Where did the time go?

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Jo F

Sunday morning was another gloriously sunny day but quite windy. We wanted to go out and try the new mainsail out to ensure we were happy and that the reefing lines were all attached properly – a bit of a shakedown sail, although probably only in the harbour as we didn’t have a Genoa.  However, we still had a list of jobs to do before then and figured that the wind was scheduled to drop a bit, which would help when messing about getting the mainsail right.

First things first, though, we wouldn’t be on Nimmie if we didn’t have breakfast in the cockpit. The forecast was for around 22 degrees but it always seems hotter here and the light so much  brighter! The list of jobs for the day was pretty long and included trying the outboard, replacing the joker valve in the forward heads so that the bowl doesn’t fill back up (that job always falls to me!), putting a new flyscreen in the forward cabin to keep the nasty mosquitos (which ended up taking over two hours – don’t ask!) and a bit of planning for our next trip in June to the Egadi Islands off western Sicily.

Before we knew it, it was 4pm so everything was stowed in order to go out and play. Of course, the wind hadn’t died at all but had picked up but it did mean that we could put the new sail through its paces, even in the sheltered confines of the harbour. For those of you who haven’t been to Malta, and why haven’t you, the harbours either aside of Valletta are quite spacious so perfect for what we wanted to do.

By the time we were finished trialling the new sail, the wind was up to 17 knots so we knew mooring was going to be ‘interesting’! Our current berth is right at the bottom of the pontoon just one berth off the concrete quay. Given that I haven’t ‘parked’ a boat since Sept last year, I was a little apprehensive as stern to mooring with strong winds means you can end up 90 degrees off where you should be! However, Nimmie behaved beautifully and we came in with no drama at all. The recent rain has meant that everything was covered in sand so we decided to give her a good wash. An hour and a half later, we finally finished. By this time it was getting a bit chilly so whilst supper would be eaten down below, there was sufficient warmth for a final drink in the cockpit. By the time we had finished supper and watched a movie on DVD, it was time for bed.

Monday morning was, again, gloriously sunny and windy so we thought that we might get a chance to get into Valletta or Sliema after the last of our jobs were completed. Fat chance! The headlining in the saloon was dropping so we had to reglue and clamp that. We decided to flush the tanks with steriliser as we found out that the water pipes in Malta are pre-war so sometimes there is discolouration. It tastes fine but looks a bit odd. At 9am sharp, the sprayhood man turned up so we could show him how the sprayhood needed to zip onto the Bimini. By the time we had done all that and closed the boat down for the next month, we had ten minutes before the taxi arrived! Oh well, we still had a lovely time and thank goodness we had an extra day. Not long until our next trip in June.

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Who says it’s glamorous having your boat in the Med?

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Jo F

So, this weekend is all about getting Nimrod ready for the season after her winter on the hard. She’s now back in the water with a new mainsail, stack pack, sprayhood and fridge compressor. We had taken a late flight out of Luton that turned out to be even later than planned as we didn’t get to the boat until around 1am. We made it to bed sometime after 2am as we needed to make it first! We also needed to connect the mains electricity and unpack. This was when we discovered that the new fridge wasn’t working. Very disappointing as we had paid €600 for a new compressor to be fitted. Peter, our caretaker,  had been checking it regularly for at least two weeks but it stopped yesterday so the fridge man will be dragged on board first thing Monday to find out what the problem is.

This morning we slept in a little but were awake for around 9 local time.  Luckily, we have long life milk on board so we could have a cuppa first thing – otherwise Liz would have been unbearable! Peter came by and we went through the list of things he had done over the winter including checking the seacocks, getting a stainless steel bow protector template made so that the anchor doesn’t continue to chip the gelcoat. He’s done a sterling job looking after Nimmie.

On way to the supermarket we decided to stop for some brunch – after all, we are on holiday (sort off). Food bought including ice and it was now time to start the long list of jobs. First up was putting the Genoa on. This is one we bought secondhand before we left the UK in 2012. We had had it valeted last year and packed it away. We decided we would try it this season as it’s bigger than our usual one so should be better in the lighter airs you can get in the Med. First of all, though, we needed to unfurl the furling line and wind it in anti clockwise rather than clockwise as the UV strip was on the other side to our usual one so would have ended up not on the outside when the sail is furled which kinda defeats the object of the UV strip. Once we had done that we were ready to put the sail on. Except that the cord on the luff of the sail was too big for the groove! So it will be back to the sailmaker to have a smaller cord fitted, which was a shame as we were hoping to have at least a day sail tomorrow to try out the new main and new to us Genoa.

