Tuesday 26th
June – Home and closing Blog down
We caught the ferry back Friday 22nd 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
1535 miles
Return by way of Italy and France
1629 miles
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
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