Northern Corfu

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Jo F

We left Erikoussa on Sunday morning feeling slightly refreshed although it was a bit of a rolly night. No idea where the swell came from as we should have been safely tucked away from it. I can only imagine it was the wash from various large ships passing on their way up into the Adriatic. We were so tired that it didn’t matter too much.

We made our way to the east side of Corfu to Kalami Bay where Lawrence Durrell had a house. The wind was very light so we motored the whole 4 hours. The bay was pretty full and we would have had to anchor in quite deep water so we decided to go around the corner to O. Agni. It was a delightful bay. We anchored and then took lines ashore using our new webbing. Our neighbours were Aussies who were very entertaining and quite good guard dogs when we took the dinghy round to the Durrell’s White House in Kalami for a drink. It has been beautifully renovated and has lots of quirky touches to reflect its heritage.

Lawrence Durrell’s White House

Ormos Agni

An Austrian boat had tried to anchor near us earlier but their anchor was over ours (we did have 60m out!) so they had given up but came back later and were seen off by our friendly neighbours who also had 60m of chain out.

The new webbing in action!

We ate out at a lovely taverna called Agni’s which was a short dinghy ride away. Being an hour ahead of Italy meant that it was still light at 9.30pm.

A fabulous meal at Agni’s

Today we checked in officially at Gouvia. It is a massive marina holding over 1500 yachts and has a local Port Authority office there. We anchored across the bay (saving money as always!) and took the dinghy across. It took quite a long time because there was a bit of a queue and all the paperwork is written out by hand. Still we had the necessary document to allow us to cruise in Greece for the year. As Gouvia is a major charter centre, it also has a fuel berth so we took advantage to refill our tanks from the crossing. It has been really hot today with our weather station registering 43 degrees in the sun!

We want to explore Corfu Town tomorrow so we decided to move round to O. Garitsas bay this evening which is just to the south of Corfu Town. In fact, we are currently anchored under the Venetian Fortress with a positive dirth of superyachts for company!

Venetian fortress in Corfu Town

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Northern Ionian
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Greece at last!

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Jo F

Having settled our debts and finished off the last of our chores, we were ready to set off for Corfu. We left at 1pm, slightly later than planned but we should still make landfall before dark the next day. As previously mentioned, our course would take us along the Italian coast until Brindisi and then onto the islands just north of Corfu.

The wind and swell were coming from behind and at only 11 knots, it would take days to get to Corfu so we motor-sailed for the afternoon and took advantage of 1.5 knots of current. We were rocking and managed to get up to 8.9knots at one point. The combination of a newly coppercoated hull with the current meant that we were making very good speed at only 1700 revs. For the first 100 miles we were doing well over 7 knots and even after then we were doing around 6 knots so we were very pleased.

We arrived in Erikoussa around midday (Greek time) so it only took us 22 hours rather than the predicted 30. We dropped anchor with one other boat in the bay and were soon joined by a few other boats who were making it their lunchtime stop. One of them was a British flagged Oyster 55 who decided they wanted to get close and personal so dropped their anchor very close to us and of course the wind shifted a bit and their anchor was literally at the back of us. Luckily, there was just enough room for them to get their anchor up without hitting us. Numpties.

Erikoussa, Corfu

So far we have had a relaxing afternoon just chilling and even went for a swim to check on the anchor. Cold but turquoise and quite refreshing. Liz has decided to try out the new paddle board, even though the wind is now blowing sufficiently to top up the batteries. Let’s hope she doesn’t get swept out to sea!

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Batteries arrived and installed

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Jo F

The new batteries were delivered this morning (June 28) and installed this afternoon. They weighed a tonne. Each of the 4 domestic batteries weighed 35kg each and the engine battery around 25kg. However, all now in place and working so we are very happy.

New batteries finally arrived

We have completed most of our chores, including a last minute shop for fresh produce so that we can leave for Corfu late tomorrow morning after we have settled our bill. Our plan is to go directly to Erikoussa just north of Corfu island, which should take us around 30 hours. However, we go along the coast of Italy for quite a time so if there are any unforeseen problems, we can can divert into Brindisi or Otranto. The storms have finally abated so we should have the wind behind us with a moderate swell. Fingers crossed!

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A mini tour of Puglia

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Jo F

We had visited many areas around Puglia last year when we were storm bound in Otranto and Brindisi as well as when we brought Nimmie back to Bari for the winter. However, there were a few places we hadn’t managed to see so with a few days to kill, off we travelled.

