visitors and friends

Above is David and Ray on the town quay Navplion. We have had David on board for 2 weeks and shown him our life out here and some of the Peloponnisos.

   We have also spent some time with Carol and Peter who live on Anastasia a lovely Westerly yacht

Above is Anastasia.

       Now our cruising is being influenced by the world cup and we have to be somewhere we can watch football! Also we are planning to return to England soon as the heat is building now up to 40 degrees during the day and no wind .

   We are in Leonidio watch the match at Maragret's last night and moving on later we are hoping for an afternoon breeze to go to Ermonio.

   Mandy and Ray 

20th May 2018

It is almost a month since our last post shamefully and lots has happened Stoke have been relegated and the Royal Wedding was yesterday not that we saw any of as we were sailing from Ermioni to Poros some frustrating due to a shifting wind then no wind but the last 40 minutes were good goose winging into Poros!

       Since we last posted we have had to have repairs to our anchor winch! We were in Milos looking forward to going south east to a couple of islands we have not visited yet. It had been intermittently failing but then it stopped! we had been warned last year to get a new starter motor so Ray wanted to go to the engineer that worked on it last year and he live near Leonidion which was 80 nautical miles from Milos and no where to stop half way!!!

 Above Josephine along side in Leonidion after repair. The 30th we decided to move set an alarm and up at 5.30am so we hoped to arrive in day light. The sea was not flat and the wind was mixed and at time up to a force 6 in a big sea we got wet! Josephine and her skipper enjoyed the sail the crew (me) did not enjoy the whole trip. Anyway we arrived safetly at 7.30pm and the habour was full a group of Russians were racing around the area so tired and not wanting to drop the anchor as no winch we asked to raft up 1st boat refused but the 2nd said yes I/we have never been so happy to raft up.

   We had already contacted Dimitri though Margaret the Taverna owner who if you have ever been to Leonidion you will know her. The following morning Dimitri arrived found us amongst the Russian boats said he would get the part by thurs and fit it thurs evening or Friday morning so a week in leonidion well there worst places to be stuck.

 Above is Dimitri's car after fixing the winch Ray went to his workshop to pay the bill and he said have my car for the week-end and explore the area!! Driving another man's car who is well know in the area is fun often waved to by the locals who looked confused we Dimitri was not driving.
   During this time the boat parked next to us was called Mrs Chippy had an American flay registered at Tahoe USA. A family of 7 on board 5 children the youngest being 5 and also a cat. They brought the boat last year and were heading to the Cyclades and then on to Tenerife ready in the autumn to cross the Atlantic and head for home.
    Just at the moment there is not much wind so will spend a day or 2 here and move north toward the gulf of Corinth.
       Ray and Mandy 

25th April 2018

Its a month since we launched Josephine and we are anchored in the Bay on the island of Milos!
    there are not many boats about see below.

 This is the town quay and usually full has only 3 boats on the outside and the inside usually full of tripper boats in almost empty.

    Last night we were on the island Serifos and saw more boats than we have since leaving the Poros area that was 4 of which we were one!! So no wind today so we motored from Serifos to here basics needed that is water and gas for cooking we are low on both. Every week-end since launching we have had to hide/shelter from storm force winds so if that is the case this week-end we shall be safe here. We plan to spend the rest of the week here exploring the bay and its many anchorages.

    Well swimming it is very cold that is the water I have been swimming twice once intentionally and once I fell in off the plank in Poros with a café full of witnesses!!! handbag shopping and all soaking.

 Note bandage we had nothing smaller on board till I went to the chemist which I promptly did no real damage just my pride had until then never fallen off the plank.

     So after Poros off to the Cyclades Kithnos the 1st island another week-end in Loutra sheltering from wind the off to Syros and Finikas and then a favourite Paros we anchored in the large bay on the north coast and I enjoyed some planed swimming in crystal clear cold water and we went walking on the headland.

In the for ground is Little Joe our tender and in the distance Josephine not a great photo sorry.

From the small Greek theatre over looking the bay.

The lighthouse looking out to sea whilst on our walk. We then moved to a bay on the west side of Paros for the week-end and again the quay was empty and there was only one yacht in the anchorage with us, it is early season but there are usually more boats around where are they all hiding. 

