Bright and early we set out for Asprakis boatyard to haul out the boat. After a short but very bumpy and windy trip round to the North of the island we were in the travel lift at 10h00. The lift out went well and after a pressure wash we were chocked up and in place on land by 11h30. The Greeks can be efficient. We organised the work to be done, hired a scooter and by 16h00 we had painted the first coat of anti fouling. We both then enjoyed a good shower on land (our first since we had left Mesolonghi). Another first was that we connected to land power for the first time since our departure. The solar panels and wind generator supply all our needs but to boot up the main computer takes a little too much power so whilst we are here we will do the work that we have been putting off.

The next morning Svein put on the second coat of anti-fouling before he went into Aegina to get our lift out permit from the port police. Whilst he was in town Caryn caught up with the washing and on his return set to scrubbing down the dinghy in preparation for the revamping. During this time Svein worked on repairing the top sides and sprucing them up with some paint. As the temperature was steadily rising and it was very hard working in the current heat we took a break and went off for a deserved swim. On our return Svein began to repair our spare water pump (you never know) and then proceeded to work on the dinghy by giving it two coats of primer and then the first coat of Coelan. The dinghy is now bright yellow (to match the anchor). Tomorrow the next coats will go on. All in all a great deal of work done in a very short time.

30^th July 2010

We rigged up a shade to cover the dinghy so that we could carry on painting in the heat and sun. Over the course of the day 2 more coats of Coelan were put on. It really makes a difference and hopefully will extend its lifespan. Late afternoon a French boat that we had seen in Aegina harbour came to the boatyard for their liftout. They will be spending the winter there. After a discussion it was decided that they would take over our scotter hire so the owner and Svein drove into town together. The first stop was the port pollice so that we could get an exit stamp and the French could complete their formalities. Too much for a Friday afternoon so they must go back the next day. They then visited the scooter rental and Svein also had a quick session on internet to send out some urgent emails. They got back to the harbour to discover that all our papers had been left in the port police so Svein quickly returned to get them back.

Bright an early Svein proceeded to change the toilet pump that had started to play up seriously. Caryn woke up to find the toilet in pieces so the only solution was to stay out of the way and go for a long swim in the crystal clear water. Everything was eventually put back together and we now have a properly working toilet! We eventually left the anchorage late morning and started motoring towards Aegina (our destination for the day). The wind blew up but unfortunately was very fickle so we were only able to sail for an hour. We motorsailed past Poros and arrived in Aegina around 17h00. There was room in the harbour but as luck would have it the wind blew up from the North making it very difficult to anchor. After several attempts , where we were consistently blown off track, we found a spot where we were able to moor. Sortly after settling in we had a visit from the harbour authorities and for the first time since we set out we had to pay a mooring fee (€11,77) that consisted of an arrival fee and a mooring fee. “If you stay longer it will be cheaper tomorrow”. Svein had spent several months in Aegina in 2006 refurbishing a boat for a Norwegian friend so he was anxious to contact old friends and see the changes in the town. We wandered around the streets and he found his marks – there have been very little changes since his last visit. We dined in the restaurant that he always used and where he was remembered. The next day he wandered off to see the local chandler (who also remembered him) to order some additional products for the Coelan system that we have used on the deck. We now want to use it on the dinghy and some other equipment on the boat. We then shopping and found a present for the latest addition to the Vigne family – Arthur who arrived on 21st July and was born in Kalamata. Svein bought some bits and pieces from the chandler so that he is not idle whilst we wait for the delivery of the Coelan products – hopefully on 27th but all depends on the current strikes in Athens. Nobody knows how long they are going to last!!!!!! After a lunch in town and a snooze and a very brief rain shower Svein installed the new hour counter for the engine. He also replaced the broken buzzer and key on the engine and installed a new switch to enable us to remote control the anchor wince from the cockpit. Whilst mooring we discovered that the remote control button to lower the chain was not working.Everything is now installed and working. An invasion of Dutch charter boats arrived during a strong gust of wind so it was fun and games to get them moored. Two were moored near us but the rest (6 in all) dropped their anchors over ours and then backed into a nearby quay. We are convinced that we will have problems tomorrow when they leave. After a very early start to the day – we were up at 5am to lay out another anchor as ours was dragging (thanks to the charter boats) – we went into town and faced the post office. This was very efficient, clean and quick. So with our package posted we hired a quad and went on a tour of the island. Svein met up with old friends on the North of the island where he had worked previously and we enjoyed a good lunch in Souvavli. We even visited some old ruins as the photos will attest. It is not in our habits to visit old stones but this monument was well worth the trip. It is the sanctuary of Aphaia above the headland of Ayia Marina on a hill offering a spectacular view of the sea, and as the guide book says ”worship on the site goes back to prehistoric times around 1300BC when it a was associated with a female fertility deity as is clear from the finds brought to light by arcgaeoligical excavations”. Aphaia, the daughter of Zeus and Karme, fled to Aegina and hid in a cave to avoid the attentions Minos who was in love with her. She was only worshipped on Aegina. We finished off the tour by visiting Agia Marina. A horrible place that was no longer the deserted town that Svein knew but had become a busy holiday resort with lots of noisy hotels and a beach full of parasols and sunbathing beds. On our return to the boat we discovered that the charter boats had gone but inevitably had pulled up our two anchors. There was no choice but to change moorings which we proceeded to do whilst the wind was calm. Hopefully in our new spot we will be well away from the charter boats as we are tucked in among locals. We collected our products despite all the strikes in Athens and Caryn treated herself to a visit to the beauty parlour. We have also had a serious change of plan. Tomorrow we go to the North of the island to take the boat out for a serious clean of the underside and to antifoul her. In fact we have had such a good offer from the shipyard that it is too good to refuse and it will also save us money in the long run as we will save on fuel for the next stage of our trip. We should be there for a small week which also coincides with a bad weather front coming over the area where we would have been sailing so instead of being holed up in a harbour waiting for it to pass we will put it to good use and work on the boat.

