Sailing SY Liberation

We are always very precise when it comes to laying up for the winter – over the years it has proven to be well invested time as we have never yet had a problem when we return to our boat in the Spring. We have developed a lay-up workplan that we follow with the tasks divided between us and it normally takes us two weeks to complete, partly in the water and partly after lifting on land. We were lifted on 25th and as usual all was well with the hull and the anti-fouling – the Coppercoat never ceases to amaze us every time we are lifted and inspect the bottom at the end of the season! This year we …….

The last hop – which we decided to break up with a few days relaxing in Lefkada. At this time of the year, the bays are empty and there’s a chance we can anchor in peace – something we would never expect to do in the height of the summer! We had intended to leave early as it’s almost a 9 hour sail to the South coast of Lefkada but in the end we didn’t get away until around 10h00. On departure the anchor was completely stuck in thick clay/mud – all the links of the chain were full and we had to jetwash the chain and anchor as it was oozing gunge onto the winch! This is the place …….

From the Aegean to the Ionian – via the stunning Corinth Canal – this is a journey of several days with some pretty nasty weather black spots on the way. Once again, we’ll be storm hopping and trying to pick the best times and locations and once we’re back in the Ionian we’ll be on the home run! We checked out of Zea Marina in the morning and left the harbour around lunchtime for the 5-6 hour hop to the Corinth Canal. This is an area we have been in many times before, so we’ve got our usual anchor spot picked out and plan to cross the canal the following day. We only have a couple of days of weather …….

With the next storm on the horizon, our next hide-out was planned to be Zea Marina in Athens, where we could take some time on land and meet up with friends. We weren’t expecting to make it in one go but intended to get around the point at Sounion and effectively out of the Aegean on the first day. We left early at 08h00 – it was going to be a long hike and we were expecting some challenging conditions. In the end, it was not as bad as we expected for once – we had following seas and after the first hour things were pretty calm and warm. Sounion is usually pretty busy and quite exposed so we decided …….

We were stuck in Chalkida for a week – with the meltemi not easing up. Aghios Stefanos was calm and protected, but nothing there to do and nothing to see. We couldn’t wait to get going again and were watching the weather situation closely. We decided to leave the following Tuesday 3rd October, with no specific destination in mind but with more opportunities on the Southern side of Evvia. We didn’t leave until 13h30 and just wanted to make a few hours hop further down. It was cold and it was clear the Autumn had set in now – but the sun was out so not a bad start. Very soon however things changed again – we had heavy seas …….

This return journey isn’t quite what we had planned – the idea was to be able to take the outside route of Evvia and to hop over the islands we have so far missed – the Southern Sporades island of Skyros and the Northern Cyclades islands of Andros, Tinos and Mykonos in a route back towards Corinth. However, it is not to be – we are storm hopping and running out of time – so we are forced to retrace our steps on the inside route of Evvia as the quickest and safest way back to base. Another storm is on the forecast with heavy rain on its way in. We left Skiathos at around 10h30 on the Sunday morning …….

The morning started out still windy – but reduced to 15 knots and gradually subsiding. By the afternoon, the weather was calm and the forecast gave us a window which would allow us to make the crossing to Skiathos. Sailing at night has become second nature, so we had no problems to pull up the anchor at 16h30 and head out to sea. Initially, the sea was a bit lumpy as the storm residue subsided but the wind was perfect. The crossing was a classic cliche of “sailing into the sunset” with perfect sailing conditions on a gentle close reach and beautiful skies. As the night drew in, the winds dropped almost completely and we motored for most of the …….

It seems we are plagued with weather issues this year! We had planned to make the crossing back to the Sporades directly from Sikia, but the forecast was showing yet another storm on the way in so we needed to find better shelter. We had spent the day in Sikia doing maintenance on the generator which needed a repair to the water pump so after the 2nd night in Sikia, we decided to duck around the corner to the protection of Koufos again. The waves were rolling from the beam making for an uncomfortable rounding of the headland of Sithonia and certainly all the bays in the area were untenable. The last time we had chosen to anchor in a …….

