Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
CORFU TO MALTA
Sailed into Grand Harbour Malta on 8th September at the end of another great trip and wonderful adventure. When we sailed to Corfu in late May we went directly – 3 days non-stop sailing. On the return we decided to coastal hop along the foot of Italy and down the east coast of Sicily – we particularly wanted to see a few of the historical sites on this coast. Well it was everything we’d hoped for – astonishing history in Taormina and Siracusa, interesting ports off the beaten track and good meals ashore (and onboard I should add!).
We left Gouvia on Corfu on 27th Aug. It was a great base for the summer - very convenient for the airport (when the taxis weren’t on strike!) and for Corfu old town which we loved. The swimming pool at the marina was a special pleasure and helped us keep cool, keep fit and (Iain) learn to swim! We enjoyed exploring the northern Ionian (Paxos, Anti-Paxos, Levkas, a few ports on the Greek mainland and Corfu island itself), we had some lovely sailing (especially when the winds did what they are supposed to do and started up late morning , blew at reasonable strength in the afternoon and then most conveniently died down at night!), visited interesting places and met some good people. On the downside, the Ionian gets very busy and anchorages crowded from mid July to end Aug (we saw quite a lot of doubtful anchoring and had real concerns on several occasions at how close our neighbours were – thankfully the two worst culprits accepted they’d arrived after us and needed to re-anchor further away), there are too many who seem to have no idea of the rules of the road – nightmare stuff! – and quite a few anchorages were thick with weed on the bottom which our old generation CQR anchor doesn’t do well in (new anchor for Christmas?). But overall a great place and a most enjoyable summer.
On our return we had Doug, Phil and Pete joining us on board which made things very easy – we had thought of doing a few overnight sails but ended up day sailing as we wanted to explore the ports along the coast. Also, on the first evening as we passed the N end of Corfu the wind died completely so we motored back for 40 minutes to an island, Othoni, off the NW coast and anchored for the night in a beautifully quiet remote bay. Had a bit of good luck here as we found out when we swam over the anchor to check on it that the seabed was very rocky and I didn’t have a tripping line on the anchor – as we had anchored in 10m it would have been a major dive if the anchor had snagged on a rock but fortunately it came up in the morning without difficulty.
First stop in Italy was on the very tip of the heel – at Santa Maria de Leuca where St Peter landed apparently on his way to Rome and where Mussilini had built a wonderful staircase up the cliff to the lighthouse as the entry point to Italy. Next stop Crotone, a Greek colony where Pythagoras lived at one time, then Rocella Ionica which there’s not much to say about except the entrance is silted up and very tricky but also it has a wonderful pizza restaurant (for me the best pizza I have enjoyed anywhere!) before crossing over the straits of Messina to Taormina, a popular tourist resort with remains of a wonderful greek theatre, Norman architecture and great views esp of Mt Etna.
We called in at Riposto which is almost the opposite of Taormina – a local Sicilian commercial town with not a tourist in sight. But we had an exceptionally good dinner to celebrate Phil’s birthday – the freshest fish ever which wasn’t too surprising as we were sitting about 20m from the fish market!
Then Catania – least said the better! It was a convenient place for Doug and Pete to leave to fly back to the UK and for Simon to fly out and join us but I think we all agreed we’d be happy if we never visited Catania again and if we do it will only be to go into port to pick up visitors who fly in to the airport there. There are some wonderful buildings, both greek and roman theatres, a Norman castle, interesting statues etc etc but generally the town is dirty and menacing. Unfortunately Helen found out just how dangerous a place it is as some b**t**d tried to mug her – he grabbed her necklace (we know, shouldn’t wear jewellery when walking around) and pulled her backwards so hard she cut her foot as she was dragged along and had abrasions on her neck – fortunately (or perhaps not) the necklace was good quality and didn’t break and as Helen was screaming blue murder he gave up and ran off. She was really shocked. To cap it all (although a small thing by comparison) we got “done” on the price of a bottle of wine that night at dinner – with no wine list/prices and as we don’t speak Italian we should have got the price written down as its difficult to argue with a Sicilian afterwards – lesson learned.
