Ashore in the Peloponnese region
Monday 18th October... Linda - Finally a gorgeous morning to wake up to in Trizonia. A good job as today was LIFT OUT DAY.
Beautiful setting
Sheer calm
The empty quay behind us
Our lift out time was not until 5.30pm. We had all morning to keep doing those jobs. Dean had a great idea, to wash and scrub the dinghy before it goes into hibernation. There is free water on the end of the quay, so he wheeled the dinghy down there, easy peasy.
Dinghy scrub
After the dinghy was spic and span, Dean decided to carry the outboard engine to the same spot. Reason being he wanted to flush a special solution through the workings which will eradicate any salt deposits. No photos of this but I did get wet legs in the process of holding the engine still.
Last but not least, whilst the free water was at hand, he gave the cockpit table a really good scrub. The teak is terrible for black mould after only a short period of time. All this industrialism was going on and it wasn't even lunch time. Just shows how a bit of sunshine works wonders.
Table scrub
Early afternoon and after a bit of a rest, we had a little walkabout to say cheerio to fellow boaters we've met in just the few days of being here. Then at 4pm we released the lines and began our short 7 mile hop across to Aigio. It's on the southern side of the Gulf of Corinth, and in the Peloponnese Region.
We were both apprehensive of the lift out, although we both tried to cover it up! Blagging each other (or maybe ourselves) into the mindset of everything will be fine. And to be honest, apart from some horrible black clouds everything did indeed go to plan.
Crossing the Gulf
Very big black clouds
Looking towards our destination
Ships in port
Getting a better look at the destination
We've arrived
Had to hang around for about 10 minutes
The boatyard has a hydraulic lift. They back it into the water from the shoreline, and you kind of steer onto it. Then when in place it raises you high up into the air. This was quite a shock and for a moment I thought I was on a fairground ride! All this attracts a lot of attention from passers by and makes you feel quite important. The traffic is stopped as the two tractors manoevre the boat (with us on it) across the road and into the boatyard. It was all quite surreal.
White tractor with the hydraulic lift waiting for us
Here comes the big daddy tractor for extra pull
Dean looking for reassurance from the Greek Gods?
Going up
Is this really happening? How high?
I guess this is the right place?
Traffic stopped down the street
Looking back now, to our exit point
Crossing the boatyard, feeling a little easier
Allowed off the boat now
Is Dean praying or just taking a photo?
There goes Thesee toward his winter spot
Tuesday 19th October... Linda - It didn't take long for us to get started on the list of jobs to be done before the weekend.
Early morning views from Thesee's deck
First on the list.. drop the anchor chain onto a pallet and wash the year's mud and dirt off it. Then Dean squeezed into the anchor locker and gave it a good clean. Looking around the boatyard it seems that a lot of boats drop their anchor and chain and just leave it there all winter. I do believe that we have the most neatly piled anchor chain in the whole boatyard! What do you think?
Dean noticed that there was a gauge in the fibreglass on the bow. We think this happened yesterday when we were going onto the hydraulic lift. We did feel a thud at the time, but wasn't sure whether we were out of depth and touching the bottom.
The small gauge in the fibreglass
We noticed the anchor chain counter was showing we
had deployed 102 metres! 😀
Dean found me plenty of jobs to help. First I polished the winches, Second I scraped the barnacles off the bow thruster propellors. Strangely I did get a lot of satisfaction from this job. Third I cleaned all of the fenders, Fourth I scraped the barnacles off the the bow thruster tunnel, and fifth I helped scrape barnacles off the keel.
Meanwhile, Dean was scraping barnacles from the whole hull. He cleaned the propellor, measured the play in the cutlass bearing, checked the rudder bearing, cleaned up the keel coolers and removed their anodes, along with the anchor chain cleaning and so on....
Bow thruster propellor - before scraping the barnacles
...and after 😊
Attending to the keel coolers
Clean fenders drying in the sun under nextdoor's boat
Looking into the bow thruster tunnel...yukky
Keel coolers
Clean propellor
At 5pm another boat arrived for lift out. It was a German couple that we met the other day in Trizonia, so we went to watch the lift out. It was quite amazing to think this is what we did yesterday.