After picking up the hire car from the airport and paying nearly as much again for insurance and additional driver, we headed to Castel del Monte. It was built in the 13th century by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily. No one really knows why it was built but most people assume that it was as a hunting lodge. It is an extraordinary, white octagonal castle sitting on a hilltop.

An amazing circular courtyard at the castle

Fish stalls at Trani – very fresh!

Next stop, Trani. A pretty little port on the coast just north of Bari. This fortified town sits on a promontory and was an island at one time. It rivalled Bari in its heyday. Whilst we were there the fishing boats came in after their evening catch so supper was sorted!

 

 

It also had an amazing cathedral that is three churches on top of each other with even a Roman hypogeum underground. Sadly, photos weren’t allowed inside but it was very impressive with medieval paintings on the wall. There was a wedding about to take place in the main duomo and instead of a photographer capturing the entrance of the bride, they had a drone!

Sink hole at Grotte di Castellana

Next day, after a leisurely breakfast, we headed inland to the Grotte di Castellana. This is an amazing labyrinth of caves following an expedition in 1938 through the sinkhole that had been there for centuries. Indeed, the locals though that it was haunted as bats would come flying out of the mist to feed. The caves go some 70m down for several kilometres. It was fascinating to see. Of course, as we had a car we also took the opportunity to go shopping and pick up all the heavy or bulky essentials like wine, olive oil and loo roll!

On Sunday, we decided to go down to Gallipoli on the instep of the ‘boot’. This is not the same Gallipoli as the WWI battle in the Dardanelles but a very old city in the very south of Puglia. It was a charming place with lots of alleyways, restaurants and bars.

Cute alleyways in Gallipoli
We found a beach bar in Gallipoli!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gallipoli area is also renowned for its beaches. The town beach was okay but surely there were better ones nearby. Do not worry, dear reader, Liz was  able to sniff out a decent beach at fifty paces so off we went in search. True enough, we found not one but three!

Gorgeous beaches and wife!

Monday was a boat job day and on Tuesday we found a local golf course to try out. The weather in the morning had been atrocious with continuing gales and storms but the afternoon was very pleasant – overcast but warm. Today we needed to return the car so early start for Jo to take it back whilst Liz waited on the delivery of the batteries. They didn’t turn up but hopefully tomorrow…..

 

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Update on batteries

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Jo F

It seems that our batteries will take a while to get here (Weds at the latest) so we have hired a car to see more sights of Puglia. We took out full insurance, even though it pretty much doubles the cost of the hire, and are glad we did. Within 8 hours of having the car, someone scratched the side of it whilst we were looking around Trani!

More on our tour of the region shortly.

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Still here and will be for a while

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Jo F

The storms on Friday (June 15th) continued until lunchtime and so with Bari’s poor drainage systems and much of the town below sea level, it meant that all the roads were pretty much flooded. Consequently, the fridge repairman couldn’t get to us on Friday and he doesn’t work Saturdays! So, another few days until it could be fixed. An engineer came to check the electrics and confirmed that the solar panels were fine but that the batteries were knackered. We have AGM batteries that are more expensive than the usual lead acid ones but you can discharge them more deeply and they last longer. We have had them since 2011 so they have done well. They looked fine when we checked them at the end of last season but they are now overheating and one has actually blown. Unfortunately, it was, by now, Friday afternoon so although the boatyard was on the case to find replacements, we wouldn’t know much until Monday.

There have been plenty of boat jobs to be done in the meantime including cleaning Nimmie within an inch of her life and, my, was she dirty. There was an orange glow to her from months of sand and dirt in the air. Liz put a knife block in the galley. She was going to do it whilst we were on the hard then realised that we weren’t on the level. Could have ended up at a lovely, jaunty angle!

Knife block

We had brought out a new dinghy that had been replaced by the manufacturer. Some of you will remember that our ‘brand new’ dinghy last year developed a faulty seam so didn’t keep losing pressure. The new Baby Nimmie IV needed her name tags and signage put on her. We have also bought a reel of webbing that you can use when needing lines ashore. This is lightweight but strong so much easier for Liz to swim with and it rolls off the reel as you need it.

New Webbing Reel

Monday morning the fridge repairman arrived and found the root cause of the problem – the probe that sends signals to the compressor as to the desired temperature. Luckily, we had a spare on board so he was able to fix it. Cost us €300 for his and his brother’s time (on Thursday) but it is working now and frankly, the thought of not having a working fridge all summer was too much to bear.

