Steve and Viv Wayfarer Greek Odyssey: 2012

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

26 June 2012 Postscript and thanks

Tuesday 26^th June – Home and closing Blog down

We caught the ferry back Friday 22^nd without any problem, just missed getting on the 11:00 by a few minutes but still got on an earlier one without any problems or supplements. Interesting crossing though as it was really windy and the ship had a big list to starboard all the way across the channel. I have not seen tugs in use to turn the ferry in the wind before to get it out of Calais and again on entering Dover to keep it from being blown down wind onto the next jetty. I just enjoyed watching someone else handle the wind.

The wind did play havoc with my hair though, time to get it cut!

We called in to see old friends Chris and Caroline again and supped a few glasses of beer and wine before bed.

Next morning we drove over to see our daughter Leah and took the chance to meet up with Mum and Dad who had come down for a party the night before. Saturday evening we saw Grizzly and the Grasshoppers the band Leah’s boyfriend plays in, in a local pub, one to watch for the future.

We drove back Sunday to find the house intact but the garden looking like no-one has tended it for a year, talk about overgrown!

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES.

Rough costs.

Dover – Calais ferry return £109-00

Ancona – Ingoumenitsa ferry return E580-00

Fuel getting to Greece E272-00

Fuel return home from Greece E340-00

Total fuel round trip door to door £600-00

Boat Insurance (supplement) £10-00

Marina fees for 2 months E230-00

Small Ship Registration £25-00

Hotels and campsites en route £300-00

Rough costs in pounds probably a bit less £ 1,900-00

Distances travelled

Home to Greece by way of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy,
1535 miles

Return by way of Italy and France
1629 miles

Ferry crossings total about 1000 miles

Sailed in the boat 214 nautical miles

We spent 18 nights in the Boat Tent, 11 camping and 11 in hotels, not including travelling there and back.

Generally we spent 2 nights in a hotel about once a week and found this very welcome and a chance to relax, wash and catch up with the laundry and chill. Similarly we often camped in the same spot for up to three days but generally just for a couple as this took the strain off setting up camp and de-camping every day that soon became quite tiring at the beginning of the trip.

The journey to and from we made part of the holiday stopping in hotels, camp sites and two short stays in apartments that way it broke the journey up but we could have done it quicker had we not done so.

What would we do differently next time?

· Take a better Greek map, the equivalent of the Landranger 1:50,000 would have let us identify beaches, coves and small landing sites much easier. The Ionian Cruising Companion and Imray Charts are excellent but geared towards larger yachts.

· We took dried food and brought quite a bit back so could really have bought all our needs out there.

· Buy better quality and slightly longer mooring lines, I would also design a rubber sleeve I could slip over the lines to reduce chaffing on the quays that were very rough at times and as the boat tends to be well below quay level the ropes get additional wear and stress on them over the quay edge.

· I would consider installing a small battery like those used on motor cycles and trickle charging it through a solar panel to power the laptop, radio and GPS when rough camping.

· I would put a small flag on the tent as when berthed we were often below the quay side and a fag on the tent would have been more visible. Similarly I would advertise the fact the boat is a Wayfarer and its name and possibly the blog site.

What worked well?

· The tent, it was worth the effort to make a good roomy tent, the extra storage on the front was very useful and we only used the smaller bad weather one only a couple of times.

· The larger Danforth anchor with 6 m of chain and 30m of rope gave peace of mind and did not budge even in Force 8 winds. Coupled with the old Grapple with 2 m of chain and 28 m rope it provided options for anchoring.

· Cooking with a Trangia that we lit with a flint, meths is readily available but gas bottles to fit our little gas stove were hard to come by.

· Virtually no problem getting internet access anywhere and usually free so a portable laptop allowed us to keep in touch and download photos as we went along.

· Wind up torches, wind up radio and small head torches

· Blow up mattresses and pillows, the blow up pillow placed inside a self inflating pillow worked really well as did the sleeping bag liners that kept the sleeping bags a bit fresher and were easier to wash out.

· Power Monkey solar charger allowed us to charge up the mobile phone.

· Large mosquito net this allowed us to cook and sit about in comfort, particularly useful when we first set out.

· A solar panel on the dash to trickle charge the battery that I had disconnected whilst we were sailing. We also wrapped the wheels to cover them from the sun whilst away.

Some thanks and expressions of appreciation

Thanks to the following in particular and all those that followed the blog and commented it was good to hear from you.

· Simon McEvoy for loan of the club flag, the present of the Ensign and all the advice and support before the trip and getting Viv and I into Wayfaring in the first place.

· John Mellor for the Wayfarer flag, loan of the spare gib and advice

· Andy Adlard for servicing the car and loan of the solar panel, it got us there and back and saw the odometer pass the 161,000 mile mark in doing so, not bad for an old Skoda!

· George Stanton for the loan of the large mosquito net, last minute but a real bonus

· Peter Emmerson for the loan of the laptop without out it there would have been no Blog!

