Wednesday 20th September...
Linda - Only 8 days to go until Thesee is lifted out of the water for the winter here in Leros. Time is flying by. The walks we have done have been very nice, and this weekend we shall spend on the quay in Lakki as part of our berthing contract.
Today we took an early morning walk up to the little church upon the hill between Xirokampos and Lakki. They call the church Panagia and we've seen this word a lot. Wikipedia states that most Greek churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary are called Panagia. The standard western Christian designation of St Mary is rarely used in the Orthodox East, as Mary is considered the holiest of all created beings and therefore of higher status than the saints.
The church is actually situated inside the Paleocastro (old castle). It was a very nice walk apart from two very loud dogs barking loudly at us as we passed a garden on the way up.
Starting the walk
Cute garden ornaments
Strikingly colourful flowers
Looking down at the anchorage
To Panagia
Up we go
Arrival
Looking down again, see the football stadium,
and how enclosed the anchorage is
Inside the church
Outside
Some sort of sentry box here from the old days
Events happening this weekend
Another Panagia?
Rose bushes, wow
Beautiful cemetary
Very unusual flowers on this tree
And a very very unusual find.... a banana tree!!!
We stopped for coffee and ice cream
Local hotel, closed 😢
Remnants of the war days on this gatepost
The rest of the day was spent onboard just watching the goings on in the anchorage. The weather settled down a little today and a number of boats left, and a number of boats came. One boat that arrived was flying the White Ensign which is very unusual to see (but Dean spotted it immediately) and was quick to point out that this ensign should only be flown by...
1. British Royal Navy ships
2. Yachts of members of the Royal Yacht Squadron
3. Ships of Trinity House escorting the reigning monarch
Well, I'm really not sure which one of these options applied today, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't option 3. Whoever it was, it didn't put Dean off calling him an AW when he dropped his anchor right in front of Thesee. Needless to say, he moved.
Thursday 21st September...
Linda - 7 days to go.....Our last day here in Xirokampos. We had some spare cans of fuel and water in the lazarette, which Dean syphoned into the relative tanks this morning. The fresh water tank was very low, the second tank full of brackish water from Kalymnos, so we are drinking bottled water at the moment.
Syphoning the spare fuel into the tank
Not a great deal happening today, just some talk about the upcoming weeks events. We have a friend already in the Moor & Dock boatyard who is arranging a scooter for us. The boatyard is a fair way from any sort of civilization, and although we will only be there ashore for about a week, we may need to still get about.
Tonight we went for dinner ashore at the nearest restaurant where we made friends with a lovely friendly cat. He was obviously only after our dinner but still rewarded us with cuddles and fuss. The night grew dark, and it's strange watching the boat disappear into the darkness, especially being a dark blue coloured hull. Dinghying back you just really have to follow your nose and make a good aim for the low down anchor light.
Dean - 6 days to lift out! Bloody hell what a day! All good for a change. So we left Xirokampos at 9.30am. Once out of the bay the holding tank worked as it should so that was the first thing. Bonus. We arrived in Leros harbour at about 10.30am and our berth was ready for us. Bonus. I then text the guy that was interested in buying our (Saffy's) portable air con unit and he came right over (ish) and bought it. Bonus.
Bargain for Mario
With all the bits
I then set to on the engine while it was still warm, oil change, oil filter, primary and secondary fuel filter and change the gear box oil. Bonus.
Old oil filter with extractor
New oil going in
God that feels good!
Half way through the oil change ordeal. Remember tight spaces, difficult to get at and 33 degrees today, anyway our friends from S/V Dusk Steve and Tracy turned up, they have been in Mallorca visiting their new grandson before they sail off to Cyprus for the winter. Beer and wine later and I'm still not even halfway through maintenance.
We ate on board tonight but walked into town for ice cream afterwards, picked up a couple of bottles of water! long story: Most of the town quays and marinas including small towns here in Greece have non potable water, that is to say it wont hurt if you drink it but it tastes salty. Yuk. So they supply drinking water either in the shops or from a machine in the street. I'll try for a photo tomorrow but you take along your container press the button and hey presto, fresh water. I guess it's desalinated or filtered in the machine. Some reqiure you to pay (euro in the slot) but most are free.
Actually the water here on the quay along with the electric seems to be free and the water when tested with my special meter seems quite OK. (Meter??? I asked Linda to taste it and she's still standing so I gusss it's OK to wash the boat tomorrow). night night.
Dean - 5 days to lift out! So a day of continued maintenance and preperation for lift out. I cleaned down the outboard engine, flushed it through with a solution that rinses the salt deposits out. Then drained the carburettor, changed the oil in the engine and the gear box.
Flushing out
Then on to the dinghy, clean out completely, wash the lines, clean, clean and more cleaning! We will pack it away once it's dried off and stow it away out of the sun.
