Me, Bryn, Ian and Jill overlooking St Paul’s Bay, LindosJill Relaxing on the sun deck.
A wonderful silver lining in the cloud that has surrounded Linea recently was the prospect of seeing our friends Bryn and Jill on Fly the Coop, who were sailing to Rhodes to attend a wedding at the end of the month. They very kindly invited us to come and stay on their palatial Fountaine Pajot catamaran. This was an offer that we leapt at, not only because we were delighted to see them but also because the facilities at the yard were somewhat basic!
The view over the bay of Lindos.Ian attempting to SUP.
We sailed with them (7.5Kts) down to lovely Lindos bay and moored stern to the rocks in the middle of the two bays. It was a fabulous spot to keep cool and we had a really fun week, eating, drinking, swimming and messing about on the SUP paddleboard.
After almost a week there, it was time for Fly the Coop’s next set of visitors. For us, Keira was due into Rhodes after her summer of work at the Oxford Summer Courses.
Keira on Pythagoras Street, Old Town Rhodes.Me, Penny, Ali, Keira and Ian in the narrow alleys of Lindos.
The following day Alison Clements-Hunt (France/UK) and Penny Walker (Perth/Australia) flew in, having rendezvoused in Athens. They are old friends from our Bangkok expat days when we were members of a Mothers and Babies group called BAMBI – still in existence today. We were last all together nineteen years ago and it was so fabulous to see them both and have a great catch up.
We rented a beautiful house on a hill south of Rhodes and enjoyed a lazy week. We just about mustered the energy to do a little sightseeing in Lindos and Rhodes,
and forced ourselves to go to the beach for a dip and a gyros!
Having been pulled out on to the hard on Monday 20th August we were confident that we would soon be back in the water. I had already spoken to the yard about sourcing a Volvo Penta engineer and I had actually spoken to the man himself. However, the engineer was very busy and couldn’t come until Wednesday to take a look and wasn’t able to remove the sail drive until Thursday.
In the meantime, we had spoken to the insurance company yet again and had been told that if the damage turned out to be accidental then virtually all our expenses would be covered. How fab would that be?
The engineers found some fishing line wrapped within the workings and seemed to be sure that this could have been the cause of the failure.
The insurance company wanted to see for themselves so on the 10th September an English surveyor based in Bodrum came to see what he could suss out.
He looked at the broken sail drive and took lots of pictures. He asked questions and we explained to him when we thought that the damage could have happened.
So, we await his verdict.
Today, Volvo Europe Head office phoned to say that our new sail drive would be with us in Rhodes tomorrow.
With luck the engineers will have the time to fit it and before you know it we will be back in the water! Of course, we will have to satisfy the port police again and pay for an expensive survey but the last few hurdles, of which we are aware, are in sight.
After our recent frustrating experience in Symi, I took the time to vent my feelings by writing a letter of complaint , by e-mail, to the Vice Admiral of the Hellenic Coastguard and the Port Authority. In it I explained our situation and outlined why we felt cross about virtually being hijacked in Symi. I suggested that the organisation was too bound by rules, bureaucracy, rubber-stamping and back-covering.
Today, I received a reply. hand delivered from the Port Authority of Rhodes office.
The gentleman brought a folder full of papers. I was handed a hard copy of the Vice Admiral’s reply – rubber-stamped and signed.
I had to sign a paper to confirm my receipt of the reply.
So we found ourselves back in Symi. Luckily, Erin and Josh were able to catch a couple of ferries to take them back to Kos. Soon they were winging their way to Corsica to jobs at a Marc Warner resort for the summer.
The Daggetts in Panormitis.
Whilst we organised our escape from Symi we were looking forward to a cheer-up visit from Alice and Ian. Once more, Alice and Ian’s visit coincided with engine problems and there was no possibility of them sailing anywhere with us. It was so lovely to see them. We were delighted that they had made the effort. They came at the height of summer temperatures. It was a stifling 40 degrees in the harbour in Symi. The water temperature in the bay was only marginally less hot. The breeze was barely registering on the Beaufort scale.
Desperate to cool off, we had the ingenious idea of buying a bag of ice every night to scatter at our feet in the cockpit. Cold ice bottles pressed to our bodies helped as we sweltered on the boat.