As we were using (or not using!) this Genoa, we wanted to see whether we could fit the old Genoa under the forward cabin bunk so we had a spare with us. In order to do that we needed to take out the cruising chute and spinnaker as well as the storm jib. Once we had all of these out, we decided we would take the spinnaker home as we never use it as we have the cruising chute, which is much easier to use with only two of you on board. We took the opportunity to inspect the storm jib and found that the brass snap on shackles were all green and furry so we then set about cleaning them before packing it away again. The only job we actually managed to complete today was turning the life raft upside down as it had been put back on the wrong way up. We did this carefully as we didn’t want to drop it into the water as it lives strapped onto the back of the boat!

Then before we went out for a shower we thought we would check to see whether we could get Eurovision on the TV as Malta is in the final as well as the UK. No power to the TV! OMG, this had to be sorted. Luckily, it was only a loose connection behind the electrical panel so disaster was averted! A quick shower and off to the local Italian for dinner, watching Eurovision. Tomorrow is another day of jobs but at least she is looking very pretty back in the water in Malta.

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Back in the water

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Jo F

Not sure where the time has gone but certainly it’s the sailing season again as the boat will be back in the water next week.

We went out to see Nimmie in February to check how the work had gone and also meet up with Peter, our caretaker, to discuss future work plans. As the boat was on the hard at Manoel Island Boatyard, you are not allowed to stay on board so we found an hotel in nearby St Julian’s at £50 per night. Lovely hotel, right on the front and a short bus, long walk to the yard – perfect. It was weird not staying on Nimmie in Malta as we have only ever stayed on board rather in hotels but it was lovely to be able to shower easily. Missed not being able to have pre dinner drinks in the cockpit watching the world go by, though.

Peter seems to have done a splendid job of sandblasting the keel (see previous blog) and putting more coppercoat on it. We are also having a metal bow protector added so that the very sharp end of the anchor doesn’t chip the gel coat as we raise the anchor. We have had a new main sail and stack pack (holder of said sail) made along with matching sprayhood. This time we have had a zipped window put in on the sprayhood so that we can unzip it and have air coming through but with the protection of the rest of the spray hood. We haven’t seen these yet so watch this space! For those of you who have been following, or even visited us, you will know about our frustration of a non working fridge. This should soon be rectified as we are having a new compressor fitted. Let’s hope that is all that is needed rather than a completely new fridge unit – a difference of hundreds rather than thousands of euros! Whilst out of the water, Peter noticed that the one of the bow thruster blades seemed to be rotating freely so that it wouldn’t be as effective going to starboard. Not a good thing when trying to get out of a tight spot. We have also had the life raft serviced so it should be good for a few more years – let’s hope we never have to use it!

As always with boats, the maintenance list is long so I won’t bore you with that list but, suffice to say, there has been plenty to keep Peter occupied all winter! Still, at least this means we can sail her when we go out rather than just doing jobs the whole time. The good news is that we have secured another 12 months at Msida Creek marina so we shall be in Malta for another year. This makes it so much easier with regard to getting to her and also having Peter around to look after her. We have become very found of Malta and surrounding islands. Our next visit is in a couple of weeks time to get her ready for our trip in June. Can’t wait!

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Winter on the hard

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Jo F

Nimrod was supposed to be lifted out of the water at Manoel Island on October 1st but she was taken round to the boatyard a day early, which was fine as our mooring contract ran out on the 1st anyway. The first job was to sandblast the cast iron keel that had become very rusty and so the coppercoat was not working properly.  Then a thick coat of epoxy filler was applied followed by several coats of Interprotect. This should then form a sufficient barrier to stop any rust forming on the keel in the future.  The Coppercoat will then be applied when the rainy season has passed!

We will go out to see her some time in the new year, probably once the coppercoat has been applied. We have requested a summer berth at Msida again but we won’t know until around March time as to whether we have been successful. If not, we thought we’d give Ragusa on the southern Sicilian coast a try.

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Ready for lifting out

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Jo F

We have spent the last few days getting Nimmie ready for winter. She is being lifted out on October 1st and will be ashore on the hard at Manoel Island until May 2016. In order to get her ready, there was a long list of jobs that needed to be completed over and above what we would normally do when we leave her.

