Agmar Marine yard Partheni
Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Mon 5 Apr 2010 19:41
|
37 12.0N 26 47.5E
Monday 5th April 2010
Arwen is in the Yard here at Partheni and we are
living on board whilst we prepare her for the season. The weather has been
fantastic since our arrival
in fact almost too hot at times for working! We
have been able to get all the essential work done really quickly as the sun
dries everything. The boat was
fine on our arrival although very dirty - due to a
sand-filled rainstorm from two weeks ago which we had already heard about from
our taxi driver in Athens.
First job was therefore to wash the boat - once
this was done we started on the teak decks which were given a thorough clean
with fresh water before using our usual Semco
cleaning product and then we re-sealed them. They
look as good as new again. Next was the rubbing down and anti-fouling which we
completed in 3 days - this included
3 coats on the water-line,rudder and keel and two
coats everywhere else. In between this we washed the genoa - there is a great
facility here - a tiled sail washing area
with a tall metal tower with permanently
fitted blocks and tackle to lift the sail up to dry it. We also did the
bimini, spray hood and dodgers and various other items such as the sail-ties,
mainsail cover and binnacle cover.
The final major job was completed yesterday which
was the polishing of the hull - this was made much easier as we were able to
borrow a gantry on which to stand to reach all parts with out using a
ladder!
Now we have to polish the fibre glass on the coach
roof and finish off cleaning the stainless steel around the boat.
As we had a windless day today we fitted the
mainsail - we were rather disappointed to find it still dirty (despite requesting it be washed and repaired when we delivered
it to the office in October) - we have to meet the management tomorrow
about this! We are also awaiting the arrival of new batteries as the old ones
have not been functioning well for several months.
We already replaced the Bowthrust one last week as
it was definitely faulty and would not hold it's charge.
There are about 10 boats being worked on by
'live-aboard' folk although we are the only Brits just now - a few Dutch, one
Italian couple and three French that we have met and chatted to. The chandlery
is very good here as
are the showers and laundry room, we also get free
WIFI and the connection is good We have had no complaints yet about the
work force though have heard rumors that things don't get done very quickly -
but this has not been our experience as yet.
In between all of this work we have had a hire-car
and been exploring the island. Over the Easter period Greece celebrates in a
very elaborate way. everything starts on Maundy Thursday and thunder flashes can
be heard all the time
from then on with the biggest bangs occurring on
Saturday night after midnight to signify the Resurrection. On Good Friday all
the Churches (and there are about 20 on this tiny island) have a parade
where they walk round the vicinity
carrying a beautifully decorated 'Epitaphia' -
usually accompanied by a priest, a platoon of soldiers, a choir and loads of
parishioners! Then come the youngsters who throw bangers! We were recommended to
go to the main town
of Aye Marina where there are 3 churches and
they all meet in the square for the finale of the processions. We duly did this
but soon retreated as the noise and fumes from the huge thunder bombs being set
off were unbearable!
I forgot to mention that many people 'fast' from
Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday (not literally but they don't eat meat) so
all the restaurants are closed too. We were only able to get a chicken burger in
a cafe on the Friday night
instead of a Gyros from our favorite Taverna which
was closed. Easter Sunday is family time so nothing is open and when we drove
around the island we kept coming across family gatherings where lambs were being
'spit-roasted'
and loud Greek music was being played- we even saw
one large group dancing and singing in the road outside their house. We were
invited to join an elderly man and his two sons and daughter who were set
up at a trestle table with
a BBQ behind them in front of a half built chapel.
We were on a tiny lane on the way down to a small bay when we passed them and
they called for us to stop - we didn't on the way down but coming back up they
were adamant
and so we did! We were given fresh slices of spit
roast lamb (well it looked more like a sheep from the size of the carcass!),
salad, beers and homemade Tatziki. We found the people to be so welcoming and
friendly and discovered
that the old guy was building a chapel in memory of
his mother - it was an on-going project and he hoped to get it finished sometime
next year!
Everything here is in full bloom - the wild flowers
- mostly Michelmas daisies are everywhere and the hibiscus and laburnum are
glorious. Most evenings while we are sitting in the cockpit before supper we
hear a flock of sheep
with their bells tinkling being walked down to the
field next to the yard. In the mornings we get the military 'Rivalle recorded
and boomed out to the inhabitants of the nearby military camp! I guess we are
going to have to get used to early wake-up calls once we get to Turkey as the
'call to prayer' starts at 0600 in most towns!
|