We arrived at the port of Chania at about 6:30pm after a 3 hour flight delay due to the strike in Greece and a 2 hour taxi ride from Iraklion airport.
We had a lovely welcome from Ofer and all the French community in Chania. I'm referring to Benoit, Florence and their kids as well as other French families that winter on boat in Crete.
Thanks to Ofer and Benoit, Princess Nayeli survived the storm that hit the Mediterranean last week, flawlessly.
We enjoyed Chania very much. The beautiful surrrounding of the old town, the nice neighbors and Nikos who runs the local Synagogue, made our stay very pleasant.
It was very interesting to join the Friday night prayers at the Synagogue that was recently rennovated. We may come back for Passover.
Today we sailed out of Chania. There was an annoying swell, so the girls had a little bit of a hard time, but once we were past the cape (that is more difficult to cross than cape Carmel in a strong SW), we started running at 8-9kts to Rethimno.
Once we had the sails down, a heavy rain started, that made our entrance a lot more interesting.
Our main concern now is the general strike that's expected in Greece on the 19th and 20th. Yael and the girls have a flight back on the 19th that will probably be cancelled with this strike.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Zakynthos to Pilos
We're now anchored on a beach at the North of end of Navarino bay: Map of where we are
It is very peaceful here, not so many boats and the weather is calm. It's just the four of us on the boat (Yael, Noga, Yasmin and myself), so we have plenty of room and plenty of water to stay in bays for a few more days.
We're planning to stay here another day and just relax before we start our last couple of legs into Kalamata.
We had great sailing getting here. The first leg, was 45NM. We sailed most of it with the Gennaker. The wind was right behind us, about 18Kts, and we had some waves. The only event we had on the way was that out of a sudden, while I was at the helm (trying to make the Gennaker happy), the sail disappeared! We lost sight of it, and only when going out of the cockpit, we saw it fluttering way above us! The tack snap shackle unlocked for some reason and the sail was only holding on two lines. Fortunately, the sleeve was still working and we could sleeve it back rather easily. At that point we just opened up the jib (which we just talked about doing anyway cause the wind was increasing), and pointed the bow at Kiparissia.
Kiparissia: So first, the port of Kiparissia has been extended and it is well protected now, with water and electricity on the quay. Rod Heikell warns boats from going in here because the port is not protected and suggests to drop an anchor in the middle of the port. I waned to update him, but then I saw that he has a blog post from this summer with an update along those lines.
The town is really strange. Many brand new house, next to ruins and empty roads. No tourists at all. The castle and old town are lovely, with great view over the South Ionian sea. At the main square, we found a lovely Cafe where the highlight was that they had a 1 month old puppy. He was beautiful and we had to go back there the next day to see him.
Noga keeps saying that she likes Kiparissia and that we have to go back there. It's a great stop over between Methoni and Zakynthos.
From Kiparissia, we did a short, 30NM leg, to the famous bay of Navarino where we are now.
Some more pictures were added to this summer's sailing album.
BTW- I added a picture of our message in a bottle that was found in Italy and the picture was sent to us.
Eyal
It is very peaceful here, not so many boats and the weather is calm. It's just the four of us on the boat (Yael, Noga, Yasmin and myself), so we have plenty of room and plenty of water to stay in bays for a few more days.
We're planning to stay here another day and just relax before we start our last couple of legs into Kalamata.
We had great sailing getting here. The first leg, was 45NM. We sailed most of it with the Gennaker. The wind was right behind us, about 18Kts, and we had some waves. The only event we had on the way was that out of a sudden, while I was at the helm (trying to make the Gennaker happy), the sail disappeared! We lost sight of it, and only when going out of the cockpit, we saw it fluttering way above us! The tack snap shackle unlocked for some reason and the sail was only holding on two lines. Fortunately, the sleeve was still working and we could sleeve it back rather easily. At that point we just opened up the jib (which we just talked about doing anyway cause the wind was increasing), and pointed the bow at Kiparissia.
Kiparissia: So first, the port of Kiparissia has been extended and it is well protected now, with water and electricity on the quay. Rod Heikell warns boats from going in here because the port is not protected and suggests to drop an anchor in the middle of the port. I waned to update him, but then I saw that he has a blog post from this summer with an update along those lines.
The town is really strange. Many brand new house, next to ruins and empty roads. No tourists at all. The castle and old town are lovely, with great view over the South Ionian sea. At the main square, we found a lovely Cafe where the highlight was that they had a 1 month old puppy. He was beautiful and we had to go back there the next day to see him.
Noga keeps saying that she likes Kiparissia and that we have to go back there. It's a great stop over between Methoni and Zakynthos.
From Kiparissia, we did a short, 30NM leg, to the famous bay of Navarino where we are now.
Some more pictures were added to this summer's sailing album.
BTW- I added a picture of our message in a bottle that was found in Italy and the picture was sent to us.
Eyal
 |
| Princess Nayeli Adriatic summer 2011 |
Friday, August 19, 2011
Otranto to Zakynthos
The three days of the storm in Otranto were a bit traumatic. There was maybe 40 kts of wind outside, the sea was high and choppy and we were moored alongside the cargo pier waiting for the storm to die. Two mooring lines were ripped by the cement quay, the whole boat was black, inside and out from the dirt of the truck road above us and everything had a think layer of salt from the spray that was going over the 10m breaker wall.
So, after 3 days of storm, we left Otranto on Saturday, August 13th at 5AM, heading SE towards Corfu in Greece.
10 minutes after we left, a speed boat was heading towards us, it was just before dawn, and she slowed down as she was about 100m away. It was clear that they wanted something… Yael was thinking of Albanian pirates and I was thinking that I should have told the coast guard that we’re leaving so early. As they got closer, we could see the words “Guardia Finanzia” and could hear them speak Italian so we knew it was really the coast guard. A couple of minutes later, they were tied alongside to us, asked us to neutral the engine and they had full control over out 10 ton boat. One of them asked permission to go on board, and we “let” him. He even agreed to take his shoes off. The only problem was that he was wearing sun glasses and had some kind of a pirate like head cover. Yael showed him in, turned on the indoor lights and showed him Noga and Yasmin sleeping. That was good enough for him to tell his friends that we’re OK, and they left apologizing for the disturbance.
