{"id":1837,"date":"2015-08-12T07:12:44","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T14:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/easethemain.com\/?p=1837"},"modified":"2016-04-04T09:18:15","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T16:18:15","slug":"the-gods-must-be-angry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/?p=1837","title":{"rendered":"The Gods Must Be Angry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC_0191\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know what we did to piss them off, but the Gods have not been happy with us ever since we arrived in Greece.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t have been the lack of knowledge about Greek history; one Greek shopkeeper told Dante that he knew more about Ancient Greece than most of the population.\u00a0 Perhaps we\u2019d been knocking on wood too much and not offering proper respect to Poseidon (God of the Sea) or Hephaestus (God of Metallurgy), but our troubles began as soon as we arrived in Greece.<\/p>\n

After an overnight passage from Bari, Italy, we made landfall in Corfu, Greece, and the windlass (used to lower and raise the anchor) stopped working.\u00a0 Now, you can anchor easily enough without an electric windlass \u2013 just use a winch handle to release the clutch.\u00a0 Pulling up chain, especially if anchored in anything more than 10 feet of water (where we\u2019d have at least 40 feet of chain out), is tiresome to say the least.\u00a0 Moreover, it leaves us extremely vulnerable because it is difficult to pull up anchor and leave in a moment\u2019s notice should conditions warrant it.<\/p>\n

Darold called the U.S., spoke with \u201cthe\u201d guy from our windlass manufacturer and he gave us hints and recommendations for fixing it.\u00a0 Darold was worried the motor had burned out.\u00a0 But it turned out that the brushes needed to be cleaned.\u00a0 Darold performed physical maneuvers that would have made his chiropractor wince in order to access the windlass through as small cabinet at the bow in our forward berth and cleaned the brushes.\u00a0 Problem solved \u2013 at least for the time being.\u00a0 We spent some time in Greece making our way to the rendezvous point with our friend Erik and two of his boys.\u00a0 (For more information on our trip with the, see our blog post \u201cOpa!\u201d).\u00a0 We met up with them and started making our way south, as our plan was to make it to the oracle at Delphi, transit the Corinth Canal, and then anchor near Athens and tour the city.\u00a0 The Gods, however, had another plan for us.<\/p>\n

Here is how Darold describes our problems:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe arrived in Corfu, Greece mid-morning after an overnight passage from Bari, Italy.\u00a0 Tired but excited to be in Greece we go to drop the hook in a beautiful anchorage near the old fort.\u00a0 But the windlass wouldn\u2019t operate (this is the electric winch used to deploy\/retrieve the anchor).\u00a0 So we did a quick manual anchoring.<\/p>\n

This bit of bad luck I brought upon myself by making the stupid comment to Jen as we sailed in to Corfu: \u00a0\u201cHey this was a successful passage, nothing broke!\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0So after a quick cappuccino I was buried in the anchor locker cleaning the motor brushes. With that fixed it was time to dingy to shore for some ouzo and spanakopita.<\/p>\n

We had about 10 days to explore Greece on our own before the Blois crew would arrive (Erik, Lanse and Lukas).\u00a0 They also crewed for us in the Caribbean. \u00a0A couple of days after they arrive we headed out to a remote anchorage for some swimming and hiking.\u00a0 After a very enjoyable several days it came time to head out and start making progress towards Athens.\u00a0 While checking the engine oil I noticed some transmission fluid.\u00a0 Further investigation revealed that the rear seal was leaking like a sieve and half the fluid was gone. \u00a0Oh boy!<\/p>\n

Well at least we are a sailboat and can sail back the 25 miles to Nidri, on the island of Lefkas, where I can sort out the problem and get parts.\u00a0 Easier said than done.\u00a0 Benevento is a medium to heavy boat for her size at 14 tons.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t really start to wake up until the apparent wind is 15 knots and she loves 20 knots.\u00a0That is her sweet spot.\u00a0 But we are in the Ionian Islands where wind here is as scarce as water in California!<\/p>\n

