Ready for my first solo

Today I bought 40 metres of light rope to use as additonal safety line around the boat. With the existing Jackstays I can't clip on anywhere other than in the cockpit or from the cockpit forward to the mast. Because I will be sailing from Sicily to Malta on my own and I may get some rough conditions I decided not to take any chances and created a sort of spiderweb arrangement that allows me to clip on anywhere from the bowsprit to the bimini. However, I am hoping that no-one notices it and I will unrig it as soon as I arrive.

I also bought a new outboard fuel tank (the previous replacement purchased in Kalamata just two weeks ago cracked and the fuel leaked out) and provisions for three days.

I replaced the raw water impellor in the generator. It had done 500 hours but still looked perfect and felt flexible. Given how fast the first one had failed it looks as though these do better with constant use than they do sitting around for months at a time.

I had hoped to fuel up and leave today but be the time I finished everything it was too late for the fuel dock. A group of nice Brits from the next boat have offered to give me a bit of help getting over to the fuel dock in the morning and I am hoping I will be OK on my own from there.

I had a fantastic meal tonight at a backstreet Sicilian restaurant. We'd eaten here when we first arrived and they were very helpful with a quick tomato pasta for the kids but it was obvious they were capable of much better. I asked the owner/chef to just give me whatever he recommended and this turned out to be a good decision.

The antipasti mare came in a three segment dish, the first containing a salad of tiny pieces of marinated Octopus with Rocket and a lemon juice dressing. The second containing a small deepfried fish that had been completely deboned and stuffed (my Italian is not up to finding out what with), and the final one contained a delicately flavoured pickled fish fillet with an onion marmalade. I suspect this tasted better than it sounds, it also looked wonderful.
After this I had spaghetti with a spicy fresh tuna sauce. The pasta had a fantastic texture and the sauce was delicious.

Alex and Jamie Optimists

Kalamata marina

The Chapmans left today.

Ancient Messene

Plytra-Caves of Diros

We followed the red arrows round overnight. My watch started just before the Cape and ended about 6 miles from the Pirgos Diros. It was extraordinary.

As we rounded the Cape, it was pitch dark -- except for the lights of a village to our right and the lights of a couple of ships to the left. Although I knew, for a fact, that we were not headed straight for land in between these lights, I would have sworn we were. The lights of the ships just weren't obviously ships -- although the radar and the AIS told me they were.

As we hit the third arrow, the land to my right was practically uninhabited and there were no comforting lights at all -- just formless black. Just under the third arrow is a rock sticking up out of the sea -- not identified by a lighthouse. The rock was visible on the radar, but I couldn't actually see it at all -- there was no moonlight. So my heart was in my mouth all the time we were near it. Finally as I was checking the lights of two ships sailing in opposite directions on the horizon, they both suddenly disappeared from view -- they had gone behind the completely invisible rock ... and once I'd recovered from the shock of disappearing tankers, I had a "visual" fix.

Technology is wonderful but there's nothing like the evidence of your own eyes.

The rest of the night and dawn was uneventful. I handed over about 6 miles from the caves and went to get some sleep.

Plytra

We were all excited about the idea of the underwater city at Plytra – apparently you could snorkel over these ancient ruins – much better than climbing over them in the heat! The city was submerged during an earthquake around 375 AD or possibly the Santorini explosion that did it for Knossos.

However we spent the morning swimming, provisioning, eating, and generally chilling and by the time we were ready to snorkel, the wind had come up and the sea was too ferocious – as you can see.

...shame...

We did get a good photo of the beach and the iconic Ghost House...

So we decided to eat, watch a DVD and leave for the Caves of Diros so we would be there as soon as it opened in the morning.

Monemvasia -- Neapolis -- Elefanisos -- ArchAngelos

We left Monemvasia in the dark watching the rock rise out of the sea with the sunrise. (see slideshow).

Our initial destination was Neapolis – a big town with a shop at which we could buy Internet connection. I needed access to organise a flight back to meet the school deadline and we needed to get access to weather files.

En route, we rounded Cape Maleas. It has a reputation for fearsome weather and winds – Odysseus was blown off course here – but was a mill pond today. Shrines and tiny churches are dotted around the cape – commemorating souls lost and offering prayers to whomever is looking after the sea? Disquieting.