The rest of the day was wonderful. We had side-back winds of 15-18 kts and the boat was flying at 8-9 kts towards Corfu. Once we passed Erikousa, the small island NW of Corfu, the wind died and we motored the rest of our way to Gouvia marina.
In Gouvia we met Yael’s parents, Ruth and Shaul that were waiting for us.
Yael had a recommendation for a restaurant close to the marina. I called them, and asked how to get to the restautant. They lady said: “have you a dinghy?”. I said: “yes”. “Then”, she said, “take a look towards the East side of the marina. Do you see a fishing boat tied up to a small pier?”. “Yes”, I said. “So just take your dinghy and go next to our fishing boat”. That’s all I needed. I knew it was going to be a good restaurant, and it was.
From Corfu, we sailed down to Paxoi, and then went down towards Lefkas Bridge. We planned to cross the swinging bridge at 3PM. The bridge is supposed to open every round hour and we’ve crossed it maybe 10 times already. We got there at about 10 minutes to 3 and got in slowly hoping it will open on time. After circling for about 20 minutes in the small entrance with 4 other boats, Yael decided to call the bridge control on Ch. 12. Surprisingly they answered her, and said that they’ll open only at 4pm. They skipped the 3pm opening. You can imagine how many boats were there at 4, waiting to cross...
From the bridge we sailed down to a beautiful bay in Meganisi and then left for Ithaka on Tuesday. Dan Goldstaub and his family were there on a chartered boat and we planned to spend the night with them. We tacked our way towards Itaka till suddenly the wind picked up to 24kts on our head. To Yael’s request to go to the nearest port, we turned around and entered Sivota on the South side of Lefkada Island. We’ve been to Sivota several times before, but it’s always nice to go again to this lovely landlocked bay.
On Wednesday, the sea was flat, zero wind, so we motored for two hours to meet the Goldstaubs in a picturesque bay near the main town of Ithaka, Vathi.
The bay is beautiful, the beach is shaded by pine and olive trees, the water is amazingly clear and warm. It’s really a perfect bay. And what’s really amazing is that the girls, led by the experienced fisherwoman- Yasmin, fished about 6 fish, one of them is a 400gr sea bream!!!! The biggest we ever had in bay fishing. Shaul then BBQed them ashore and after a couple of hours we had a delicious fish dinner.
After a peaceful, star watching night, the Goldstaubs started their journey north while we got ready to sail down to Zakynthos, but then, when I went down to switch to the engine battery I realized we accidentally spent the night on the engine battery, and that battery was already empty. We had both our battery packs empty!!!! I tried to start the engine anyway – but nothing. The two service batteries were showing 10v while the engine battery was showing 11v. What do we do now? I started thinking of taking the dinghy to town to find some starter battery. Yael called Dan on the VHF but he was too far and did not answer his phone either.
We had to come up with a good solution. We had to be in Zakynthos that day because Ruth and Shaul had a flight to catch on Friday morning.
After some thinking, I decided to rewire the batteries and connect the two ‘dead’ service batteries in a row (so they give me some 20v) and use them to charge a little bit the engine battery. Shaul was holding the wires real tight while I went up to the switch. I switched the battery switch to “both” so get my circuit going, and tried to start the engine…
It started immediately!!!
Then I quickly switched back to the engine battery, to minimize the damage and off we went to Zakynthos. It was clear that now we needed new service batteries urgently.
On Thursday the 18th, we entered the port of Zakynthos at about 3pm, after a nice sailing day, using the spinnaker a good part of the day.
This morning, at 5:45AM, Ruth and Shaul left to catch their flight to Tel Aviv. It was great having them for a week with us. They were vivid and helpful. Shaul was great crew and did everything from hoisting sails to tying the boat to rocks and trees. Ruth specialized in navigating the boat between all the “dangerous targets” we had around us. This for itself was a full time job. They both felt great at sea and got used to boating life very quickly. We hope to have them with us in many more cruises.
Today, we used the day to buy new batteries, clean the boat, get some laundry done and just rest before the last sailing week. We are sailing down to Kalamata soon.
As usual, this summner's album with additional pictures of the last week can be found at:
Friday, August 12, 2011
Montenegro to Italy with the Levinsons
For some reason, every time the Levinsons join us, we find ourselves struggling with mother nature.
This time, they joined us for a week and we planned to sail together from Montenegro to Corfu.
We thought we had a lot of spare time, but eventually at this point, Tzvika and his family are still waiting for the ferry boat to be able to leave the port due to the bad weather.
So it all started when they joined us in Kotor bay in an unusually hot afternoon. After two weeks of lovely weather, there were now very hot days expected after which a gail in the Adriatic sea was expected.
We started by sailing the Kotor bay and spending the night in the nice bay of Bigova, just outside Kotor bay. We put all our bay gear in the water, including the kayak, the dinghy, inflatables, etc. It was a nice quiet night in the bay.
Looking forward, we realized we may have problem getting to Corfu on time, so we decided we leave Montenegro the next morning to Italy, beating a South wind, and then hopefully cross back to Corfu after the storm dies.
The weather had other plans.
So, next day, we docked at Budva, trying to make the departure arrangements. While doing the paperwork, the customs officer asked if I had a bottle of wine for him and for the police. I was amazed by the request and told him I don't drink wine... After I left, I saw an Italian skipper approaching the offices with two bottles of white wine...
Anyway, we moved from the noisy town, to anchor under the interesting island of SV. Stephan. The island who hosts celebrities, and government officials, looked great at the sunset.