Hydraulic trolley going down into the water
The German boat steering toward shore. quite scary
Ready for pulling out
Here it comes
It was a very busy day and we only have a pizza left on board to eat, so we got ready and walked down to find somewhere to eat. The boatyard staff told us there was a taverna just down the road, so off we went. Not expecting to find anything special, outside the taverna was an old classic car. We went inside and asked for the menu, to be told 'It's only in Greek'. Mmmm, a bit startled Dean asked if they have moussaka (which he's been trying to get for a few days now). The waiter said yes and took us to the bar where he showed us the ready made 'daily specials'.... moussaka, meat balls, or beef stew. That'll do nicely thank you. We sat down at a table and took in the surroundings. It was just so authentic Greek, just lovely, with lots of old fashioned decor, posters, paintings, and blue checked 'tablecloths' of course.
Our meals were massive, along with wine, bread, and a greek salad. We were absolutely stuffed. What a lovely place we've found. And all this for just 27 euro (about £22). Oh and a free piece of delicious chocolate cake too.
Classic car outside the restaurant
At the table before 'all the food' came
Looking towards the bar
Wine arrival
Greek salad and olives
Dean's plate full of Moussaka
My beef stew and chips
Wednesday 20th October... Linda - Seems I didn't take any photos today. Maybe we were just too busy getting through that jobs list. Today we..
1. Fitted new anodes to the keel coolers,and checked continuity
2. Re-cleaned the propellor in preparation for the special prop paint tomorrow
3. Painted the bow thruster propellors and the tunnel with anti-foul paint
4. Removed the stay sail and packed away indoors
5. Wrapped up the genoa sail with our special genoa bag cover, which was a bit of a pain and took ages
6. Checked the mainsail and wrapped securely
7. Put wax polish on the fenders
8. Deflated dinghy, folded and put in lazarette along with the outboard engine.
9. Removed and stowed the duogen wind propellor
10. Removed the windlass in preparation for fitting the waterproof cover.
11. Also added a piece of plastic pipe under the windlass to deflect the water away from the gearbox
12. Added fuel conditioner to the outboard engine petrol
13. Squirted silicon oil into the seacocks to stop them seizing up
We'll get some more pictures of the bow thruster when it's assembled and finished. Ate out again tonight at the same place. Chicken on the menu tonight, another yum yum and more chocolate cake too.
Thursday 21st October... Linda - Got a few photos today. Most of the jobs are finished now, including the big job of refitting the windlass gearbox and motor.
Seacocks painted
Keel cooler with new anodes
Bow thruster re-assembled
Bow thruster blades looking super
Fibrglass filled into the gauge on the hull
Grinding the keel
All the dodgy yellow paint removed from the anchor
The new windlass tunnel in the anchor locker
to deflect water away from the gearbox
Windlass gearbox and motor ready to be re-affixed in position
Dean has been in and out of this small gap on countless occasions today
Climbing out for the last time. not amused it seems
Briefly, jobs done today.... in Dean's own words...
Re-assembled bow thruster, checking the propellors were in the opposed position instead of facing, as it seems they were set up incorrectly at some stage.
Painted the seacocks with antifoul paint.
Put some more epoxy and fibreglass on the big chip on Thesee's bow.
Started grinding some of the rust on the keel.
Rubbed down the anchor as the galvanizing was failing, and resprayed with galvanic paint.
Been repairing the table with slow cure resin, and re-assembled it and treated with two coats of teak preserver.
Stripped the windlass gearbox, fitted the waterproof cover back plate, and rebuilt it. Refit the windlass with waterproof cover into the chain locker. Hoping the tubing fitted yesterday will keep some of the salt water off the gearbox.
Continued soaking the shorelines and genoa staysail sheets in fresh water, and dried off.
It was pretty quiet in the yard today. We found out that between 3 and 5pm it is classed as a quiet time and between these times the use of power tools is not permitted. We only found this out yesterday when Dean was grinding 'at the wrong time'! So today he had to pick and choose what to do and when. It was pretty breezy this afternoon and we have a sea view from the boat. There were a lot of white horses out there today.
Ground more rust from the keel
Turned anchor chain around, which entailed removing the coloured depth markers, and putting the end where the start was, and vice versa. Replaced the depth markers at 10 metre intervals, removed swivel and attached to other end of chain, and it had to be lockwired in place. Lifted all the chain back into the anchor locker spraying it with WD40 to keep it nice over next couple of months.
Sanded down the fibreglass filler at the front of the boat which was damaged by the trolley when we lifted out.
Greased the propellor, and lubricated the cutlass bearing.
Took the log out of the hull, cleaned the log, and checked the O rings.