These included removing the sails and storing them below. Washing all the running rigging (ropes) and mooring lines. Flushing the outboard motor (for the dinghy) with fresh water so that salt residue doesn’t clog it up. Checking the calorifier (hot water tank) for leaks. This is buried deep in the cockpit locker so we had to get everything out first. For those of you who haven’t been on Nimmie, the locker is 6 feet deep so that’s a lot of stuff! We also noticed that the mains electrical cabling was showing a reverse polarity, which is quite common in the Med, so we rewired the socket by swapping round the blue and brown cables. It was lucky that we did this as we also noticed that the earth cable had come loose so the boat wasn’t earthed when plugged into the mains!

We had been trying, in vain I might add, to get our local chandlers to splice some rope on a length of chain so that we can use it when on a mooring buoy and not worry about the rope being chafed by a rusty ring. We finally gave up after months of reminders and bought the component parts. Liz then spent several hours splicing the rope onto the chain ready for next season.

We did manage to get out on the dinghy yesterday (Sat Sept 26th) for a motor around the harbour. Great fun to see it from a different angle and also to look at how other boats protect their bows from the sharp, pointy bits of their anchors. Our anchor, a Manson Supreme, is fantastic but it has a very sharp point that can take nicks out of the gelcoat as it’s lifted out of the water. We will have a stainless steel strip put on over the winter. Needless to say, we saw every type you can think of so not really that helpful to aid our decision.

The evenings have been spent relaxing and mixing eating on the boat and in local restaurants. With a broken fridge, we weren’t keen to have too much food on board although a local mobile cafe does sell ice so at least the G&Ts were cold. Saturday evening we ventured further afield to St Julian’s Bay for a drink and meal. As ever, the chores took longer than expected so we didn’t leave the marina until 7.30pm. Walking to the bus stop we saw a lot of people with picnic chairs and bbqs on the rocks looking over to Valletta – ready for a lovely evening with friends and families. There are also a number of lockups built into the arches under a raised road nearby. Again, people had these open with table and chairs ready to have dinner. A version of the beach huts at Southwold but considerably cheaper, beautiful vista and much better weather!

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Dinner at Wigi’s in St Julian’s Bay

As always, we are very sad to be leaving Nimmie after a wonderful two weeks on her.  Sometimes it seems a lot of effort to get her ready and then ‘put her away’ again for what has only been 4.5 weeks of sailing this year. However, we love Malta and having her out in the Med and hopefully, it won’t be too long before we are on her for extended periods.

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Caio Sicily and friends 

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Jo F

After our lovely evening out with Katie and Loui, it was time to bid them farewell on Monday morning (September 21st) so they could catch their plane from Catania back to Gatwick. It had been a great week having them on board despite not having a working fridge (sorry girls!) and losing one of their favourite towels overboard (Jo’s bad).

The ever helpful George gave us all a lift into town in his rib so they could catch their bus and we could do some food shopping as we were very low on basics (or perfectly timed to coincide with their departure). We had decided to stay in Taormina another day as the wind was due to come up again overnight and the swell was high between Sicily and Malta. During our tour around town we found a fishmonger who sold us a mountain of ice so we could finally have a cold beer! Bliss.

We spent a lazy day pottering about the boat doing chores and getting ready for our 120nm trip directly back to Malta. Fresh swordfish on board that night with a very nice bottle of Voignier, served very cold of course.

Tuesday morning we took our dinghy this time to get more ice, calamari and bread before setting off for Malta at around 1230. It felt like we were liveaboards again getting fresh provisions in the dinghy.

The journey back was uneventful apart from the fact that out of the 23 hour journey, we only managed to sail about 4 of them. The swell was coming from the west and we were going south so the waves were beam on, which meant for an uncomfortable rolly trip back. Still, with the AIS working, it was easy to spot ships’ courses and avoid if necessary. Whilst we were still close to Sicily, we saw four navy frigates, a submarine, a spotter plane who seemed to take quite an interest in us and two helicopters. Not sure if it was anything to do with the refugee crisis or just manoeuvres.

Dinner on board, obviously, consisted of Fray Bentos  (delicious) and the remains of the fregola we had with the swordfish. For those uninitiated, fregola is a Sardinian national dish similar to semolina. We arrived back in Malta around 1130 and Peter had found us a spot on M pontoon rather than the breakwater. Much more secure and closer to the shops and marina office. The only problem was that we weren’t sure of the numbering and there were two spaces. So, 50/50 chance on getting it right. Perfectly parked first time round and, of course, it was the wrong berth. Parked a second time and again perfect. It doesn’t happen that often when there are just two of you on board so we were very pleased. It was also the first time we had been in a marina since leaving Malta ten days ago. After lunch and a nap, more chores to get her ready for the winter as she is being lifted out next Thursday. We have a long list of things to do before we leave on Sunday but at least we don’t have to worry about catching a weather window to get her back now.