On Tuesday morning, at 3:45AM, we left SV. Stephan heading to Otranto, Italy. In a couple of hours the wind picked up and steadied on 15Kts close hauled, what made us run in 20Kt winds, healing dramatically all the way across the Adriatic sea. As the day went by, the wind became more South and we had to just do the best we can to get into Bridisi (about 40 miles North of our desired destination).
Anyway, running all day, the 102 miles to Bridisi in strong healing and some nasty waves, was a challenge to everyone. Almost all the crew was feeling sea sick at some point, although the boat was running steady against the wind.
We had a lovely visit of a school of dolphins, as if they realized we can't go to the bow to watch their ride, they came over making spectacular jumps right in front of our eyes. It was a beautiful sight.
At 8pm we were docked in Brindisi.
On Tuesday, 11am, we left Brindisi, with empty water tanks (there was no water in Brindisi for some reason) towards Otranto.
We arrived at Otranto at 6pm, to find out that the dock was full and the only place we could stay is on the cargo pier, which is on the main breaker, close to the entrance to the harbor, with no water supply and a little bit exposed.
An hour later, an Italian HR42 asked to moor long side to us, and we agreed. They are very nice people from Venice, the owner is a originally from the Jewish community of Corfu but he grew up in Venice.
At midnight, the wind started blowing at 30-32 kts, but the sea was still OK and standing at the dock was manageable except the fact the all the black dirt of the cargo area blew right into our boat, getting everything inside and out dusted with a thick black dust.
The night between Wednesday and Thursday was even worse. We lost two lines during the night as the load of two boats was too heavy on them adding the fact that the lines shaffed against the cement quay. We replaced and doubled all the lines with a very thick and flexible line we have on board that we're using now for the first time.
Getting off the boat is really a challenge as the wind pushes the boats off the quay and you have to pull on two boats to get yourself ashore.
Water. Luckily we have a water maker on board. We've living for the last 3 days on that only. We're running the water maker (together with the engine), for a few hours a day to give us water to wash our hands, wash dishes, and some showers. We mainly take showers in the marina.
It's amazing how we can empty 420 liters in 24 hours on one day but manage with very little water on another.
Since the Levinsons have a flight to catch from Corfu tomorrow night, they bought ferry tickets from Brindisi to Corfu, and reserved a hotel in Corfu.
They left us at 11:30 this morning, planning to catch the 3pm fast ferry to Corfu.
When they arrived at Brindisi, they found out that ferry is being delayed, waiting for the weather to calm down! I guess the sea out there is really high!
Hopefully they'll leave sometime during the night.
Anyway, we had interesting adventures with the Levinsons, as we did 5 years ago with them on a charter boat in Greece.
The Levinsons coped with challenges very well, and made a lot of progress in their sailing practice. Tsvika can now do two knots (bowline and hitch knot) and mastered jumping off the boat and tying her to the dock. Ilana is feeling great at sea, and was able to make sandwiches and cheer everyone while running against the sea. Hadar was great friends with Noga and Yasmin and learned to do the "Turkish head" knot (I have no idea how it's called in proper English). Shaked is ready for his cruising diploma. He managed to control the Raymarine instruments, steer the boat and do all the navigation work.
Noga was in charge of the laptop and taught Hadar and Shaked, together with Yasmin, everything about living on board. She was also great help with setting up the mainsail and taking care of the fenders before we dock. Yasmin was charming and had a lot in common with Hadar. She really mastered about 10 knots and she can do a bowline in 2 seconds! She's also a great helmsman, steering beautifully when going close hauled.
The both hosted our friends brilliantly. And of course Yael, my lovely wife, who made sure we have everything we need on board, took great care of the boat, waking in the middle of the night double docking lines and so on.
More soon...
All this Adriatic see journey pictures can be found at:
Eyal
This time, they joined us for a week and we planned to sail together from Montenegro to Corfu.
We thought we had a lot of spare time, but eventually at this point, Tzvika and his family are still waiting for the ferry boat to be able to leave the port due to the bad weather.
So it all started when they joined us in Kotor bay in an unusually hot afternoon. After two weeks of lovely weather, there were now very hot days expected after which a gail in the Adriatic sea was expected.
We started by sailing the Kotor bay and spending the night in the nice bay of Bigova, just outside Kotor bay. We put all our bay gear in the water, including the kayak, the dinghy, inflatables, etc. It was a nice quiet night in the bay.
Looking forward, we realized we may have problem getting to Corfu on time, so we decided we leave Montenegro the next morning to Italy, beating a South wind, and then hopefully cross back to Corfu after the storm dies.
The weather had other plans.
So, next day, we docked at Budva, trying to make the departure arrangements. While doing the paperwork, the customs officer asked if I had a bottle of wine for him and for the police. I was amazed by the request and told him I don't drink wine... After I left, I saw an Italian skipper approaching the offices with two bottles of white wine...
Anyway, we moved from the noisy town, to anchor under the interesting island of SV. Stephan. The island who hosts celebrities, and government officials, looked great at the sunset.
On Tuesday morning, at 3:45AM, we left SV. Stephan heading to Otranto, Italy. In a couple of hours the wind picked up and steadied on 15Kts close hauled, what made us run in 20Kt winds, healing dramatically all the way across the Adriatic sea. As the day went by, the wind became more South and we had to just do the best we can to get into Bridisi (about 40 miles North of our desired destination).
Anyway, running all day, the 102 miles to Bridisi in strong healing and some nasty waves, was a challenge to everyone. Almost all the crew was feeling sea sick at some point, although the boat was running steady against the wind.
We had a lovely visit of a school of dolphins, as if they realized we can't go to the bow to watch their ride, they came over making spectacular jumps right in front of our eyes. It was a beautiful sight.
At 8pm we were docked in Brindisi.
On Tuesday, 11am, we left Brindisi, with empty water tanks (there was no water in Brindisi for some reason) towards Otranto.
