The journey home

Bongioro Hello from Italy 🇮🇹 we travelled west from Albania and anchored up just North of Orthoni, the North western most of the Greek islands. Unfortunately on our way to the anchorage John decided to cut a corner and we collided with some rocks seemed OK at the time, we spent a rolly night and then headed off early towards Santa Maria de Leuca, 8 somewhat unpleasant hours later we arrived.
Living on a boat for 2 years has not helped my seasickness, neither did the lemon and ginger tea or the sea bands, I don’t think there is much hope now that I will ‘get used to it’.
Yesterday we spent a overcast day walking around the villages near Santa Maria, there were of course some churches and Mussolini’s steps but also some much older constructions including a 9th century burial chamber and lots of stone rooms/ houses, the older ones were conical the more modern ones square but they all had flat tops and steps up to the roofs. They don’t look like the Puglia houses but are of a similar construction two limestone skins with infill. Almost every modern property seemed to have at least one of these in the garden.
This morning while I was trying to do a bit of yoga 🧘‍♀️, couldn’t run had got some beaut blisters yesterday, John had a check on various things and identified a small leak near the keel that may have been a result of our rocks encounter. We are looking into where we might be able to get this looked at.Read more

The trip from Saint Maria up to Gallipoli wasn’t the smoothest, but I was on the helm for 3 hours and that definitely helped. Unfortunately when I took a break on a smoother patch I noticed wet carpet, John!! Bugger another bloody hose had come off the fresh water system and the bilges were again full of water, we had to slow while it was pumped out as John had to keep going below, clearing the bilge pump filters as the oil mats had disintegrated in all the water. We eventually made it to Bleu Salento Marina, it’s a bit flash and I worried about the cost, but there was a bit of a deal so only €42 a night. Once moored up we emptied the bilges again and dried everything off then we checked the forward bilge and it again had some water in it, from the leak we thought was near the keel after the rock encounter, but it wasn’t getting any deeper. Had a day mooching around both the new and old town and decided to ask at the yards here if anyone could lift us so we could check the welds on the keel.
Joy Coralias Cantieri Marine could lift us ‘tomorrow morning at 8:00’ for €700 and they had a welder on site. Back on board we readied the boat, moved the kayaks and the dinghy, checked ropes etc. I also checked the forward bilge, No Water!! Oh well we would get lifted and see what we could see. Well the lift was an experience, first of all we reversed in ready quite narrow and shallow, but then they decided they had to put a small boat in so we had to move out, back in and then debates about how many and where to put the strops, I stay out of the way in the cabin. Next thing I know the boat’s being lifted with me on board, not a good experience the strops squeak and creak as they settle, the boat swings even when hoist is still! But all’s well that ends well the guys got everything settled and off I scuttled. After everyone, and I mean everyone had come and had a look and could find no hull breaches only 1 biggish scrap but it was to the rear and not through we concluded the water was not coming in from outside so after three days of sanding priming priming and antifouling we are back in the water and pondering our next move.
Yesterday between coats of paint we decided to go for a bike ride, well I have worked out that we travelled about 70km in total, we got as far as Porto Cesareo a well sheltered lagoon with harbour that’s in a Marine Reserve we tried to find out how we go about getting an anchoring permit but failed, but well we’ve seen it now anyway. On the way we passed about 7 defensive towers built by for Spaniards, I think they were 16th century. Some had been renovated others were only ruins, the ride was pleasant as the roads weren’t very busy. On the way back we passed some fairly large estates but sadly most of the houses were in disrepair.Read more