   We plan to move towards the Peloponnisos Peninsula next week.

     36degrees44'N 24degrees24'E

   Mandy and Ray 

Sailing again

It is Sunday 15th April and we have been afloat for 3 weeks.
     

This is Josephine moored at Jon's Taverna in Korfos our 1st stop after a week-end at anchor near the Corinth canal we thought the port police there may renew our cruising papers however not to be so on to Korfos with a good supermarket and water on the quay. Josephine had wintered well and once we washed off the red dust that coated her she looked like new again.

A new addition to the galley a new cooker and far better than the previous model. The old cooker had the usual 2 rings and an oven that was on or off, the new model has similar 2 rings and a grill and the oven has a control that has 9 ! settings as time goes on it will be interesting to see if this improves that cooking on board.

    Well we still needed to get out cursing permit so of to Epidavrous the closest harbour with port police and post office /bank so not far 15 nautical miles and after an hour we had renewed our papers and could set off legally for the summer. 

The Skipper enjoying a glass on the quay at Epidavrous and from there off to Poros a favourite port of ours.

      The Greek Easter is week-end 7th to 9th April and a couple of years ago we had an enjoyable time at Ermoui so we planed a route.

   I shall let you all know how things have gone next week.

      From Ray and Mandy

     On the island of Kythnos Loutra Harbour. 

Welcome 2018

Hello to all those who have followed our story,  new readers and family.

 Above is Josephine being lifted into her land berth for the winter and the view from the cockpit that was in October 2017 note black/grey clouds weather going down hill fast we are leaving just in time.

The boat is being stored at a small yard near to Theadora , (hopefully spelt correctly), just to the East of the Corinth Canal. we have all the facilities we could wish for and it is very easy to get to and from the airport by an inexpensive train ride.

 2017 was a good year and we have some great memories and I am sat at home typing this first blog watching a blizzard in the back garden and counting the days till our return to our summer home.

We will this year make a determined effort to do a blog abut once per week, and should any readers want to ask about pilotage and harbour details please do not hesitate to contact us.

Milos & Monovasia

Since leaving Olympic for the last time we have had a comprehensive cruise down through the Cyclades Islands. We have visited old favourites and many new places including going further East to Amorgos.

Paros old town

We have had quite unusual weather for this region. The Cyclades are infamous for strong winds. Recently we have had very little wind and have had to motor a lot of the time.

It has been amazing to see the transformation from what was initially a very quiet area to a bustling and busy sailing and tourist region.

The ferries become more frequent disgorging droves of Island hopping back packers

The end of our Cyclades tour was the southern  most island of Milos.

Milos is a sizable extinct Volcano crater formed many millions of years ago. Over a period of time the sea eventually broke through into the central crater and formed what is now a large and well protected natural harbour.

We decided  to stay for several days and generally chill out mainly at anchor although the marina/harbour here is very good and reasonably priced.

After a few days we decided to circumnavigate the island over a few days. it was an excellent way to see the island and appreciate its size. One of the highlights of the trip was the amazing rock and cave formations at Kleftiko on the SW corner.

A selection of the many photographs below.

 The entire circumnavigation lasted three days and two nights and a total distance of fifty miles. The last leg involving a brisk sail in 25Kn winds and a big sea until we reached the calmer waters of the crater.

A LONG DAY ON THE LONGEST DAY.

Constantly monitoring the weather forecasts it seemed that the winds were steadily falling to nothing and so we decided to make a break with an early start to travel seventy miles west to Monomania on the E coast of the Polyponise peninsular.

The weather forecast was surprisingly accurate almost to the minute. starting with a brisk NW wind which lowly fell to zero and then by mid day starting to fill in from the South.

We left the Cyclades to avoid the anticipated winds and ceartainly got what we wished for.

We have now for some time had virtually no wind. Temperatures are continuing to  rise and are daily in excess of 40 degrees. The local Greeks tell us that we are heading towards a serious heatwave.

We have therefore decided to return home for a few weeks in mid July to avoid the heat.

Monovasia

Known as the Greek Gibraltar this harbour and town situated near to the southern tip of the Peloponese is well worth visiting.

An ancient and fortified village on the rock has been tastefully restored.  Wandering through the narrow alleyways lined with multi coloured shrubs and bushes islike going back in time.   