The good news is we called in next at Siracusa and this is an absolute gem. It has the most wonderful history, a huge greek theatre, remains of a roman amphitheatre, beautiful buildings (the cathedral is an extraordinary mix of history – Norman with Doric columns! although rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693), the basilica of Santa Lucia ( with Caravaggio’s 1608 painting of her burial), good restaurants, an exceptional fresh food market – two days only allowed us an overview! I think we’ll all be going back there.
And finally a lovely day sailing across to Malta. We hope to get a few more days sailing this autumn in Malta and Gozo so the season is not over yet but the weather is expected to change soon and become less settled so its good to be back home before any storms come.
But as we’re home now this will be the last blog of the sailing season. Thanks to all who came out to help us sail ALMA – it was great to have your help and your company. We hope many of you will join us sailing again next year – let us know if you’d like to join us. Not decided yet where we’ll be – will do some planning this winter and let you know where ALMA’s Travels will take us next summer!
Very best wishes
Have a great autumn and winter
Iain and Helen
We left Gouvia on Corfu on 27th Aug. It was a great base for the summer - very convenient for the airport (when the taxis weren’t on strike!) and for Corfu old town which we loved. The swimming pool at the marina was a special pleasure and helped us keep cool, keep fit and (Iain) learn to swim! We enjoyed exploring the northern Ionian (Paxos, Anti-Paxos, Levkas, a few ports on the Greek mainland and Corfu island itself), we had some lovely sailing (especially when the winds did what they are supposed to do and started up late morning , blew at reasonable strength in the afternoon and then most conveniently died down at night!), visited interesting places and met some good people. On the downside, the Ionian gets very busy and anchorages crowded from mid July to end Aug (we saw quite a lot of doubtful anchoring and had real concerns on several occasions at how close our neighbours were – thankfully the two worst culprits accepted they’d arrived after us and needed to re-anchor further away), there are too many who seem to have no idea of the rules of the road – nightmare stuff! – and quite a few anchorages were thick with weed on the bottom which our old generation CQR anchor doesn’t do well in (new anchor for Christmas?). But overall a great place and a most enjoyable summer.
On our return we had Doug, Phil and Pete joining us on board which made things very easy – we had thought of doing a few overnight sails but ended up day sailing as we wanted to explore the ports along the coast. Also, on the first evening as we passed the N end of Corfu the wind died completely so we motored back for 40 minutes to an island, Othoni, off the NW coast and anchored for the night in a beautifully quiet remote bay. Had a bit of good luck here as we found out when we swam over the anchor to check on it that the seabed was very rocky and I didn’t have a tripping line on the anchor – as we had anchored in 10m it would have been a major dive if the anchor had snagged on a rock but fortunately it came up in the morning without difficulty.
First stop in Italy was on the very tip of the heel – at Santa Maria de Leuca where St Peter landed apparently on his way to Rome and where Mussilini had built a wonderful staircase up the cliff to the lighthouse as the entry point to Italy. Next stop Crotone, a Greek colony where Pythagoras lived at one time, then Rocella Ionica which there’s not much to say about except the entrance is silted up and very tricky but also it has a wonderful pizza restaurant (for me the best pizza I have enjoyed anywhere!) before crossing over the straits of Messina to Taormina, a popular tourist resort with remains of a wonderful greek theatre, Norman architecture and great views esp of Mt Etna.
We called in at Riposto which is almost the opposite of Taormina – a local Sicilian commercial town with not a tourist in sight. But we had an exceptionally good dinner to celebrate Phil’s birthday – the freshest fish ever which wasn’t too surprising as we were sitting about 20m from the fish market!
Then Catania – least said the better! It was a convenient place for Doug and Pete to leave to fly back to the UK and for Simon to fly out and join us but I think we all agreed we’d be happy if we never visited Catania again and if we do it will only be to go into port to pick up visitors who fly in to the airport there. There are some wonderful buildings, both greek and roman theatres, a Norman castle, interesting statues etc etc but generally the town is dirty and menacing. Unfortunately Helen found out just how dangerous a place it is as some b**t**d tried to mug her – he grabbed her necklace (we know, shouldn’t wear jewellery when walking around) and pulled her backwards so hard she cut her foot as she was dragged along and had abrasions on her neck – fortunately (or perhaps not) the necklace was good quality and didn’t break and as Helen was screaming blue murder he gave up and ran off. She was really shocked. To cap it all (although a small thing by comparison) we got “done” on the price of a bottle of wine that night at dinner – with no wine list/prices and as we don’t speak Italian we should have got the price written down as its difficult to argue with a Sicilian afterwards – lesson learned.