It’s always amazing how much time things take when you are on a boat and also what can go wrong on an almost daily basis. The latest is that the water pump wouldn’t switch off. We thought it was a drop of pressure in the accumulator so wasn’t hard to fix but it meant emptying the entire cockpit locker to get to it. We took the opportunity to have a look at the heating system as well given we had problems in March. I’m not sure it was the best time to do it given it was 31 degrees today!

The locker really is deeper than Liz is tall!

At least with being here we were able to watch the England game in the Football World Cup. Even Liz got into it.

The update on the batteries is that the ones we want are hard to source here so we have ordered them from the U.K. but they will take 5 or 6 days to get to us once dispatched. I reckon that means that we won’t be leaving Bari for another week at least. It seems that we are destined to spend this time of year waiting for repairs. In 2012 it was the engine, last year the gear box and now the batteries. Still, at least it’s warm, sunny and we aren’t at work!

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Not as heavy as we thought

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Jo F

Due to various family crises, we flew out to Bari a week later than planned on June 12th, a year on from when we were first there sussing out the boatyard. Nimmie has been on the hard standing since Oct 2017 and has fared well although she is completely covered in sand. All the work we authorised has been completed apart from the replacement of the main halyard (that keeps the main sail up) as Cesare wanted to check the shackle fitting with us.

We had brought out a replacement dinghy with us but waited until she was launched to bring it on board – no point lugging that up 10m!

Having been up early to close the house up, we were pretty tired once we had unpacked so we went to a restaurant close by called Antica Santa Lucia, which did very good pizza, pasta and seafood. We had pizza, beer, wine and a dessert for less than €20 each. Given we could hardly keep our eyes open past 9.30pm it was some anniversary celebration! It was still very warm, in the high 20s even at 10pm so it was difficult to get to sleep as the boat had been closed up for so long. Luckily, we do have a small AC unit which helped although Liz decamped to the saloon to try and get some breeze.

You can see where they tightened the keel bolts on the far left

Wednesday was another lovely day but we needed to stay on board so we could check all the work that had been done and ensure no snags. We also found out that the fridge had stopped working. Although it’s cooled by sea water, it was clear that the compressor wasn’t coming on. We hoped it wasn’t a faulty compressor as we only had it replaced two years ago and they are very expensive. We also realised that our batteries had been drained flat, which is very unusual as we have 200 watts of solar panels and they normally ensure that the batteries are topped up. So, not sure whether it’s the batteries or the panels (although they appear to be charging and sending current from the regulator to the batteries). It needs an electrical engineer to test the charging and batteries and he can’t come until Monday so we know we won’t be leaving before Tuesday at the earliest.

We did manage to repair the winch and polish the transom before calling it a day, having a shower (god did that feel good) and then off back to Antica’s for a proper meal this time.

We were due to be launched on Thursday around 11am so we wanted to ensure we had all the jobs done that required the boat out of the water. We needed to be a bit careful when we did these as it is often forbidden in Italy to do any work on your own boat that requires the use of power tools so we had polished the transom after the boatyard had shut for the day on Wednesday.

Nimmie on the move!

Nimmie was carefully launched into the water and a mechanic came on board to check there was no water ingress from the new propeller shaft or sea cock. He was then followed by the mechanical engineer to check the engine as they had replaced the water pump gasket and completed an engine service so it needed priming. All good. We found out that the travel lift has a weighing mechanism that showed Nimmie’s weight as 12.5 tonnes, some 2.5 tonnes less than we thought.

Launched!

We then moved her round to a berth. I was a bit nervous as, not having parked a boat Med style in 7 months, you’re never quite sure how she will behave. However, despite the wind picking up (not forecast) it all went very smoothly and we were soon in our berth. We then had the new dinghy, valeted sails and a repaired outboard motor delivered.

Liz had work to finish off (I know, she’s supposed to be NOT working since end of May) so I started cleaning the inside of the boat. We had decided that with the amount of dust and grime in the boatyard, it wasn’t worth cleaning her until she was in the water. Then the fridge men arrived. It was like a Laurel and Hardy act. Michael was the older, English speaking half with his boss, younger and the one who did all the work. They identified that it was the control unit that was at fault and proved it by bypassing it and the fridge started to work. They are fashioning a mechanical switch like you have in your fridge at home to override the unit but we also found a replacement unit we had shipped out last year and forgot about so we will see which one works when they come back today.

