Grace Notes

As newcomers to the world of sailing, we thought that we would prepare some "handy hints" for others who are lucky enough to be joining Phil, Sara and Grace on their journey around Greece: 1. Boats are always "on the move", even when they are stationary so you need to be careful not to fall in 2. "Port" and "Starboard" mean "left" and "right". You can remember which is which by thinking about which one has an "r" in it 3. Always use sunscreen or you will be fried to a crisp 4. There are two types of knot to learn. One involves making a tree and a hole for a rabbit. The other is hard to remember, but Phil and Sara are always more than happy to remind you, even a week after having been on board. It is VERY important to learn these knots if you want to be a competent member of the "crew" 5. There are all sorts of ropes to pull and winch. They come in a variety of colours (chosen by Phil and Sara, so be s...

After Greek logistics had stretched our patience to breaking point, the new vibration damper finally arrived. Miraculously, its the right one. Nugget and I spent a few sweaty hours in the aft cabins fitting it, and convincing the engine back together. The new damper has made things better, but there's still a noticeable vibration at cruising speed. Maybe the engine mountings are tired, maybe the prop is a little off, maybe it needs to bed in, maybe I need to stop worrying about it and sail more. Fortunately, the Meltemi is full on at the moment. Of course, the wind is from the wrong direction, but one can't have everything. Martin and Zoe have joined us for a week. We're on the hook off the bottom of Aigina tonight, and on our eastwards tomorrow.

Our first every catch... landed.... [missing out a few steps] Yum!

Having finally diagnosed the problem on Thursday there was not much else to do but wait. We have some very good people helping us get sorted so we settled down to wait in Porta Kheli. We went running, did some gel coat spot filling, did the washing, and took part in a book swap with Hazel & Kevin on Chance, a lovely self built steel boat, with very attractive green trim. I have done bikini shopping, both on land and on the internet, and with three new bikinis on the way I should be sorted for the rest of the season. We settled in to watch the Murray in the final at Queens on Sunday. Unfortunately it was rained off, but apparently we British all have a sense of humour about the weather. I don't, as today we needed to leave the good band width offered in Porta Kheli and so my chance of watching it live disappeared. I have had to make do with BBC live text updates instead, but still good result. Wimbledon here we come! However it has been good to get under way again. A re...

So..... Clearly I couldn't ignore a wobbly engine, so we hot tailed it around Porto Khelli (our second home) to meet up with "Nugget", an engineer who works for Neilson and was recommended by Pedro with a view to replacing the propeller. On our way, we passed through Poros, where Vangellis at Vikos Marine amazingly managed to fish out a slightly encrusted but functional matching prop from the back of a cupboard. What's more, he lent it to us on a "sale or return" basis - amazing service. Today, Nugget swapped the propeller three times, duck diving under the boat. We tried the second hand one, a re-conned one out of his workshop, and both made the problem worse, so we put the original back. After consultation with the Nidri Engineering Underground, the conclusion was that it was likely the vibration damper. Worn out ones look a little like this (look at the little bits of rubber, poking out where they shouldn't). New ones from Volvo are ver...

I suffer terribly from engine paranoia. Over the years, we've had marine engines stop on us, overheat, fail to charge my batteries, or generally mess us about. There's always something to worry about. Good care and feeding helps, but won't prevent prop wraps and other bad luck. In the latest episode, we're experiencing some excessive vibration when cruising at 2000rpm. During yet another duck diving drip underneath, I found the rubber fairing around the saildrive leg had come loose. This is a common problem . The fairing smooths the water flow around the saildrive leg, but is mostly cosmetic. After a quick call to Mr Pedro, I cut it off. The vibration is still there. There's a chunk of paint missing off the propeller boss, but the shaft is clear and it all looks good. The engine runs sweetly out of gear. Gear box oil is clear. Conclusion: the prop is a little out of alignment. Its not serious enough to be worth the time, expense, and hassle of lifting th...

Part 1 Pauline's notes on Athens Sparta airport -> Piraeus (the port): Come out of arrivals, go right to "Exit 5". Turn left. Kiosk sells bus tickets. Bus x96 goes to Piraeus Port, 5€. The bus runs every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, and the journey time is 50-60 minutes. The bus drops on the far side of the port (Gates 1/2). Most departures are from Gates 7-9, you'll need to walk around to the other side of the port. Destinations are listed on each gate. The ticket kiosks were open by 0630. Where available, hydrofoils and "fast cats" are faster than car ferries.