The good news is we called in next at Siracusa and this is an absolute gem. It has the most wonderful history, a huge greek theatre, remains of a roman amphitheatre, beautiful buildings (the cathedral is an extraordinary mix of history – Norman with Doric columns! although rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693), the basilica of Santa Lucia ( with Caravaggio’s 1608 painting of her burial), good restaurants, an exceptional fresh food market – two days only allowed us an overview! I think we’ll all be going back there.
And finally a lovely day sailing across to Malta. We hope to get a few more days sailing this autumn in Malta and Gozo so the season is not over yet but the weather is expected to change soon and become less settled so its good to be back home before any storms come.
But as we’re home now this will be the last blog of the sailing season. Thanks to all who came out to help us sail ALMA – it was great to have your help and your company. We hope many of you will join us sailing again next year – let us know if you’d like to join us. Not decided yet where we’ll be – will do some planning this winter and let you know where ALMA’s Travels will take us next summer!
Very best wishes
Have a great autumn and winter
Iain and Helen
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
4th July
A quiet lazy week, visited Kassiopi, a lovely little port on north of island with remains of a Venetian fort above the town (in older times control of Corfu meant control of the Adriatic). Unfortunately the town is now totally swamped by tourism - every single building is a bar or restaurant or touristy shop. Pity but still a nice stop for a couple of days.
Back in Gouvia Marina last night to see a band play in nearby village - lead guitarist was with Cockney Rebel (Come up and see me sometime - make me smile) - and evening was really excellent - (lots of classic oldies, songs as well as some of the audience)
Today will need to dive under boat to check bow thruster - unfortunately it let us down just as we were trying to berth stern to yesterday in a strong cross wind - not one of our better attempts at mooring! On the plus side, the repair to main halyard seems so far to be a success and we had full main up yesterday which was quite exhilarating as we had 22-24 knots on a close reach - Alma at her best!!
Have a great week, all the best Helen and Iain.
Back in Gouvia Marina last night to see a band play in nearby village - lead guitarist was with Cockney Rebel (Come up and see me sometime - make me smile) - and evening was really excellent - (lots of classic oldies, songs as well as some of the audience)
Today will need to dive under boat to check bow thruster - unfortunately it let us down just as we were trying to berth stern to yesterday in a strong cross wind - not one of our better attempts at mooring! On the plus side, the repair to main halyard seems so far to be a success and we had full main up yesterday which was quite exhilarating as we had 22-24 knots on a close reach - Alma at her best!!
Have a great week, all the best Helen and Iain.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
BLOG 29 JUNE
Catching up with jobs - never ending but do feel we keep improving the boat and particularly getting it well set up for cruising. Some jobs are just repairs eg getting sprayhood sewn where stitching had given way, fitting new tap to salt water deck wash pump, fixing loose connection in nav light; but others are new items eg setting up gybe preventer, fitting protective covers to checkstays, fitting a better block/shackle to jib; and others are dealing with new issues eg some of electricity points have the polarity reversed! so we now have a polarity tester and will get a connecting plug wired up with the live and neutral reversed so that if supply is wrong we can use the connector and get polarity back to what it should be!
Now taking a break to watch Murray at Wimbledon!
Best wishes
Helen and Iain
ps so thinking about which type of job is more satisfying - repairing a fault, improving an existing item or creating/adding something new? Need to re-read Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance or perhaps will write Zen and the Art of Boat Maintenance!
Catching up with jobs - never ending but do feel we keep improving the boat and particularly getting it well set up for cruising. Some jobs are just repairs eg getting sprayhood sewn where stitching had given way, fitting new tap to salt water deck wash pump, fixing loose connection in nav light; but others are new items eg setting up gybe preventer, fitting protective covers to checkstays, fitting a better block/shackle to jib; and others are dealing with new issues eg some of electricity points have the polarity reversed! so we now have a polarity tester and will get a connecting plug wired up with the live and neutral reversed so that if supply is wrong we can use the connector and get polarity back to what it should be!