We arrived at Otranto at 6pm, to find out that the dock was full and the only place we could stay is on the cargo pier, which is on the main breaker, close to the entrance to the harbor, with no water supply and a little bit exposed.
An hour later, an Italian HR42 asked to moor long side to us, and we agreed. They are very nice people from Venice, the owner is a originally from the Jewish community of Corfu but he grew up in Venice.
At midnight, the wind started blowing at 30-32 kts, but the sea was still OK and standing at the dock was manageable except the fact the all the black dirt of the cargo area blew right into our boat, getting everything inside and out dusted with a thick black dust.
The night between Wednesday and Thursday was even worse. We lost two lines during the night as the load of two boats was too heavy on them adding the fact that the lines shaffed against the cement quay. We replaced and doubled all the lines with a very thick and flexible line we have on board that we're using now for the first time.
Getting off the boat is really a challenge as the wind pushes the boats off the quay and you have to pull on two boats to get yourself ashore.
Water. Luckily we have a water maker on board. We've living for the last 3 days on that only. We're running the water maker (together with the engine), for a few hours a day to give us water to wash our hands, wash dishes, and some showers. We mainly take showers in the marina.
It's amazing how we can empty 420 liters in 24 hours on one day but manage with very little water on another.
Since the Levinsons have a flight to catch from Corfu tomorrow night, they bought ferry tickets from Brindisi to Corfu, and reserved a hotel in Corfu.
They left us at 11:30 this morning, planning to catch the 3pm fast ferry to Corfu.
When they arrived at Brindisi, they found out that ferry is being delayed, waiting for the weather to calm down! I guess the sea out there is really high!
Hopefully they'll leave sometime during the night.
Anyway, we had interesting adventures with the Levinsons, as we did 5 years ago with them on a charter boat in Greece.
The Levinsons coped with challenges very well, and made a lot of progress in their sailing practice. Tsvika can now do two knots (bowline and hitch knot) and mastered jumping off the boat and tying her to the dock. Ilana is feeling great at sea, and was able to make sandwiches and cheer everyone while running against the sea. Hadar was great friends with Noga and Yasmin and learned to do the "Turkish head" knot (I have no idea how it's called in proper English). Shaked is ready for his cruising diploma. He managed to control the Raymarine instruments, steer the boat and do all the navigation work.
Noga was in charge of the laptop and taught Hadar and Shaked, together with Yasmin, everything about living on board. She was also great help with setting up the mainsail and taking care of the fenders before we dock. Yasmin was charming and had a lot in common with Hadar. She really mastered about 10 knots and she can do a bowline in 2 seconds! She's also a great helmsman, steering beautifully when going close hauled.
The both hosted our friends brilliantly. And of course Yael, my lovely wife, who made sure we have everything we need on board, took great care of the boat, waking in the middle of the night double docking lines and so on.
More soon...
All this Adriatic see journey pictures can be found at:
 |
| Princess Nayeli Adriatic summer 2011 |
Eyal
Monday, August 1, 2011
Kotor, Montenegro
After leaving Budva, we sailed to a small swimming bay just before the entrance to the bay of Kotor. The place is called Bigova. The main attraction was an old yacht that had roots there in the bay with two kittens living on board.
After a nice lunch break, we sailed to Kotor.
The bay of Kotor is probably the most impressive bay I've ever seen. The bay is deep with dark blue water and 1000m mountains surrounding it. We made our way around in the bay, with full sails up, till we made it to Kotor.
Rounding one of the corners, we crossed the largest sailing ship in the world - the Royal Clipper. I'll post our pictures soon. In the meantime you can see her
Here
Compared to Budva, Kotor is much nicer, and even with all the tourists around here, staying on the town quay is more quiet than the marina of Budva.
Tomorrow, we're planning to rent a car and go up the mountains for a couple days.
After a nice lunch break, we sailed to Kotor.
The bay of Kotor is probably the most impressive bay I've ever seen. The bay is deep with dark blue water and 1000m mountains surrounding it. We made our way around in the bay, with full sails up, till we made it to Kotor.
Rounding one of the corners, we crossed the largest sailing ship in the world - the Royal Clipper. I'll post our pictures soon. In the meantime you can see her
Here
Compared to Budva, Kotor is much nicer, and even with all the tourists around here, staying on the town quay is more quiet than the marina of Budva.
Tomorrow, we're planning to rent a car and go up the mountains for a couple days.
Budva, Montenegro
After a week into this cruise we were moored in Budva.
We did a morning leg from Otranto to Brindisi. We went through Brindisi mainly because we wanted to cross the Adriatic at the narrowest point North to Albania.
To make the crossing as easy as possible for Noga and Yasmin, we left Brindisi at 4am and passed the 100nm in about 17 hours, half of it sailing in light winds with the jenniker and half on engine.
Throughout the crossing we saw many times schools of fish jumping for their lives. Unfortunately, trying to get close to them, got us nothing on our hook. We haven't caught a single fish so far. On the other hand, three dolphins joined us for a nice ride.
We entered the port of Bar a little before 9pm.
Noga and Yasmin got a new crew certificate for doing over 100 miles in one leg!
Formalities were a little strange. The harbor master charged 230 euros for a sailing permit (viniette) of one month. Unfortunately you either pay for a week or a month or 6 months. We're planning to stay for 2 weeks so we had to take the month. Anyway, after I agreed to pay this outrageous sum of money, he told me that I have two options: I should either wait for the morning and then Go to e bank to pay the fee or just give him the money and he'll go to the bank the following day and make other payment for me. I did choose the 2nd option but I must say I don't know if he ever went to the bank... Anyway, he did give me the Viniette and a signed crew list so hopefully it's OK. When it was all done he asked me if I happen to have a bottle of whisky on board...
The following morning we motored in no wind the 15 miles to Budva. We entered the tricky entrance in heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Budva is on one hand a charming old town, very well preserved and maintained but it became the center for young tourists, mostly Serbs and Russians who come here to lie on the beach, consume lots of alcohol and hang out in noisy bars with lousy music.
