MARCH 23 TO 27 LOADING THE OLIVE OIL AND SAILING TO ITEA
MARCH 23 TO 27 LOADING THE OLIVE OIL AND SAILING TO ITEA
Hary arrived at around 10 after a long trip and he demonstrated infinite energy in moving and placing the cartons of four containers each in the boat i.e. on the front cabin bed and the rear bed. I guess he accomplished more than 70 percent of the physical work and whenever I stopped to do my captains duty to think of the best way to place the load and how it would behave he moved another 100 liters of oil. Despite the rains that drenched us four times, it was a rainy day, we finished placing everything inside the boat by 15.00 and he took the road to return to Hora where all this oil was produced in the autumn. I finished placing the 300 l on the floor in the center of the boat and then covered everything with thick carton and plywood and finally on top mattresses and everything else of the boat equipment ready for an early departure next morning.
The strong south wind that would prevent me to continue south around the Peloponnese was now pushing me Northwards and fast. It was fast enough to make me aim to go around the eastern tip of Hydra and reach Poros late in the night. My friend captain Gianni's who sailed all his life for pleasure and worked 20 years in the merchant marine consulted me over a long phone call on the behaviour of boats when loaded and taught me the corresponding jargon. It was late in the night when I anchored just south of Poros to avoid going through the straight on the engine. The next morning I sailed around Poros and then to the Corinth canal with good wind. Coming to the narrow bay before the canal I was happily surprised to learn that the canal had opened three days early before the week end and thus I could motor through the same evening and anchor in the gulf of Corinth for the night. Meanwhile the good tail wind became very strong in the narrow bay and fed a strong current that gave me a good exercise to dock at the canal control. All this excitement made me forget the weather forecast for the night in the Corinth gulf and with minimal wind at the west side of the canal I headed for my favourite anchoring spot on the north coast close to the marine Hera temple. Aeolos soon reminded me with strong south winds of my mistake and forced me to change plan and sail through the little storm to the south
coast to anchor near Vrahati.
The next day heading to see my family in Itea and Amfissa I was literally in familiar waters and the wind nicely cooperated for half the distance all the way to the north coast but died soon after tacking south. I put the engine on to help me for a while on this long trajectory. Going into the cabin I smelt diesel. At the beginning I thought my hands had traces of it from the jerry can I manipulated earlier. Opening the engine cover I found my motor spraying fuel from the return pipe. The rubber hose had slipped off. The wind that meanwhile had come back took over under auto pilot moving PELAGO while I dived in the engine compartment to do the repair. Half an hour later I emerged satisfied but before I had the time to put my tools away the boat lists 25 degrees and from the cockpit I see two Bourinia on both sides of the bay that send stormy winds my way and I try hard to stay in the space in between where week Sun rays show me the least stormy area. After two hours of struggle the storms moved east and I could take the wind straight to Itea. Vassilis my captain friend helped me the next day mount the third solar panel. I saw the family in the afternoon and then I pumped some 40 l of diesel and water mix from under the floors that I could discard in the appropriate recycling container in the port. Next morning to Galaxidi for drinking water, wiping the diesel under the floors after moving the 300 l of olive oil resting on them. And at about noon I sailed off while my friend Giorgos took pictures of the loaded PELAGO that I had by that time tested it was sailing fine in any kind of weather.
Hary arrived at around 10 after a long trip and he demonstrated infinite energy in moving and placing the cartons of four containers each in the boat i.e. on the front cabin bed and the rear bed. I guess he accomplished more than 70 percent of the physical work and whenever I stopped to do my captains duty to think of the best way to place the load and how it would behave he moved another 100 liters of oil. Despite the rains that drenched us four times, it was a rainy day, we finished placing everything inside the boat by 15.00 and he took the road to return to Hora where all this oil was produced in the autumn. I finished placing the 300 l on the floor in the center of the boat and then covered everything with thick carton and plywood and finally on top mattresses and everything else of the boat equipment ready for an early departure next morning.
The strong south wind that would prevent me to continue south around the Peloponnese was now pushing me Northwards and fast. It was fast enough to make me aim to go around the eastern tip of Hydra and reach Poros late in the night. My friend captain Gianni's who sailed all his life for pleasure and worked 20 years in the merchant marine consulted me over a long phone call on the behaviour of boats when loaded and taught me the corresponding jargon. It was late in the night when I anchored just south of Poros to avoid going through the straight on the engine. The next morning I sailed around Poros and then to the Corinth canal with good wind. Coming to the narrow bay before the canal I was happily surprised to learn that the canal had opened three days early before the week end and thus I could motor through the same evening and anchor in the gulf of Corinth for the night. Meanwhile the good tail wind became very strong in the narrow bay and fed a strong current that gave me a good exercise to dock at the canal control. All this excitement made me forget the weather forecast for the night in the Corinth gulf and with minimal wind at the west side of the canal I headed for my favourite anchoring spot on the north coast close to the marine Hera temple. Aeolos soon reminded me with strong south winds of my mistake and forced me to change plan and sail through the little storm to the south
coast to anchor near Vrahati.
The next day heading to see my family in Itea and Amfissa I was literally in familiar waters and the wind nicely cooperated for half the distance all the way to the north coast but died soon after tacking south. I put the engine on to help me for a while on this long trajectory. Going into the cabin I smelt diesel. At the beginning I thought my hands had traces of it from the jerry can I manipulated earlier. Opening the engine cover I found my motor spraying fuel from the return pipe. The rubber hose had slipped off. The wind that meanwhile had come back took over under auto pilot moving PELAGO while I dived in the engine compartment to do the repair. Half an hour later I emerged satisfied but before I had the time to put my tools away the boat lists 25 degrees and from the cockpit I see two Bourinia on both sides of the bay that send stormy winds my way and I try hard to stay in the space in between where week Sun rays show me the least stormy area. After two hours of struggle the storms moved east and I could take the wind straight to Itea. Vassilis my captain friend helped me the next day mount the third solar panel. I saw the family in the afternoon and then I pumped some 40 l of diesel and water mix from under the floors that I could discard in the appropriate recycling container in the port. Next morning to Galaxidi for drinking water, wiping the diesel under the floors after moving the 300 l of olive oil resting on them. And at about noon I sailed off while my friend Giorgos took pictures of the loaded PELAGO that I had by that time tested it was sailing fine in any kind of weather.