Delicious rhubarb gin and plenty of wine helped to anaesthetise us to the dreadful, loud and repetitive music emanating from the bar opposite the stern of the boat and disturbing the peace and quiet of the night until 0500h EVERY morning!!
We took a couple of bus trips: One over to Pethi bay where we spent a pleasant afternoon swimming and supping beer.
And one down the island to Panormitis Bay where we had lunch and a wander round the beautiful monastery and museums there.
We did get out on the water in the dinghy and to find a suitable spot for a swim and barbecue one evening.
We had a good time catching up with our mates and we are so grateful to them for coming to give us moral support and to cheer us up.
After their departure, Alice managed to track down the Ice Factory in Symi and organised the Ice Man to Cometh! He delivered a very welcome bag of ice each day to the boat at her behest! Thank you very much Alice and Ian.
As the days dragged by, we established a routine.
Up and at ‘em in the morning.
Check the boat is safe against the swell and surge that comes in with the arrival of any of the numerous ferries and cruise ships. The boat is rocked violently and pushed back and forth on her anchor and lines. Mast and spreaders can clatter against the boat next door if not properly aligned. The gang plank must be raised high otherwise it smashes on the quay and wrecks the sprocket to which it is attached on the boat.
Ian would start the day with a visit to Mr Ilias the Harbour Master at the port Police.
On his return he would often have to deploy ThunderBird Two to help charter boats undo their anchor knitting.
I would do a quick clean up inside the boat.
Then, taking a bottle of ice tucked under my arm, my hat on my head, my fan in hand, I would hop ashore to sit in the shade at the Axinos Café and concentrate on trying not to sweat so much.
Ioannis and me between boat and cafe.
Here I would sit, nursing an ice cold coffee frappe, and chat to Ioannis (John) who helped out at the café.
Ioannis is in his mid-80’s and has lived in Australia for 50 years. He has a house in Symi and comes back during the summer to see friends and family. He was a charmer and a joy to meet and to talk to. I enjoyed listening to his history and hearing commentary on life in Symi.
Despite being stuck here for nearly three weeks, we were lucky compared to our neighbouring boat that had been impounded for four years. It had been stolen and used to transport 70 refugees to Greece and was in a sorry state. I hope that the refugees had faired better.
Ian would return from the police and we would invariably sit and watch the passengers from the ferries troupe past on the ‘Parade’ until well after 1330h. Occasionally I saw this man on his donkey trotting on by.
Then we would head to the café on the corner and indulge in a Pita Gyros.
The heat saps the energy and so an afternoon nap would be required, followed by a few more jobs and then the early evening entertainment of ‘Charter Boat Cha Cha’. We would sit in the shade with a cold beer and watch them as they tangled anchors and collided with each other.
Some evenings, we took off in the dinghy to a little beach area around the headland for a swim and a cool off. We explored the village, attended a music and dance festival a couple of evenings and, ever hopeful, prepared for departure.
We enjoyed a final meal up at Haritomeni Restaurant high above the bay.
As pretty as Symi is and as kind and friendly the locals are, I don’t think we will return here any time soon, if we can help it!
We finally left Symi thinking that we would be back in the water within a week. How wrong we were!
After a lovely two weeks in Turkey we left Bozborun, slightly perturbed by a loud knocking sound as the anchor came up. We quickly attributed it to the dinghy hitting the bow as it swung forwards and happily set sail for Symi, Greece. We had the sails up the whole way.
Back through the gap.
After completing the paperwork formalities, we set off to deliver Josh and Erin the 50 miles to Kos, as the winds were forecast to be favourable. After a fairly slow and hot start out of Symi bay, we were soon tonking along in strong winds at 7.5kts. Almost as soon as the wind appeared, it died and came only in fits and starts. On starting the engine there was a terrible noise and on further investigation black oil and sea water were gushing into the engine bilge. On selecting forward or reverse gears there were awful grinding and grating noises. The engine would not help us. The swell was too great to deploy the dinghy. Oh, bugger!
The swell was rapidly pushing us closer to the rocks. Finally, we were resigned to the fact that we would need an emergency tow.
Whilst the option to call for help is well-organised and the coastguard response prompt and professional, the consequences of calling them out can be far-reaching, as we were soon to discover.