The most interesting thing about Neapolis was the enormous car ferry that parked next to Hakuna Matata. We had lunch there, organised Internet access, and hurried onto Elefanisos to swim and anchor overnight.

The bay at Elefanisos was beautiful, but the bottom was “poor holding” a thin layer of sand on rock. The children swam, snorkelled, dived and jumped in the fantastically clear waters. David led a shore party to the beach – towing Alex in the rubber ring.

But, the holding wasn’t good enough given the wind direction to shelter for the night. So we decided to make for tomorrow’s destination – Plytra. More accurately, Archangelos, an anchorage opposite Plytra.

This proved to be an exciting (bumpy) passage culminating in anchoring in the pitch dark reliant on the GPS, torch and shore lights. Fortunately the anchor “took” first time (it seems to be most reliable in depths over 20m), the shelter was good and we could sleep (relatively) soundly.

Pictures: Top: Cape Maleas green arrows indicate shrines/churches

Middle: A happy crew

Bottom: A big ferry and a little catamaran

Monemvasia: afternoon and evening

In the afternoon, Chris and Jamie took advantage of the nice underwater topography – small reef and cave – to do their first dive together since Jamie had certified. Just 12m and 25 minutes but they saw about 20 different species including an eel.

Everyone else swam, dived and jumped until it was time to go back to Monemvasia Old Town for dinner overlooking a wonderful church (there are 40 in this tiny town) and a fantastic sunset.

Pictures: Top: The church.

Middle: Noa and Jamie.

Bottom: Chris, Noriko and Alex at dinner.

Monemvasia Morning

It was difficult to get the kids going in the morning – they’d seen the sort of climb involved and would have preferred to spend the time in the water. But the “ruins” were not optional!

Monemvasia is one of those strategic Mediterranean positions that is historically and architecturally rich because it has changed hands many times through the centuries. It had two periods of Venetian occupation and two under the Turks. And no wonder. From the top of the “rock” you can see potential invaders over sea and land for miles around and it’s very defensible.

It’s easy to imagine the gate house on the single road from the mainland manned with guards – there are stone seats lining the walls and enormous heavy doors. In fact, Monemvasia is the concatenation of two Greek words, mone and emvassia, meaning "single entrance". This structure leads onto a narrow main street that leads through the lower part of the town. The town was deserted in 1911 and was “re-discovered” by rich Athenians and developed into boutique hotels, tavernas and gift shops – mostly sympathetically done.

We made our way directly to the Upper Town, Alex on point. It was a steep climb and the people coming down it looked exhausted. We rested at the octagonal church, Agia Sofia which has been catholic cathedral and Turkish mosque, before we walked up to the Turkish baths and the ruins of the Upper Town. The extent of the ruins is breathtaking – they occupy a huge bowl right at the top of the rock.

Getting back down was exciting ... but we were rewarded with a nice relaxed lunch before heading back to the boat.

Pictures: Top: The single entrance into Monemvasia -- the "guards" are on the walkie-talkie to Hakuna Matata. Bottom: The breathtaking "single step down" from Agia Sofia -- there are no fences and no warning signs.

Kiparissi-Monemvasia

Chris and I visited Monemvasia back in the early 90s and we had always wanted to return to one day. After a quick morning swim at Kiparissi, we set off along the coast. We did try to stop for lunch but swarms of jellyfish, poor holding for the anchor (surprise) and some reasonably brisk winds made us abort and head for Monemvasia early. It’s often quite difficult to know whether you’ll get moored, want to get moored or prefer to anchor so it’s worth getting to a new location earlier rather than later and in the dark.

We anchored just south of the causeway linking the mainland to the huge rock on which Monemvasia perches – quite a backdrop. The kids swam, jumped and dived – in fact David began to teach Alex to dive here.

We ate in Monemvasia mainland that evening the highlight of which was some extremely unusual local wine!!

Pictures: Top is Alex with the edge of Monemvasia Old Town behind him. Bottom is the Old Town and in the centre are the narrow steps that zigzag up to the Upper Town which we climbed the next day.

Picking up the Chapmans: Porto Heli-Kiparissi

We arranged to meet Noriko, David and Noa in Porto Heli, where we had sailed from in flotilla last summer. We anchored opposite the ferry terminal and as soon as we saw the ferry arriving, Chris leapt in the dinghy and went to collect them.

