back again!!

Feeling inspired to blog again after a 'little' break. Right now I'm on Pelcian, a 65ft research sailing catarmaran. We are nearing the end of a 8 day project working with a film crew shooting a penguin doco mainly around the Wilsons Promitory coast line here in Victoria. Unfortunately the only penguin filmed was a dead one that floated past us :( We have been to a Rockery on one of the little Islands off the coast and saw where the little guys live but conditions weren't suitable for filming. They are quite elusive little guys and being a documentary film maker must be one of the most patient professions around. Rory the main doco guy has travelled extensively in his field and spent 3 months filming for 'Happy Feet' in the Antartic. He has some great tales to tell like jumping over crevases in Ski-doos!

Being the multi-tasking kind of a guy I am, my main role has been..wait for it...'The Chef'! Not my normal gig but hey if i can't be in control of the boat (need extra licences for Aust) then at least I can be in control of the galley...Hmm makes me sound like a control freak..Anyway..Yeah a really important job though! Creations to-date have included home made pizzas, including base, curries, roasts, Greek Salads, nori rolls etc...So far have managed not to run out of anything! I think the hardest part of the role is provisioning as we have only been in a port once since we left, though 'Washpool' really only has 1 pub and a fish and chip cum convieance store that was closed when we were there. Speaking of Washpool, we were hoping to go to the pub on a Sat eve after spending a few cold and rough days at sea to find that it was locals only allowed inside. So we had to get takeaway drinks and sit outside in the driving wind and rain like naughty kids. The morale of the story - don't go to the Washpool pub at 11 on a sat night! Anyway I digress, there were 11 of us at one onboard at one stage but have had 7 for a few days now.

Well it might be summer in the rest of Australia but it has been winter down here. On our first night out of the 'heads' (the entrance to port phillip bay) we had up to 40knt gusts and 5 seas with temps under 20deg. Unfortunately I forgot to pack my sea legs and had the worse sea-sickness I have ever had! I could not move without throwing up. Forget about cooking dinner! Luckily one of the other crew Raf saved my butt in the galley. So far we have had one only one day that hasn't been blowing over 20knts . Yesterday we had a fast sail (avg 9knts) back from the prom to the heads (90 miles) and had a competition to see who could clock the fastest speed hand steering the yacht down waves. I clocked 16.4 knots but the autopilot took the record at over 17knots. There is nothing like catching a wave on a 65ft surfboard! Then last night the winds dropped right down and it was a magic moonlight sail for the last 20 miles or so.

So there are 4 of us crew. Garry the skipper, Raf the mate, Colin the deckhand and of course me. Then there are 3 film crew. Rory on the camera, which is worth 150k including the underwater housing which is custom made and worth 40k, his son Che who is a commerical diver and acts as sharklout while Rory is filming and Ben who occasinally dives, a general assistant and films the topsides on a second camera. Pelican has a 'beach' which is basically a 9' x 6' platform on the stern that lowers into the water and is what we launch the guys off. The guys usually do 3 dives a day with all the gear. As crew we help the divers gear up and get the camera in the water (it takes 2 of us to lift it).

While we haven't seen much in the way of penguins we have been to some pretty amazing seal colonies on the little islands off the coast. On some of them there have prob been 1000's of seals all sunning themselves and generally having a good time. The smell is something else and u can usually smell the islands quite a way off!

So today is the last day of the shoot and we are in Port Phillip Bay. The crew are using a spotter plane to help local 'Bait Balls' - large schools of small fish that attract penguins. Hopefully today will be our lucky day to get some penguin footage. Regardless the crew are doing a second shoot later in the year when conditions are meant to be more favourable.

Enjoy the pix and hope to be bloggin soon!

Damon.

another day in the office....

Greetings from Mykonos..wow finally a week off and a chance to update this most neglected blog!...this work block was 4 weeks straight....I feel like i've run a marathon...phew...and gawd the year is flying by!

Guess some of u might think what i do is hardly work but the dream job is hard work and long hours sometimes...Especially when u have 10 hours of bashing to windward through wet and lumpy 2m swells, rip not one but two sails, have puking guests to settle, as well as totally unpredictable Greek winds that can be blasting u one min the next not a puff of wind! Challenging and exhausting as it is, it is still fun...

