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"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
For the past couple of days the dreaded north-easterly (Gregale) wind has brought a really uncomfortable swell into Manoel Island Marina. So much so that the previous night we couldn't sleep, what with all the rolling around and creaking lines. It was like trying to kip in a washing machine……on spin cycle! Yesterday morning poor Nicki felt sea sick just pottering around the boat, which signalled the inevitable……get off onto dry land and get organised to avoid more of the same. From now on the the autumn and winter months will bring plenty of beautiful sailing days, but alas this 'orrible swell will also come and go too. We knew this situation would arise about now and therefore we've already been planning our next move. On Saturday night we celebrated our wedding anniversary at a rather swanky Lebanese restaurant. It was also an ideal opportunity to chat to Jane about plans for the coming months. In a nutshell, her daughter has gone to Uni in the UK leaving the penthouse apartment on her roof empty. It didn't take a genius to see that we could all help each other out a bit here, so, as of 1st October, we are her new tenants until the middle of December. Then we'll fly home just as Jess comes back for Christmas……perfik! Actually, we're already in-situ helping to get the place ship shape ready for our formal moving in later in the week. After a eagerly anticipated traditional Sunday lunch yesterday (the first in a long time), we went up onto the roof to watch the Red Arrows perform for the Malta Air Show. The highlight was a fly by with an Air Malta plane leading the salute….I didn't take the pic above, but this is what we saw. And what a wonderful sight it was too. The weather is on the change now with the horrible high humidity giving way to a more cool, crisp air. We find it very pleasant. Don't get me wrong, the shorts and flip flops haven't been substituted for more autumnal attire just yet. I think the time to unpack jeans and jumpers is around the beginning of November - I'll keep you posted.
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Nicki's trip to the UK turned into three weeks rather than two (courtesy of the NHS), but thankfully she returns to Malta tonight and I'll have a hug and chilled glass of vino ready to welcome her back. I wonder which one she's looking forward to most? Frankly, it seems like an eternity since she left and I'm keen to get back to some form of normality - sun, sea, sailing and somebody to play Canaster with. Yes, we've recently learnt how to play the game, although a slightly fierce competitive edge seems to be creeping in. I mentioned last time that the boat needed some maintenance doing and I'm pleased to report that I've not been entirely idle whilst on my lonesome. Most importantly the water heater works again, so no more boiling the kettle to wash up. Just about everything else is now sorted ready for some autumn sailing in the sunshine. For the past week I've been alone in Jane's house whilst she took her daughter to Uni in the UK. My job has been to look after the cats and make sure they were adequately fed and watered. From left to right meet Bounty, Chocky and Kitty, who are all still with us thank goodness due to my not inconsiderable dollops of TLC. I'd like to say a few words about humidity……we've all experienced it one way or another. However, this past week has been unbelievable with humidity levels up to 85%, plus searing heat on top just to make matters worse. The other day the thermometer on our pontoon read 48 degrees in open sunlight. What it means is every time you move an inch you instantly become drenched. If you do manual work, like I've done on the boat, you fill a two gallon bucket with sweat every two minutes. Never in my life have I experienced such unpleasant conditions. At night all you can do is lie down in front of a ruddy great big fan and hope you drop off before the sheets become wrining wet. Luckily, today the weather has changed slightly which means Nicki will return to a sticky Malta rather than a soaking Malta.
Another milestone was achieved during my solitary confinement. For the first time in 34 years of marriage I learnt how to use a washing machine. Careful instructions were given to me via a Skype call that took all of twenty seconds to convey. Can you believe it, decades of techno fear washed away (sorry for the pun) in an instant. Mind you, it's just as well what with all this humidity; Nicki would have smelt my clothes from 30,000 feet long before she lands at Luqua Airport. OK it's true…...most posts on here do include references to our social goings on and yes, you could be forgiven for thinking our life involves quite a lot of eating and drinking. However, in reality, this is not always the case……honest!…...let me explain.
If you think about it, a boat is a fibreglass shell full of electronics, a sophisticated engine and all sorts of other complicated mechanical systems designed to get you from A to B without getting your feet wet. But all of this sits in salt water for most of the year. In O'Level Physics we leant that salt is highly corrosive, which means, not unsurprisingly, our floating home is actually desolving away little by little every day like a sugar lump in a cup of tea - only a bit slower. Neither of us want to step out of bed one morning and plunge waist deep into a half sunken saloon because Comino has sprung a leak. How could that actually happen you ask. Well, it's an unavoidable fact that a boat is full of holes under the waterline, all of which have pipes leading from the deep blue sea outside, to the nice cosy dry rooms inside. Think about it…..flushing the toilet means a hole in and a hole out. The engine needs cooling water so there's another hole in (cold water) and another one out (hot water). We have three sinks, two in the galley (kitchen) and one in the heads (bathroom)……yes you've guessed it, they all need holes to drain away. So, all these pipes equate to potential disaster if we don't spend time cleaning, checking and replacing anything that looks iffy. In the case of the engine, it's even more complicated. Cold cooling water is pumped all round the unit meaning that there are dozens of different places corrosion could cause a leak. This leads me neatly onto the fact that when we've returned from the last few trips out to sea, including Sicily, there's been a significant amount of water in the bilges. I don't do water in the bilges AT ALL. If they're kept completely dry then any sign of water is a clear indication that you've got a leak somewhere. And that's what we had……a leak. In other words, we've slowly been sinking! To cut a long story short, the main bearings on the engine cooling water pump had corroded and worn allowing sea water to trickle out of what should normally be a sealed system. Luckily, we found the problem quite easily, but replacing the whole pump cost the equivalent of the gross national debt of Guatemala. We're therefore dry again, but poor. And if that isn't bad enough, for the past few weeks the beer and wine coming out of our fridge has been unacceptably cool rather than stone cold. Another man was summoned to the case and after topping up the compressor with a dose of R134a gas, all is working fine again. Needless to say he needed paying as well. The emersion tank isn't working so we (Nicki) have to boil a kettle to wash up. The steaming light bulb up the mast has blown. I could go on but I won't. The list of maintenance issues is steadily growing and therefore this is a formal notification to say that all forms of social activity will cease forthwith in favour of me getting my arse into gear with my toolkit in order to avoid paying any more tradesmen. Nicki has returned to the UK for a short while leaving clear instructions to get the boat sorted in time for her return. Being on my tod means there's no excuse. I shall be working diligently every day for the next fortnight to get things ship shape and Bristol fashion. Did I mention that I'm going out on another boat with a big group of friends tomorrow to anchor and have a picnic somewhere….I hope SWMBO doesn't read this. NB: SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed ! |
A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
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