April 2012 and I am back on board Stratagem to do the annual fit out together with the repairs to the stern which was damaged in January. I have brought a full case loaded with spares, so there is a lot to do. Initially, a quick clean up and checks of engine, batteries and seacocks before being lifted out the following day. The battery check showed a completely dead starter battery for the generator which I suspected at the end of last season, so a new one was quickly ordered and replaced.
The work in polishing the (blue) hull gets ever harder each year and I am now convinced that it is time to have her painted - but not this year! I was unable to get the shine I achieved last year but she looks good nonetheless and with her stern repaired and the antifoul re-done we were back in the water within about 10 days. In the meantime I stayed in a hotel and enjoyed the "all-inclusive" arrangements.
Back in the water and I spent the following week fitting all the spare parts and new equipment I had shipped from the UK. Fitting the new VHF antenna was easy but the cable down the mast was something else. During the process of replacing the old cable with the new I let both slip and the old cable disappeared down the mast with no mouse line to pull down the new cable. After many hours of trying to get a new line down the mast, and dismantling the headlining inside the boat to get a better view below decks I realised that the cable duct fitted inside the mast did not line up with the duct through the deck plug and down to the bottom of the keel-stepped spar! An email to Z-Spars in France received the confirmation that indeed that is the case and is done that way to help prevent water getting below. They nicely told me I had a problem!! Fortunately a know a man who could help, and that is my good friend Alan from the yacht Ticketeeboo who was due in a few days later. His ideas (with a little input from me) and shear doggedness on his part (he never gives up!) we managed to complete the exercise. How? Well we dropped the mouse-line down the mast until it hit the plug above deck and via a drain hole in the mast pulled the line to the outside. I then "pushed" a separate line from below, attached to a wire, and Alan also collected that line through the hole in the mast. After tying both together we were able to manipulate the line through the offset cable duct giving us a continuous line from top to bottom. The new VHF cable could then be drawn down the mast in the usual way, this time with a spare mouse-line also attached. Job done!
One success story was the replacement of the solar panel regulator for a MTTP type and whilst I do not fully understand how it works, what I can say is that it has transformed the efficiency of the solar panels. The 4 stage charger circuitry is superb and I am now seeing anything between 10 and 14 amps charging out of 215 watts of solar panels through the middle of the day. For the first time since I had the solar panels fitted nearly 6 years ago I now have a surplus of power!
Sandra arrived on 28th April and after getting food and drink aboard we got under way for our return passage across the Aegean to Messolonghi. Our first job was to get to Gocek to have our liferaft reserviced as it had not been done properly, and then to Bozburun to formally check out of Turkey. A trip into Symi enabled us to then check into Greece and so continue our passage knowing we were legal to do so. We sailed (or do I mean motored?) over 600 miles to Messolonghi via the Corinth Canal taking in the islands of Leros, Paros, Kithnos, then Korfos on the Peloponnise - through the Corinth Canal and stopping at , Galaxhidi and Trizonia and finally into the marina at Messolonghi. The weather en route was cool for the time of year - some rain - and some heavy winds at times, "on the nose" of course!! We were delayed in Paros, Kithnos, Galaxhidi and Trizonia with strong westerly winds, the strongest occurring whilst we were at anchor outside the harbour in Galaxhidi when we had gusts of 45 knots, fortunately only for a short time. At the same time, our friend Alan (a-la mast helper) who was sailing his Discovery 55 single handed around the Peloponnise to the Ionian was having a torrid time sailing in these dreadful conditions and suffered damage to his yacht. Better him than me!!
We have very fond memories of Trizonia from when we visited 6 years ago - 
an unfinished marina in a superb setting and a most delightful little harbourside village. We managed to get alongside on the outside of the first concrete jetty facing the prevailing wind with (the wind) just off the starboard bow keeping us nicely off the rough concrete.
The marina (which of course is free) is now cluttered with what appear to be abandoned yachts, some of which now look to be beyond economic repair, and there is even a sunken yacht in the middle which has been there for the last couple of years and which no-one has come to claim or
take responsibility. A pity really. These boats should be removed as they take up valuable space and hopefully when Greece sorts out its financial problems perhaps the marina may get finished? It is a valuable resource for the island of Trizonia which is not presently providing an income for the community.
an unfinished marina in a superb setting and a most delightful little harbourside village. We managed to get alongside on the outside of the first concrete jetty facing the prevailing wind with (the wind) just off the starboard bow keeping us nicely off the rough concrete.The marina (which of course is free) is now cluttered with what appear to be abandoned yachts, some of which now look to be beyond economic repair, and there is even a sunken yacht in the middle which has been there for the last couple of years and which no-one has come to claim or
take responsibility. A pity really. These boats should be removed as they take up valuable space and hopefully when Greece sorts out its financial problems perhaps the marina may get finished? It is a valuable resource for the island of Trizonia which is not presently providing an income for the community.
The marina at Messolonghi is not yet finished and there is much to do. The completed facilities e.g. office, shower blocks, laundry, shop, chandlery and cafe bar are good quality, spoilt only by the poorly laid concrete "roads" and hard standing areas. Perhaps they will eventually tidy these up? It is a long walk into town which itself is a lovely place with all services catered for. The berths are good and the general views from the marina are very pretty. We are happy to have left Stratagem there for our summer break back home.
Before leaving we cellebrated the Queen's Jubillee by dressing ship which you can just make out on the photograph (Stratagem is the left blue hulled yacht with her foredeck under the summer cover). A number of other British yachts arround us joined in and soon there were plenty of flags flying!And so another cruise comes to an end and it is off home for the summer and some house maintenance! Fortunately there is an airport reasonably close by to the west of Patras, about an hour or so from Messolonghi by taxi. It would seem that there are only flights using Ryanair from this tiny airport, but at least they fly direct to Stansted. Couldn't be better!
