a little uprising in Gault distracted him from the project. Octavia tried to bridge the gap by building a road and dragging his boats across this narrow stretch of lands. The remains of that road can still be seen. It wasn’t until 1893 that the cannel was finally cut through the limestone. We had to wait outside the cannel for almost 3 hours before we were allowed to cross in so the boats from the other direction could clear the channel. The interesting thing is there is a low bridge just as you enter the channel. Instead of raising the bridge, it is submerged into the water and the boats pass over it. When we came out the other end, we had strong winds and were able to sail for 5 more hours all the way to Athens.
Patras for the Night
Just a stop along the way. Patras is a pretty big city with all the noise you would expect and none of the charm of the islands. It is the largest city in the Peloponnisos and third largest in Greece. We are headed for Athens and this was just a stop for the night. We barbqued chicken and enjoyed the sunset from the back of the boat.
Kefalonia and Underground Lakes
Our journey continues to the Ionian Island of Kefalonia. We slung our anchor out and backed up to the quay of a small little town built around the harbor. The first thing on our list of things to do is visit the caves. They were about 5km away from us. So we decided to rent a taxi. But since there were now 5 of us, (Rebecca’s friend Amanda joined us in Paxos) we wouldn’t all fit in a taxi. The fare was 35 euro to take us to the caves and back. Since we had to rent two taxi’s, the cost would have been 70 euro. That was a little more than we wanted to pay. After looking at renting a car, or scooters or taking the bus, I decided I would just ride my bike and meet them there. So all the girls got in the cab and I followed on my bike. The taxi driver was quite surprised when I showed up just a couple of minutes after he did. The distance was not that far and the road was pretty level.
The first stop was an amazing underground lake. It looked more like a movie set from Phantom of the Opera than a natural grotto. The water was crystal blue and the air felt refreshingly cool to my hot skin. You could see 90 feet to the bottom without any problem. They had us get into a row boat and a guide took us around the lake and into the cave. I asked him if he would sing to us, but he declined. He didn’t want to upset the fish.
The second cave is just up the road about 8km further. This cave was a big underground cathedral of stalagmites and stalactites in colorful hues of yellow, orange and creamy white. They looked like melting ice cream cones. The cave is a very big room that at times has been used for classical concerts. I can’t imagine the wonder and excitement of looking down a small opening and discovering such a wondrous site. I am sure I would vacillate between keeping such a place for myself and telling all of my friends, knowing that it would never be quite the same again.
The next day, we headed to a beautiful beach strung out along the coast. I feel like we are living in post cards most of the time over here. It is everything you want a Greek beach to look like. The water is warm and a turquoise color. Blue and white umbrellas all lined up like soldiers in formation dot the beach.
The first stop was an amazing underground lake. It looked more like a movie set from Phantom of the Opera than a natural grotto. The water was crystal blue and the air felt refreshingly cool to my hot skin. You could see 90 feet to the bottom without any problem. They had us get into a row boat and a guide took us around the lake and into the cave. I asked him if he would sing to us, but he declined. He didn’t want to upset the fish.
The second cave is just up the road about 8km further. This cave was a big underground cathedral of stalagmites and stalactites in colorful hues of yellow, orange and creamy white. They looked like melting ice cream cones. The cave is a very big room that at times has been used for classical concerts. I can’t imagine the wonder and excitement of looking down a small opening and discovering such a wondrous site. I am sure I would vacillate between keeping such a place for myself and telling all of my friends, knowing that it would never be quite the same again.
The next day, we headed to a beautiful beach strung out along the coast. I feel like we are living in post cards most of the time over here. It is everything you want a Greek beach to look like. The water is warm and a turquoise color. Blue and white umbrellas all lined up like soldiers in formation dot the beach.
Diving Through Liquid Sapphire in the Caves of Lefkas
Lefkas is a medium size town that was mostly leveled in an earthquake in 1953. They rebuilt the town stronger and better than ever. It still has a unique character to it. When they rebuilt, they used a lot of corrugated metal in the buildings. Strangely it works pretty well. There is a big downtown street that is just packed at night until about 1am. The Greeks like most of Europe stay home until about 7 or 8 pm. Then the whole family goes downtown and mingles with friends and neighbors. They walk among the shops eat gelato and sit in the cafes until about 1 in the morning.
The next day, we hop a bus to Dessimouon the other side of the island where we rented a boat to explore all the little islands scattered around the area. Across the channel is the island of Meganisi. We found a private beach where we snorkeled and swam and laid in the sun. Then we took the boat further south to these incredible caves. You can take the boat in some of them but most you have to swim into. When you dive into the water here, it is like you are diving through liquid sapphire. The water is crystal clear with a blue tint to it. Streaks of light shine down through making it even more magical. The first cave seemed to end at a wall. I climbed up the wall and looked over. The cave continued a little longer so we swam under the edge and into an opening on the other side. I felt like a kid exploring the wonders of some lost treasure. Light streamed in from the top and lit up this small circular pool of water. Some of the caves you would swim back as far as you dared until light and nerves ran out. It is a little creepy swimming into pure blackness. We took turns so that someone stayed with the little motorboat. It was all fun and games until Lindsay starts shrieking. She saw an eel in one of the caves and that was the end of exploring dark caves underwater. I tried to assure her that eels are very shy and hide from their predators because they are not very protected. Science does not matter when talking to a female that just saw an eel. I will make a note of that.
The next morning the girls headed to Milos, one of the top 10 beaches in Greece. I stayed on the boat to meet with an electrician to figure out why our windless was not working right. The windless raises and lowers the anchor. In Greece there are not always slime lines. So you have to put your anchor out and back into the quay then tie off. It works well unless other boats cross your anchor line, and then it can be a bit of a job untangling things. I have learned to just be patient and have the boats leave in the reverse order that they came. It seems to solve the problem. He fixed some cable and we were back in business.
The next day, we hop a bus to Dessimouon the other side of the island where we rented a boat to explore all the little islands scattered around the area. Across the channel is the island of Meganisi. We found a private beach where we snorkeled and swam and laid in the sun. Then we took the boat further south to these incredible caves. You can take the boat in some of them but most you have to swim into. When you dive into the water here, it is like you are diving through liquid sapphire. The water is crystal clear with a blue tint to it. Streaks of light shine down through making it even more magical. The first cave seemed to end at a wall. I climbed up the wall and looked over. The cave continued a little longer so we swam under the edge and into an opening on the other side. I felt like a kid exploring the wonders of some lost treasure. Light streamed in from the top and lit up this small circular pool of water. Some of the caves you would swim back as far as you dared until light and nerves ran out. It is a little creepy swimming into pure blackness. We took turns so that someone stayed with the little motorboat. It was all fun and games until Lindsay starts shrieking. She saw an eel in one of the caves and that was the end of exploring dark caves underwater. I tried to assure her that eels are very shy and hide from their predators because they are not very protected. Science does not matter when talking to a female that just saw an eel. I will make a note of that.
The next morning the girls headed to Milos, one of the top 10 beaches in Greece. I stayed on the boat to meet with an electrician to figure out why our windless was not working right. The windless raises and lowers the anchor. In Greece there are not always slime lines. So you have to put your anchor out and back into the quay then tie off. It works well unless other boats cross your anchor line, and then it can be a bit of a job untangling things. I have learned to just be patient and have the boats leave in the reverse order that they came. It seems to solve the problem. He fixed some cable and we were back in business.
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