Off to local Italian restaurant this evening, Mamma Mia, to have pizza as we didn’t manage it all the time we were in Sicily!

Sunset on our way back to Malta
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Storm bound in Taormina

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Jo F

As you know, we arrived back in Taormina on Saturday September 19th so that Katie and Loui could catch their flight on Monday. However, the other reason was that there were two days of bad weather due with strong northerly winds. We wanted to be tucked up somewhere safe whilst it passed through. There was also a bus that would take them direct to the airport from the town for €8 each.

After we had ate on board on the Saturday evening, we all retired early and sure enough, half way through the night the wind picked up and the rain came. No sooner had I closed all the hatches when the rain stopped. However, it rained intermittently throughout the day but that didn’t preclude us from relaxing on the boat!

hammock time!

In the evening we arranged a water taxi with the magnificent George Rizzo, who runs the mooring buoys and knows about everything locally. He had also arranged a taxi to take us to Madonna della Rocca which is high up the mountain above the main town. If you look closely, you can see the cross of the Madonna della Rocca on the left hill and the Saracen’s castle on the right.

It was their feast day so many bright illuminations, processions and fireworks. We were lucky enough to get a table at the Al Saraceno restaurant that had a fab view of everything that was going on. We were treated to a lovely meal by Katie and Loui.  The manager even got in on the act!

Afterwards, we walked the 700 plus steps down to the main town of Taormina to enjoy a gelato before returning to the boat. A lovely way to finish a great week with friends.

Al Saraceno restaurant

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Stromboli finally!

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Jo F

The overnight anchorage at Vulcano was solid although ferries and tankers were coming and going for most of the evening and starting up again at 7am so not the most peaceful. We decided to give the next island in the chain, Lipari, a miss and head for Panarea – the Capri of the Aeolian Isles. However, as we drew near, we were disappointed in the anchorages as they were either small, dull or both. Instead, we went to an island nearby called Liscia Bianca where there were more hot, geothermal springs. As we approached, Liz noticed that she had finally caught a fish! We weren’t sure what it was but erred on the side of caution and used it later as further bait – to no avail.  We anchored between two small islets for lunch and a swim. Sadly, there were jellyfish about so none of us stayed in the water for long although Liz found a new use for the lilo.

Jelly fish defying lilo!

We left there around 4.30pm to make our way up to Stromboli. We had been en route to there last September when we had to divert to Tropea to get the hull cleaned.

We had planned to anchor near San Vincenzo on the NE corner of Stromboli so that we would be close by but not actually under any eruptions. The anchorage was crowded as there were day tripper boats as well as yachts so finding a spot where there was black sand rather than rocks and space proved elusive for a while. We noticed that a few boats were actually attached to submerged mooring buoys and not anchored so their turning circle would be very different. Eventually, we found a spot we were happy with and settled down for the evening. There was something quite magical about sitting in the lee of the volcano, catching a whisper of red flames lighting up the sky – or were we just imagining it? We decided that we would make our way back to Taormina on the Saturday so that we had a day to spare before Loui and Katie flew back to London. They had changed their flights to go from Catania rather than Valletta so could spend another day with us. The sail back to the top of the Messina Straits was more of a motor as again very little wind but we got up early to try and catch some of the eruptions before dawn. Sadly, the top half of the volcano was covered in cloud so Katie never did see any smouldering boulders crashing down the mountain.  Of course, the cloud dispersed as the sun broke through.

Once we reached Messina, the wind got up and we had an amazing sail, surfing 2m waves all the way down to Taormina. With the wind gusting over 25 knots and the current giving us an extra knot or two, we hit 8.6 knots over the ground – and this with just the Genoa up.

Dinner on board was an episode of ready steady cook as we needed to use stuff up as the fridge has well and truly packed up. Beers were put in a fishing net off the back for later.

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Nimmie and friends…

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Jo F

For those of you who know Nimrod and her owners, you will be familiar with their hosting excellence. And this trip is no different – even extending to writing this guest blog.

We’ve had an amazing trip so far and today is no exception – apart from the lack of wind. For some reason our hosts couldn’t muster that one! We were heading for the Aeolian Islands today: 30-something miles from Scilla, depending on which one we chose.

The day started with Katie and I being treated to lie-in, waking to the sound of Nimmie’s engine. Sad to say goodbye to the charming fishing village of Scilla (aka Swordfish Bay), we were excited to finally reach the aim of Liz & Jo’s holiday.