· Dave Eberlin for the loan of the wet-box that kept all the electrical gadgets dry and to hand

· Morton Boats, Swinderby for the discount on materials

· Noble Marine for the help with insurance

· The RYA for the technical support and advice by phone and from their website

· Cleopatra Marina and all the staff there who were so helpful at all times

· Sunsail Sailing, Neilson Holidays and Sailing Holidays for the weather updates and in particular Neilsons for free berthing on their jetty in Nidri

· Chris and Caroline Stubbings for putting us up and feeding us at the start and finish

· My Mum, Dad, son Gareth and daughter Leah for all the support during planning and whilst away, we hope we didn’t cause too many anxious moments for you.

Would we do it again?

Definitely!!

If you would like to contact me I can be reached via Nottinghamshire County Sailing Club, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire (details on the club website) or via the UK Wayfaring Association (again they have a website) both of which have my details and will forward enquiries.

All the best and fair winds

Steve and Viv

The return home

Coming back into Dover

The Tug had to push the boat to stop it being blown onto the next quay

A bit of a "Bad Hair" day in the wind

Enjoying a pint with Chris

Back where we started with the family

Thursday, 21 June 2012

Thursday 21st June, Bailleul, near Lille, France

Thursday 21^st June, Bailleul, near Lille, France

Off early this morning after a night in a Formula One Hotel, good value if you don’t mind simple and cheap with no frills.

Today’s journey was a stark contrast to yesterday’s mountains, 350 miles of rolling landscape, pretty, straight tree lined roads with arable crops to either side and the odd wood. As we got nearer to Lille there were frequent reminders of the two world wars with numerous graveyards and monuments to those that fell. Quite sobering and sad to think of what it must have been like for all those young men and how different the landscape would have been to today’s sun-kissed fields.

Were making good time to Lille so called into a supermarket to do a bit of shopping. On leaving we were hit by a thunderstorm that turned into a torrential downpour on the motorway. At least one local resident will be going home to change their trousers having done a complete 720 degree spin in the outside line coming to rest broadside on across the middle lane having hit standing water just in front of us. Cars and lorries were coming past us at well over 70mph and how they could see and why there were no more accidents is completely beyond me.

Having made it to the hotel after more than one scare in the torrential rain we retired to the McDonalds next door for a big Mac and chips!

Only just over 50 miles to Calais tomorrow and the ferry back.

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Over the top of the French Alps and down to Grenoble

Going up into the French Alps from Mougins

Wednesday 20th June Mougins - Dijon

Wednesday 20^th June. Dijon, France

Long day today left Mougins at 09:30 and headed up into the foothills of the Alps climbing for an hour or more. Some lovely views though and passed through a perfume making region around the town of Grasse where there were adverts for guided tours all over the place.

If we thought the views were good going up through Grasse then when we got further into the Alps they were spectacular and just kept getting better with mountains, cliffs, rivers and steep valleys around every bend. The journey across the top of Italy into France around the Riviera was nice but not one I would want to do again but today’s trip in the mountains I would love to do again and spend more time exploring and climbing.

Eventually we dropped down out of the mountains just north of Grenoble and waved a sad farewell and to make up time bit the bullet and used the motorways for a while.

We are spending the night in Formula One hotel on the north of Dijon arriving there just after 21:00 having covered 386 miles.

Tomorrow we intend to push on to a similar hotel just north of Lille leaving just a short hop to Calais on Friday.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Some views along the Italian-French Riviera

Looking across to Monaco

Mougins, French Riviera Tuesday 18th June

Tuesday 18^th June, Mougins, France

We left the hotel in Italy about 50 miles south-west of Ancona early Sunday morning after a very nice breakfast and drove across the spine of Italy via Perugia to the west coast about 30 miles north of Pisa. It was a beautiful drive with wide open valleys in the centre and some spectacular perched villages on the hill tops. The Italians certainly like their tunnels and bridges as the route cut through some really steep valleys and hills. Summer seemed more advanced as they were haymaking in places and cereal crops seemed on the point of being ripe.

We picked up the motorway for a while as we went north as the coast road seemed to hug the cliffs and little villages coming off just west of Genoa. Once off the motorway we drove along the Italian Riviera coast road. This part of the coast from northern Italy to Southern France is basically where the Alps meet the Mediterranean so is very rocky and steep with huge dry valleys and little towns and villages clustered around any available flat space or hillside that can be built on. As it was one of the few decent weekends they have had for a while it was packed with people, fortunately most were going the opposite way to us but the roads were very busy.

That said the driving must be seen to be believed, narrow winding roads hugging the cliffs with sharp hairpins chock full of suicidal scooters and motorbikes plus car drivers with a death wish overtaking on bends, hills and hairpins when they came up behind us! Then in the towns people double parked, pulling out, pedestrians and the manic scooter drivers. I was glad when Viv spotted a camp site right next to the beach for the night to stop.

Monday morning we set off after the early morning rush and after an hours driving along the coast road making about 20 miles decided to bite the bullet and go back on the motorway for a while. The coastal route is very pretty but very slow and demanding towing a boat.

