Now we had been getting some water in the bilges which I took to be the normal drip from our stern packing gland. (For you non sailors a small amount of water comes into the boat to lubricate the propeller shaft, it is normal). However given the proposed 2 nights and 300 odd miles at sea I thought I’d better take a closer look. It turned out that it was not the packing gland but the rubber coupling which basically “Keeps the sea oot!” had perished and had a hole in it. Not good news.

There then unfolded a series of fun events over the following days which I have précised down:

1. I called an engineer from Pylos, who to be fair came within the hour, and then never returned.

2. We tried to see if we could get lifted out the water, the only really safe way to replace this part, but the local crane driver had hurt his foot.

3. Another French guy on the next yacht (I think thanks to Nicolas’s intervention)  said he would do it. “In the water “, if I bought certain tools I didn’t have on board, a heavy hammer, a blow torch and prepared access to the shaft coupling ..…. I did ……. He left.    lol.

(To be fair he was on his own and had a weather window – it was after all getting on in the season) & I now  have a 10lb hammer and a gas blow torch , always wanted one.

After much thought and anguish we decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to do the crossing so we advised Syracuse we wouldn’t be coming.

We had a farewell aperitif with Nicolas who would go on to Syracuse, I think Mau came out in Sympathy “coz he dun a runner” just as Nicolas on Syeni cast off, lol.

  

This still left us with the problem and no apparent way to fix it. The best option seemed to be to bodge a temporary repair with insulating tape and make our way to Kalamata, 40 miles & 9 hours away . The decision was made but neither of us slept the night before. Ideally we would have wanted a good wind so that we wouldn’t need to motor. The gods being what they are saw fit to give us only 3 or 4 knots in the wrong direction.

I can honestly say that trip to Kalamata was the most anxious day’s sailing to date, especially the last mile when we could actually see our goal. We had had our emergency grab bag packed and a contingency plan for me to jump over the side and pack the shaft with bits of T shirt. In actuality I think this would’ve been difficult if not impossible with the hull bouncing up and down.

At 16:20 I see from the log we arrived and tied up at Kalamata Marina.

Saturday saw us leaving Methoni at 10:00 for the short 7 mile hop to Pylos, which was to be our kicking off point across the Ionian to Sicily.

We would stay here until a suitable weather window approched.

During our stay we took Nicolas to what we think is the best Gyros restaurant in Greece, He was impressed.

Apperitifs on Camira and a visit from Mau.

 

Louise had a hair cut !!!

 

We hired a car and went to Kalamata & Finnikounda for the day

 

Mau raiding our bucket

We decided to stay here a day to rest, swim and explore.

  

The day started in the town square with Nicolas for coffee

 

then a wander through town

 

I am sure Louise was really pleased there was a Castle; her usual appreciation is “More piles of stones”.

This one was really good though, even she liked it (I think, lol).

  

She  was rewarded by lunch

  

And then a taxi back to the boat

The next passage was again about 10 hours and unfortunately other than the last couple of hours good sailing the rest was motor sailing. This time we were crossing Messinakos Kolpos to Methoni on the 1^st finger of the Peloponnese.

The trip itself was hot and uneventful, other than my sea fishing rod which is very strong bent further than I have ever seen and eventually the line snapped….. Jaws eh? …..da dum …da dum.

Nicolas had been more fortunate so it was Dorado on his boat for tea that night , Mau the cat, was very pleased !

The next passage was South round Cape Malea and across Lakonikos Kolpos to the middle finger of the Peloponnese.

It is from Cape Malea that Jason & the Argonauts got blown south to Crete in a storm. Greek sailors believed that when they rounded this cape outwards that they might never see Greece again.

The Mani peninsula is quite wild and there are remote little villages situated high up in the mountains.

Porto Kayio is on the southern end of the Mani peninsula, the only spot of shelter in the area. The holding is not great, however the weather was calm and after a longish 10 hour day we anchored up in the bay.

 

We spent the next few days in Yerifa / Momenvasia.

Momenvasia                                                    Joining of hoses for the only water tap

The weather changed for the better and it was back to sunshine.

We had lunch up in the old town of Momenvasia.

We didn’t climb all the way to the top to St. Sophia’s Church this time though!

 

The lump of Momenvasia from Yerifa

Mau enjoying a drink