Sleeping in the marina was a challenge. Even with all windows closed and with the AC on.
There is one disco that blows up the whole bay! I remember hearing it loudly when we anchored across the bay off Nikolas island, and were amazed by the high volume that was coming from shore.
On Sunday morning we decided to leave Budva and move to Kotor.
More soon...Eyal
We did a morning leg from Otranto to Brindisi. We went through Brindisi mainly because we wanted to cross the Adriatic at the narrowest point North to Albania.
To make the crossing as easy as possible for Noga and Yasmin, we left Brindisi at 4am and passed the 100nm in about 17 hours, half of it sailing in light winds with the jenniker and half on engine.
Throughout the crossing we saw many times schools of fish jumping for their lives. Unfortunately, trying to get close to them, got us nothing on our hook. We haven't caught a single fish so far. On the other hand, three dolphins joined us for a nice ride.
We entered the port of Bar a little before 9pm.
Noga and Yasmin got a new crew certificate for doing over 100 miles in one leg!
Formalities were a little strange. The harbor master charged 230 euros for a sailing permit (viniette) of one month. Unfortunately you either pay for a week or a month or 6 months. We're planning to stay for 2 weeks so we had to take the month. Anyway, after I agreed to pay this outrageous sum of money, he told me that I have two options: I should either wait for the morning and then Go to e bank to pay the fee or just give him the money and he'll go to the bank the following day and make other payment for me. I did choose the 2nd option but I must say I don't know if he ever went to the bank... Anyway, he did give me the Viniette and a signed crew list so hopefully it's OK. When it was all done he asked me if I happen to have a bottle of whisky on board...
The following morning we motored in no wind the 15 miles to Budva. We entered the tricky entrance in heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Budva is on one hand a charming old town, very well preserved and maintained but it became the center for young tourists, mostly Serbs and Russians who come here to lie on the beach, consume lots of alcohol and hang out in noisy bars with lousy music.
Sleeping in the marina was a challenge. Even with all windows closed and with the AC on.
There is one disco that blows up the whole bay! I remember hearing it loudly when we anchored across the bay off Nikolas island, and were amazed by the high volume that was coming from shore.
On Sunday morning we decided to leave Budva and move to Kotor.
More soon...Eyal
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Corfu to Otranto
We are now in the beautiful town of Otranto.
We started this cruise with a lovely tacking day against the wind to the small island of Erikoussa. What was expected to be a deserted island was in fact a nice resort beach with a small hotel, some restaurants and even a small shop where we could get a fresh watermelon. The beach is lovely with real sand like we have in Israel. The only problem was that waves made their way into the bay what made our night sleep not so comfortable.
The following day we had a challenging voyage, leaving Erikoussa (the small island 25miles NW of Corfu), at around 11am finding ourselves in a notable swell and no wind. Motoring towards the Italian coast was challenging, with the girls feeling sea sick with not much we could do about it. Fortunately, at some point a school of dolphins joined us for a short ride. They went on their way a few minutes later leaving both Noga and Yasmin refreshed and feeling good.
Later on the wind picked up gradually steadying at 20kts 70deg on out port side. We could really feel the power of the boat riding the sea at over 8kts.
It wasn't till 7pm that we were moored in Otranto.
Otranto is surprisingly beautiful. The old town is really impressive, very nicely preserved and very lively with tons of shops and Italian tourists. We even had a chance to listen to a live performance of local percussionists including marimbas, xylophones and a vibraphone.
Tonight there's a ballet performance of Romeo and Julia expected.
Surprisingly the weather here is exceptionally good. It's even raining here and there and the morning walk was even a little chilly. Most convenient because the visitors quay at the marina has no electricity.
We're thinking of leaving tomorrow towards Brindisi and then cross to Bar in Montenegro.
Pictures soon...
We started this cruise with a lovely tacking day against the wind to the small island of Erikoussa. What was expected to be a deserted island was in fact a nice resort beach with a small hotel, some restaurants and even a small shop where we could get a fresh watermelon. The beach is lovely with real sand like we have in Israel. The only problem was that waves made their way into the bay what made our night sleep not so comfortable.
The following day we had a challenging voyage, leaving Erikoussa (the small island 25miles NW of Corfu), at around 11am finding ourselves in a notable swell and no wind. Motoring towards the Italian coast was challenging, with the girls feeling sea sick with not much we could do about it. Fortunately, at some point a school of dolphins joined us for a short ride. They went on their way a few minutes later leaving both Noga and Yasmin refreshed and feeling good.
Later on the wind picked up gradually steadying at 20kts 70deg on out port side. We could really feel the power of the boat riding the sea at over 8kts.
It wasn't till 7pm that we were moored in Otranto.
Otranto is surprisingly beautiful. The old town is really impressive, very nicely preserved and very lively with tons of shops and Italian tourists. We even had a chance to listen to a live performance of local percussionists including marimbas, xylophones and a vibraphone.
Tonight there's a ballet performance of Romeo and Julia expected.
Surprisingly the weather here is exceptionally good. It's even raining here and there and the morning walk was even a little chilly. Most convenient because the visitors quay at the marina has no electricity.
We're thinking of leaving tomorrow towards Brindisi and then cross to Bar in Montenegro.
Pictures soon...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Gouvia marina - Corfu
Started the summer season yesterday. We had a good flight to Corfu. The surprise was when we went out of the airport in Corfu and found out that Taxis are on strike!! We were lucky to find a car to rent so we can get to the boat in one piece (we were lucky to get a BMW-X3 as they ran out of any other car :) )
We found the boat in great shape, and starting getting her ready for the cruise up North.
We'll keep updating.
Eyal
We found the boat in great shape, and starting getting her ready for the cruise up North.
We'll keep updating.