Scrubber
Drying off
Linda - Before Dean had started his jobs of engine and dinghy cleaning (in the very hot sun we had 38 degrees today), we took a stroll to the Hellenic Coastguard to have our transit log stamped in. Their office is only about a two minute walk from the boat so easy peasy for a change. Of course from there we found a Chandlery shop (a very good one too i might add) where Dean found something to buy..... Another 'fisch' for unblocking pipes. This fisch is more sturdy than the one he's been using so should work better if we have any more pipe problems.
The on to Chandlery shop number 2 where more money changed hands in exchange for more boat goodies (aka spares for spares). Next was a nice coffee stop, then by chance back to Chandlery shop number 1.... hmmm......In fact this turned out to be very exciting, because in the shop we bumped into not 1, not 2, but 3 yachtie COUPLES that we knew from Finike! Malia & Ian (SV Longo Mai), Janine & Ian (SV Inelsalmo), and Lisa & Hanan (SV Maxtosea). We always wonder whether we will come across anyone we know, and often do, but today it was so unexpected. A lovely surprise indeed. We arranged to meet up tonight for drinks and dinner.
In the meantime, this afternoon as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Leros events we were treated to a drive past of retro, classic, and military cars and scooters. Only a few photos because I wasn't prepared with the camera. It wasn't a very big parade but maybe we shall see more tomorrow. Here's some of the vehicles in passing.....
Sunday 24th September...
Linda - 4 days to lift out! First things first... The dinghy was nice and dry this morning. Dean deflated it and we subsequently rolled it up and packed it away on the deck for now. We'll stow it in the lazarette in a few days time when the outboard engine goes down there too, but the lazarette needs cleaning out first.
Some of our fans are playing up and have been for a while, Dean is endeavouring to fix them but they seem to be working intermittently, so more investigation is needed. He's even picking the brains of a fellow Oceanis 50 owner on the other side of the world in Australia. They like to swap ideas and problems with each other.. it works quite well.
After boaty stuff was over, we walked around the inlet a short way to the full blown marina that is here in Lakki. It's called Leros Marina Evros. We like to take a look at places for future reference for ourselves and for friends too. On arrival it was straight to the bar for a drink. Honestly, I think we're having another heatwave here. We liked the bar a lot of course, then a walk around the boatyard and pontoons. It was quite impressive, with the biggest travel hoist i've ever seen, obviously for lifting out catamarans as well as monohulls.
Looking across to Leros Marina Evros
A large sail boat about to berth
Humongous sized travel lift towering
above this catamaran
In the yard, a very big wooden noah's ark
It was just as well that we stopped off for ice-cream because that brought us nicely into the start of the retro/vintage/military vehicle show on the seafront.
Another lovely day here in Lakki.
Linda - 3 days to lift out! Running out of fresh fruit and veg, which meant we had to do some food shopping to get us through the next week or so. Hard to calculate exactly how much we need so that none goes to waste. When we will be in the boatyard it's kind of nowhere near any shops or restaurants, although we shall have a scooter to get around when need be.
The town is getting ready for the big celebrations tomorrow with bunting and new flags going up in the marina.
Dean made a good job of cleaning out the lazarette, This next photo shows him down there scrubbing away.
The days have gone so quickly here. And the water supplies too, so we went back to the free water machine to refill some of our bottles. I remembered to take a photo this time.
Late afternoon we walked to a bar on the quay for a drink, they have nice mosaic tables. I tried the rose wine. Hmmm a strange colour but the more you drink the more you get used to it. Dean had a nice cold Mythos beer in a nice cold glass. Sometimes I wish that I liked beer.
Mosaic table
Nice cold beer
My strange coloured rosé wine
Quite a difference in our drinks
Bay tree I think
After our beer and wine we ate at a recommended restaurant. We vowed never to do this again after so many let-downs. Still, we tried it anyway. It was OK, pretty standard really, but we did enjoy ourselves and there was a little cat family too which made it all the better. Mommy, Daddy, and three tiny kittens. Delightful. We like to share our dinner with them all.
Tuesday 26th September...
Linda - 2 days to lift out! The Battle of Leros 80th year commemorations were in full swing today. A Navy ship in port this morning.
We got up early and were going to catch the bus to Alinda for the remembrance service at Leros War Cemetary, but we had no idea where the bus stop might be and we wouldn't have returned to Lakki in time for the other services as the bus only runs a couple of times a day (if that). So, after eventually finding out where the HMS Intrepid memorial was in Lakki we attended the service there at 10am. There was about 30 people and a nice man gave a very emotional speech which hit home hard. At the end of his speech he said "What I don't want is for someone to be standing at this memorial in 80 years time remembering the dead of WORLD WAR 3 !! He fought hard to hold back the tears. Also we were rubbing noses with VIP's, in fact the Defence Attaché to Greece, Captian Alex Bush and his wife were chatting to us. He's the guy in the crisp white uniform....
