And we're off. Year 7

Well that 6 months went incredibly fast. TOO fast !!!
It has been an incredibly busy time. Sometimes bordering on ‘manic' and there has been the odd occasion when I have woken up wondering whose house I was in!!

We have done a lot of socialising. Catching up with friends that we've not seen for a long while. The end result is that both of us have gained weight. A lot. We are mortified - to say the least.

The first few weeks back were spent recovering from the shock of the cost of electricity and food. Andreas morphed into Victor Meldrew repeatedly saying “HOW MUCH?” followed by “ I don't believe it”. We also became exasperated at the continual use of the word ‘crisis'. It seems we can't live without one!!.

We very quickly realised that we could not sit around in shorts, t shirts and flip flops. Instead we got our thermals out of storage and several thick sweaters and wrapped ourselves up. The central heating was not put on until we really needed it.

Just to recap, we were spending the winter back home for the first time in 6 years. Our sailing season will now be between June and October and Stiletto will be stored ashore on mainland Greece. A boatyard in Kilada was recommended by friends Ann and Paul and we have booked a lift out for October 31st. This particular yard is cheaper and is just a two hour drive from Patras so we are cutting out a third ferry crossing. In addition, we are both ready for a change. We have both missed our UK friends, and I was starting to feel ‘rootless' – if that makes sense. Don't get me wrong, my life afloat (13 years) has been an experience I will never, ever forget or regret but there have been things that I really do enjoy that I have missed.............

Gardening. My passion. Growing my own vegetables is something I just love. From sowing the seeds, to nuturing them on, planting them out, watching them grow and then, the best bit........the picking, cooking and eating. You just can't beat that !!! My dad grew everything and encouraged me to do the same from a very early age.

Sewing. I'm a sew-aholic. My mum taught me how to sew, tapestry and embroider. I have made my own clothes. I have made curtains. I have made cushion covers. I have made tapestry pictures.
Then - I got into patchwork and quilting and most (not all – yet) of my friends have a quilt.
Both of the above I have missed and actually didn't fully realise until a few weeks into being home.
Andreas has missed his motor bike as well as his friends.

So, where is this going I hear you say.

Well, I bought a new sewing machine. I got back into my patchwork and made 5 quilts. It's my therapy.

I volunteered, two mornings a week at the Royal Haslar Memorial Garden. The garden was once a part of the Royal Haslar Hospital. Patients had access to it and would be wheeled around in their wheelchairs to take the air. When the hospital sadly closed, the garden was left to its own devices and became very over grown. It is also consecrated ground, dating from the 1700’s with thousands of people buried there, either as patients of the hospital who passed away or victims of many wars. It remained unloved until Shore Leave Haslar took it over and now, 10 years on, thanks to its team of volunteers, it is a beautiful garden and a centre of horticultural therapy for our war veterans. Most suffer with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and it is here, through gardening, they can find inner peace, feel safe and get the support they need which is so lacking elsewhere.

For just over 4 months I was part of the team. Weeding, sowing seeds, potting on and planting out. This was my therapy. The only downside is not getting to pick and eat the fruits of my labours, but I am sent photos regularly of how things are doing.

The garden is open to the public on the second Wednesday of each month from 11am to 1.00pm. You can purchase plants and vegetables all grown by our veterans and enjoy a coffee and scrumptious homemade cake. There is a craft stall with lots of lovely items including delicious honey harvested from the on site bee hives.

It is a wonderful place. As soon as you walk through the gates the feeling of peace and tranquillity is overwhelming . I would strongly recommend a visit. Entrance and tea and cake is free but donations are very gratefully received.

While I was in the garden, Andreas was out on his motorbike enjoying the Hampshire countryside and a bacon buttie at his favourite bikers café. All in all we've had a fab time !

Departure date came round very quickly and we left Portsmouth on the night ferry to Caen arriving suitably refreshed at 6am and drove to Lyon. We know our way now having done this road trip several times. An overnight stay in Lyon and on to Venice where we stayed in our favourite B&B and caught the midday ferry to Patras arriving 32 hours later and we were only 1 hour late, which by Greek standards is good!!!!

A two hour drive got us to Athens where we enjoyed a couple of days with Aunt Koula and Cousin Joyce.

And this is where our logistical nightmare began. We had a car load of boat gear, some of it cumbersome and heavy but I had managed to get it all into 3 suitcases. Because Stiletto would be wintering on the mainland and she was currently on the island of Leros, we needed to leave the car at the boatyard in mainland Kilada so it would be waiting for us when we arrived in October. The yard has a designated car parking area so we parked up Max, covered him over and lovely Joyce picked us up and took us back to the apartment in Athens until it was time for her to pick us up again and take us to Piraeus for the ferry to Leros. Hopefully, when we eventually get back to the car we won't find feline lodgers !!!!

It was a daunting thought lugging all our bags onto the ferry and off again but we had help at both ends and finally arrived on Leros at 3.30am , got a taxi into Lakki where we had booked ourselves in to the Bianco Hotel until Stiletto was due to be launched the next day.

So here we are back on Leros, Stiletto was launched and we have a few days to put her back together again, hindered by the engine service engineer not turning up, then a full day of horrendous rain and the service engineer not turning up the day after. Eventually, Marios arrived and serviced the engine and when he fired it up it seemed ok but when Andreas put it in gear and gave it a blast there were no revs. Andreas explained the problem and Marios asked if he could come back on Monday as he was seriously overloaded with work for the remainder of the day. The yard is incredibly busy with people putting their boats back into the water and also needing professionals to do jobs. This stretches people like Marios to the limit. He didn't return on Monday and after a serious conversation with the office staff on Tuesday they told us Manolis would come at some point in the afternoon. He did. He looked in the engine bay, turned the engine over, it sounded worse than it did originally and then cut out refusing to start again. Andreas suspected either a fuel blockage or air lock. Manolis, apparently the Head Honcho, reckons not. The problem, it transpires, is the exhaust elbow. It is seriously clogged up, irreparable and has to be replaced. By a stroke of good luck they have just one in stock and will be fitting it later today. Fingers crossed !!!!!

In the meantime, we power washed the decks (which the seagulls had used for target practice) and refitted the sprayhood, the genoa and generally prepared her for the coming season.

Our plan now is to leave the marina (once we have an engine that works), and go around the point to our favourite bay in Xerokambos. It is our intention to chill out there for a couple of days, catch up with our friend Maggie and eat at Lefteris and Evelyn's taverna.

Muse for this post: sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find joy in the story you are actually living.