We felt like Diaporos was a Venus Flytrap – no matter how hard we tried to escape, we just ended up back in the same place! It’s a lovely area but really beginning to wear thin now. We also do need to be on our way or we’ll not make it back to Preveza in time. So ….. finally ….. with fuel and provisions on board, we pull up the anchor and make the short crossing back to the Athos peninsula in the morning with the intention of cruising down and crossing back to find a place for the night at the bottom. Athos is famous for its monasteries and is forbidden for women to go ashore – or indeed …….

We ended up staying in the little fishing harbour of Pigadi for two nights – catching up on some work and maintenance.  The harbour has a trailer boat launch slip, and there were a couple of speed boats being launched – gave us something to look at and laugh!  The usual principle applied – and although we started on our own there, the second day several other yachts came into the harbour and anchored on the second night.  It was one of those bays that we thought was a “one yacht space” – but then 5 yachts later you realise that there is more space than you thought!  There is a tiny quayside which is big enough for one yacht on …….

We’re back at Umag after a rushed 48 hours – the camper and trailer are now safely parked in our warehouse in France.  Our trip home was a bit eventful as we discovered that we had a power cut at our warehouse while we’d been away and the power was still off …. unfortunately we had two large commercial walk-in freezers full of bacon and sausages, which we import each season for the English breakfast we provide in our ski chalets.  Everything had defrosted and the whole warehouse stank to high heaven.  We had no time to sort the problem out as it would take days to dispose of everything and clean up the mess – so we had no …….

There have been lots of major projects over the last few months but there was also a list of little changes which we’ve made along the way to make Liberation more practical and just like home.  Lots of things we just noticed as we went along ….. Passerelle / Gangway – and other associated bits In the Mediterranean – for those who don’t know – you nearly always moor with what is called a “Med Mooring” or “Stern To”.  Simply said, the process involves tying up the bow of the boat somehow – either by dropping the anchor some way off the quayside, or by using a laid line in a marina – and then reversing the boat to the …….

Croatia’s accession to the EU has been a long time coming – tonight they will become the 28th member country of the European after an application process which has taken 10 years.  In 1991, the country declared independence from socialist Yugoslavia but the Serbian dominated Yugoslav army seized back a third of the country which resulted in a four year war.  Without wishing to get into the politics of the situation, some of the scars of this time remain on the countryside – and we had first hand experience of some of the shocking impacts when we traveled inland and got lost, ending up in the middle of a bombed out village which had been deserted and never reclaimed, years …….

Ed’s optimism of a few days ago has faded as he is struggling to do what is needed on his own – he can’t get into the tiny spaces necessary, and he needs another pair of hands and some “project management” to try and focus on what needs to be done.  I have now rushed to finish the essential work – and decided that everything else will need to wait and I need to help him out to move us forwards.  We sat down and made a plan so we can get some logic into the job …. Keto will be arriving in a few days to finish off their tasks and over the last days we have ticked off …….

Well, we’ve been at the marina now for nearly a week and the weather has not helped in the slightest. It’s been cold and raining for most of the week – which is a bit tricky when you’re trying to do things like varnishing the teak with several coats as it just isn’t drying! As usual, everything seems to take longer than you think it will – and with boats everything is in tiny little corners where arms won’t fit and things have a habit of disappearing into the bilge when you drop them. Ed has crossed a few things off the list though and even though the boat looks like a war zone, he assures me it’s not as …….

Well – we’re finally here in Croatia but nowhere near being able to sail away yet. The list of jobs to be done is as long as your arm and as usual things don’t go quite according to the plan. The boat looks like a tornado just struck inside and it’s hard to see how everything will be ready!!! The Bavaria dealer was supposed to be here last week to finish the last work – but won’t be arriving now until 2nd June – so more delays to our plans. Mind you, Ed has so much to do that it really won’t make so much difference.  He’s working long days onboard trying to work his way through the list on …….

22nd – 23rd April 2013 A flying visit for both of us as we’re in the middle of closedown in the Alps – but we need to visit the fiscal representative in Croatia and the lawyers and sign a whole load of documents to get the importation process underway – there are deadlines to make sure that we can complete the process before Croatia enter the EU. We drive down with one of our minibuses and book ourselves into a hotel overnight as the boat is not in a state to sleep onboard.  Chris ends up with a kidney infection and tests out the great service of the emergency department of the local Croatian hospital – don’t understand a word, …….