After stowing away the bicycles and filling with water we left the mooring in Monemvasia with the intention of sailing along the coast to Kiparissi. However after a short time motoring the wind blew up from the South South East and we had the perfect wind to take us further North towards Hydra. It blew between 12 and 14 knots steadily all day and on reaching the island of Dhokos it started to gust so we reefed and started the engine to round the island; We sailed at a steady 6 knots all day and late evening we reached the anchorage of Ormus Skindos on the island of Dhokos. We anchored in deep water and on the third attempt the anchor took but not before we had raised a plastic doormat that had hooked itself onto our anchor, After a light meal (cooked by Svein) we sat on deck and enjoyed the tranquility of the evening whilst watching the full moon rise over the bay.

As very strong head winds are forecast for today we are staying in Monemvasia for the day. This will also enable us to see the rest of the celebrations in the evening. We spent the morning cycling to the old restored town of Monemvasia and wandering through the narrow streets appreciating the scenery and the view from the terraces. It was hard work getting there battling against a head wind (as always) and cycling uphill but the reward was worth the effort.

We are planning to leave tomorrow (weather permitting) to proceed North so more to come later.

As the winds to round the last tip were forecast for later in the day on waking up Svein again dived to check the keel and found the water cooling intake for the engine nearly blocked. This he cleared and he also finished cleaning the keel.

We raised the anchor around 10h00 and headed for the dreaded tip of Maleas. We had light winds and round the head with no problems at noon and headed into the Aegean and up to Monemvasia. We arrived early afternoon and were fortunate to find a mooring in front of the coastguard boat.

We had arrived in time to see the celebrations for the independence of the town. On 23^rd July 1821 the town was the first to be freed from the Turks at the start of the war that ended in 1827.

After a lazy morning (for me) and a busy one for Svein who checked the outboard again and a quick wander round the small hamlet we raised anchor and headed out. After just half an hour the wind picked up (from the right direction) and we were able to sail all day reaching Ormus Frangos (Elafonisos island) early in the afternoon. We anchored in crystal clear blue water and immediately went for a swim.

We left Pilos early and headed further South rounding the end of the first tip when we passed Methoni. We did not stop but carried on under engine. As we passed the bay to Kalamata the wind picked up and we were able to motor sail the rest of the way to Porto Kayio until 20 minutes before our arrival when the engine developed a problem. As the wind was then in a good direction we proceeded into Porto Kayio and anchored under sail. The first attempt the anchor did not take but did so on the second. Svein examined the engine and found that a draining screw in the raw water system had come loose. Fortunately he was able to fix it and everything was back to normal, After the keel scrape we had gained 1 knot in speed which was very appreciable.