Local schoolchildren at the HMS Intrepid memorial
Next stop was the Vasilissa Olga (Queen Olga) memorial. This ship was a Greek Destroyer who along with HMS Intrepid was sunk by German aircraft bombardment here in Lakki harbour in 1943. These two ships still lie on the seabed. Obviously the Greek memorial event was rather more spectacular with a band, gunfire, speeches and big wreath laying, and lots of men in white uniforms 😀
The gunfire out into the harbour
Our Captain Alex Bush laying a wreath here too
Whilst we were watching the service we noticed just behind us a gentleman holding up his UK ensign on his boat hook. I asked if I could take his photo and he gave me a salute 😀😀 double smiley!
He was actually on a boat near to Thesee and we had a bit of a chit chat with him. Lovely.
The Greek memorial after everyone had left
I'm really pleased we made the effort to attend the services, and we learn't a lot about the events which happened here 80 years ago today.
Back on Thesee there was jobs to do. Dean rolled out the genoa and staysail (not at the same time) and hosed them down. They've become covered with sand over the last few months, and whilst we had fresh water on the quay it was a good, if not only chance to give them a wash down before lift out. Just before we did this Captain Alex Bush walked past the boat and had another little chat with us. What a nice man.
Hosing down the staysail
Now for airing
Next was the (nightmare) genoa.
It's so big and difficult to handle
Going back up now
Hosing off the sand from the sacrificial strips
(they keep the sun off the sail when furled)
Drying off now
Tonight we met up with Steve and Tracey on Dusk. They've just put their boat back in the water after going off to Majorca for a couple of weeks to visit their new grandson. First we had drinks, then went to the open air cinema where they were showing a documentary about the Battle of Leros. We never actually go to see it because for a start they were half an hour later starting and then there was endless speeches and all in Greek I might add. We thought there may be an interpreter but 'no'. By this time we were all starving and it appeared that the documentary may not have any subtitles either so we decided to leg it back to the restaurant with nice mosaic tables for dinner. Sadly the food didn't impress us as much as the tables.
Wednesday 27th September...
Linda - Can you believe it? Only 1 day to lift out! Time to say bye bye to Lakki and move up to the top of Leros, only about an 8 mile journey. We travelled up what I would call the outside of Leros, the west side, where the sea is more open to the Aegean, not the east side which is more protected. I was expecting flat calm with the weather forecast of just 0.1metre waves. Well, it definately was more like 0.5 metre waves, not a problem at all, it's just that I was expecting complete flatness.
We hadn't exactly planned where to anchor or moor on a buoy, as there were a few options available. However, we saw outside Partheni boatyard (aka Moor & Dock) that they had six big buoys. This is where we are lifing out tomorrrow. Four buoys were free so we picked up one of them. Super.
On our way in we had to avoid a restricted area because the island's airstrip is right here beside the boatyard. Good job we knew about this because a plane came in to land right above us as we were arriving. The planes that come here are not huge though, I think they just travel to Athens and back. In fact we'll be on one of them in just over a week's time.
The airstrip, and our boatyard to the left
Pink line is our route today, and we are the red arrow
We are the red arrow, the grey strip is the airport runway!
The same plane taking off an hour later
Not a volacano, just a cloud.
It's going to rain tonight though.
We watched a boat lifting out today
Looking towards the boatyard
This is the slip where the travel hoist lifts the boats out
Local fishing boats
Some reports which we read suggested this was a dreary horrible anchorage, but it's nothing of the sort. Yes, it's a little industrious with fish farms and boatyards, but the hills are still green and we can hear birds singing and see goats wandering.
As soon as we arrived Dean removed the paddle wheel. That's the little thingy that sticks through the bottom of the hull and tells us our speed. It's always getting crudded up with wormy things and of course today it needed removing before they put the big straps around us and lift us out of the water. Anyway, it was cruddy again so Dean tried out his new 'Barnacle Buster' liquid which he bought the other day (he's been after some of this for ages). Well, he said it's amazing and it sizzled off the wormy things in no time.
Fortunately it wasn't too windy today. We've been debating for days and days whether to remove our sails or leave them on. It's such a stressful experience taking them off and trying to fold them because our sails are massive and made from Dacron which is very tough and therefore a nightmare to fold, especially when your're trying to fold them nicely on a wonky slippy deck with poles and lines in the way.
People have told us that this boatyard is prone to sails getting very dusty over winter, and of course our sails are new this year. We honestly couldn't decide whether to leave them up or take them down. Well, we took them down, yes, nightmare. But now it's all over we are glad. They're not folded perfect by any means so next week we may get them out again in the special sail washing area of the boatyard, and see if we can make a better job of folding them on a flat surface!
The main sail looks very neat here.
The genoa was a nightmare.
Thesee's bare poles, all three sails removed
Just in time as the sky is becoming stormy
Inside the boat now the genoa (grey bag) and staysail (blue bag)
Here is the mainsail. You can tell the size of it.
The next blog post will be called 'We have Lift Out'
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