Now taking a break to watch Murray at Wimbledon!
Best wishes
Helen and Iain
ps so thinking about which type of job is more satisfying - repairing a fault, improving an existing item or creating/adding something new? Need to re-read Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance or perhaps will write Zen and the Art of Boat Maintenance!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Levkas Town with Graham and Ann-Marie
We’d motored most of the way from Paxos to Levkas but had a fantastic sail on the way back – perfect conditions. In fact we’ve had probably the best sailing conditions this week we’ve had anywhere – just wonderful. Passed along the coast of Anti Paxos (Paxos and Anti Paxos are two very attractive, largely unspoilt small islands 8 to 10 miles south of Corfu) – stunning aquamarine blue water in the anchorages – but as it was a Sunday too many boats – we’ll go back mid week. Tried to anchor in Mongonisi on Paxos but bottom here is covered in weed and the CQR anchor we have does not seem to dig through the weed. It lives up to its name when it is dug in well but really isn’t good with weed. Anyway after 3 or 4 attempts we gave up and went on to Gaios and moored up to the town quay. This turned out to be entertaining as our neighbour’s anchor was on top of a tripper boat/ferry’s anchor – the ferry won! As you’ll gather, anchoring is a major issue in a cruiser’s life and the merits of different types of anchors are the hottest debates among cruisers. Now thinking we might get a better anchor!
Heading back to Corfu tomorrow – jobs to be done incl repairing the sail bag for a second time (I know I should have dealt with the cause not just the symptom when first repaired). Also have to change the lead for the tack line as it now rubs on new boarding passarelle (another cruising philosophy – one change leads to another). Anyway must go now to find a bar with US Open golf on tv –– very keen to see McIllroy win. We’ve watched world cup football when we were in Spain, the Tour de France when we were in Portugal, but it will be a challenge in Greece I think to find golf on tv.
Have a great week.
All the best
Helen and Iain (Mingus)
12 TO 19 JUNE
Lovely week cruising down to Levkas to visit friends Graham and Anne-Marie who are spending the summer on a mooring there on their yacht, Lady Polgaro, in Vlikho bay – a wonderful anchorage almost completely land locked so very sheltered and the whole bay is 7 to 8 metres deep with a bottom of lovely thick soft mud – great anchor holding! (Not so great though when lifting the anchor as our deck wash pump is out of action!) Lovely to meet up with Graham and Anne-Marie and we had a great time sailing/swimming, a few drinks/dinners and an interesting visit to Levkas Town. Entering the Levkas canal is challenging with a shifting sandbank on starboard (and unfortunately the starboard marker missing!) and a rock, position unmarked and unknown, to port – we crawled in through the narrow entrance rather slowly – me up the mast trying to spot the rock and Helen on the helm concentrating hard on the depth meter! Then we had to wait 45 minutes for bridge to open (I should say “floating bridge” which is apparently very important as Levkas is an island – there are suggestions this has something to do with subsidies for the islands!) so we tied up to a fishing boat to wait. Unfortunately when we came to leave Helen was left on the fishing boat (my excuse is the wind was gusting strongly) – I think she said something in Greek but I did the honourable thing and circled round to come alongside and pick her up again. She then took over the helm!
The buildings in Levkas are also interesting – after the 1953 earthquake which apparently flattened most of the town, many buildings now are concrete only on the ground floor – upper floors are corrugated iron. Main street is named after Wilhelm Dorpfeld one of the archaeologists who discovered Troy then spent much of his time trying to find evidence of Odysseus on Levkas (which he was convinced was Ithica in Homer’s Odyssey).