We raised the anchor early and left the bay to make our way to Pilos. Unfortunately we did not have the right winds in sufficient force so we motorsailed all the way and again did some 50 nautical miles arriving late in the evening but we managed to get a good mooring (one of the tips from Pxysis).

Whilst here we bought a new diving bottle and Svein cleaned the keel from the different growths that we had accumulated in Mesolonghi.

Bright and early we left Mesolonghi saying goodbye to our friends on the quay (Aqua Domus, Van de Voe and Tootsie). We headed down the channel under engine and it stayed this way until we reached the headland of Pappas where we were able to stop the engine and sail for several hours on our way to Katakolon. The sea graduallt became blue and after just over 8 hours on the water we anchorded in the bay of Katakolon. Our neighbours were Pyxsis (also from Mesolonghi but who we had originally met in Trizonia in 2009. Karen and Richard came over for a drink and gave us several useful tips regarding the Poloponnese. The next day we stayed at anchor and Svein scrapped the waterline and serviced the outboard. We also wandered ashore once the dinghy had decided to behave itself and we did not have to be rescued a second time by Richard.

We are now getting ready to leave Mesolonghi to continue our travels so after a very long silence it is now time to put pen to paper again and give you a rundown on what has been happening.

Going back to December we had a disastrous trip to the UK because of the weather. A late arrival in Heathrow followed by a 2.5 hour wait for the luggage and a very heavy snowfall that prevented traffic from arriving or departing from the airport meant that we had to spend the night at the airport. The first train out took us to Paddington where we caught another train to Henley. The snow prevented us from moving around so Christmas was very quiet. We caught our plane back at the end of the week but unfortunately, despite every precaution, Caryn’s wallet was stolen at the airport. Fortunately we discovered it rapidly and were able to stop the cards (but not before nearly €900 were used in the duty free) and the bank insurance meant that we were fully reimbursed.

The procedure to replace the cards started with a visit to the Greek police to make a declaration. As nobody was able to speak English we had to go away and wait for a telephone call. This came around 18h30 sp we duly presented ourselves at the station and made our declaration via a mobile telephone call with the policeman’s son (who spoke English). Explaining the loss of French and Danish bank cards, Norwegian driving license and French health documents whilst holding a British passport had them a little stunned but they duly took down the information and the next day we returned to receive the typed Greek declaration! Not really a process we would like to repeat.-

In January Caryn started the long process of dental treatment to replace her bridge so there were weekly visits to the dentist as the preparation work was done. Implants were duly placed and eventually the whole procedure was finished in mid-June. Although a lot poorer the cost much less than anywhere else, the work was very professional and everybody is happy.

The cold weather appeared with some rain and winds although the winter as a whole was very mild in comparison to the rest of Europe. We could see snow-topped mountains around us but we had no snowfalls and the temperature never went below 0°.

In February Svein got a call from our friend Laurent asking if he could help him take their boat back to France as they had a buyer. So on 12^th February he duly set off to Kalamata by bus to join the boat. It was supposedly a two week trip but he eventually returned at the end of March! Very strong head winds and general bad weather made for a difficult crossing and Svein did the last stage on his own as Laurent had to return to work as Captain of the supply ship in Angola. As Svein had been holed up Port Saint Louis for a few days before finishing in Port Camargue he got all the necessary jobs done there, caught up with friends and was then able to catch a train from Montpellier to return to Greece. Anne Laure (Laurent’s wife) had by then arrived to finalise the sale. Whilst Svein was away Caryn travelled to Kalamata for a long weekend with Anne Laure and Antoine during which we shopped for maternity clothes for her. The weather was so good in late February that we had a BBQ and sunbathed with her parents on their camping site.

Svein had hardly got his bag unpacked than Caryn got a phone call asking her to help out her old company as one of the assistants had had a heart attack. So Caryn packed her bag and traveled to France for one month (all expenses paid) . She spent the month in La Napoule (near Cannes) working in the office there. It also enabled her to spend some time with Alexandre (then living in Antibes) and he was able to sit and pass his power boat license whilst staying in Caryn’s flat. The trip was blighted by cold weather but it was good to be able to work and realise the being retired is not so bad after all.

