The first charter....

Yasis, from the charming port town of Naousa on the island of Paros. This is my week off! Seems strange after only really working for one week to have a week off. Well i did have my so called 'training' week and then delivered two of our other yachts before spending some time getting my 'Eva' ready for her first trip ie buying lots of bits and pieces and wait for it...having to do some maintenance on a very smelly holding tank that is located under my berth! This job is def not all glamor baby! Anyway pleased to say my efforts helped and now the smell is hardly noticeable .

My first charter for the season went well. 4 Candian couples all younger than moir. We started from Athens and headed out to Cape Sounion on the mainland before hitting the islands of Kea, Kithnos, Serious, Paros, Naxos and finally Mykonos. Not big distances as i find sailing more than 30nm is a drag for most people...Highlights were firing up the mini bbq at the stunning anchorage on Kithnos before going to the same beach for some thermal pool soaking and star gazing... Magic!!! The guys were also up for some onboard cooking so picked up a huge fish (forget the name) in a market for 24e (they wanted 240e for a similar sized fish in a tavena) and baking him in the oven! See pic!

Being a bit of a 'shakedown' cruise we had a few things happen including the engine throttle and gear leaver that snapped off in my hand as we were anchoring! The only way to stop was killing the engine and dropping anchor... VERY lucky this didn't happen in a crowded marina!!!! Worked out a improvised a system of hand signal (not entirely unlike a couple of Italians speaking) to one of the guys who was working the throttle and gears manually on the engine which allowed us to continue until we could get a new part shipped from Athens. Another greek drama in itself...pick the part up from here..go there... no part...ring again oh go and meet the ferry...meet the ferry no part...ring again...oh so and so has the part..go back to the shop...part eventually turns up...install the part...happy ending...

We also had every sailing weather type. From calm windless days when i would stop the boat miles from shore and just jump off for a quick swim to, ideal 15-20kt sailing c0nditions (eva does a respectable 8-9kts for the salty readers) to being caught in a serve storm on our last day that closed the Mykonos airport with lightening, squalls, low vis and even rain (something almost unheard of over here!). Got to try out my new swanky sailing gear which works a dream. A few got seasick in the storm and all were sooo happy to see the harbor...Funny the partying was very subdued that last night! Anyway great fun group and the tips were nice!

Not sure what is happening with my next trip from Santarani to Kos as there are no bookings at the moment! So if anyone can make it to Santarani by next sun...

Funny thing today...was cruising around the harbour and 'Eva' turned up with the fill in skipper Walter and his crew! The boat is following me!!!

Ok time to get out of this crazy gaming kid filled cafe!

Yassou from Naousa!

d.

Feeding the fish.....

Yasis from the island of Kos, a stones throw (6 miles) from the turkish coastline. Its a different experience sailing between two countries. Its a wet and cold afternoon not exactly what i remember Greece to be but then again its not quite summer yet. Strangely enough yesterday was quite sunny and warm and i even braved a freezing dip! So this is the final stop for our delivery of the yacht 'Dimitris' .

Like i said in the last post its just me and the head skipper, Frank from Germany on a boat that sleeps 8 people, sweet! Most importantly Frank has aa great sense of humor and is easy going for a German. He's 'cracked me up' with some of his stories including how he 'crashed' a German mafia dinner party and flirted with the 'bosses' girlfriend and claims he didn't know either. He has also told me some classic stories about the misadventures of one of the skippers from last year. Lucky for all this guy isn't coming back this year. Frank is also a great sailor who knows his stuff. This week was meant to be a training week but none of the other skippers could make it so we've basically been cruising around eating and sampling the local vino! Frank has shared a few useful tips and made sure i know how to sail and go in and out of the sketchy Greek harbors. Its taken us 4 days to get down here. We've checked out the islands of Siros, Amorogos and Kalimions and a few other spots. The islands are looking great with their white houses and blue churches, picture postcard perfect as ever. Even better without the loads of tourists that will arrive in the next few months. I have to keep reminding myself i'm getting paid (including a generous food allowance) to do this. Though on our first day out of athens we had 35kt winds and short and lumpy seas. I had my first ever real taste of sea sickness and ended up 'feeding the fish'! So far this was a one off and hopefully it will stay that way!!

Thats pretty much it. Tomorrow we're catching the overnight ferry back to Athens and on Friday will deliver the 2nd boat. Expect that to take 4 or so days.

Ok its now Wednesday and i'm about to post this. The sun is out today and it feels almost like summer. Have to say Kos is super kitschy package touristy but one thing i like is their is a bike hire place on almost every corner so is great to see all shapes and sizes of tourists out pushing pedals!

Now in Athens, net troubles and couldn't post yesterday.
Just got off the ferry. Good trip and even slept. Hardly anyone on the ferry..

Enjoy the pix.
D.