Lovely week cruising down to Levkas to visit friends Graham and Anne-Marie who are spending the summer on a mooring there on their yacht, Lady Polgaro, in Vlikho bay – a wonderful anchorage almost completely land locked so very sheltered and the whole bay is 7 to 8 metres deep with a bottom of lovely thick soft mud – great anchor holding! (Not so great though when lifting the anchor as our deck wash pump is out of action!) Lovely to meet up with Graham and Anne-Marie and we had a great time sailing/swimming, a few drinks/dinners and an interesting visit to Levkas Town. Entering the Levkas canal is challenging with a shifting sandbank on starboard (and unfortunately the starboard marker missing!) and a rock, position unmarked and unknown, to port – we crawled in through the narrow entrance rather slowly – me up the mast trying to spot the rock and Helen on the helm concentrating hard on the depth meter! Then we had to wait 45 minutes for bridge to open (I should say “floating bridge” which is apparently very important as Levkas is an island – there are suggestions this has something to do with subsidies for the islands!) so we tied up to a fishing boat to wait. Unfortunately when we came to leave Helen was left on the fishing boat (my excuse is the wind was gusting strongly) – I think she said something in Greek but I did the honourable thing and circled round to come alongside and pick her up again. She then took over the helm!
The buildings in Levkas are also interesting – after the 1953 earthquake which apparently flattened most of the town, many buildings now are concrete only on the ground floor – upper floors are corrugated iron. Main street is named after Wilhelm Dorpfeld one of the archaeologists who discovered Troy then spent much of his time trying to find evidence of Odysseus on Levkas (which he was convinced was Ithica in Homer’s Odyssey).
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Great week sailing with Terry and Jenny. After a day relaxing by the pool, we set off to visit a few of the most popular spots in the northern Ionian around Corfu – Lakka on the island of Paxos, the Sivota islands on the mainland coast, and Kaloura (where Durrell family lived) and Agni bays on the NE coasts of Corfu island. All great with lovely swimming, good restaurants and beautiful scenery and good breezes for at least a few hours a day to give us some good sailing. Recently we’ve had stronger winds – gusts up to 33 knots on Thursday evening! The Ionian has a reputation for very light winds but its not been true this week. We had anchored in Agni bay but on Thursday as the wind got up and swung round we had to re-anchor and this time we reversed up to the restaurant jetty and tied off there as well. Then we put out a kedge anchor - actually the ferryboat man agreed to drop it for us which was great as it would have been difficult for us in the dinghy, but although we had 10m of chain and 80 m of rope he dropped it only 30m to 40m away. We hoped the kedge anchor would stop the bow being blown down wind in the gusts which blasted down the valley from the mountains. We thought we should be fairly secure but then the restaurant owner came out to check on the jetty as he was worried it might give way! Wondered whether to stay or leave and head back to Gouvia marina for shelter – but concerned winds might be even stronger out of the bay and berthing in Gouvia in these winds would have been extremely difficult (heard later of 40 knots plus in the channel!) – so decided to stay and got up every couple of hours to check our position and ensure we hadn’t dragged our anchors. So a rather disturbed night but anchors (and jetty!) held and winds had died down by early morning. Otherwise we’ve had relaxing easy sailing – ALMA goes very well with any reasonable breeze in the calm waters in the channel here between Corfu and the mainland (even with a reef in which we have at the moment as main halyard is chafing with the full main up – only a nuisance in the lightest winds but we just accept it as a handicap when we’re sailing on the same course as other boats (not racing of course!). Only other concern has been with charter boats. They have a bit of a poor reputation which I’d thought might have been unfair. But having seen how close some charterers go to other boats and how badly some of them anchor (we’re beginners too and have some difficulties anchoring but hopefully not as bad as some of the charterers we’ve seen) , I’m now very wary of them. Don’t want to be anchored downwind from charter boats in a strong wind!
Enjoying Greek food esp grilled fish (wonderful bbq’d sea bass), roast lamb, lamb kapama, beef stifado and of course greek salads. Beer (Mythos or Alfa) good, local wine OK and getting a taste for Ouzo! Had a surreal evening at Nikolas in Agni bay – Greek dancing, music, singing, plate smashing etc – thought this only happened in movies. But all the restaurants we’ve been to have been great – not cheap (EU prices!) but good food, good service and friendly. Just as well as our fishing has not been successful to date – even with our new lures and with Terry’s expertise we drew a blank! Target for the summer is to catch a sea bass – just one, even quite a small one, would be fantastic! (our goals are really quite simple now in retirement – food, water, secure anchorages, good sailing, laundry etc – very simple life. Oh and of course staying fit and trying to slow the inevitable process of growing older)
Swimming improving and managed a swim “marathon” of 40 minutes this week – aching muscles the next day; need to keep up the training! Have also resolved as part of our keep fit program not to use the outboard engine on the dinghy unless really necessary. So rowing now part of our daily gym work!