We decided to eat on board last night so popped to the local shops once they had reopened after the statutory siesta and had a lovely simple meal of baked chicken and salad sitting in the cockpit before the thunderstorms arrived. I’m glad we were launched yesterday as there has been the most amazing thunder and lightning much of the night and all morning. We are safely tucked up in board and Nimmie is getting a very good wash!

You couldn’t see across the harbour this morning

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All going to plan…

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Jo F
Brand new Coppercoat on the hull

On Thursday March 22, we flew out to Bari to check on the work that the boatyard, Nautica Ranieri, has been doing on Nimmie. We had given them a long list in October but didn’t expect them to have completed all of it by now! Not only that but they had also done all of the extra items that were added along the way. The largest job was to re-apply the Coppercoat on the hull to keep barnacles and other horrid things from growing. This was first put on some 8 years ago but we felt that it hasn’t been working that well over the last two years. On some sailing forums, they say that Coppercoat only works for around 6 years in the Med rather than the 10 years plus in cooler climes. We decided to reapply it and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work that well, we will probably revert back to good old antifoul.

We had decided to stay in an apartment for the four days we were there rather than on the boat. I’m glad we did as it was very wet and cold for most of our stay. We even started up the heating whilst we were on board but the smell and smoke in the saloon was horrible. It may just have needed to be burnt off or there may have been a split in the exhaust hose, either way it would have meant taking everything out of the cockpit locker to get to where the heating is housed. A job for another day when it’s warm and dry! The apartment itself was midway between the old historical centre and the marina so, apart from the first day when we had a stand up paddle board (don’t ask) with us, we were able to walk there.

On the Friday evening, we went back to one of our favourite restaurants, Pappa. It is in the historical centre and we had assumed we wouldn’t get in without a reservation. However, when we arrived, we were the only ones there. The waiter said it was because of ‘il tempo’ – the weather. It was true that there weren’t many people out and about and I suspect that southern Italy doesn’t normally have such cold weather even in mid winter. They had changed the menu from full meals to tapas with a twist. The calamari, squid and bread croquettes were just heavenly. Washed down with a bottle of house wine at €15, the whole experience was a culinary delight for around €20 per head. Let’s hope they get more custom in the summer otherwise I suspect they will have to close.

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Before and after!

Saturday was dry and relatively warm whilst the sun was out so we were able to undertake some minor jobs including trying to remove the effects of oxidation (whitening) on the stern by using a rubbing compound. It’s like an industrial version of T-Cut on cars (although T-Cut is oil based and rubbing compound is like liquid sandpaper). It did seem to make a big difference so we will try and finish the rest of the hull when we are back out in June if we can. One of the joys of having a blue hulled boat in very sunny climate. It’s difficult in Italy doing jobs on your own boat as the boatyards tend to forbid it so you have to be a bit creative! The boatyard shut at 1pm but we stayed until around 4pm to do the stern and then made our way back to the apartment for a hot shower. This time we went to eat at a renowned local pizzeria. It is very popular takeaway with locals (always a good sign) and has a small side room with four tables in it if you want to eat in. The pizzas were delicious although we weren’t too sure of the house specialty of broccoli and salami. However, beer and pizza for two came to €20 so we weren’t complaining.

Sunday was forecast to be another damp day so instead of wandering around Bari, we decided to take the train to Monopoli, 30 minutes south of Bari. It is an old fortified town with an exhibition of Joan Miró paintings in its castle. We went to the house of Joan Miró in Mallorca back in 2012, so we were keen to have another look at his work. The train fare was €3.40 each way and the entrance fee to the exhibition was €4. I know, last of the big spenders. We even found a lovely little café that was run by a local Italian woman who had spent many years in Middlesborough and had a strong NE accent! Monopoli is small but quite lovely with marbled streets and alleyways. By 3pm we had seen pretty much all there was to see and the weather didn’t improve so we made our way back to Bari and onto the airport. It was lovely to be back in Italy again and also to see that Nimmie was faring well. We can’t wait to be back on her for real in June to start another adventure.

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Monopoli street after one of the many deluges

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New year, more jobs

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Jo F

The yard in Bari, Italy has been very busy since we left Nimmie in October 2017. We had given them a pretty comprehensive list of winter “jobs”, including re-applying Coppercoat to the hull as it’s now been 8 years since it was first applied. It hasn’t been working as well as it should over the last couple of seasons so two years ago we had Peter re-apply Coppercoat to the keel and the rudder in Malta. However, we have decided that it needs to be completely redone. It has kept the hull clean from barnacles and growth for a good few years but lately we have had to scrap the hull several times a season. We had thought that with being on her for six months in 2017 and moving from place to place, it would be okay but we still had to scrap her several times by hand. Hence, the decision to re-apply the copper based anti foul.