Having travelled north up the coast we are now at anchor and caught in the midst of the predicted heat wave. Tomorrow is predicted at 45c and possibly 47 -49. Serious heat.

RAY & MANDY
KHAIDHARI
   

LEAVING THE SPORADES

HEADING SOUTH. THE PASSAGE BETWEEN

SKOPELOS & ALONNISOS

We have had an enjoyable few weeks cruising around and exploring the Sporades chain of islands.

These attractive and very green islands are a pleasure to visit and we would strongly recommend them to fellow sailors.

One of the highlights of our stay was meeting up with Joe and Phil Wagg, who were holidaying on Skopolos at the same time that same time .

Phil & Joe.

Phil and Joe were staying in a stunning Villa
which had beautiful elevated views over the south coast of the island towards Evia clearly visible some thirty miles away. 


As you would imagine a few drinks were shared together with a laugh or two.

We hoped to take them sailing but unfortunately a strong gale came in and we were confined to staying on the Skopolos town quay for some days, with salt water spray and waves coming over the wall!



leaving the Islands we decided to again stay outside of and to the East of Evia.   We travelled south to Skyros and then had an exciting long passage downwind to Andros and then returned to our base at Olympic Marina, Lavrio.

New chain flaked on

the dock

The reason for our return was to collect  70 meters of new anchor chain. Our existing chain had severely rusted over the winter.  We are totally reliant on our anchor and so did not hesitate to change it.

We now have a total of 100 meters of 10mm chain which really is worth having when sailing in this area.

Yet another gale detained us in Olympic for a few more days.




We have now left the marina and are exploring the Cyclades  islands. Our hope is to visit new harbours and islands, and then returning back to Milos which we first visited last year.

We also have the advantage of a new hard bottom dinghy and a outboard motor crane. We have put them into good use, often anchoring off to avoid the turmoil and crush that can sometimes occur when visiting popular harbours.

RAY & MANDY
ORMOS NASSOU,
PAROS

THE SPORADES

For some years we have hoped to travel North to cruise the Sporades Islands and have been frustrated by the normal strong N Winds.

Whilst in Siros a unusual window of opportunity occurred with literally no wind forecast for a number of days. When  being asked" where are you going next" ?  we often reply "we will wait and see which way the wind blows". This time we saw which way the wind wasn't blowing and went for it !

The journey involved three long days of motoring. The first leg Siros to Andros, the second day Andros to Kimi on the Eastern shore of wild and rugged Evvoia and then on to Alonnisos the island situated in the midst of the Sporades chain.

Was it worth it ?  Undoubtedly. The islands,  lushly covered with green forests of trees, are stunning. we have in particular fallen in love with Skopelos.  this is the island where the movie Mama Mia was filmed.

We have so many photographs that we have taken and so we decided to just print them out and let them tell the story of these beautiful islands.  

        Until next time Mandy and Ray    

THE SPORADES

We had often looked at the chart and the pilot and wanted to visit The Sporades but the northerly winds prevented us, so this year when we found ourselves becalmed we put together a passage plan to visit the northern Aegean.

The View from Loutraki to Skiathos

on Skopolos

The church at the end of Skopolos town quay

The weather was lovely and the scenery beautiful we have spent the last 2 weeks cruising this group of islands. Skopolos is where some of the outside scenes from the film Mama Mia were filmed and Skopolos harbour is where they had the pontoon that they all jumped into the water it has been removed.

The hill top village of Loutraki

We have met up with a couple from home who are out here on holiday and have enjoyed Jo and Phills company.

the internet is very slow today so I shall sign off and tell you more next time

Mandy and Ray

SUMMER OF 2017 BEGINS

We left the UK on 16th April to start our sailing this summer. The winter at home seemed to be long and wet.

Josephine in Olympic

at the end of Winter

It was pleasant to return to this  crisp but dry atmosphere but ironically for the first week the weather at home was warmer than Greece ! 

Having arrived late on Easter Sunday we spent the first two days putting the boat back together and then left the marina on the Wednesday and motored (due to lack of wind) across to the Island of Kea, the most northerly of the Cyclades.

Sailing again & all wrapped up.