Now resting up for a day or two – and of course all the normal domestic jobs boat cleaning, shopping, laundry emails etc etc. Had a hair cut this morning too – which is an interesting insight re Europe’s economies – a haircut costs me about E20 in Reigate, E24 in france, E3.60 in Malta and E12 in Greece. Hope UK hairdressers are reading this!
Hope if weather good we might be able to sail to Levkas next week to meet up with friends who are moored there in Vliho bay while they get some work done on their boat. Then we’ll come back to Corfu before our UK trip 22nd to 27th June. Looking forward to catching up with many of you in the UK.
All the best
Helen and Iain
Enjoying Greek food esp grilled fish (wonderful bbq’d sea bass), roast lamb, lamb kapama, beef stifado and of course greek salads. Beer (Mythos or Alfa) good, local wine OK and getting a taste for Ouzo! Had a surreal evening at Nikolas in Agni bay – Greek dancing, music, singing, plate smashing etc – thought this only happened in movies. But all the restaurants we’ve been to have been great – not cheap (EU prices!) but good food, good service and friendly. Just as well as our fishing has not been successful to date – even with our new lures and with Terry’s expertise we drew a blank! Target for the summer is to catch a sea bass – just one, even quite a small one, would be fantastic! (our goals are really quite simple now in retirement – food, water, secure anchorages, good sailing, laundry etc – very simple life. Oh and of course staying fit and trying to slow the inevitable process of growing older)
Swimming improving and managed a swim “marathon” of 40 minutes this week – aching muscles the next day; need to keep up the training! Have also resolved as part of our keep fit program not to use the outboard engine on the dinghy unless really necessary. So rowing now part of our daily gym work!
Now resting up for a day or two – and of course all the normal domestic jobs boat cleaning, shopping, laundry emails etc etc. Had a hair cut this morning too – which is an interesting insight re Europe’s economies – a haircut costs me about E20 in Reigate, E24 in france, E3.60 in Malta and E12 in Greece. Hope UK hairdressers are reading this!
Hope if weather good we might be able to sail to Levkas next week to meet up with friends who are moored there in Vliho bay while they get some work done on their boat. Then we’ll come back to Corfu before our UK trip 22nd to 27th June. Looking forward to catching up with many of you in the UK.
All the best
Helen and Iain
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Summer begins - MALTA TO CORFU!!
Left Malta Tuesday 24th May – delayed a couple of days due to strong NE winds and quite rough seas (2m to 3m waves) – as we were heading NE it would not have been pleasant. Quite extraordinary how often winds come from direction we want to go in! Life really is about dealing with adversity! So rest of the team (Doug, David and Andy) had some time to visit some of Malta’s attractions – St John’s cathedral got top marks I think, possibly as well as lunch at our favourite restaurant Da Pippo’s! I got a few more small jobs done so we were reasonably well prepared to go. Left marina 1230 Tuesday and had a quite rough first 24 hours – wind had slackened a good deal to around 15 to 20 knots but still 2m waves. Had planned to head north towards Sicily at first as winds were forecast to change over the course of the next 2 days but as we cleared the island wind was already close to North so we made better progress on port tack heading ENE. Then we got lucky and the low pressure that was coming across from Tunisia tracked a bit further north than expected and as wind moved to ENE we tacked northwards. We were able to get far enough north before the wind again came back to the north so that we could then head for Corfu. Winds held up well too so we didn’t suffer the light winds that were forecast for Thursday – in fact we had a glorious breeze and maintained over 6 knots all day. So quite an interesting sail with varying wind direction along with thunder squalls, some very heavy showers and lightening on Wed night (two reefs in the mainsail for much of the time over night in case of very strong gusts in the squalls but with help from the radar (great to be able to spot the squalls on the screen) we were able to change course and avoid the worst gusts).
