Greeting From Corinth, Greece

Well, travel logs are a major risk for boring your friends and family with endless observations which are only really of interest to the observer – on the other hand the cruising life is a bit hard to sum up in a few snaps.

August was spent in Bodrum, Turkey refitting Mary Ann and then mid-September we had returned to the UK for Tom’s passing out from the Army (in US speak that’s the end of basic training.) Then just before we were leaving to return, Julia fell off her bike and broke her wrist. After surgery, two days in hospital, and five days of post surgical recovery she got a pot (that’s cast for you speakers of Americanese) and we were off in the camper van for Athens. The easiest route is to drive to Venice and take a ferry down the Adriatic to Greece. Murphy particularly liked that option because we could sleep in camper van with Murphy whilst aboard thus avoiding the dreaded kennels. Next a drive across Greece, another over-night on an Aegean Ferry and we were in Kos which is in sight of Bodrum. I hopped on the Bodrum ferry, while Julia and Murphy patiently waited five days in Kos for me to finish the essential projects. Murphy can’t visit Turkey and still return to the UK without a six month period in a “safe country.” (English quarantine nonsense) I’ll add a list of the refit chores at the end for all you motor-heads who might appreciate the efforts.

We’ve been out of the boat yard now for almost three weeks and I am starting to feel a bit more like a sailor and less like a carpenter/mechanic/electrician/plumber/rigger. We launched Mary Ann after a major refit late on the 9th of October and she had only minor complaints and drips on her maiden voyage to Kos about 14 miles away.

After a couple of days sorting a few must do things and a day’s rest, we made an 84 mile run to the island Amorgos in the Cyclades (that’s near Mykonos for you Aegean travelers). On the way we had an ugly sea condition as the wind had just backed and made a rather bumpy chop. We even had one rather raucous wave that decided to come aboard from the beam, which gave Julia a fright and Murphy was not impressed. That said Julia went below to dry off and chill out and was asleep within 10 minutes. We sailed into a ‘gorgeous’ fjord on Amorgos but I wisely decided not to try to anchor there as the next day it blew like stink. So we had a day tromping around a lovely picture-postcard town waiting out the blow. After another island stop we found ourselves in Athens, well actually Pireaus. We spent\three full days chasing down boat parts, moving the camper van, etc and then a couple of nice evenings and a day revisiting the ancient sights and the Archeological Museum. We next transited the Corinth Canal a surprisingly beautiful trip. The 300 foot sandstone cliffs in the narrow passage are really gorgeous. Interestingly the bungee jumpers had to pause whilst we passed -- not that I had mental images of someone skewered on our mast as we approached, of course. We’re on a wharf in Corinth (capital of Greece before Athens) and have just returned from seeing the most important castle/fort in ancient Greece, the Acrokorinthos, which overlooks the Saronic and Corinthian Gulfs at the isthmus. The nearby ancient city ruins of Korinthos are one the more important Grecian / Roman sites around. In a somewhat uncharacteristic spat of bad weather we had a night of gale winds here which didn’t really faze Mary Ann but did manage to break the floating dock we’re tied on to. Well it certainly keeps things from getting boring.

Next Julia is back to the UK to have her broken wrist tended to. Murphy and I plan to “throw the dishes in sink and clog the drains with hair. Men, Men Men! We’re a ship all filled with men. So batten down the lady’s room, there’s no one here but men.”



Fair Winds , John, Julia & Murphy, the Sea Dog


PS: REFITTING PROJECTS EITHER COMPLETED OR MOSTLY COMPLETED:

Rebuilt Engine
Replaced engine mounts
Replaced all thru-hull & hoses
Painted engine room.
Replaced all engine room hoses
Replumbed the fuel system with new primary filter
Replaced anchor locker bulkhead
Rebuilt the main hatch
Replaced all batteries and charging system
Replaced all service cabling from batteries
Replaced electrical panels
Installed new inverter
Installed new panels for AC
Changed AC system over to 240 from 110 volts
Changed all standing rigging wire
Replaced 3 chain plates
Replaced one water tank
Replaced piping for fresh water system
Replaced all tangs on mast
Reinforced the boom gallows
Replaced various wood bits
Replaced one anchor chain and rode
Replaced dock lines
Installed new feathering propeller
Fitted new engine coupling
Installed new gas piping for cooker
Installed new cooker
New antifouling
Installed new led running lights

You may notice a dearth of electronics on the list but there is a large bag of stuff left to install and after all -- we may not have much money but we are time millionaires.