We wanted to see Monte Carlo so we turned off the motorway and drove down towards the town. Unfortunately we came up behind a Porsche that had broken down in a little narrow road and ended up blocking the route for a while until with help we unhitched the trailer and turned it round.We high tailed it out of Monte Carlo back to the motorway you can have too much scenic routes and hairpin bends after a while!

Monday afternoon we arrived at Mougins a town about 20 miles from Cannes at the apartment we had booked into, very nice and I am looking forward to leaving the car in the garage for a day tomorrow.

The route we took was very scenic but once off the motorways (that soon add up with the tolls) very twisting and slow and after a while not good fun with a boat. Having been there and done it next time I would go back the way we came through Austria, Germany.

Tomorrow we set off back towards Calais and have booked a Formula One room at Dijon to break the journey for the night, only E29-80 for the night only a couple of euros more than a campsite in Italy.

Travelling across Italy from Perugia to north of Pisa

One of the many perched villages Perugia to West Coast, Italy

The central valley en-route to Perugia

One of the few Italians we actually overtook

The mountains north of Pisa on the coast, really big marble works around here as well

Saturday, 16 June 2012

Sunday 17th June - Hotel Cluentum, Italy

Sunday 17th June

Just getting up having spent the night in a nice comfortable bed after yesterday's sleeping on deck on the ferry back from Greece.

It all seemed to end in quite a rush really, we got back to Cleopatra Marina just after lunchtime and they took us out the water 2 hours early, that gave us time to get ready and catch the ferry a day early but in doing so we didn't have much time left to do anything else but pack and drive to Ingoumenitsa.

The ferry crossing was fine, brilliant sunshine all the way back

Coming off the ferry was much the same as arriving in Greece, I had to reverse the trailer back down a slope and round a corner before managing to turn around and at least drive off forwards this time. The whole ferry unloaded so gotwe caught in a big queue out of the terminal resulting in the car starting to overheat so we had to sit it out by the side road for a while, at least the queue went down.

After a half hour wait in a bus stop we set off again and stopped the night about half way between Ancona and Perugia. Our intention is to push on across the centre of Italy and hit the coast to the north of Pisa somewhere then drive around towards the French boarder and find somewhere to camp the night. Then on to Cannes on Monday where we have booked into an apartment for a couple of nights.

Our apologies to those that have e-mailed us but for some reason we do not seem to be able to access our Talktalk account at the moment.

Photos 15th June

Darren visiting for afternoon tea, Lefkas Town

The drawback of a Wayfarer is no wehere to stretch out in the day

Sailing back to the Marina at Preveza

A celebratory beer back at Cleopatra

Mihangel coming out the water

Unloading the boat ready to pack the car

Michael who gave us the fruit and corgette

All a bit much waiting at the ferry terminal

Friday 15th June back at Cleopatra Marina, Preveza

Thursday 14^th June – Lefkas Town, Lefkas

Motored out of Ligia harbour and set full sail just south of the Lefkas Canal and then sailed up it tacking from side to side at first in a nice force 3 from the NW that steadily built to a good Force 4 gusting bottom end of a Force 5 at times. A bit of complaint from the crew in the gusts and when we had to dodge oncoming boats and power boats overtaking but a cracking sail all the same.

Moored up on the town quay at Lefkas next to the causeway that goes over the marshes to the mainland. They first started digging canals across the marshes before the Romans came to the area.

We had a visitor, a retired chap from the Army called Darren who joined us for afternoon tea on the quay, we provided tea and he brought a nice big box of dunking biscuits. He has been here since October and may head off towards Gibralter before deciding whether to turn left or right when he gets there. Nice position to be in and a lovely boat set for single handed sailing.

We decided to spend our last night on the boat and postpone a shower until we get back to Cleopatra Marina, both us and the boat will get a good wash down then.

Friday 15^th June – Cleopatra Marina, Preveza

Sad day today as back at the marina, boat lifted out a couple of hours early after a nice sail across from Lefkas in a decent NW that slowly built from a Force 2 to a good 3 gusting 4 as we approached the marina.

Learning point for doing it again next time, make sure you paint anti-foul on the hull as ours was thick with weed when we took it out. I had not even thought about doing it before leaving being so used to short stints in fresh water at the lake and just the off shore sea trip.

The people here are very helpful as the girl on reception phoned the ferry terminal to see if we could actually get one tonight and arranged it. So it was a question of unpack, then re-pack, shower and soon then off to catch the 23:00 ferry to Italy.

We both felt it would have been really nice to have just started again or gone on past the marina into the gulf again I suppose better than wishing we were already home.

Stopped in a little village on the way to the ferry for a few provisions and an ice-cream, as we were eating it outside the supermarket a Greek chap called Michael got talking to us and gave us a bag of small fruits that are like a cross between apricots and cherries and a big courgette. He said he liked the British from when he worked in a hotel in Corfu and was great to meet, he was typical of the friendliness and generosity we have found in Greece.

Minor panic when we reached the ferry terminal in that no place at 21:00 but luckily the check in lady found us a cancellation at 22:00 so caught the earlier ferry after all. Down side again was it did not arrive until after midnight and did not sail until gone one in the morning.