Saw a few ships en route and the AIS (radio position communication system) proved its worth again – lets us see ships with AIS and perhaps even more importantly lets them see us! The VEGA bound for Thessalonika radioed us as he’d seen us on AIS and as were the stand on boat (ie we could maintain our course and he should alter course to avoid us) he wanted to let us know he would alter course to starboard to go behind us – much relief! In poor visibility and squalls AIS is great to have! Think the captain of the Vega must have been relatively inexperienced (he sounded it a little) as very very few ships take much notice of yachts and alter course for them (we’d already had to dodge a couple of ships that were going to pass very close). Thanked him very much for being so considerate.
Had quite a few visitors en route – swifts (we think) migrating and perhaps off course in the unseasonal weather. Anyway, they had some rest, pooed on the transom (why do birds always have to poo on the boat when we give them a ride?) and then left – except one who had enough of this life. Burial at sea.
Thursday throughout the day, overnight and into Friday morning was one of the most glorious sails – wind between 10 and 15 knots, sea becoming much smoother and almost all the time we were able to sail pretty much directly towards Corfu with great boat speed in the calmer seas – a joy to helm in these conditions – noticed we were all quite happy to stay on the helm for longer! And as the conditions improved so did our appetites and the cuisine! Bacon rolls appeared on the breakfast menu (supplementing not replacing porridge of course), and a truly wonderful fruit cake (THANK YOU BEVERLEY) with afternoon tea. Along with Helen’s great cottage pie for dinner we were now feeling very well fed. Things were looking up!
Dawn Friday morning and Corfu appeared – fabulous scenery in the early morning light – and by 0800 we were heading up the Corfu channel (its about 25M from the southernmost point up to Gouvia marina where we were going to berth).
So almost exactly 3 days for the trip (420M) which was very good given the wind direction and conditions in the first part of the voyage. Allowed us to see Corfu town on Fri evening (after a celebration beer (or two) and a recovery afternoon nap) before Andy, Doug and David departed on EZ jet Sat morning. Great week. Pics to follow.
Saw a few ships en route and the AIS (radio position communication system) proved its worth again – lets us see ships with AIS and perhaps even more importantly lets them see us! The VEGA bound for Thessalonika radioed us as he’d seen us on AIS and as were the stand on boat (ie we could maintain our course and he should alter course to avoid us) he wanted to let us know he would alter course to starboard to go behind us – much relief! In poor visibility and squalls AIS is great to have! Think the captain of the Vega must have been relatively inexperienced (he sounded it a little) as very very few ships take much notice of yachts and alter course for them (we’d already had to dodge a couple of ships that were going to pass very close). Thanked him very much for being so considerate.
Had quite a few visitors en route – swifts (we think) migrating and perhaps off course in the unseasonal weather. Anyway, they had some rest, pooed on the transom (why do birds always have to poo on the boat when we give them a ride?) and then left – except one who had enough of this life. Burial at sea.
Thursday throughout the day, overnight and into Friday morning was one of the most glorious sails – wind between 10 and 15 knots, sea becoming much smoother and almost all the time we were able to sail pretty much directly towards Corfu with great boat speed in the calmer seas – a joy to helm in these conditions – noticed we were all quite happy to stay on the helm for longer! And as the conditions improved so did our appetites and the cuisine! Bacon rolls appeared on the breakfast menu (supplementing not replacing porridge of course), and a truly wonderful fruit cake (THANK YOU BEVERLEY) with afternoon tea. Along with Helen’s great cottage pie for dinner we were now feeling very well fed. Things were looking up!
Dawn Friday morning and Corfu appeared – fabulous scenery in the early morning light – and by 0800 we were heading up the Corfu channel (its about 25M from the southernmost point up to Gouvia marina where we were going to berth).
So almost exactly 3 days for the trip (420M) which was very good given the wind direction and conditions in the first part of the voyage. Allowed us to see Corfu town on Fri evening (after a celebration beer (or two) and a recovery afternoon nap) before Andy, Doug and David departed on EZ jet Sat morning. Great week. Pics to follow.
Friday, April 29, 2011
ALMA BACK IN THE WATER!!
