While I had intended to reach Kalamata to haul Eileen of Avoca out of the water for winter maintenance, I had run out of time. I made some hasty arrangements to keep her in Crete for a month before bussing to Heraklion, flying to Athens and back to Belgium.
Day 29 Prior to the gale I had contacted an Albanian Freighter for an update on the weather situation, but now at anchor and within mobile phone range I could check the forecast with my laptop and its GPRS Internet connection. Apparently there would be a lull lasting approximately 10 hours so without further ado [...]
Day 28 My last minute checks via the Internet (The Yacht Club boasted Wi-Fi) of the expected weather using several sites including www.passageweather.com www.windfinder.com http://www.isramar.ocean.org.il/wam/ were very accurate for at least 48hrs. The forecast for day 3 is included here: Even the most pessimistic weather models did not prepare me for what I was to [...]
Day 26, 27 My engine temperature was above its usual 60° to 80°range. Checking the intake filter I found that the blockage was not in the sieve. Would you believe that it is possible to clear the line by blowing forcefully from the filter cap? Subsequent uneventful sailing / motor sailing in a progressively more [...]
Day 25 I planned to leave on the 24th of November to make use of the most appropriate weather window but fell victim to more bureaucratic red tape, which would delay my departure by another 24hrs. In the following 12hrs I discovered that the Yacht Clubs jetty becomes untenable under certain conditions. I was lucky [...]
Day 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 In the light of dawn Alexandria exhibited its curious and somewhat tumbledown nature. Visits by sailing vessels are reasonably rare since cruising the Egyptian coast is generally thought to be an expensive bureaucratic nightmare. You are much better off arriving in one place and staying put because each movement [...]
Day 16, 17, 18 and 19 We left Ayos Nikolaos just after midnight to take advantage of favourable winds. After rounding Akra Sidheros I set a course of 140° and watched the GPS count down the remaining 300+ NM to Alexandria. It couldn’t have been simpler. For the first 24 hours we ran with the [...]
Day 14 and 15 Another long leg of 110NM to get to the eastern side of Crete. On route to Ayios Nikolaos we were treated to the best dolphin display I’ve ever seen. One dolphin was particularly playful lifting itself out of the water vertically on it’s tail and in a manner I’ve only seen [...]
Day 13 A rest day as I waited for my passenger (a.k.a. novice crew) to arrive from Heraklion. Jean-Gustave (a friend from Brussels) would accompany me to Egypt but then make his own way back.
Day 11 and 12 A long leg of approximately 135NM passing to the East of Kithira by night. The section between Ak Tainaro and the north of Kithira proved to be quite challenging because of the constant stream of traffic heading to or from Athens. At one point I made the mistake of sitting in [...]
Day 10 A pleasant sail to Methoni just 35NM away. Well before sunset I was anchoring among the fishing vessels below the walls of an ancient Venetian fort. Heikell states in his guide that this is one of his favourite stops in the Peloponnese.I can see why. Inflating my Kayak tender I paddled to the [...]
Day 9 On a heading of 130° and slightly less that 50NM away was Kiparissia, a port which according to Heikell lost all boats moored there in the 90s due to poor shelter from northerly gales. No wonder! I spent nearly an hour trying to get an anchor to hold in the weed, but at [...]
Day 8 I awoke to find a new arrival moored next to me. A chartered Bavaria with a Polish crew. They insisted I have a traditional Polish breakfast with them and welcomed me aboard their yacht. One black coffee and several shots of Metaxa later (what is Polish about that?), I managed to escape their [...]
Day 7 The storm that had been following me from the north arrived so I opted for a rest day. As the winds rose I realised that my attempt at Greek style mooring wasn’t as exemplary as I’d initially thought so I gave it another try with considerably more scope. Much better! I restocked Eileen [...]
Day 6 Wetsuit on, hull scraper in hand, I leaped into the water for my morning chore, barnacle banishment! All went according to plan until I lost a fin and it sank. Not normally a problem, but in a 7mm wetsuit, no weight-belt and one fin, it’s not easy to stay submerged. I eventually managed [...]