When people board Hakuna Matata they are generally impressed with the living space. A catamaran may not look as graceful as a monohull, but the cabins don’t remind you uncomfortably of coffins and the communal living area can easily accommodate the swinging of a quartet of yowling moggies, so it’s a pleasure to welcome people aboard.

The Chapmans had kindly brought out a “Twist n Lock” innovation for the heads (of which there are 3 to clean!!!!) which stops the holding tanks backing up into the loos and are thoroughly recommended.

We had devised a detailed itinerary for the week (the sign of inexperienced sailors I think) which took us from Porto Heli in the Argolik Gulf to Kalamata. So after provisioning, we set sail on our first leg to Kiparissi, an anchorage on the west coast of the gulf which was reputed to be, and was, a great swimming spot. As we made our approach to the bay, the sun slid down behind the coastal mountains -- about 2 hours before it would set over the sea -- and sent shafts of sunlight across the trees and onto the water – very dramatic.

Noa and Jamie started the diving, jumping, swimming theme of the week here. The boat is ideally suited to be a swimming platform and they couldn’t have made better use of it. Alex had been a little anxious about swimming in the sea (we do anchor in depths of anything from 4 to 20 metres) and I was keen for him to acquired confidence, so the girls’ “go for it” attitude was an excellent example. The girls swam till it was dark.

We ate at a beautifully landscaped and lit taverna set a little way up from the quay. By the time we finished eating, it was 11pm but the live music had just started and accompanied us back to the boat and serenaded us as we watched the fantastic starscape on deck.

Sun and Moon

Sunrise over the Aegean Sea, Sunset over Porto Heli

Moonrise over Porto Heli

Leaving Naxos

We decided to wait on the boat for a local lull, all ready to set sail. Lulls usually lasted around 30 minutes with the wind dropping to around 10-12 knots. Chris went off to provision and we stayed on the boat watching the wind chart. Suddenly at about 4pm, the wind dropped a little and two boats successfully made a break for it. I called Chris back and we Just made the window. Because the marina is small, full of boats and subject to gusty wind, we had to be crisp and quick. The anchor proved difficult to pull up and when it got near the surface, it was obvious it was fouled – with another boat’s anchor. Our new windlass had just pulled up two anchors at once... Chris had to remove the other anchor – and quickly before the boat drifted out of control. He did, managed to manoeuvre the boat through the narrow entrance and out into the open sea.

I think it would be possible to write a very large book about the things that can go wrong with anchors.

Portara

Jamie finished her course on Saturday and we needed to be in Spetses/Porto Heli by Tuesday night to meet the Chapmans first thing on Wednesday morning. On Sunday, continuing high winds made it clear that we weren’t going to get out of the harbour – nobody came and nobody left. In fact a catamaran that was moored on the outer wall caused a stir when it started to take on water after continued battering by wind and wave. On Monday, we decided to go when the winds died a little in the evening so we walked up to the Portara.

The Portara stands on an outcrop connected to the mainland by a causeway. It’s impressive because of its size and simplicity: it looks a bit like a gateway to another world – you wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see Spock or Harry Potter or a time traveller step through it.

As we walked over the connecting causeway we were all struck by the ferocious waves on one side and the calm waters in which people happily swam and bathed on the other. Chris and I looked at one another and shook our heads – we weren’t leaving today. This impression was reinforced as we watched a yacht struggling to get in to harbour from the open sea from the top of the hill. On checking with the Marina office, we were advised there wasn’t a window in the weather until next Saturday!

Jamie Hovering

Jamie’s course

Jamie was well aware that the instructors thought 10 was too early to certify which just made her more determined to do so.

Day One: J handled the morning theory (pressure, volume, density and some golden rules) and the dive briefing very well but I thought we were going to have a serious wobble when kitting up. Jamie had to wear both a long and a short wetsuit which were difficult to get on and put a lot of pressure around her throat. Finally however, we got to the beach and she began her first confined dive – 1.5m, 40 mins. The tasks of putting on fins, hood, mask and BC in water distracted Jamie from the discomfort and the exercises during the dive and her success with them (regulator recovery, clearing mask, buddy breathing etc.) inspired her to keep going.

Day Two: The theory focused on what happens to you underwater – sight, hearing, heat loss, breathing, movement – and the confined dive exercises took the workload on a stage, both in their difficulty and Jamie’s ability to do them independently.