The list of jobs we gave the yard had 16 items on it but not long after Antonio and his team started to do the work it started to grow. It’s a bit like an old car that you try and fix up. As soon as you look at one thing, another problem pops up. Whilst servicing the engine, they noticed the raw water pump had a small leak. We had noticed the same thing earlier in the season but it wasn’t obvious where it was coming from and was also quite small. It’s simpler and cheaper to do as they were already working on the engine. The other problem they spotted with Nimmie out of the water was that the shaft (that connects the propellors to the engine) was worn and needed to be replaced. Next, the bow thruster propellors were broken. We knew there was a problem with the connections as it kept cutting out at the most inopportune moments so we had asked them to fix that but hadn’t realised that there was a problem with the actually propellors! Ah well, at least she’ll be all set for the new season even though our bank account will be taking a hammering!

One piece of good news is that 3D Tenders have finally replaced our tender. We only bought it last winter and didn’t start using it until May but very early on, it developed a leak where the seam hadn’t been sown properly in production, which meant that one side slowly deflated. Not great when you depend on it to get you ashore whilst at anchor!

We now need to decide on when to go out and check on all the work that is being done on her. It’s always exciting to go back out and see Nimmie. Makes the start of the season seem that bit closer even if it will be June this year…..

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Time to say goodbye – for a while at least

Posted on October 13, 2017 by Jo F

The crossing from Montenegro to Bari, Italy was completely uneventful. 21 hours of very little wind and calm seas meant we had to motor the entire way. There wasn’t even much traffic until we got closer to the Italian coast so it was a very easy passage. We arrived on Tuesday, October 3rd around 0830, refuelled and reversed into our berth. Although both of us were tired from our crossing, having only had a few hours sleep each, we needed to make the most of the weather and get the jobs done that were easier to do whilst she was in the water and before the afternoon sea breeze arrived. This entailed washing the boat, dinghy and kayak so we could deflate and pack them away – obviously not the boat! We also needed to take the genoa down before lifting as sails can get unfurled and damaged in high winds, as we saw a few days later with another yacht. We then washed all the lines we could as they had been covered in salt over the last 5 months and 2,100nm.

We were like anxious parents watching her being lifted out!

The next morning saw Nimmie being lifted out. The yard took great care of her as she was being lifted, washed and then put into her cradle. It probably took the best part of 3 hours. Luckily, the boatyard has a ‘lounge’ area with good wifi so we could keep an eye on her whilst catching up with admin.

Once she was safely on her stand, we decided to explore the shoreline near the marina. It is quite pretty with a number of restaurants, one of which we decided to have a late lunch in. This is where Liz had sea urchins for the first, and probably last, time.  They tasted a bit like oysters but not quite! We also came across Eataly, a sort of Harvey Nicholls Food Hall, that showcased food from Puglia. Lovely stuff on show but very expensive.

Sea urchins and chilled rosé

Beautifully displayed fish counter at Eataly

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the next couple of days, we continued to get Nimrod ready for the winter as we have done these past 5 years, including removing anything that may be damaged over the coming months. It’s amazing how long it all takes. We were able to stay on board as the yard had lent us a ladder so we could get up and down. On Thursday, the chief technician came to discuss the jobs we wanted doing. Most of them fairly minor but we had noticed that one of the propeller blades was loose and he also noticed that the cutlass bearings had gone, which means that the propeller shaft itself could move from side to side – neither a good thing!

The menu at Pappa’s

We had hoped for a day off to just chill but the most we managed was a few hours in the old part of Bari. We did find an amazing restaurant called Pappas for lunch, tucked down a side street. It has only been open for a few months and wasn’t very busy but the food melted in your mouth.

We reluctantly left Nimmie on Saturday morning, 7th October to fly back to the UK. Hopefully, she will be well looked after in Nautic Ranieri. We’ve had a marvellous time over the last 5 months and it’s funny how quickly you get back into a live aboard routine. Nimmie has looked after us in some pretty nasty weather, bits have stopped working (windlass) and started again (fridge). It never seems to matter what is thrown at her, she just shrugs her metaphorical shoulders and gets on with it. We’ve had many compliments about her as we toured the Adriatic as she is seen as a ‘proper’ boat with a number of harbourmasters nodding sagely when they see her. We are going to miss her but are looking forward to the next adventure in 2018!

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