Packing (Day 2)

The removals men came at 9am and started packing everything in the house. Gill and I have reserved bits for basic living (last time the kettle got packed and we couldn't make tea). By 3.30pm they ran out of boxes, they only brought 120. Still that they have done loads. Gill and I have now cleaned the kitchen and both bathrooms. I've partially packed our computers, they're going separately in Gill's car - the data is too important. Moving day tomorrow.

As it's my birthday and the last night in this house, Gill and I are going out with friends to the local (fish) restaurant.

Packing (Day 1)

Caught up on work e-mail and key stuff but spent most of the day pulling everything out of the loft, repackaging stuff and going to the dump. The Bang and Olufsen has now been uninstalled. Very sad - our old TV looks and sounds rubbish, but we get it all back in a week.

Esther off

We got home late last night. Esther was already up when I got up and Gill took her to the airport to deliver her to University. Made me somewhat sad - boarding school kind of prepares you for this but it really is like she has left home. We take Stephen back to school tonight and then start getting ready to move on Wednesday...

The Acropolis (and home)

We opted for the sea cat trip to Athens to visit the Acropolis on the way home. This was much better than the queasy 3 hour coach trip that we took to get to Porta Heli and the Acropolis was wonderful (although very hot and dusty).

Kiln Bay -> Porta Heli

The winds were light and we didn't feel like sailing around Spetsai so we sailed to a little bay the other side of Porta Heli, anchored up and had lunch (the photograph is the view looking out to our yacht from the restaurant). Another good anchor.

Vivari -> Kiln Bay (~17 nm)

We sailed on a single tack for 10 nm. The winds started off light (but we were making 5 - 6 kts) but then failed, so we ended up on the motor. We anchored in a bay north of Kiln bay (a big, wide open lagoon that we practised anchoring in last week). Unfortunately, we got the anchor stuck under a rock. We managed to unhook ourselves by gently sailing forwards until it freed.

We rafted up in KIln Bay and had snacks and punch. The kids felt that Gill and I were too tipsy to paddle so they took us home.

Navplion -> Vivari (~12 nm)

Our best ever day of sailing. Good winds meant that we sailed to a bay south of Tolo in the morning where we snorkled. This was recommended by the Als (who also moored up there). The winds got up whilst we were there and we had to reef the sails in the afternoon. Gill is getting much better at being heeled over, but doesn't like being on the helm when it's as windy as it was. Suits me, I love it.

Vivari is a very pretty little town but with very little anchorage so we all anchored up in the bay. Stephen and I are both terrible at rowing so Gill and Esther paddled us back and forth. Had really good lamb. Food in this area of Greece comes in larger portions and is somewhat more expensive.

Astrous -> Navplion (~ 10 nm)

Basically motored north until we anchored up in a bay next to Kiverion. The anchorage was good (although Gill and Stephen argued about that) but the sea was murky and sandy, not nice to swim in as you couldn't see what might be around you (jellyfish, for example). The wind got up and so off we went sailing. Gill is getting used to being heeled over and we managed 6.9 kts at one point.

Navplion is very pretty. The picture is of the family in the marble square, so called because it is floored entirely in marble. Must be entertaining when it rains. The town is very like Sorento (even with the same stale drain smell, particularly in the harbour). Brilliant ice cream though.

Champagne lost forward gear and had to be rescued.

Bizarrely, the GPS signal is weak around here. Others noticed too.

Plaka -> Astrous (~17 nm)

Not much wind in the morning, so we motored to anchor up in Makronisi bay (which we found via my GPS). We did the best ever anchor up and even put out a very professional looking shore line. We had a long swim and a play. We had a good sail in the afternoon (sadly missing dolphins) and practised gybing.

The genoa got stuck and was fixed in port. The problem was not enough tension on the furling line when we put it up causing a random look that jammed the furling gear.

Porta Heli -> Plaka (~17 nm)

Stephen took us out of the bay and we sailed west towards Battleship rock (which looks nothing like a battleship). The wind dropped and so we motored. In the afternoon, the winds picked up so we put the sails up. From then on the winds grew steadily stronger. We practised reefing on the move (as per Andy's refresher training) for when we need to do this in strong winds. We came in at about 5.20pm, doing around 5 kts.

Plaka is a very pretty little fishing port, exactly what I've been looking forward to after last year's sailing. We ate a huge amount (including giant beans, fried courgettes and meatballs).

All aboard

Today we got onto the boat ready to sail off tomorrow. I've enjoyed relaxing in Porta Heli this week, mostly mountain biking but I'm really looking forward to sailing tomorrow.