At the end of April Caryn returned to Greece. It was time to start the serious work of repairing the deck. We were not leaving the harbour before it was finished. Svein began by caulking the joints with Sirkaflex and plugging the screwholes with teak plugs, repairing and replacing the bad wood and sanding down everything. In the middle of the work we wre kindly asked to change mooring spot as the noise of the sander was too disturbing. This we duly did and got tucked back into our original mooring at the entrance of the marina away from all the hustle and bustle of the pontoons. The mamouth job took him up to mid June. Svein got this stage of the work completed just before his two week trip to Norway where he met up with other members of the family to help his parents move into a new flat in an old people’s complex.

On his return (with a new computer – again!! and a new external hard disk) we started on the process of covering the boat to protect the next stage of the deck work. We crossed our fingers that the waterproofing product was still viable as we had bought the products in France before we left and Svein was worried that they were no longer usable. Fortunately they were and two coats of primer and 5 coats of “varnish” later we now have a stunning new deck that should keep us free from leaks for the next 10 years.

Back to the local events taking place during the first few months of the year. Whilst Svein was delivering the boat to France we had a few days of very strong winds that were sufficient to start to unravel the Genoa at 04h00 in the morning. Fortunately Dave (Cape) and Colin (Tasman) – both moored nearby – heard the noise and came on board to stop the damage. It was another 12 hours before we could get the sail down and it was duly delivered to the Hilary (Pax Nostum) for repair.

Burns night was also celebrated in the Clubhouse with the haggis being piped in and traditional Scottish fare served for dinner. It was concluded by a short concert with Scottish ballads and Scottish dancing.

Greek Independence Day (in April) is taken very seriously here as the town is considered to be the birthplace of Greek Independence so all areas of Greece are represented in the traditional procession through the town. There are two parades of everyone in their national costumes (different for each region) – one takes place on Saturday night and the second parade on Sunday is assisted by all the Ambassadors and country representatives present in Greece. It is a colorful and very lively display of national pride.

In May there was a celebration to commemorate the exodus of the men from the besieged town up into the mountains. Again everyone was dressed in national costume but this time the majority of the parade was devoted to horses who rode through the town to music played by the gypsies. The horses were very impressive but not the same can be said of the music. Svein has put out a video on our site covering this event.

The marina dog has a litter of 8 puppies. Luckily 2 found homes but one died and the other 5 had to be put down. Many tears were shed when this happened but it was impossible to keep them all and even less viable to have one on board any boat. As always stray dogs are a major problem in Greece.

Our working corner of the harbour is very industrious as we have Ted on Tootsie repairing his center lift keel and Rachel (Van de Vöe) sorting out her new rolling furler system for her Genoa. Most evenings we take it in turn to cook for everyone and are frequently joined by Russel – our Australian troubadour – who will be staying in the harbour a little longer as he is still working on boats that have been left here for the summer but if all goes well he will be returning to Australia in September.

We have also been continuing with the weekly BBQ but instead of 14h00 (when it is really too hot) we have switched to 18h00 when it is cooler. There are usually several participants and the maximum attendance has been members from 14 boats. Again it is a useful opportunity to exchange ideas and gain information for new places to either visit or avoid.

Swimming has become an important part of life as the temperatures have been rising since May. There have been excursions to the local beach on a daily basis and also visits to the local mud bath which is reputed to be good for all ailments. Fortunately the mud does not smell too bad. When it has not been possible to go to the beach as it is impossible to cycle that far in the heat we have been able to swim from the boat or from the slipway so we are both getting plenty of exercise.

All the liveaboards have now left the harbour although some have decided to return for the coming winter others have continued on their way. We are nearly the last to leave. We have enjoyed our time here and have made many new friends which we hope to see some time again in the future.

We also had the surprise and pleasure to catch up with our friends on Fuga whom we met in 2004 and not seen since then. They are currently cruising the Ionian and came into Messolonghi. We are able to catch up on news and curry information for our next stage of the journey.

We shall be wending our way round the Peloponnese and then heading for Lesvos. Our friends from Sweden (Lisa and Ronny) will be arriving there mid-August for a week’s holiday. It should be a great reunion as we have not seen them for a few years.