Across the top of the Messina straits and into the Tyrrhenian Sea, Westward to the Southern Aeolians. We decided Stromboli was too far so we’d check out the pilot book (and other books and pamphlets to hand) to choose our destination du jour.

Liz fancied the geothermal mud baths of Vulcano: almost definitely spurred on by the Arabesque mud bath trip on Formentera! So, the autopilot was set and we enjoyed the millpond experience across the North Sicilian coast. Did we mention that Liz hasn’t caught us any swordfish yet?

As we were relaxing in the cockpit, Katie was spotting flying fish in shoals, either side of us, making for some excitement on an otherwise calm day. All of a sudden, Katie piped up that she could see a pod of Dolphins in the distance. Now that’s exciting indeed! Moments later we were joined by one of them playing in the bow wave… awesome to see them so close in their natural habitat. That was about 11miles from our destination so we were amused for a while longer trying to spot more.

Lunch on the move was “not too shabby”, as usual, and all was pleasant. You certainly know when you’re approaching Vulcano because you can smell it. Yes, the geothermal attraction is sugar coating the fact that mud baths smell (nay, stink!) of sulphur dioxide. We anchored (twice Mr. Bray, yes, twice!) a few metres from the black pumiced beach of Vulcanello. [Editor’s note: first anchoring too close as Liz wanted to be close to the beach]. Sea Kayak was deployed for Liz and Jo while Katie and I had a swim. And then, another one of Nimmie’s friends decided to join us. Except, it was a foe. In a moment, our reward for a long sail (!) was disrupted by my scream [sorry about that]. A little jellyfish crept up and slapped me around the hand. But it was my first and I had no idea what had happened. Mild chaos before a vinegar soaked tissue was wrapped on the really-really-stingy-nasty-really-hurty hand. Thanks Liz. Obviously, Katie-the-Brave retreated from the water while Liz rejoined Jo in the kayak… for a hunt. Oh yes! The hosting excellence even stretches to revenge over the stingy thing. That was it! Armed with paddles, kayak and bucket; Liz and Jo made it their mission to find the jellyfish and render it ‘finito’. Aim achieved.

But, in all this excitement, we still hadn’t ventured into the mud baths. TT Nimrod was deployed because, funnily enough, none of us fancied swimming to shore.

After a local beer – fit for hunters and brave crew (Messina – not recommended), we reluctantly walked closer to the stench. I mean, it stinks. Call this a holiday destination? The bubbling, steaming mud and muddy water was a pleasant phenomenon providing you avoid getting burned by the steam shooting out of the mud. None of us succeeded. Mud was applied. Mud was washed off. There’s yer €2 attraction! Although, what is fascinating is how the temperature of the sea varies so much, in a small area, relative to the thermal springs: choose your own bathing temperature – because we’re worth it!

We topped up with supplies from the supermarket and headed back to Nimmie for a barbecue on board, accompanied by some lovely wine and a change in wind direction. Another perfect day in paradise. [My hand is a lot better, thanks for asking!].

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Romping through the Straits

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Jo F

Wednesday September 16th started very lazily as we all needed a good rest after our overnight passage. After breakfast and a swim we set off up the Messina Straits. There is a  current of up to 4 knots so you need to time it right or you could find yourself not going anywhere fast. We also needed to get some fuel so we popped into Reggio Calabria. There had been very little wind all day but of course it blew up just before we came alongside the fuel pontoon! The Straits is a very busy stretch and, although there is a traffic separation scheme in place for some of it, you need to keep your wits about you. We managed to touch 9 knots at one point.

We returned to the mooring buoys of Scilla harbour where the lovely men throw in a water taxi service for free.  Scilla is renowned for its swordfish as the local boats fish for it in the nearby bay.

We needed to shop for food but decided against meat as the fridge is playing up again. What we really needed was ice as the beers were definitely getting warm! We walked up the steep stairs to the main town about 20 mins away to find the shops and came across a wedding party who had commandeered the local tourist road train to take them from the church to the reception. There was much honking of horns as they were sent off by many friends on scooters in full morning dress!

We found the supermarket and an excellent greengrocer but alas still no ice so we stopped for a drink at a bar on the harbour front. Liz persuaded them to part with some ice.

Back on board, Katie cooked us a lovely pasta dish whilst Jo sorted out the front heads (toilet) as it wasn’t working properly and parts needed replacing – lovely job for 9pm!

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