The leaving of Galaxidi - Friday 7th May

...where was I, Oh yes 7.30am, 5 miles out from Galaxidi being bounced up and down in 25knts of wind like an Alton Towers ride. Pam was not a happy bunny! "I don't like this" she shouted. Well that is not exactly what she shouted. It had a lot of words in that I can't write here but I think you get the drift. Possibly I need to backtrack a little to explain (like they do in all the good TV programmes - well at least what they do in "Lost")

(18 hours earlier)

Around 2 ish on Thursday, we were sat in a waterfront bar looking out on the empty harbour (apart from the 4 or 5 boats that were in there) as one does, drinking a cold one in the sunshine when all of a sudden IT came into view. I think I now know the feeling of what it was like hundreds of years ago when a pirate ship rounded the headland. Well this one didn't have a pirate flag, just and orange foresail cover! - Yes a Neilsons flotilla boat. I had promised Pam we would not see a Neilsons flotilla where we were going. Things got even worse when I spoke to the lead skipper and he told me 25 boats were in the flotilla, moving them from Nidri round to the north of the Agean. 3 hours later, not a space in the harbour!! Noisy or what. Pam was not happy ....but the beer was still cold. Did I mention it was sunny again?

We had decided to leave the following morning at the crack of dawn (ie 7ish) to head down to the Corinth canal to get through in the afternoon with favourable winds behind us although the meteo greece forecast was saying F6/7 but all other forecasts 4/5 behind us. We found out the flotilla was going also to Corinth of Friday but staying in Corinth itself and doing the canal on Saturday morning. No chance then of us getting through Saturday if we were delayed. We managed to persuade the lead skipper not to park any boats in front of us for an early get away. It looked like there were 4 skipper boats and all of them knew Tom Bradshaw (Scotland) - they say hello Tom if you are reading - who used to race with us and had done some of the early long passages on the way down to Portugal.

The wind howled a bit in the night but otherwise the boat hardly moved. A very safe harbour. We got up with the alarm at 6.30am to no wind and cast off - getting the anchor up without pranging any of the surrounding boats. We motored out of the bay with 5knts gently wafting across the deck as I pulled up the main with 2 reefs and a handkerchief for a headsail - why? The bank of white horse 200m away was a clue. Half an hour later we were bombing along at 7 knots with the wind and waves broadside on to us. I am sure we could have been doing 8.5knts with a bit more sail but Pam was having none of it. Pam was having none of anything. Like Neilson' foltillas I had promised her not to go out in bad weather.

Plan 14x rev2 did however have a backup (I hope you are all keeping up with these revisions). It was 38 miles to Corinth so at this speed we would have been there soon after noon, but the sea did get a bit rough. The backup was to go round the headland and up to Andikiron. By 9am we were at the headland, the wind was gusting 35knts and the sea was getting more than a bit rough but at least it was behind us. I had been talking by phone to Richard and Karen (Pyxis) who were in Andikiron and planning to head down to Corinth to meet us to go through the canal but they had decided not to go because of the wind. Instead I told them to keep us a space as we were going up there to meet them. The wind continued to blow at 30 knts for the next hour as we sailed up the gulf northwards to Andikiron.

We got there about 10 ish and rafted up next to Pyxis as there was not a lot of room. The wind gods were great as the wind died to nothing for an hour to let us tie up but then it was back to 30-40knts for the rest of the day. We were luckily on the west side of the pier so although we got a lot of slap from the wind driven wave we didn't get the swell that the east side of the pier was seeing. A washing machine couldn't have been more efficient. If you come here - don't park on the east side.

By this time Pam had calmed down a bit - not a lot!!! I was trying to hide in places she couldn't find me. At least though we had made it safely and the boat performed faultlessly. Time then for a sleep (as we did get up at 6.30) ready for a night on the town. More about Andikiron later.

Comments

[Ken Brown]

Andy sounds like you enjoyed the crossing, the north sea races spring to mined!

Are you sure you don't want to come and join us going up to Norway in early June ?

I'm taking orders for the Tenents !