Some highlights from the last month:

The spice girl cruise from mykonos to Santarini. 5 20 somethings always singing and always laughing + a middle aged couple and her 65yr old mum...I was shocked at the mix at first but it worked out well in the end. Did some great touring on Amorogos in something resembling a cut down beach buggy...its mind boggling what is allowed on the roads in greece.










• Athens to Mykonos with 7 girls roughly my age...There was 8 to start with but one jumped ship on to the waiting ferry on the second day. This was during the heat wave that hit Greece last month. It was 48deg in athens! Unfortunately she got heat sickness due to sitting on the deck all day in the full sun...Made note to explain the risks of sun exposure in my pre-trip spiel.. This turned out to be a legendary trip. It was like we'd all been friends for years and were into doing the same things like not eating out so much and instead bbqing and preparing meals on board. Maureen from GAP head office in Toronto was especially good value and could be handy to have connections :)




• Santarini to Kos. On board were a hilarious family of 4 from southern usa, a couple from toronto, he mad professor type who spent 99% of the trip sitting in the cabin tapping out his book on a laptop! She a blond travel agent..Interesting mix. + a Brit and a Candian dude. Did a big detour all the way down to Rhodes. Stunning. Especially the island of simi. Managed to get a beach bbq in under a starry night. Brilliant.. Also hiked into a live steaming and stinking volcano crater on the island of Nisiros. Was really interesting and different.
  








• Finally. Kos to Santarini. A mid 20s cruise with a couple of Aussies, Canadians and a Swiss guy..More stunning island stops. Highlights was mooring eva to rocks in a fjord on the island of kalimnos and hiring cars on Leros and visiting a impressive 11th century fortress perched high up on hill top with commanding views of the surrounding ocean and island..
  

Have to say while i have gained a little more sailing knowledge, the main thing has been learning about group dynamics. The crew mixes are totally random and u can never predict what unlikely friendships happen. Sunday is a weird day for me. In the morning a group of guys that u've bonded with (and sail trained up) in a confined space over the last week leave and then in the same afternoon you have a totally new bunch of people. Its like have a week long one night stand and then waking up on sunday...hmm ok not the best comparison in the world but kinda of fitting....

So tonight am leaving MYK (mykonos) and catching the 1am ferry to Samos where i'll jump over to Turkey ending up in Istanbul in a few days. Really looking foward to a change of culture and food!

So signing off from MYK....yasis!
ps enjoy the pics from the last few weeks...

pps having trouble reading my usb data key so pix will come in a few days!

A few charters on...

Hi again,

Is now my week off and i'm spending a few days on the island of Mykonos, which i'm sure everyone has heard off as it is definitely on most tourists radar. Last night there was not one but 5 massive cruise ships visiting! However i've done some exploring on my bike and found some magic spots off the tourist track.

Sooo the last few weeks have been full on. On one of my trips to Kos i had no pax (passengers) so sailed it with a friend, Suzanna from Munich which was brilliant. A highlight was hiking up to the traditional village on Anafi, with stunning views and really off most tourists radar. Also meet this cool old Swiss Guy Eric, who every year sails his yacht around the med for a couple of months solo while is non sailing wife stays home. Nice to meet these guys and not just other charter yachts.

The funny thing was when i arrived in Kos which is in the eastern med, next door to turkey i was told i had no pax for the next charter back and told to sail eva solo straight back to Santarini! GAP can be a bit crazy to work for at times. Eva is pretty easy to sail solo thanks to the auto pilot and being able to handle all the sails without leaving the cockpit. She has a furling main which means that the main sail furls inside the mast rather than sitting on top of the boom. As you'd expect, this is super easy for one person to handle. It took two days and i spent the night in magic cove on the island of Astpalaya with only goats and full moon for company.

