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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"
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I went to Albufeira last week on my own to graft for long hours in dirty blue overalls. My normal working attire is a sharp suit, silk tie and highly polished brogues.
I arrived onboard late Saturday night and went straight to bed. Sunday was a day of rest, so I strolled on the beach in brilliant sunshine to work up a healthy appetite. Lunch was long, large and included a glass (or two) of wine. Just the right ingredients for a good siesta. Monday, I watched the crane lift Comino on to the hard and then got stuck in doing the hull pressure wash, followed by polishing the prop until it glistened. Late afternoon, I strolled back to my hotel in Albufeira Old Town feeling tired, but good. Tuesday was horrific. In blistering heat, I spent 5 exhausting hours rubbing down the hull, which was a messy patchwork of half peeled antifoul. By mid afternoon I came to my senses and realised that this wasn't going to work. Mark, from Celtic Marine, came over to utter the brutal truth - the whole hull needed to be scraped back to the gelcoat in order to create a nice smooth final finish. I was completely gutted and incapable of spending another three or four hours doing even more hard labour in the heat. Mark offered to make a phone call and twenty minutes later the scraping was underway courtesy of an English guy who was looking for days work in the marina. That was the best €100 I have ever spent. So, Wed and Thurs I put on the primer coat and anti-foul. Friday, the topsides were polished till they gleamed. At about 4pm, looking brand new again, Comino was lifted back into the water. As I motored out of the slings and headed for my berth a potential disaster occurred. The engine spluttered and stopped. Despite desperate attempts, it wouldn't start again. Comino had no power and was drifting on a collision course with other boats moored nearby. With a bit of quick thinking, I steered slowly onto an empty pontoon a few yards away, aided by a light following wind. Mark quickly came to my rescue along with his engine specialist and diagnosed that the exhaust pipe had come away from the manifold, resulting in many gallons of water being pumped into the bilges. It also filled the whole boat with thick black smoke. I honestly thought the engine had caught fire. The pipe was reattached easy enough, but Friday evening was spent bailing out the foul, oily bilges. However, I did manage to end what had been a rather fraught day with a great meal at the authentic Portuguese restaurant in the marina. Saturday, I flew home completely whacked, but determined to educate myself about every aspect of diesel engines and their workings. And that's the key learning from this trip - my knowledge of boat maintenance, in all departments, needs to be significantly improved ready for the big trip ahead. In that sense, what was a bad experience, served as a useful lesson.
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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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