deva in paradise

Due to flight schedules out of the United Kingdom we were obliged to stay 2 nights in England. Making the best of it we took the train and did some walking to Notting Hill. Strolling through the gardens along the way and visited Portobello Market which was packed with an array of trinkets and baubles to attract the attention of all who passed by. We sipped coffee in trendy cafe's and had a Guinness or two at Churchill's pub.

In the evening we took the train into London to join a walking tour called, "Jack the Ripper." Our knowledge on the subject was limited so we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. We simply thought, "hey we're in London we should do something". Turns out we walked through the dark back streets where Jack the Ripper committed his heinous crimes. We were told the stories of his victims and what they suffered, it was enough to give anyone the heebeegeebees.

Our second night was spent at our favorite tavern "Ye Olde Six Bells", where we had a wonderful quiet meal away from the city and talked about the tour we had the night before. This of course creeped us out all over again.

We returned to Preveza Greece where we left Deva in the boatyard three months ago. It also has some history worth a mention. (but you can skip the next few paragraphs if history is boring for you)

In September of 31BC Aktio was the scene one of the largest sea battles ever, now referred to as the Battle of Actium. Over 500 ships on one side of the straits, together with 12,000 soldiers on the nearby shore, went head to head with another 600-odd ships and a similar number of opposing infantry.
One fleet was led by the heir-apparent of Julius Caesar, Octavius from Rome, the other led by another Roman general and nephew of Caesar, Marcus Antonius. Marcus Antonius was assisted by a fleet from Egypt, sent by its Queen, Cleopatra. It was a colossal battle, in which at least 500 ships were sunk and thousands of lives lost, and a defining moment for the Roman Republic, which thereafter became known as the Roman Empire. In modern times, this event is most remembered as the final chapter of the romance of Anthony and Cleopatra. The losing general, Marc Anthony, fled to Egypt and committed suicide by dagger to avoid capture by pursuing Romans. He is said to have died in the arms of his beloved Cleopatra, who herself committed suicide shortly thereafter by the bite of a snake.

Little remains of the ancient cities that once lay on both sides of the strait, one called Aktio or Actium, and the other on the North side now called Preveza, but was known as "Nicopolis" during the Byzantine and Roman Empires, because both of these cities were laid flat by invasions of Goths in the period that marked the end of the Roman Empire around 1400 AD.

From the time of the battle of Aktio until 1020 AD, The Roman Empire occupied all of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean, know then as "Mare Nostrum" or "Our Sea" all the way North to England, and South including the shores of present day Africa and the Middle East.

Some things have not changed since Byzantine and Roman times. The fishing boats are hauled out and launched using "sledges", which are like sleds made of large timbers that slide into and out of the sea carrying boats on top of them. They slide on ramps made of stone, made slippery by polishing, and are hauled up with simple block and tackle (ropes and pulleys) , sometimes mechanized in modern times with electric winches. Upon launching they are simply let go to slide back into the sea with a big splash.

Our boatyard was more modern with a radio-controlled truck-like machine, and finally with another radio-controlled "travel lift" that lifts our boat with slings and lowers her into the water. The boatyard, called "Cleopatra" after the Egyptian Queen, had more than 1000 boats in it, by far larger than any boatyards I have seen in the USA. DEVA looks a bit out of place because she is older than most of the boats. We heard several compliments from bystanders and workers, praising her classic curves from the 1960's.

By far most of the boats in this part of the world are sailboats, and most of them are modern French and German built charter or rental boats. Thousands of these rental boats sail around the Mediterranean, rented for a week or two by people from mostly other European countries and a few from as far away as America and Australia. It is a tourism industry that did not exist until the late 1970's but has become huge in recent years. We were fortunate to have missed July and August in the Med, as it is the busiest time of the year when all of the harbors are full of charter boats.