Eyal
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Last two days with the Sea Scouts team near Corfu
05/06/2011 | רשמיו של דורון משני ימי ההפלגה האחרונים: יום ראשון - סיבוטה (לשעבר מוטרוס) |
יציאה מהמעגן בפקסי קצת לפני 10:00 כדי לפנות מקום למעבורות שמגיעות למקום בו עגנו. היעד הוא אזור בו ישנן כמה מערות ונקרא ארימיטיס. למקום הגענו דרך גלויות שנמצאות בחנויות במעגן של פקסי. ואכן לא מעט סירות תיירים היו שם. אנחנו השארנו את רוני ביאכטה ויצאנו עם הדינגי והקיאק לטיול עתיר צילומים במערות שבמקום. כמובן שבהמשך נעשה חילוף וגם רוני נהנה מהנופים המדהימים של המערות. מערה אחת גדולה ומוארת איפשרה כניסה ליכטות מנועיות די גדולות. מערה אחרת קטנה יותר התגלתה כמערה כחולה (בעומק המערה היה חור מתחת לקו המיים ממנו נבע אור כחול מקסים). בהמשך אנחנו שטים לסיבוטה (SIVOTA) שמנמצאת ביבשת מזרחית לקצה הדרומי (הזנב) של קורפו. באזור יש כמה איים קטנים ובהם מערות, קשתות, חופים לבנים והמון מלונות (גם בניה חדשה של מה שנראה כמו שכונות מגורים - חלקה בעזובה וחלקה בתהליך). במקום היו גם הרבה סירות השכרה של נילסון - יכטות וסירות קטנות, קטמרנים וקיאקים סטייל קלב-מד. אנחנו טיילנו עם הקיאק, ניסינו לדוג (אל דאגה - רק ניסינו), דיברנו עם זוג גרמנים שמנהל מרינה פיראטית במקום מזה כ 15 שנים. ובסוף היום ישבנו לאכול ארוחת ערב בסירה... מעט אחר שסיימנו לאכול את השניצלים והחצילים המטוגנים היה מופע זיקוקים נחמד שהפר את השלווה. ומיד אחרכך לישון כאשר היתושים בלבד מפריעים את השלווה. | |
05/06/2011 | יום שני - קורפו |
כדי להגיע מוקדם לקורפו אנחנו יוצאים מוקדם (כאשר הרוח חלשה) על מנוע לכיוון גוביה מרינה (מעט צפוני למרכז העיר ולמבצרים של קורפו העיר). האזור עמוס במעבורות ואניות גדולות - כך ש ה AIS עובד שעות נוספות, ומצפצף ללא הפסק. אחרי שהפיילוט של המרינה מוביל אותנו למקום העגינה אנחנו מתחילים בסידור ונקוי הסירה, ב 13:00 אנחנו פוגשים את יעל, נטע ומיקי. ואחר כך שוכרים רכב ויוצאים לטיול בקורפו שיסתיים בשדה התעופה ב 19:00 בערב. בטיול אנחנו מגיעים לחלקו המערבי של האי למקום שנקרא פלאוקסטריצה (PALEOKASTARITSA). כמה מפרצונים מקסימים ומרינה שגובלים בצוק שעליו כמה מסעדות שמתהדרות בנוף מהמם ואוכל לא רע בכלל. לפי המלצת המקומיים אנחנו עולים למסעדה שנקראת בלה ויסטה, כאשר טעות ניווט מביאה אותנו למקום דרך שביל כורכר צר שדי דומה לשביל עיזים. למזלנו אורן נמנע מבירה או יין בבוקר ואנחנו מגיעים בשלום למסעדה. בהמשך אנחנו חוזרים לעיר קורפו לטייל במבצר הדרומי ולטפס עד לפסגה שלו. הנוף מקסים ופורש לפנינו את כל העיר. עייפים אך מרוצים אנחנו פונים לשדה התעופה לחזרה הביתה. וכרגיל, התמונות מרוכזות באלבום ההפלגה (חלק מן התמונות עדיין לא שם אז מומלץ לעקוב במהלך השבוע הקרוב): |
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| PrincessNayeli20110601_Preveza_Corfu |
Friday, June 10, 2011
Around Paxoi
An Austrian Yacht on the ground
Sailing into Petriti, we saw two yachts that are anchored out in the bay. A Catamaran and another blue yacht. Getting closer in, we were surprised to see that the blue yacht was actually aground.
Later on we found out that this yacht belongs to a drunken Austrian who left the boat in the bay for the winter. On an 8 bft storm, the anchors dragged (or broke as the local fisherman said).
The result is:
Lakka Bay
On the North end of Paxoi, there is a lovely bay called Lakka. The bay is large, lovely turquoise water, a couple of beaches and a very nice town at the head of the bay. The only thing is that the place is so popular that the bay fills up with boats towards the afternoon. We left for the well known Paxoi town (Gaios), the capital of the island.
The caves in swell
On Thursday morning, we woke up early and motored our way around the island to show our visitors (Yael, Neta and Miki) the lovely caves. Unfortunately, as we got to the west side of the island, we could see that this is going to be a challenge. A little bit of swell built up during the last couple of days of strong southerlies. The bay, which is open to SW, was a little rough. We decided to try and go in anyway (I stayed on the boat), but without the outboard because it would not be possible to get it to the dinghy in such waves. So the three of them rowed the dingy down to the caves, and after some adventurous 30 minutes they came back to the boat. It was so different that last week. I had to show them the pictures from the caves on a calm day to change their impression of the place.
Sivota (Moutros)
Our last day on the boat! We anchored at the North bay of Sivota. The same group of islands where End Bay is.
We spent a beautiful afternoon at the beach. Watching the tour boats come and go. We learned a new term there: “Champaign diving”. The crew of the tour boat throws a couple of Champaign bottles to the sea (depth of about 5m) and the tourists need to dive and catch them. It was a nice game to watch… Eventually they made it…
At some point, as the wind picked up, Miki and I decided to the take the kayak for a ride around one of the islands. This was challenging. We had one long leg against the sea and we couldn’t see where it ends… It was a total of only 2 NM but it looked like a marathon to us.
