Four countries in one summer. And we are far from done with the Mediterranean, or perhaps I should say the Med is not done with us. We expect to see Spain, Gibralter and Morocco before the year is up.
Our journey across Greece to Italy without a blog update means just one thing; buckle up kids because this might be a long one. Landing in the Port city of Setia on the Island of Crete, Greece on September 1st we planned to bounce. We had people to see and boat parts to source, instead we found ourselves waiting out un-forecast storms for a couple of weeks.. I understand where Setia got it’s name… from setia-ing out the weather.
The storm also smashed our plans to meet up with my sister in Sicily. Thwarted by the “Meltimi” winds, the disappointment was painful even as we planned another meeting in the Caribbean. After years of continental divide, we were so close; a mere 500 miles (but a world) away. It was frustrating in a deeply personal way. The Med is known here for these winds from the north that send boats into hiding (or worse). "The Meltemi winds were known by the Ancient Greeks as the Etesian northerly winds. They result from a high-pressure system over the Balkans and a relatively low-pressure system over Turkey. This wind polarises many people with locals often welcoming it while tourists (and boaters) despair." They blow gale force regularly. Then there are monster winds from the south. I am not crazy about sailing in the Med. Between the bureaucracy, inconsistent rules, crowded anchorages, the 90 day stay limit and the blasted unpredictable wind from all directions, I want my momma.
For being a Port city, Setia had no marine trades. No parts, no mechanics, no marine anything. But there are always jobs for us to get done on Ashika. I decided to clean and organize the forepeak. While I was tearing up, I mean organizing the forepeak, Dois was carefully placing pots, pans and other galley items around the salon (and around my forepeak junk) in an effort to empty the galley hold that held two dead starter batteries. (See what it looks like if you turn a boat upside down in the video below). Boat batteries are large and heavy, so we found golf cart batteries better meet our needs... except they are not available here. Next best option are automotive batteries. A chunk of change was liberated from our Fix-Ashika-fund for two 120 Amp starter batteries.
We placed a few orders for parts while in our meltemi lock-down. A GPS antenna for our AMEC AIS that may solve our AIS device problem was ordered from the UK. And we received our "new-other" Ebay wind meter Anenometer. The bit of kit is a big deal. I had no idea how much I relied on it at night and cant wait to get it set back up on top of the mast. We planned to install it in Kalamata, Greece due to the bumpy bay waters in Setia.
We had friends that were vacationing in Milos, Greece later in the month and a meet up was also cancelled by the weather. But then a small weather window opened up for us to go north and a meet-up on the Greek Isle of Naxos with Steve and Carol was stitched together. After weeks of getting bashed on the concrete quay, we were anxious to shove off.
We spent a day on Naxos and then met them on nearby Paros. We needed the time spent with people we knew and loved. Its been five long years since we could hug someone close to us. Amazing couple that each drive boats like a boss. I am humbled by yourselves.
So, good times had to come to an end and our buds would fly away to eventually reach our home turf while we took a decidely slower approach and motored out of Paros to try and catch some air. The mainsail split in half on our 2nd day of the journey to Kalamata. The wind was flukey and thats about the worst condition for a frail sail. It was a clean tear along the lines of the last repair and I was hopeful we would locate a sail loft on the mainland of Greece.
And we did locate a sail repair guy in a sail loft within the city of Kalamata. He came to the boat the next morning and took our be-headed main away with a promise to fix it. Two days later his son shows up with the repaired sail. It looked good. In retrospect I should have looked it over more closely. The next day Dois said he found the guy had sewn right over the batten pocket. A definite red flag. But I was willing to overlook the obvious because its been hard to find sail lofts in the Mediterranean. So I'll fix it, no big deal right?
I hoisted Dois up the mast to mount our new wind anenometer. We got it done without the windlass... by hook and by crook. But unfortunately we were unable to string the wire inside the mast. So one of these days we will have to haul out Ashika, pull the mast and wire the anenomerter inside the mast. But for now, we ran it down the outside and we have a working unit. I am thrilled.
We leave for Sardinia tomorrow so I will finish the Sicily blog enroute and post it when we land on Italian soil again. And so much glory in so small a place warrants her own blog. Long live Siracusa! You will have to wait to find out if our repaired mainsail made it all the way to Sicily.
Help us reach our "Ashika Fix-It" crossing goal- $4000
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