One of the spin-offs of the large charter boat industry is the requirement for boaters to have a "drivers license" for boats. This requirement does not exist in the USA except for commercial or passenger-carrying boats. One of our first stops in Greece this time was a return to the Bay of Vliho where Mike would take a all-day long assessment for a boat drivers license, or certificate of competence. To do this we picked up sailor-instructor Ashlee and spent a day sailing around off Lefkas Island doing man overboard and various boat handling drills. About two hours was spent on a written test. At the end of the day we were told Mike had passed the evaluation and we could expect a certificate in the mail from London in about 3 weeks.

From Lefkas we began making our way to Corfu, our final destination in Greece. First port was the Island of Paxos where we stayed 3 days while waiting for strong winds to blow through. We walked the 5 mile round trip into town every day and enjoyed the beautiful blue water along the coast line and the tiny shops along the harbors edge.

It was an easy sail from Paxos to the island of Corfu where we stared wide-eyed at the castle and the old town upon our arrival. We rented a car and spent one day touring the Old Venetian Fort and walking through the narrow shop-lined streets of the old city. We stocked up on all our favorite things (Havana Club rum mainly) and completed the requirements for checking out of the country. From Corfu we went to a small island about 28 miles away where we rested for the night. This helped to make our crossing into Italy as short as possible. We are traveling North which is going straight into the prevailing winds. This often makes for some long uncomfortable days on board with spray over the bow which keeps us confined to the cockpit area.

We made landfall in Otranto, Italy where we cleared into the country with the officials, rested, did a quick look around and then continued North while the winds were light. Keep in mind this means a 40 mile sailing day lasts 8 hours if one is lucky and the winds and currents are favorable. Our goal is to go as quickly as possible, hopping along the Italian coast. Stopping only to sleep in the protected harbors of Brindisi, Monopoli, Bisceglie and Vieste.. We then cross over into Croatia where we can slow things down and begin heading South along Croatia's coast which should go much easier with the winds coming from a more favorable direction.

Debby who is always full of energy, has trouble with the long sailing days. She will do almost anything to entertain herself. Sailing from Brindisi to Monopoli we had a strange day where flies kept showing up on board. For a while just swatting the flies and throwing them over board was enough to keep her busy, but after several hours the novelty wore off and she decided to start something new. Mike was below deck making coffee and when he returned to the cockpit he found Debby had lined up all the flies she had killed in a neat little row. She proudly said, "some people have animal head trophy collections, well, I have a fly trophy collection." Mike thought it was gross at first, then he too joined in suggesting we stick them with toothpicks and mount them on the railings to warn future flies from landing lest they too end in a similar fate. (like heads on pike poles on a castle wall in medieval times).

The Storm

At Vieste we hoped to sail across the Adriatic at one of its narrowest points to Croatia, about 60 miles away. To do this in a daylight passage would require favorable winds to buck against the anticipated adverse current. Instead, we arrived just in time to prepare for the worst storm of the year, coming from the North. It was our first look at what the Adriatic can be known for, the Bora wind. We had one day to get securely tied up in Vieste harbor, with ten mooring lines out (usually we need only four). True to the predictions, over three days and nights the wind was steady 35 knots with gusts to 50knots. The sea outside the breakwater was horizon to horizon white froth. The harbor entrance had continuous surf going across for two days. We tried to take pictures of the seas, but there was so much spray in the air the camera lens was instantly blurred. Fortunately we were able to get off the boat to go to the nearby town for some shopping. Most of the shops and businesses were boarded up to protect against flying sand from nearby beaches. We had to wear headgear and glasses for protection. After three days the streets of Vieste were strewn with sand drifts. We went on deck each night to check our lines against chafing in the constant surge. Our little floating home was tossed and jerked around while tied up which made us feel like we were at sea. Debby spent most of one day ashore in the ladies bathroom reading as the motion on the boat was making her feel ill. On the third day when things started to calm down we found two of our headlines had chafed through and parted, and the entire boat was caked with salt and sand up to 20 feet above waterline. It took another day after the storm passed to clean up the boat, hose it down and repair lines. Then we set sail for Croatia..