When we got back on board, the girls wanted to tour around as well. Miki took them on the dinghy, with the outboard, to do the same round. They got back 40 minutes later saying it was scary!
At that point the waves started creeping into the bay. We felt as if we anchored in the middle of the sea. So, just before sunset, we decided to move in to one of the inner bays where the water was as calm as a mirror. What a difference!
Friday morning, we motored our way to Corfu, just before the forecasted NW wind started. We were lucky to get in just before the wind picked up. After all, we have a flight to catch today.
So, even if it was very short, we had great sailing, a great team and a great time.
Looking forward to be back in July!
To see the whole album of this weeks sailing trip click the image below:
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| PrincessNayeli20110601_Corfu_with_Neta_Miki |
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Sailing around Corfu with Neta and Miki
We started sailing again today with the new Crew. Yael flew over to Corfu together with a couple of friends, Neta and Miki.
The forecast is absolutely against us. We’re going to have head winds all week!
Today we tried to sail south to either Paxi or Moutros but tacking across the straits between Corfu and the mainland did not get us very far. The wind started at 15 kts but ramped up to 25 kts later in the day. First leg took us to the mainland need the Albanian border. There is a very nice, well sheltered bay there, but full of fish farms. We decided to move on.
Crossing back towards the south tip of Corfu , with two reefs on the main and a full jib we were doing 8kts with a nice heeling.
Everyone was feeling well and enjoying the sail. Neta and Miki did great as crew, and helped us greatly.
So after getting close to Corfu , we were heading straight to Petriti so we decided to spend the night there.
Our current location:
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Starting the season in the Ionian
הפעם אנחנו כותבים בעברית... אנחנו במפרץ מקסים שנקרא End Bay ליד העיר Sivota (לשעבר Moutros).
פתחנו את העונה בהפלגת חברים בוגרי צופי ים בעיקר מ PREVEZA ל KORFU.
הצוות כולל את רוני מאיר, אורן גביש, דורון בצראי וירון בן דוד.
דורון תעד את ההפלגה עד כה והנה רשמיו:
6/1/2011 יום רביעי - יציאה מהארץ
נפגשים בשדה התעופה באזור 5 בבוקר של יום רביעי. טיסה קצרה יחסית לאתונה... אנחנו לוקחים אוטובוס לתחנה מרכזית באתונה (התחנה ממנה יש אוטבוס ל פרווזה(
בתחנה המרכזית באתונה אנחנו אוכלים משהו קטן (גירוס פיתה, פיצה...) וממתינים לאוטובוס שיקח אותנו בנסיעה של 6 שעות לפרווזה. בנסיעה יש הפסקה קטנה לגלידה בתחנת דלק ב אנטי-ריו אחרי כ 3 שעות (אחרי המעבר על גשר ריו(.
כאשר התברר שההגעה לפרווזה נעשית דרך אקטיו (ליד אקטיו מרינה) אנחנו מבקשים מהנהג שיוריד אותנו בדרך (קרוב ככול האפשר למרינה) הנהג מסכים ואנחנו יורדים לפני הכניסה למעבר התעלה (זו שעוברת מתחת למים בין אקטיו לפרווזה). הליכה של 25 דקות עם כל הציוד עד למרינה היתה אתגרית למדי, אבל 5 גברים חסונים הצליחו לעמוד במשימה.
אחרי מנוחה קצרה התחלנו בבדיקה של הסירה, סידור של המפרשים, נקיונות והכנות כלליות לקראת ירידה למים. ב 9 בערב יצאנו לארוחה מפנקת בטברנה שרחוקה כ 100 מטר מהכניסה למספנה. המסעדה היתה מלאה כך שבקושי מצאנו שולחן ל 5. אבל שירות מהיר אדיב ואוכל טוב...
אחרי מקלחת במרינה\מספנה, עייפים אבל שבעים הלכנו לישון בגובה 3 מטר מעל הקרקע בסירה שנמצאת על הקלונסאות.
6/2/2011 יום חמישי - הורדה של הסירה למים ויום בפרווזה
בבוקר קמנו להמשך ההכנות של הסירה (פרינסס ניילי) לירידה למים. שקשוקה לארוחת הבוקר ואחריה איל יצא לסיום חשבון מול המרינה, מטלה מאתגרת כאשר מדובר מכלול של תיקונים שלא כולם הסתיימו בהצלחה מלאה. בהורדה של הסירה התנהגנו כמו צוות עיתונאים מיומן, וידאו וסטילס מכל הכיוונים משלב ההרמה של הסירה על הטרקטור המשוכלל ועד ההשקה למים. עוד מעט הכנות לקראת המעבר לצידו השני של המפרץ (למרינה של פרווזה) ואנחנו מתחילים את השייט.
בפרווזה המשכנו להכין את הסירה, ולקנות מצרכים לקראת האפשרות ש 3 ימים אנחנו נהיה במעגנים ללא סופר-מרקט. עיקר סימני השאלה היו בחשבון מול בעל החנות הימית בפרווזה, שהוא גם מבצע תיקונים. פטריק הגיע לנסות ולתקן את מה שלא הצליח ב 6 חודשי ההספנה, אבל ללא הצלחה. אבל מכיוון שמדובר היה באטימת חלונות שטיפטפו הוחלט לוותר ולצאת. הבעיה היתה שההחלטה על כך נלקחה ב 2 בצהריים כאשר שתי מטלות לא הסתימו - לא קבלנו את הטרנזיט-לוג מהראשויות ולא מילאנו דלק. מכיוון שמשרדי הנמל נסגרים ב 2 בצהריים דחינו את היציאה ליום שישי בבוקר. קו החוף של העיר פרווזה מקסים, יש בו לא מעט מקומות עגינה (מרינות יווניות) המון יכטות, חוף רחצה קטן והמון חנויות צבעוניות, בלילה קצת מעיב על כל היופי הזה הביוב שמדיף ריח רע. בלילה חלק מבתי הקפה הופכים למועדונים. קצת רועש למי שלא עייף מספיק...
