Ticketeeboo - Just south of Nisos Pera Pigadhi

Just south of Nisos Pera Pigadhi - SE Ithaca 38:19.7N 20:44.6E

Ticketeeboo

Sue & Alan

Wed 12 Sep 2012 07:26

A very pleasant and restful overnight with long-lines ashore after a mostly steady 4 hours sailing and last hour on the donk from Kilamos. When we first dropped our hook here we were happy to swing freely 100m or so offshore. With plenty of space we explored the immediate coastline to see if we could conveniently tie-back and it was just too much hassle. Couple of hours before dusk, however, a small charter yacht took-off so we decided to tie-back to where they where. Quite nice to be tie-back and in our own space for a while? No such thing because as dusk approached the small charter yacht returned and wanted their rock back! They dropped their hook very close to us, needing us to deploy some fenders smartly. They sent a swimmer ashore with their long line, which wasn't long enough anyway, as they began to tie their line over our chain (on the same rock) that's when we said "No!" explaining that if we needed to get away sharply it would be troublesome to release our chain without needing to undo their shoreline (or cut it!). After another failed attempt to secure their line on an alternative rock Sue took charge and told them they were too close. Sue has a certain mannerism at time like this when I can be less positive! The result was good and they scarped to the concrete jetty, which is between the islands half a mile away. As her reward, Sue made us a real good carbanara to enjoy with our Château Lidle white, followed by my speciality de la region - Lidl mini-ice cream on a stick. It's not all over either, as a further reward Sue's doing boiled oeufs so no Greek yoghurt this morning!
We've been keeping a specially keen eye on the weather prospects because there is a lousy system working it's way through the Med from W to E. Hence us choosing Big Vathi, Nisos Ithaca to be on the hook and well protected from S'ly winds these next few days. It also gives us the opportunity to go ashore for a meal or two and replenish fresh veg & fruit - so no scurvy problems for our galley slaves on Ticketeeboo.
If we do get a lot of rain, as is forecast, I will have the opportunity to make a start on some of our 'down-below' jobs. e.g. Some extra support and a fiddle for a recently fitted galley cabinet shelf (because Sue's pans and kitchen aids are plentifully heavy). Our AIS is sending but we are not getting display on our plotters, which requires further investigation of the software/laptop kind. Despite adding ground-plates I'm still not happy with the quality of reception on our SSB radio, so I want to check all the wiring and connections to make sure they are good. Also, I have still to connect-up the Pactor modem, which will be interesting for me because I loath learning about these devices when I'm new to them. (Lots of wire connections and expecting some unknown/hidden glitches). This doesn't mean I'm without a list of 'outside jobs' too, of which there are always plenty?