Found a small leak which may be from the area of one of the keel coolers. Looks like water is trapped behind it, so need to investigate further.
Nicely painted anchor waiting to be lifted back into place
Beautiful. Until next time we use it probably.
More clean lines hanging out to dry
Covered the propellor with a bin bag to keep dust off it
Keel rust patches removed
Fibreglass section now sanded into shape
Looking up at the nice anchor with the nice sky
Cleaning the log wheel
We ate out again tonight, as we have no food left. In fact, for lunch I had to spread the last lonely cheese triangle on 8 tuc crackers! Here's a photo of the resident kittens at the restaurant tonight. Fluffy is so adorable.
Snowy is the boss....and greedy
Fluffy is my favourite, but doesn't like fuss.....only food
Saturday 23rd October... Linda - The penultimate day before we leave our beloved Thesee. First and importantly we walked 15 minutes into town to get a PCR covid test, which we need to travel on the train to Athens, and also to fly back to the UK. Being a Saturday we had to get the PCR test as it gives us 72 hours cover, as opposed to the Rapid test which only gives us 48 hours (which wasn't enough to cover for Monday's flight). It was a bit of a traumatic wait for the results by email as you never know whether the lab will get your email address correct. Happily by 5pm all was well when we received notification that we had received the all clear Negative results.
This gave us the go ahead to book a B&B in Athens for tomorrow night stop-over.
The town was quite bustling with numerous butcher's shops and they looked spotless. When we come back we shall know where to get our meat. We chose a cafe for a quick coffee and croissant. Yum yum delicious. We'll be back there too.
Dean finished off the last of the jobs. He also tapped a hole in the bottom of the rudder to make sure there was no water trapped inside it, which there wasn't. He then fitted a screw to block the hole back up.
The latest new solar panel has got a strange mark on it. It's so annoying as this was brand new in June, and did in fact replace a newish one that had already failed. We decided it was best to cover it up with tarpaulin to be on the safe side. We don't want any issues occurring whilst we are away. God only knows what state the rest will be in when we come back. The biggest issues we have faced since our Adventures of Thesee began has been solar panel problems.
A long forgotten hotel
Steps and more steps up into town
Looking back down
Found a Church
Side streets
Another Church here
Kitten tormenting a beetle
The ferry/cruise ships still in port
Great views across the Gulf to the north shore
Old disused rail lines along the promenade
The quaint lighthouse in the marina
Covering over the solar panel on deck
The packing is almost done. We ate out again at our favourite restaurant. 4th time this week. Tonight in fact (and I assume because it was a busy Saturday night), they asked us for proof of vaccination or test. Quite funny really as we had just received our negative test results.
Sunday 24th October... Linda - Today's blog post will be the last one until next year 😢 I'm sorry to disappoint all avid Thesee Followers out there, now you will have no more bedtime reading!
Before we departed this morning we watched the yard lift a huge 52 foot catamaran. The way they manoeuvred it in a small space was quite amazing.
Last views before we go
The big catamaran coming through the entrance
Strokes and see-you-soons to Saffy dog, and a hug for Thesee's mast
All set
So off we went in a taxi to the station. We had to change trains twice along the route to Athens. Luckily we didn't get lost and all went to plan. Along the way we went over the Corinth Canal.... exciting moment, which I just about caught on camera as it passed by in less than an instant.
Waiting for train number 1
Here it comes
The views were good and the Gulf was very calm. Here we are approaching the eastern end of the Gulf.
Here comes train number 2
Look!! The Corinth Canal. It looks so narrow.
I was so stressed out about getting off at the right station to change to train number 3 that I forgot to take a photo of the third train. You have to be on the ball or you could miss your stop in the blink of an eye. It's almost as bad a trying to read hieroglyphics.
Arrival at the airport
So we reached the airport, grabbed some food as we were starving by this time. Called the hotel to come and pick us up. It's only a small place, just what we require. They recommended a restaurant to go to for dinner. A 15 minute walk away and on the seafront. Yes, this is the Aegean Sea now! We went there for dinner. I ordered Caesar salad as I wasn't very hungry, OMG it was massive! An added bonus is that they drove us back to the hotel. Must be some kind of deal going on there.
Our B&B lobby
Peri's Hotel (B&B)
First glimpse of the Aegean
My massive Caesar salad
So, that concludes the Adventures of Thesee for this season 2021. Thanks for your interest in our sailing adventures. There will be more to come next year.
As Arnie says....WE'LL BE BACK
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