6/3/2011 יום שישי - יוצאים לים למערה ועגינה במפרץ דרום מזרחית לפרגה.
קמים בבוקר עם המתנה לפקידי המעגן ולמילוי הדלק, עוד השלמות אחרונות של קניות לקראת הפרידה הקצרה מהציויליזציה וסוף סוף יוצאים לים. בשלב ראשוני על מנוע, דרך ה"תעלה" (אזור חפור עמוק מסביבתו שמאפשר כניסה ויציאה בטוחה מהחפה ממעגנות פרווזה ואקטיו... אחרי כשעה הרוח עולה ואנחנו מרימים מפרשים ופרינסס ניילי נותנת לנו שייט שקט מהיר ומהנה.
אנחנו שטים כ 30 מייל לכיוון צפון מערב, מגרדים חוף ירוק וצוקי עד שאנחנו מגיעים לקרבת פרגה. בזכות מזג האויר הטוב והרצון לצלם את הסירה בפעולה אנחנו מורידים את אורן (מצוייד במצלמה) לדינגי. אנחנו מסתובבים מסביבו כמו קרישים מסביב לטרף מחייכים ושותים בירות (נו מה לא עושים בשביל תמונה טובה...).
למפרץ אנחנו מתקרבים באיטיות, מחפשים את המערה. אחרי לא מעט "כמעט" אנחנו מוצאים אותה ועוגנים במרכז המפרץ כ 200 מטר מהמערה ו 100 מטר מהחוף של המפרץ. מיד אחרי שהעוגן תופש אנחנו יוצאים עם הדינגי והקיאק לבקר במערה. בתוך המערה (כ 25 מטר שבסוף כבר חשוך וצריך פנס) ישנה קרירות בגלל הקירות הרטובים וריח של צואת עטלפים שנמצאים בה בעשרות או מאות. מערה מרשימה למדי והדרך עם הדינגי והקיאק גם היא יפה בצמוד לצוק שלרגליו שברי מפולות סלעים שיוצרות במים שוניות רבות. בהמשך היום אנחנו שוחים מתקלחים ואוכלים ארוחת ערב (קציצות בקר סלט וצ'יפס) כמובן גם בירות, וודקה וניל עם מיץ תפוזים - ויילה לישון... אבל מתברר שיש 2 הפרעות לעניין אחת שלילית זו היתושים והשניה חיובית היא המוזיקה היוונית הבוקעת מהמלון אשר בחוף של המפרץ. ההרים המקיפים את המפרץ נותנים למוזיקה הד עם הרגשה שאנחנו באמצע אמפיתאטרון ענק. והזמרים שרים בשבילינו. המוזיקה ממשיכה עד לאור ראשון - היוונים האלה יודעים לעשות "גוד טיים" אבל חלקינו ישנים הרבה לפני שהמוזיקה נגמרת
6/4/2011 יום שבת - פקסי
בבוקר אנחנו מתעוררים די מאוחר ובמפרץ אין כמעט רוח. אנחנו אוכלים גרנולה מעשי ידי איילת, אישתו של אורן, עם יוגורט יווני ויוצאים להמשיך ולסרוק את שכיות החמדה במפרץ. חוף יפה עם אבנים קטנות שהים עיגל ושייף כבר אלפי שנים, מצוקים, מעט מאד דגים ו- כוכב ים אחד שזכה להרבה תמונות... אחרי עוד כמה השתובבויות ** (** עבר צנזורה - "הסירה של נוגה") שחיה, מקלחת... יוצאים שוב לשוט לעבר האי פקסי. שוב ים שקט ורוח טובה והפרינסס ניילי יודעת איך לגרום לנו לחייך... בדרך גם אנחנו מספיקים לאכול ספגטי עם עוף ברוטב עגבניות וסלט. העגינה בפקסי אחרי הכניסה דרך התעלה (מרכז האי בצד המזרחי) העגינה מתנהלת כרגיל עד שבורג סורר במנגנון העוגן מחליט להתפרק וליפול למים. למזלנו יש בורג דומה בסירה ואנחנו מחזירים את מנגנון העוגן לפעילות.
עוד קצת קניות ומילוי מים ממיכלית קטנה שמגיעה לקרבת הסירה ואנחנו רגועים ומוכנים לעוד ערב של אוכל ואלכוהול. בערב אנחנו מטיילים בקו החוף, מדברים על אפשרויות הנדל"ן הגלומות בו, ומסימים בארוחת דגים (לפחות חלקנו) במסעדה יוקרתית. אחרי שעיכלנו את הארוחה, אנחנו חוזרים לסירה ללגום קצת אלכוהול ולחסל את הגלידה שהכנו מבעוד מועד. עייפים ומרוצים אנחנו נכנסים לישון.
את אלבום התמונות של כל ההפלגה ניתן למצוא ב:
Friday, February 25, 2011
Starting to feel the spring
The spring is getting closer and we're starting to think of the next season.
No plans, yet. The boat is still on dry dock at the Aktio boat yard, soaked with rain.
The port side window has been repositioned with new sealing and hopefully the starboard side will be done as well before the spring. The rudder still needs to be fixed and the sails are waiting in dry storage.
Hopefully we'll be able to sail up to Montenegro and maybe even Albania.
Eyal
No plans, yet. The boat is still on dry dock at the Aktio boat yard, soaked with rain.
The port side window has been repositioned with new sealing and hopefully the starboard side will be done as well before the spring. The rudder still needs to be fixed and the sails are waiting in dry storage.
Hopefully we'll be able to sail up to Montenegro and maybe even Albania.
Eyal
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