From the amazing setting of Zakinthos we head across to the Peloponnises, to the port of Katakolon from which we could visit ancient Olympia. Katakolon itself is a bit of a dive, with the main business being the large cruise liners which come in unloading the masses to go visit Olympia, or the nearest pub on land in most cases. We hired a car and made the pilgrimage to the site of the original Olympics. This place is truly stunning, the serenity & the 2500 year old history draw you in, and with plenty of shade from Olive & other trees, we happily wondered around, often sitting under a tree taking in the atmosphere. The sheer magnitude & preservation of the ruins is spectacular, and totally worth the visit. On the drive there and back we were stunned my the mountains of rubbish piled up at the sides of the roads. Every slip road or rest stop, off the main highway was piled high. Up till now we had not really seen the impact of the financial crisis Greece currently finds itself in, but this was a very clear manifestation of the difficulties this beautiful country finds itself in.
We stayed in Katakolon another night at anchor and then had a beautiful half day sail down to the small post town of Kiparissi. With not much on offer here, except a small town & a hightening Greek financial crisis, we withdrew some additional Euros, and moved onto the beautiful town on Pylos. Set in the beautiful bay of Navarino the town and bay have a great naval history as the sight of a battle between the Turkish/Egyptian navy & the British. Apparently there a few hundred wooden boat lying in pieces as the bottom of the bay. The town has a very French feel about it, as it had also been under their control for a number of years. We took the opportunity to be moored up, side too, against a large harbour wall to get the tender out and poodle across the bay for a day at the beach. Luckily i decided to take an extra jerry can of fuel, as by the time we'd arrived on the other side of the bay the outboard was running on fumes. Having been worried about not having checked the anodes on the bottom of the boat for a while i also took the opportunity to get the dive gear out and take a closer look. My worries were well founded. The anode around the prop shaft was missing, the ones on the rudder were loose, and the others very much almost worn through. Luckily Pylos has a decent enough dive shop which was able to order in all the necessary anodes, and after half a day in the water i was able to change them all with no problems what so ever. The dive gear is already paying for itself, and my confidence using it is also growing.
Having been on the road again for nearly 2 moths again, Nicky & I now decided it was time to find a place to stop and give Audrey & Bertie some time to feel settled, where we could relax near a beach & cosy restaurants & bars. Our initial thought was to push on and head straight for the Aegean Islands and onto Turkey, where our cruising friends Dini & Pablo on SY Happy Dancer were headed with their children, but the prospect of doing all these miles east, feeling slightly rushed, just didn't add up in our minds. With our Raymarine wind instruments having also decided to stop work again, the prospect of going though the Meltemi belt without them was another concern. So we decided to hold off making a decision and head onto the eastern corner of the Peloponnese of Elefonisis which is famed for its crystal clear waters and make a decision there weather to head east to Santorini & Turkey beyond or perhaps head south to Crete, where Nicky & I first met. We had a fantastic sail down with the wind blowing hard from behind, we made great time covering 80nm in just over 11 hours. A long days sailing but very exhilarating! We found a lovely little anchorage with a dozen boats all tucked up away from the wind for the night.... With a good nights sleep behind us we made the decision that we would Neopolis that day, stock up on some supplies & head for Crete the following night.
Nicky and I met in the tiny hamlet of Bali, Crete 11 or so years ago, and made many good friends there, whilst we were working there. With friends to stop in on, and the setting of nice beaches, bars & restaurants, and the possibility to park the boat up on the wall of small harbour, the decision in the end was easily made. With favourable winds we left Nepalis at dusk and head across the very busy shipping lanes off the Malea headland. We were given a small fright when the engine suddenly spluttered to a halt, just coming up to the west bound lane with very little wind at that point. But another turn of the key and it started again, thank goodness! Having dodged a few very large container ships & cruise liners we settled in for the night, with me taking the first watch Nicky headed for bed. 10 minutes must have passed when again the engine stopped, this time not to be started so easily. Having heard the engine stop Nickys head soon popped up through the companion way..... Alas no rest for the wicked! Luckily the wind had now filled in a bit and we let all the sail we could out and were soon zipping along at 3 to 4 knots. With the chart plotter giving a ETA of 20hrs, and having plenty of seaway, i set to work trying to find the cause of our engine sickness. After 3 hours of checking injectors, fuel pre & primary filters, the cause of our problem was a lack of fuel getting to the engine. With 2 tanks full my first fear was a fuel pump failure. However, in the end by isolation the aft empty tank, and manually pumping fuel through from the 2 full tanks the engine once more roared back to life. I feel like I'm slowly getting the hang of diesel engine diagnostics!!! With plenty of wind we made good progress & by first light we could just make out the outline of Crete in the far distance. It still took us the best part of the day to sail half way up the island, and into the familiar setting of Bali bay. It felt a little emotional sailing back in here after so many years, and it being the place where Nicky & I met many moons ago. We poked our nose into the harbour but all spaces were taken, so settled for anchoring in the Bay for night, and headed to shore in the tender for a well deserved beer, and to say high to some old familiar faces. So great to be back......