Day Three: Jamie's first 5m+ dive and a boat exit and entry. By this time, she was confident and eager and wasn’t letting any irritations with kit get in her way. My job now was to ensure that I didn’t help her because Jamie’s ability to handle her kit and do her checks competently on her own could be the difference between a fun dive and a serious accident. In the water, Jamie impressed her instructor with her ability to “hover” with legs crossed in Lotus position using just her breathing to maintain attitude.

Day Four: Dalton and his partial pressures, nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness etc. For the first time, we left Jamie completely alone to dive and took Alex to a water park. I don’t think she really noticed our absence – had I mentioned that Jamie had developed a tendre for Nassos...?

Day Five: Dive tables in the morning: Nassos dropped a couple of “tricky” questions in to fox Jamie and failed to do so. A boat dive in the afternoon: Chris accompanied Jamie and Nassos to get Jamie comfortable diving with him. The sea was pretty choppy and some of the more experienced divers on the boat were apprehensive. Jamie, used to jumping off boats by now, was completely unfazed. However, it was 5pm before the boat party returned so we postponed her exam for a day.

Jamie got 94% in her final exam having got 97.5% in her mini-quizzes the day before – ‘nuff said.

Pictures: Diving with Dad, Certification Photo with Nassos

Go-Karting

On Sunday, while waiting for a window to leave Naxos we visited Heartrock – a Go-Karting track in the middle of Naxos. It was a little like a ghost town – no-one else but us, the owner, some wind and a track.

Chris briefed Alex on how to take the corners and follow a racing line. Alex started cautiously but by the end of his track time had built up a very respectable speed and had absolutely rock solid, consistent racing lines.

All-in-all, a slightly surreal, but very enjoyable afternoon.

Naxos Town

During the week we explored the back streets of Naxos town in search of places to eat. Just back from the main harbour road, it’s another labyrinth with narrow paved and stepped passages twisting round and under a maze of buildings and dominated by the Venetian fort.

Alex and I took a guided tour up to a monastery and around the town. Greeks love Alex’s blond hair and bright smile and our guide was no exception – an hour and a half tour turned into two and a half hours! We started at the monastery with views over Naxos town and a rich history that included thrilling tales of monks hiding in caves and the secret attics to avoid plundering pirates. The attics could house all the monks and included an ornate chapel to ensure that worship was uninterrupted.

Naxos has been inhabited for thousands of years and we visited an excavation that gave us an insight into the burial rituals of the ancients – the guide was charmingly unwilling to talk about it in front of Alex, but we read the panels and Alex was typically unfazed!

Modern Naxos surrounds the Venetian fort and its enclosed town which was built using a combination of stone from the unfinished temple and other local materials: it seemed like our guide knew every stone that had been stolen from the temple and could tell us its story and function. We visited the fort, the town gates, the unique doors with their coats of arms and got completely lost in the twisty passages and steps – fantastic fun.

Pictures: Looking over Naxos from the Monastery, Alex demonstrating the “meter” rule carved in the stone surround of an ancient door to check that traders weren’t cheating people buying fabrics, The Guide holding hands with blond Alex.

A week in Naxos

Panos at Bluefin Divers in Agios Prokopios was quite clear that although Jamie as eligible at 10, he found that 12 year olds were better suited to the Open Water course but he would give her a trial day.

Due to complications with weather and berths, Alex and I took Jamie to her course and left Chris moving the boat and helping other boats to get settled for some impending high winds.

Jamie’s instructor for the week was Nassos and she really “lucked out”. Nassos is an experienced instructor, willing to take time, good with the psychology of diving and incredibly thorough. The days were structured with theory in the classroom in the morning, a break, a dive and a video consolidating the theory.

Jamie had no trouble with the theory, handled the first shore dive and exercises well and was welcomed back to complete the five day course.

So the week was given over to attending the course and sorting out some boat issues – largely our windlass which had broken beyond repair and needed replacing.

Poor Alex didn’t have such a great time that week – the wind had blown up to 20-25 knots in the harbour which took a lot of Chris’s time and attention. He did, however, get to ride on a quad bike and a scooter, go to a water park and play on the beach at Ag Prokopios while Jamie was "at school".

Picture: Jamie's first shore dive with Nassos