Skip to main content

Some Notes for the Novice Sailor

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 sure to complement their taste). Depending on which way Phil wants the boat to go, you will need to pull/winch the blue ones. Phil will try to confuse you by calling these ropes by their proper names
6. Sara makes lovely dinners, Phil does a half-decent loaf of bread too
7. Always ensure that the mossie nets are tightly affixed and do not blow away in the wind
8. Sometimes it is VERY windy and the boat is at a steep angle. It is advisable not to use the "head" during these times
9. You can learn some Greek by listening to Radio Phil
10. Do not leave the gas on after making your morning tea otherwise Grace might blow up
11. The ceilings are quite low and you may get a sore head
12. Above all, soak up the sun, read lots of books and enjoy the sailing lifestyle. It rocks (quite literally at times!)

Martin and Zoe

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The drainage in the lower field

What could you do with three cans of green gunk, a tub of Vaseline, gaffer tape, some cling film, bin bags, cardboard, and a power drill? We insulated our fridge. Right now, it looks like a Complete Bloody Mess. Today we learned that Bavaria insulate the sides and the bottoms of the fridge boxes with similar polyurethane gunk. Who'd have thought? Of course, we'd removed the compressor and drilled a couple of holes before we discovered this. Anyway, we're now convinced that the heat mostly was escaping through the wafer-thin top of the fridge, which makes sense as there's often sunlight directly onto the dark work surface. Tomorrow, Sara will attack the gunk with a bread knife and some sandpaper and it should come up nicely.

Launch Day!

Yesterday Grace got wet. Four boats went in yesterday: Cloud 9, Iona, Gabriella, and Grace of Lefkas. All were launched using a traditional method involving smoking, hammers, occasional shouting, and impressive skill. Kyriakos, who runs the operation, knows the dimensions of all the boats in his yard and adjusts the launch sledge by eye. Launch Day! Considering the amount of standing around, it was an exciting and exhausting day.

Greek logistics work after all

The new alternator arrived on this morning's first ferry. Look at the shiny-shiny: I had to swap the pulley for one the right size, but otherwise its all fine. - Phil