Arriving back into Symi bay being towed by Panormitis
Once you have called them, their obligation is to organise a tow to the nearest safe harbour. In our case this was to be Symi, a harbour where we knew we would not be able to be repaired as there are no haul out facilities for yachts. Once in the harbour, they impound your boat and take your documents until such a time as you have had the problem fixed.
Soon we were in an endless cycle of;
Port Authority: “You cannot leave until you have the engine fixed.”
Us: “We cannot get the engine fixed here and we must go to Kos or Rhodes.”
Port Authority: “You cannot go until you have the engine fixed.”
We already had an offer from the fishing boat that brought us back to Symi, to tow us to Rhodes. But the paperwork involved in issuing a Towing Certificate is significant. It transpired that the fishing boat did not have sufficient horse power on its papers to comply with the Ministry of Port Police regulations.
Another boat that was willing to tow us was found and negotiations ensued AND he had the required horsepower, too. But no, this was still not adequate. The Port Police were now insisting that we use a professional tug boat company from Rhodes. The quote for this service was 750 Euros an hour plus VAT for a job that will probably take about ten hours. A quick calculation gives a total fee of around E10000!
We tried every possible tack. Wonderful friends and neighbours from our winter mooring base in Sicily offered messages of support and suggestions as to how we should proceed.
So, we tried to make a temporary repair guided by clear instructions and diagrams from Allan and Bruce. Ian dived under the boat to fill the hole in the sail drive with epoxy putty and cover it with self-amalgamating tape. We pumped out burnt oil and sea water from the gear box and replaced it with bio-degradable vegetable oil. Now we had two methods of propulsion and a working mast and sails but the necessary certification could not be granted even to let us go to Rhodes for proper repairs.
Inevitably we toyed with the idea of absconding to Turkey about 10 miles away but the harbour here in Symi is small and everyone knows our predicament due to effective jungle drums. The port police and the coastguard have offices on either side of the entrance to the harbour. The harbour is at the head of a huge bay, the sheer size of which would hamper our chances of a rapid departure without being seen.
We did not want to be arrested!
So we continued with discussions and negotiations about a tug boat.
We managed to whittle the price down a bit but it was still a massive amount. We had no option but to agree to the charge being held to ransom, as it were.
The port police added in hurdles every time we spoke. We were told that the first towing certificate we received from our surveyor had expired so he would need to issue a new one.
Next, we are told that the Captain of the tug boat would only be given permission to leave Rhodes once the Port Police had viewed the latest weather report and agreed that it was safe to tow us and that the whole operation must be completed within a twelve hour time frame.
Additionally, we are not allowed to have our boat papers back until this permission has been given and the Captain of the tug boat had signed some paperwork and been fully rubber-stamped in the Port Police office here in Symi. A process that was bound to take time, for which we would be paying!
Pipinos Tug Boat looking small next to the huge cruise ship!
To add to the irony of the situation, the tug boat was HUGE. It was 31m long, 11m wide and weighs 400T. It had 4500HP engines. It was so big that it couldn’t even enter the harbour in Symi to pick us up. So, we had to manoeuvre out in to the bay using our temporarily fixed engine, to the precise point from which we could easily sail! Hmmm? When we arrived in Rhodes we would be dropped near the boat yard and would have to motor in to the slips. Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The rigid following of procedures and rules to the letter, with no logical thought about the type of boat and the individual circumstances, has been incredibly frustrating and stressful.
Tug boat 50m ahead and pulling our carefully rigged bridle.
Anyway, the day of the tow was selected and the tug duly arrived. Once we had directed the crew of the tug boat as to how they should rig their substantial towing line to our bridle and what distance to leave between our two vessels the tow went very smoothly. ( See our blog on How to rig a bridle when your yacht is to be towed.)
The weather was kind to us and the swell was a minimal 60cm, even in the Rhodes Channel. We arrived within four hours and the tug was able to drop us very close to the slips.
In Rhodes, in the slips of Nereus Boatyard. Huge cruise ship on the far side of the bay.
The yard stayed open a little later than normal and we were soon in the cradle and lifted out on the hard.
Twenty days after breaking down we had arrived in Rhodes.
In the cradle, on the hoist. Wise lifts are made in Cullingworth near Bradford!
We rented a beautiful house on a hill south of Rhodes and enjoyed a lazy week. We just about mustered the energy to do a little sightseeing in Lindos and Rhodes,
for a dip and a gyros!