We stayed in Katakolon another night at anchor and then had a beautiful half day sail down to the small post town of Kiparissi. With not much on offer here, except a small town & a hightening Greek financial crisis, we withdrew some additional Euros, and moved onto the beautiful town on Pylos. Set in the beautiful bay of Navarino the town and bay have a great naval history as the sight of a battle between the Turkish/Egyptian navy & the British. Apparently there a few hundred wooden boat lying in pieces as the bottom of the bay. The town has a very French feel about it, as it had also been under their control for a number of years. We took the opportunity to be moored up, side too, against a large harbour wall to get the tender out and poodle across the bay for a day at the beach. Luckily i decided to take an extra jerry can of fuel, as by the time we'd arrived on the other side of the bay the outboard was running on fumes. Having been worried about not having checked the anodes on the bottom of the boat for a while i also took the opportunity to get the dive gear out and take a closer look. My worries were well founded. The anode around the prop shaft was missing, the ones on the rudder were loose, and the others very much almost worn through. Luckily Pylos has a decent enough dive shop which was able to order in all the necessary anodes, and after half a day in the water i was able to change them all with no problems what so ever. The dive gear is already paying for itself, and my confidence using it is also growing.
Having been on the road again for nearly 2 moths again, Nicky & I now decided it was time to find a place to stop and give Audrey & Bertie some time to feel settled, where we could relax near a beach & cosy restaurants & bars. Our initial thought was to push on and head straight for the Aegean Islands and onto Turkey, where our cruising friends Dini & Pablo on SY Happy Dancer were headed with their children, but the prospect of doing all these miles east, feeling slightly rushed, just didn't add up in our minds. With our Raymarine wind instruments having also decided to stop work again, the prospect of going though the Meltemi belt without them was another concern. So we decided to hold off making a decision and head onto the eastern corner of the Peloponnese of Elefonisis which is famed for its crystal clear waters and make a decision there weather to head east to Santorini & Turkey beyond or perhaps head south to Crete, where Nicky & I first met. We had a fantastic sail down with the wind blowing hard from behind, we made great time covering 80nm in just over 11 hours. A long days sailing but very exhilarating! We found a lovely little anchorage with a dozen boats all tucked up away from the wind for the night.... With a good nights sleep behind us we made the decision that we would Neopolis that day, stock up on some supplies & head for Crete the following night.
Nicky and I met in the tiny hamlet of Bali, Crete 11 or so years ago, and made many good friends there, whilst we were working there. With friends to stop in on, and the setting of nice beaches, bars & restaurants, and the possibility to park the boat up on the wall of small harbour, the decision in the end was easily made. With favourable winds we left Nepalis at dusk and head across the very busy shipping lanes off the Malea headland. We were given a small fright when the engine suddenly spluttered to a halt, just coming up to the west bound lane with very little wind at that point. But another turn of the key and it started again, thank goodness! Having dodged a few very large container ships & cruise liners we settled in for the night, with me taking the first watch Nicky headed for bed. 10 minutes must have passed when again the engine stopped, this time not to be started so easily. Having heard the engine stop Nickys head soon popped up through the companion way..... Alas no rest for the wicked! Luckily the wind had now filled in a bit and we let all the sail we could out and were soon zipping along at 3 to 4 knots. With the chart plotter giving a ETA of 20hrs, and having plenty of seaway, i set to work trying to find the cause of our engine sickness. After 3 hours of checking injectors, fuel pre & primary filters, the cause of our problem was a lack of fuel getting to the engine. With 2 tanks full my first fear was a fuel pump failure. However, in the end by isolation the aft empty tank, and manually pumping fuel through from the 2 full tanks the engine once more roared back to life. I feel like I'm slowly getting the hang of diesel engine diagnostics!!! With plenty of wind we made good progress & by first light we could just make out the outline of Crete in the far distance. It still took us the best part of the day to sail half way up the island, and into the familiar setting of Bali bay. It felt a little emotional sailing back in here after so many years, and it being the place where Nicky & I met many moons ago. We poked our nose into the harbour but all spaces were taken, so settled for anchoring in the Bay for night, and headed to shore in the tender for a well deserved beer, and to say high to some old familiar faces. So great to be back......
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