After a couple of days in Kea, we sailed down to Lutra, on the Island of Kythnos.  This harbour was pleasantly quiet on our arrival with only Josephine and one other boat moored in it.

Josephine in a "Quiet Lutra.

Twenty Four hours later the small harbour was jam packed full with more boats arriving, and being stacked up on the outside wall with long lines ashore.

The always pleasant and helpful harbour master Stavrous had his hands full with boats struggling to squeeze into small spaces in a strong wind

Josephine crammed into a full Harbour.

       

The Aegean had seemed really quiet and it was a big surprise to see all these boats arrive as if from nowhere.


It was literally like the United Nations with a multitude of nationalities. It was noticeable that we were the only Brits. 








After a couple of nights we were the first boat to leave we left early on purpose to avoid the inevitable later turmoil with crossed anchors etc..

We set off for Siros 25 miles to the East, and the wind soon filled in to a perfect 20/25 Kn. beam reach and our first full sail of the season. With two reefs in the Main and Genoa we were hitting
8.5 Knots and had an invigorating passage to Finikas.

We are presently anchored in the very pleasant Ormos Villas on the SE corner of Siros. Unusually for
this area there is NO WIND FORECAST, and so we are going to chill out here before setting off again. Our destination ? we don't know . We will just wait and see which way the wind blows !!

Hello we are still sailing

March 1st 2017.

   Well it has been along time since we have blogged and that is laptop problems but we are back.
   Last year we came home for July and August as it was very hot and crowded. So enjoyed some British summer which was lovely as we had not spent a summer in England for 4 years!

    So Josephine was left in Olympic Marina in the water, so last month we went to visit her and see she had wintered and it was all good. So she is already for the sailing this year, we are to return 16th April and start this adventure.
  Looking forward to telling our tales as the season progresses.
      Mandy and Ray from england

OUR SAILING SEASON SO FAR

We arrived in Greece in early April and now are approaching nearly three months of cruising.

Josephine has been excellent and we have had few problems and have been able to achieve a lot in this short space of time.

We have logged nearly 600 NM. and re visited many places as well as discovering new harbors and anchorages.

AT ANCHOR IN KEA.
(note the bits of string)

We sailed to the Cyclades Islands which lived up to their "Breezy" reputation. It was really nice to return to the harbors and be greeted with "hello Josephine and welcome back" !

For the whole of April and well into May we were struck by how quiet everywhere was with very few boats around. It would seem that all the adverse publicity to do with migrants and airplanes disappearing from the sky's is having a very UN NECESSARY effect on Greece's tourist industry

We have avoided going across to the East where all the problems were, but speaking to boats who have recently returned they have seen little or no problems in recent times. Certainly there are no Migrant issues in the areas that we have visited.

A CRUISE LINER ENTERING NAVPILO

From The Cyclades we made the long passage across to Poros and the Saronic gulf. This is an excellent cruising area and well worth visiting with generally kinder and more predictable winds and many wonderful harbors to visit.  The jewel in the crown is definitely Navpilon. This wonderful and highly  picturesque old fortified city is an essential port of call for any one cruising in this area. We also discovered that it also has excellent dentists!!

WEATHER.  The weather has been good with lots of sunshine and pleasant breezes. What has been unusual has been that the winds have been predominately from the South. One of the main problems with this is that they carry with them "Red Dust". The dust is carried airborne from the African continent and covers everything and gets into everywhere. Whilst at anchor in Ermoni the nearby island of Idra, normally visible for 25/30 NM when at sea, and now only 5 NM away was invisible.
We estimated that due to the dust visibility was down to 2 or 3 miles!

A MAJOR DECISION.  After much thought and deliberation we have reserved a full time 12 month berth in Olympic marina.  The reasoning behind our decision is that we can now leave the boat in a safe place and return home for a few weeks in Mid Summer to  avoid the heat and also if we wish we can make visits in the winter. Apart from these obvious advantages it also made sound economic sense.

POROS

   
NEVER GO TO SEA WITHOUT A PIECE OF STRING !  The first picture of this post showing a Greek chapel is obscured by a criss cross of string.  To cut a long story short we had to remove our mainsail for a little maintenance.  Whilst I have been sailing for many years and removed countless mainsails in my time this was the first time I had ever removed a " In mast furling " mainsail. The procedure was relatively strait forward.  However what I had not realized was that the foil inside the mast that holds the sail is unsecured at the top. Once the sail is removed this 14 meter plus extrusion is free to move and CLANG as it wishes. After a few minutes of this constant noise we had definitely become THE NOISY NEIGHBORS FROM HELL!!

