Sunday 25 Sep - A long day

Had a dither last night about whether to try to get 20 miles under our belt or wait for today. Finally decided it was too late, so spent the last 2 hours before sunset trying to sort out things that we hadn't had time to address. The battery to the tender was flat but the fella who took 1600 euro off us for fuel (my new best friend) was happy to charge it for us. Didn't get another chance last night to look at it but we've tried just now and although the battery is good, it still won't start!

Up early in the hope of getting some distance done before the wind picked up, however, despite setting off before sunrise the wind was up earlier. The driving was shared between Julie, Gordy, me and the autopilot. There was about 4 hours in a really exposed passage that we'd been strongly advised not to do. It's clear that the previous owner didn't use the boat in stormy weather because so many items are not properly secure. We found that 8-10kt was about as fast as we could go in the conditions. Any slower and it was really hard to maintain steering, because the rudders are super small (designed to work at 20kt). Any faster and the boat was smashing down onto the waves so hard that everything would shudder. The lower steering helm is about 3m above the waterline and waves were level with this steering position. We kept off the upper helm because so many waves were being thrown over the boat.

We had a few minor snags but, on the whole, the boats performance was encouraging. The clip on the doors at the rear of the salon don't hold them closed when the boat rolls widely, so we ended up lashing them shut with rope and a quick release knot. The tender's position results in water pouring in from the waves, so the drain needs to be clear and the lines need to be really tight. The temperature gauge on the left engine is intermittent, and wasn't working at all when we finally arrived. The liferaft stowage isn't secure enough so it slides around the flybridge in rolling seas. The securing bracket for the upper helm seat has rotted and broken. We pulled the power back every hour so that I could fight my way around outside and do running repairs. Surprisingly, the autopilot worked well in the heavy seas so that's encouraging for later. All in all, pretty encouraging.

It was a long slog and we ended up doing 10 hours in one go. We've picked up a mooring buoy in a tiny inlet on the southern side of Leros island. The place is really pretty and looks good for a few glasses of wine. Sadly we'll be rowing ashore because that wretched outboard won't start. We need Craig here to sort out the engineering. Most importantly, our current position ensures protected waters and easy cruising for the next 3 days at least. We're also really well placed for the short hop across to Turkey tomorrow.