Eva got left for a week in Santarini while i took Frank's (head skipper) Virgo up to Mykonos with 2 kiwi girls, one aussie and a new GAP guy as crew. We call Virgo the 'mother' ship as it is the biggest, is fast to motor with its big engine, which it needs as it is a heavy boat with a seperate generator, electric stove and oven and aircond! Is a true Greek boat, more like a house than a yacht..It also has nice 'toys' such as electronic chart plotter, radar, bow thruster and even a microwave. Unfortunately it had a few issues that frank has yet to sort out such as hatches that leak like a waterfall and a leaking fresh water system. Issues asside we had a great trip up and everyone had fun with only 2 wet bunks :).

After arriving in Mykonos the other week it was straight back to Santarini to do the same trip again on Eva. I had a full ship with 8 pax. 6 of those were friends (3 Can, 2 Aus, 1 US) which is good as the hardest thing about working for GAP is not the sailing but managing 8 people who don't know each other in a confined space for a week! Luckily i had two psychologists on board, one a Dr so had good help if i needed it, luckily we didn't. Again it turned out to be a great trip, even though there was literally no wind for most of the trip so we had to use the engine a lot. A highlight was taking the guys to a traditional bouzouki music and dance night a historic Venetian castle on the island of Naxos. Brilliant night.

So has been a great few days being a landlubber again and catching up on much needed sleep and r&r...Later in the week I plan to go to Munich for a few days and then will be back in Athens on Sunday for my next charter back to Mykonos with 7 American, British and Canadian girls! Think i'll have my work cut out!

Yasou!

Damon.

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.

South America Finale and Greece

Hola from Athens!! Arrived from Barcelona about 3 days ago after a very busy last week or so in Peru (more later). The yacht training has been very informal with the main activities being doing yacht handovers (we're chartering yachts from a charter management co and have to basically check all the bits are on the yachts and that everything works) and spending a lot of time checking out restaurants and bars with my boss and the big boss from Spain! Must say Greek food is a nice change from latin!

I have 'Eva' for the season, a 5 year old 50ft Bavarian that is my home and office for the next 6 months. I've been lucky and scored the nicest yacht in the fleet of 3 except for a slight problem which is my berth is above the toilet holding tank! Phew! Hopefully working on a fix...Anyway she's a sloop, 2 sails one up front (Genoa) and the main sail (the main), has not one but two steering wheels, sleeps 8 maybe 9 with all the usual sailing gear. I'm going out with my German boss, Frank on Friday. My first charter is 4 candian couples on the 13th of May..

Greece is a crazy place. The traffic rivals south America in terms of speed and intensity. Unlike SA catching a cab is hard work. On average it takes about one has to stop 5 cabs(thats the ones that will stop) before finding one that wants to go where your going! Most just shrug and drive off if their not interested. Greece is also the last reprieve for smokers. Everyone smokes here and they smoke anytime anyplace! The taxi drivers, the bank tellers, the supermarket checkout people, the girl next to me here in the cafe smoking a cigar. etc...It is also extremely laid back but also can be incredibly bureaucratic. For example their is nice pool next to the marina that i want to swim at. However its not a matter of simply paying the admission fee and jumping in. If i want to swim i have to get a certificates from the dermatologist and the cardiologist, present my passport, provide them with a photo and pay a 15 euro registration fee! Think i'll stick to swimming at the beach..

So thats Greece..Before coming here i spent a couple of days in brilliant Barcelona staying with friends Sandra and Lidia. Sandra was on one of my charters last year and we have stayed friends. Lidia is her flatmate. It was great being able to chat in Spanish this time..

My last week or so in Peru was full on as i tried to do everything! In Copacabana i did a stunning 4 hour hike along the edge of lake Tittica and then got rowed in a tradition fisherman's skiff out to Isla del Sol. He had two sets of oars so i chipped in and it took us a hour or so two cover the 5 k out to the island. It was stunning being on the lake. A magic place. On the island i walked to the south end and stayed at a great little village on the shores, returning to the mainland the next day. Then bused it back into Peru to Puno, also on the lake to check out the floating reed islands before doing the overnight bus to Cuzco. The reed islands were fascinating. The villagers make them from reeds overlayed on top of each other and actually anchor them to the bottom using long poles. It was super touristy but interesting to see how these guys live.