However my habit of never throwing away a piece of string came to the rescue.The block which takes the head of the sail to the top of the mast was taken two thirds of the way up with the string attached and pulled very tightly. End of problem and a lesson learnt.  

ASTROUS.  ANOTHER EMPTY QUAY TO OURSELVES

 We are now back in Poros awaiting the arrival of Ann and Jim who arrive on Thursday 9th June for ten days. Ironically they seem to have bought their Scottish weather with them. We have been roasting in sunshine for so long, but on the day of their arrival in Greece the heavens have opened with torrential rain and thunder and lightning!

The forecast is good.

Thanks for viewing and we hope you find our posts interesting.

RAY & MANDY
Poros   37.31N x 23.25E



























 
  

Still in May and posting again!!!!!

Saronic Gulf & Eastern Peloponnisos

    We are still in this area and came here for easy winds!!! Well we have encountered a storm but enough of that what a beautiful cruising area this is and we have been further south in the med. than ever before as calm weather was forcast we ventured down to Monemvasia ! and it is beautiful the Greeks are restoring it to its former glory and doing it well.

Is called by some books Little Gibraltar and as we went around the headland there she was but the best was yet to come as we rounded this headland to go into the habour a village / small town  came into view a film set Ray called it

 When we left our previous port were concerned that it maybe full however this year we are at the moment finding everywhere empty? why who knows? The habour had 1 yacht in and no problem for us parking the boat.

 This is the road to the island it never floods with tide unlike those we know in France and England we cycled to the village well not all the way the hill at the end got the better of us so we walked the last bit!!
  We spent the day wandering around the cobbled streets and had a simple lunch over looking the sea.

A jug of Rosie and Moussaka and what a view!
   I had a broken tooth so moving on to somewhere with a dentist was needed! so forcast for southerly winds Beaufort 5 good for going north to Navplona a large town to find a dentist. The wind had howled over night but there was a good forcast and yachts we leaving and a large Cruise Ship yacht 4 masts was coming in so we left.

 Doesn't she look good and she looked even better in full sail but too far away for a photo.
We had half a genoa out and were sailing ok but not fast however under the lee of the island so we waited well 30 mins later we had a good wind and were enjoying the sail and then she (the weather ) turned in to a 45 knots of wind and a large swell!!! We made the sail smaller and still sailing at 10 knots!!! waves breaking over the boat and the only bay/ habour we knew 10 miles away however there was a small habour closer that we had never been to and in the end we diverted to it as ripping sail's is not good.

This is Ieraka the morning after the storm we arrived and thankfully it was empty so we dropped the hook in the middle and waited for the wind to drop and sure enough a few hours latter it was calmer so we re anchoured and tied onto the habour wall therefore not taking up all the space.
  Fishing boats were coming in to shelter so it was very windy.

    The next day the winds had dropped so we made a run for the north and had alovely sail to Navpolon .

     37 deg33'N 22 deg47'E

This Old fortified Village is of Byzantine origin and was once of great importance as a port due to its location near to the southern tip of the Peloponise peninsular and the trade routes through the Agean sea.

By the end of the 19th century and the Greek civil war the community was  very poor and impoverished and the the area slowly declined and died. The village was left to deteriorate into ruin.

In recent years a program of renovation has bought this amazing site back to life and is a great credit to the instigators of this wonderful project..

We can strongly recommend a visit to anyone visiting this area.

Ray and Mandy.

2016 and we are afloat.

Well 29 days ago this was Josephine loaded into the crane and on her way back to the water with 2 very anxious owner's watching!! All was well went into the water and floated.

   We have spent alot on her over the winter including a new fore sail and keeping up with the little things that keep her looking good new dogers was one as we lost an E from her name.

  We have been sailing now for 29 days and covered approx. 200 nautical miles and only done 42 engine hours in that time so we have had some lovely sailing and some difficult times as well.

