We
stayed put in our anchorage outside Naoussa yesterday. It was a pleasant stop and we have
plenty of time. When we were
having breakfast a motor boat stopped by the boat and it was a fisherman
offering to sell fresh fish. This
was just what I needed as we are running low on fresh food. So I bought a nice big sea bream which
will do for the two of us for dinner.
As
we were staying in the bay we decided we would go ashore. So with the usual reluctance Richard
put the outboard motor on the dinghy.
It really is a performance to do.
Also we don’t tow the dinghy with the motor on, so it has to go back at
the end of the day. We have a
little block and tackle to help, but it still is hard work. It was all the worse as when we finally
got the motor on, it wouldn’t start.
We tried several times during the day and it was as dead as a dodo. We don’t know why. It did work in July. So Richard had to row after all. That meant we weren’t going too far
around the bay. We just made it to
the beach club at the end of the bit of bay where we were anchored. Nothing much was doing there, so we
just came back again to the boat.
Today
we were moving on. There is little
wind and the sea is quite flat.
The plan is to find the anchorage recommended by Jonnie between Paros
and anti Paros. We make for the anchorage
described in the pilot book only described at Andiparos. It is a bustling little town with
ferries going in and out. The bay
is very shallow and we take up the keel a bit to get as close as possible, but
that is still some distance from the shore. With no motor on the dinghy it will be a long row if we want
to go into town. I was hoping to
eat out for a change and to buy a few essentials to keep going (milk and fruit
mainly).
So
we have lunch and then Richard suggests we try to find somewhere more
appealing. He even thinks he might
get to sail a bit! So we set
out. Taking up the anchor is a bit
of an adventure. It comes up with
difficulty and completely covered in thick mud! If nothing else, there certainly is good holding in this
harbour. The wind is only a 3, but
Richard thinks he would like to put up the Genoa. When he starts to unfurl it on the winch, the winch starts
to make a terrible grinding come clattering sound! I insist we don’t use it. We should have serviced the winches ages ago, but never got
to it, so this is our reward.
Until we do something about it we are a motor boat!
We
can’t find a suitable anchorage on Antiparos, so we make our way back to Paros
to Aliki, a little resort on the south end of the island recommended in the
pilot book. It looks a sweet
place, but what is strange is that other than a large gentleman’s motor yacht,
there are no other boats anchored here.
We can’t find a suitable place close in to the shore near the main part
of the town because it is filled with buoys for local boats. So we anchor along from the town near a
nice sandy beach. Again, it is
very shallow.
When
we are anchored, task number one is to do something about the winch. Richard thinks it will be relatively
straightforward to deal with.
So he gets out his winch maintenance kit. First problem is that a plastic bottle of oil to lubricate
the winch has leaked all over and soaked in the instruction book. It is almost readable and we will have
to make due with it. Also we have
to find an alternative oil for the parts.
R thinks WD40 will be fine.
The
long and the short of it is that it took us over two hours to take the winch
apart, clean it, fit new palls and put the thing back together again (that was
the hardest part). But we finally
did it and a small turn of the winch sounded fine. We shall see how it works under wind tomorrow.
By
the time the winch is back together again we are both hot and bothered. So we have a swim even though it is
6pm. Then a quick shower and we
decide to row the dinghy ashore and go into town. The pilot book and the Cruising Association website says the
town is nice and there is a supermarket there.
We
have spotted a stone pier not far from the boat and we make our way there in
the dinghy rowed by Richard. The
pier is wet and slippery, but there is a good stainless steel ring to tie
to. So we do make it in to town.
The
town is sweet. Just a tourist
resort, but a rather old fashioned one.
I am able to buy the few things I need to keep us going for the next few
days. We find an attractive
restaurant right on the waterfront and have a pleasant enough meal. We make it back to the dinghy. The pier is still quite slippery, but
we manage OK. We get in the boat
and have a dickens of a time pushing off from the pier. Pushing by hand and with the oars
doesn’t seem to work! Finally we
get away and make it back to the boat safe and sound. The weather looks settled for the next few days, but strong
winds are predicted from next Thursday.
So we will have to press on to Leros a little earlier than we wished.
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