Web Diary page 15-16th September 2007
Ladyliv
Fri 21 Sep 2007 21:48
|
WEB DIARY PAGE 15-16th SEPTEMBER
2007. ZAKYNTHOS
POSITION 37:47.08N 20:54.12E
Had an exhilarating sail (no motor!) out of
Neapolis - running before the wind and surfing down the waves, which made such a
change to the motoring that we have done so much of, so far on the
journey. Uneventful night sail, but quite a lot of traffic out there,
motored all the way, not too much spluttering, two hour watches with the
highlight being a tanker with no port navigation light at 0310 so we didn't know
which way he was going !! We survived. Arrived early hours of
the 16th into Zakynthos harbour. Later that morning, after a couple of
hours sleep, filled up with water and diesel. Had an English
neighbour, Mike, who was a great character, and helped out with the loan of a
bilge pump and some ideas regarding the engine problems - Bob & M then
got down and dirty with the diesel tank - Bob up to his armpits in the diesel
tank to search for sludge, and M helping to pump out any foreign bodies, and mop
up the mess ! Bob discovered the filter on the feed pipe was
covered with thick black gunge, which he scraped off with his fingernails and
took out of the tank. We both felt very confident that we may have
discovered and cured the engine spluttering problems ourselves - much relief,
and couldn't wait to take LL out for a trial run ! In the afternoon,
and to reward our labours, we hired a quad bike to explore the
island. True to form, and our luck with engines - twenty minutes out
of the town, and half way up the mountain, the engine spluttered and we broke
down ! Bob then did his Basil Fawlty impression, threatening and kicking
the bike, beating it with a tree and giving it to the count of three to start,
whilst M calmly got the mobile out and phoned the mechanic ! Needless to
say, despite Bob's reasoning with the bike, it didn't - however, one mechanic
and one spark plug later, we were on our way again ! Closely
resembling Wallace & Gromit in our crash helmets, we headed off to shipwreck
bay - which is the famous shot of Zakynthos, used in travel brochures - and
weren't disappointed. The views were stunning from the 1000'+ high cliffs,
and we perched on the edge of a sheer drop to take some stunning
pictures. We met a "professional photographer" up on the edge of the
cliff - she was from Athens and dressed in no more than a pair of flipflops and
a bikini - who took our photo together (one of the few we have), which, when we
looked on the big screen, was completely out of focus !! We then headed
slowly through the very mountainous island, back to the town, and back on board
to get ready for the arrival of our guests the following morning - Lucie,
Richard & Elaine.
        |