  Our first sail was to Kea about 18 nautical miles and a good wind behind and when we arrived the only boat on the quay we knew it was early but thought a few more would be about. We then went onto the middle Cyclades re visiting some old favourites but after 10 days we were at Naxos hiding from strong winds and not northerly but southerly!!

   We are now in the Saronic at Ermioni a favourite of ours and had a good sail here today flat water and 15/18 knots of variable winds.

    W not leave it solong for the next installment now I have remebered how to and wil take more pictures 

     37deg23'N 23deg15'E

    Keeping well Mandy and Ray 

  

Time to go Home!!

We have had a lovely summer and due to heat and strong northerly winds we have decided to winterise Josephine and head home.
   
    I am sat in Little Haywood looking at the fog as I write this we have been home now for 3 weeks and enjoyed cool wet weather and just recently some lovely warm sunny weather.

This is our Josephine in her winter home and being cared for by Olympic Marina and David.
 
    Our last fortnight was spent sailing / motoring through the Gulf of Corinth the wind often against us despite the prevailing wind is usually westerly and not much swimming due to the number of jelly fish!!

  This photo was taken from the stern of Josephine so we were not about to jump in just a cold shower to cool down.

    When we returned to the Aegean Sea the wind was always northerly as expected or nothing so unless we wanted to be blown to the south we headed to the marina and arranged flights and the lift out. There a few winter jobs to be done to prepare for next year; sad to go but the relentless heat had finally got to us .

     So until next spring have a good wintr and an early Happy Christmas and Happy 2016!!

     Mandy and Ray

Repairs ??!

Hello all well it isn't any cooler yet so we just have to enjoy hot sunny day with a hair-dryer type wind to sail with.
    Since we last blogged we have had a few repairs 3 to be exact.

Above is Josephine s bow roller and you maybe able to see it is worn to the metal it should be similar to the one on the left which is used for anchor warp, the shackles we had to connect the anchor to the chain have worn the plastic so off to Levkarda to source a new one no luck not any of the Chandlers stock that sort of thing. So off to Nidre and try a Chandlers called George's and guess what we were luck not the exact thing but something that would see use through to the end of the season we thought so off to Ay Efumia to the town quay where could go in bows too on a high quay do the work without losing any bolts we hoped and we have friends that would help if we did not have the right tools

. So a day later the new bow roller in situ but not that simple the one we brought had been black rubber and George et al told us it wouldn't last a few days but knew someone that could make one so Ray went off with George and sure enough a new one was to be made so we were stuck in a favourite place for a couple of days very hot but we went cycling.
  As you can see from the photo above the new bow roller with anchor fitted and we have changed the arrangement of shackles so it wont happen again..

  Then we set off for the Gulf of Cornith to some quieter crusing away from the Floatilers and to visit Mesolongion which we have never been to just sailed past. We had some good sailing but then alas Ray noticed a hole in the genoa!!! surely not but on a second look yes where some old stitching had been the fabric had torn. Well Mesolongion had a marina and we know some people winter there so hopefully sail repairs cold be done. Yes that was possible however the Waypoint sail rep did not want to come to the marina we had to go to him, Ray and I can just about move the sail on the boat but get it to the Waypoint outlet no way not in this heat just getting it down was hot enough . So Ray had an idea if we got the boat and sail to the Town Quay could he collect from there yes not problem so we cast off to the Town Quay a few 100 yards away delivered the sail and returned to the Marina as we had payed for 2 nights.This was a week-end so we thought it would be mid week before we saw the sail again however not Saturday early evening we had a phone called the sail was repaired so we arranged to collect it Monday morning on the Town quay.

   Well these things often come in three's!! and sure enough a day after leaving Mesolongion our batteries where loosing charge quicker than normal it was hot the fridge was struggling but we better check the batteries as 2 were not sealed and sure enough one was dry!!so where to now we did not want to retrace our steps maybe  Galixidhi would have a battery it had a small chandlers we knew so fingers crossed it was on our way but now we would go directly.thankfully when we arrived the chandlers was open and had the correct battery, after a hot hour or so in the aft cabin it was replaced and two very hot and sweaty crew emerged to the cool of the cockpit!!!!

    Well enough of my going on we are now back in the Aegean sea and sadly thinking of where we will Josephine for the winter can't believe it is that time already.

     Until next time Mandy & Ray