ALMA was re-launched on 20th April! Weather was sunny and calm which was essential as in any strong wind there is quite a swell that works its way into Kalkara Creek where the boatyard is and lifting the boat into the water alongside the quay would be dangerous in a swell. It was the first time I’d been on board to experience a lift by a crane but it was a very smooth operation – crane operator handled the crane and ALMA very carefully and precisely. My hardest job was undoing the backstay to allow the crane to lift amidships behind the mast – slightly concerning to see the mast unsupported by the backstay!
Helen and David came onboard after the launch and we motored around into Grand Harbour Marina – it was lovely to be on the boat again and to see Malta’s wonderful Grand Harbour from the water – great views of Valetta and of Fort St Angelo. So ALMA is now berthed in GHM where she’ll be for about another few weeks before we set off for the Ionian this summer. Quite a lot of jobs to get done as well as re-packing all our kit and provisions etc. As the weather improves (almost now as warm as its been in London!!) we’re looking forward to getting back onboard and we’ll hopefully have quite a few days sailing around Malta and Gozo before we leave for Greece.
Hope you’re enjoying springtime too. Will post more news on ALMA’s travels around Malta and Gozo over next few weeks.
Best wishes
Iain and Helen
Sunday, April 10, 2011
GETTING READY FOR THE NEW SEASON!!
We're getting ready to pack away the ski gear and head back home to Malta. We've had a great ski season despite the shortage of snow this year - lots of friends have visited us which has been great fun catching up and skiing together and we also managed a wonderful week's ski touring around Les Diablerets/Gstaad region in Switzerland - a beautiful area. But the snow is now almost gone and it's time to head for the Med.
ALMA will go back in the water shortly after a winter ashore in Kalkara boat yard. I went back in March to check the boat and everything was fine - it's a very sheltered and well run yard. We've had a few jobs done - the most significant has been stripping off all the old anti fouling built up over 9 years. Final coat of new anti foul will go on this week. I've also ordered a new mainsail but will only take delivery next winter so sadly will be sailing with the old main this summer - it's OK but after 9 seasons it's lost a bit of shape so not performing as well as I'd like.
This summer we're planning to set off in late May for Greece. We will base ourselves in Corfu but want to explore the Ionian and perhaps some of the west coast of the Pelopponese and also the gulf of Patras. We hope to visit a few historical sites, especially Delphi, possibly Sparta, and certainly Ithica. But most importantly we hope to spend a lot of time relaxing this year. We expect to head back to Malta in mid September - via Sicily (would like to visit Syracusa and possibly Catania and Messina on the east coast) and may stop at a few places on the Italian south coast on the way. No definite plans other than to cruise gently (hoping always for sunny blue skies and a good breeze (force 3 to 4)) and to enjoy it! Looking forward to visiting new places and having friends onboard along the way.
We'll post regularly to let you know our progress and our plans. Let us know if you'd like to join us.
Best wishes for a great summer.
Iain and Helen
ALMA will go back in the water shortly after a winter ashore in Kalkara boat yard. I went back in March to check the boat and everything was fine - it's a very sheltered and well run yard. We've had a few jobs done - the most significant has been stripping off all the old anti fouling built up over 9 years. Final coat of new anti foul will go on this week. I've also ordered a new mainsail but will only take delivery next winter so sadly will be sailing with the old main this summer - it's OK but after 9 seasons it's lost a bit of shape so not performing as well as I'd like.
This summer we're planning to set off in late May for Greece. We will base ourselves in Corfu but want to explore the Ionian and perhaps some of the west coast of the Pelopponese and also the gulf of Patras. We hope to visit a few historical sites, especially Delphi, possibly Sparta, and certainly Ithica. But most importantly we hope to spend a lot of time relaxing this year. We expect to head back to Malta in mid September - via Sicily (would like to visit Syracusa and possibly Catania and Messina on the east coast) and may stop at a few places on the Italian south coast on the way. No definite plans other than to cruise gently (hoping always for sunny blue skies and a good breeze (force 3 to 4)) and to enjoy it! Looking forward to visiting new places and having friends onboard along the way.
We'll post regularly to let you know our progress and our plans. Let us know if you'd like to join us.
Best wishes for a great summer.
Iain and Helen
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