Grace Notes

This week's challenge for Team Grace has been having the Aged Parents on board! Having laid Kylan up in a yard in Preveza until next spring we were delighted to have the opportunity to be in Greece again and of course to see Sara and Philip. It has been a novel experience for us to be crew and the first time we've been on a boat other than Kylan for about 10 years - a fact that became obvious by the clumsy way we moved around. The last time we were in the Dodecanese was about 20 years ago, so it was interesting to see how things had changed. We have had great weather and marvellous sailing. We've very much enjoyed anchoring off and being in deserted bays. In Kylan we are always sailing with the dogs and so it becomes a priority to be on a quay. Good company and wonderful food with plenty of liquid refreshment and knowing the ultimate responsibility for the boat was not yours - all made for a very relaxing week. Thank you for having us! xxx

This week has surely seen Grace's most challanging guests as the Simpson family descended on the Agean. First instrucion for Archie (3) and Benji (8 months) was that the boat was not a playground on the sea (perhaps a grown ups playground), but this is difficult with lots to pull, turn and clamber over. Second lesson was that it was the sea, not a giant river. Third lesson was the bowline, thinking rabbits coming up holes round the tree and back down was a manageable concept for as toddler, but hey of course it was greeting with the obligatory why, why does it go round the tree and not climb up it. Final lesson was that not all large boats are pirate ships, although Archie does already posses a dislike for large stinky motor boats, who should "get off the sea" in his words. We really liked the Agean islands we visited - and Vathi on Kalimnos and Port Augusta on Arki stand out as beautiful fishing villages with dramatic backdrops of cliffs. Also some lovely peaceful bay...

Phil and Sara kindly invited me to join them for a week on Grace pottering around the NW Aegean and I flew out last Wednesday to join them in Skiathos. There was a hell of a blow on that day and into the next day; pushing well into 30 knots. And that was it. Since then there has been almost no wind so the lesson appears to be: I must not be greedy and use up all the wind on the first day of my holiday! However no wind does enable you to see some places and moor up in some tiny inlets that would otherwise be impossible with the Meltemi blowing as usual. We anchored beam-on across an inlet in the Maritime Park of Alonnisos and ate Phil's Thai Curry. The next morning we spotted a turtle - something we would not have been able to see if there was any more than a ripple on the water. It was good to see that the maritime park seems to be having a positive effect on the wildlife. We then motored down the north of Nisos Alonnisos and anchored where the sea bed sloped so deeply t...

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...

Monday morning and only a day into Pauline's visit and we asked her to do a little job. Just dive down under the boat and unwrap more plastic from our prop. She is a qualified swimming instructor and competition swimmer..... That, however was over 30 years ago and these days you're more likely to find me embroidering, wearing a head torch and talking to my cat Hardy. It's important you know that so I'm now taking over to tell you what it's really like under Grace. First of all were they serious? They had mentioned it the night before but that was after several beers. But no, ten o' clock the next morning there they were standing waiting for me in the cockpit, offering me goggles and snorkel. Phil had constructed a spear made of a pole with a lethal looking knife on the end. Looked like I was expected to kill lunch while I was down there too! What was a girl to do? Sara went in first. Cold! But she is actually Lara Croft in disguise. I followed (disguised a...