After arriving the next day in Cuzco, i decided in true Damon style rather than doing the usual Macchu Picchu tourist thing i would hire a motorbike and go a back way to this amazing place. I had the bike for 4 days and toured through the scared valley and over a 4200m pass to drop into the jungle and a little town called St Cristobal where its a 2 hour walk to the base of Macchu Picchu along a the railway line that cuts through a spectacular gorge with the occasional magical glimpse of MP. A tough but brilliant tour. The views over the pass were spectacular with the road easily rivaling that of Boliva's most dangerous road. Coming back i had to wait 3 hours for road works and had to ride the final section in the dark. Even with a good jacket and gloves it was FREEZING! I had a friend, Kathy who runs a hostel in a great place called Ollyatambo come and join me on the back of the bike. Was great to have some company.

My Macchu Picchu experience was equally brilliant. I arrived late in the day and only got to spent a hour in the sight before it closed. However apart from a handful of other tourists the site was deserted. It is a magical place not so much for the impressive ruins but the setting on top of the mountain. Bummer but forgot to take my disposable camera so no pics, oh well the memories will remain for life!

Didn't spent a lot of time in Cuzco as i didn't arrive till after 11pm after my 3 hour delay at the roadworks and then had a 76:30 flight the next morning. But it looked like a great place and i can see why its so popular with tourists.

I spent one day checking out Lima before my 14 hour flight back to Spain. A nice city with some impressive buildings and squares. I didn't meet many travellers who like it but i thought it was ok..

Ok have to run and do a yacht handover so yasis from Greece!

Boliva the land of the worlds most everything..well almost

Hola from La Paz in Boliva!

The worlds highest capital city at almost 4ks above sea level. It literally takes your breath away! It also has the worlds smelliest trucks and buses that spew massive black clouds as they negotiate the many steep streets, that aside its a great city! Have been here now for 2 days and am heading back towards Peru to spend a few days at Copacabana on the shores of lack Tittica which borders Peru and Boliva. Its been a great couple of days here and have been busy exploring the chaotic and congested narrow cobblestone streets crammed with stalls, vendors, great gringo cafes and restaurants, markets selling loads of potions, llama fetuses and other unidentifiable objects and all set in a 5km wide valley surrounded by mountains. The people are super friendly and there is a large Indian presence that makes it feel very South American.

Yesterday i joined a cycle tour down the 'Worlds Most Dangerous Road'!!..As recently as 2 weeks ago tourist died when he went over the edge while doing a bike tour. A sobering thought.

Luckily the only traffic on the road now mainly comprises of gringos tearing down on bikes since the opening of the new paved road. There are dozens of tour company's offering trips cashing in on the scare factor...So ok i'm a sucker too! Its a 60k decent starting at 4700m and ending up at a little town at 1700m. The route starts on bitumen road that descends through spectacular mountain scenery and ends up on a steep and windy narrow dirt road, with straight 300m drops off into the cloud forest below and with the occasional waterfall trying to wash away the road. It was a awesome ride. There were 4 of us, 2 dutch girls, a English guy that i've been travelling with and me plus our guide. A backup vehicle was also following to take us back up the 3000m to La Paz at the end. It was a great deal, 35us for transport, guide, a tshirt, a photo cd, food along the way and a huge buffet lunch at the end..For bike buffs, our wheels were front suspension treks with much needed disc brakes..

What else...Border crossing from Peru to Boliva was muy tranquillo ...The quickest one i´ve been through, no computer on the Bolivan side to hold things up, just a old fashioned stamp and form! Why are all border crossings in South America over ´no mans land´ bridges, something i've been pondering? And what would happen if u accidentally dropped ur passport into the river while crossing between the two countries?????

Ok now in Lake Tittica...Nice bus ride...Interesting bit was crossing a peninsular. Bus was driven on a very rickety wooden barge powered by only 1 outboard engine then putt putted across the 500m of choppy water! Pleased to say we made it...

Copacabana is a great little town. Views of the lake are brilliant but is overcast,windy and freezing so a good night for curling up in bed with a book....Or seeking refugee in a internet cafe...

Adios, amigos!