So we sailed off the anchor and headed back in a 5 knots \u2013 a light breeze.\u00a0 For most the day we had 2 to 7 knots, sometimes just drifting along a 0.4 knots.\u00a0 The problem was there were many islands along the way that we had to make sure we could clear should we have no wind.\u00a0 Fortunately, we always had just barely enough wind to safely navigate between the islands.\u00a0 In a pinch we could have dropped anchor or used our dingy (as a tugboat) to keep us safe.\u00a0 Well 13 hours later found us back at the anchorage, but not before one more challenge. At one point, another boat was crossing our bow and we had right of way.\u00a0 However, they either didn\u2019t know the right of way rules, or ignored them. We had to change our tack to avoid hitting them as we yelled \u201cWe have the right of way!!\u201d and lost precious momentum.\u00a0 They sheepishly shrugged and looked at us funny.<\/p>\n

As we approached our harbor the wind piped up to 25 knots.\u00a0 OK this will line up nicely with the channel to the anchorage.\u00a0 We\u2019ll sail down the channel and drop the hook.\u00a0 But as we approached the channel the wind dropped to less than 5 knots.\u00a0 The channel is crowded with boats (some even anchored in it), water skiers, ferries, basically just polluted with boating traffic.\u00a0 The majority of the traffic is tourists and charter boats not paying attention.\u00a0\u00a0 Can\u2019t sail\/drift down the channel with this much traffic and such little wind.\u00a0 So we headed back out into 20 knots, clear of any obstacles and traffic.\u00a0 Dropped the sails and slowly drifted while we lowered the dingy into the water and secured it to the starboard aft quarter of Benevento.\u00a0 Erik climbed in the dingy and motored us back to the channel and down to the anchorage, traveling a nice 3.5 knots.\u00a0 Plenty of speed to safely dodge the floating hazards.\u00a0 We dropped the hook in a very large and completely protected anchorage with excellent holding.<\/p>\n

We cracked open beers and enjoyed the feeling that comes with a potential tragedy thwarted. \u00a0Meanwhile, Dante had strapped a Lego mini-figure of Homer Simpson to our mast using rubber bands and declared that it was \u201cHomer\u2019s Odyssey.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a few days resting there with the Blois crew, and trying to stay cool in the 100 degree weather, they cut their trip short with us a few days so they could explore the Greek sites we were going to do together.\u00a0 They need to get back to Athens to catch their flight home.\u00a0 So we began sorting out the gearbox trouble.<\/p>\n

So to make a long story short, the problem with the gearbox turned out to be an easy fix.\u00a0 The nut which holds the output flange to the gearbox shaft came loose.\u00a0 Even though it is Loctite on, the Loctite after 15 years dried up and the nut has probably been working its way loose for many miles.\u00a0 Basically when in forward gear the nut tightens itself, but when in reverse the nut can loosen itself.\u00a0 This dance between tight and loose played out for many miles.\u00a0 It finally worked itself loose enough that while backing down on our anchor it came off allowing the shaft to pull partially away from the gearbox.\u00a0 This allowed the gearbox flange to pull out of the gearbox no longer making a tight fit with the rear seal, letting half the fluid out.\u00a0 An easy fix, but I needed to have a special tool machined for tightening the nut, which took more than a week.\u00a0 And we ordered a few parts (rear seal, locking nut O-ring).<\/p>\n

Anyway after a week we got everything back together and it was time to start making our way back towards Spain since Jen and Dante are flying home from Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands mid-September.\u00a0 We had a 3-day passage from Greece to Sicily (briefly encountering gale-force winds towards the end of the passage) but safely made it back into the great anchorage of Siracusa, where we stayed back in late May.\u00a0 The gearbox ran very smoothly on the passage over, and is not leaking any fluid.”<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, our windlass failed again as we were leaving Lefkas to come to Italy.\u00a0 The motor is wearing out.\u00a0 It is 15 years old and just barely large enough to manage the weight of our ground tackle.\u00a0 AAAAAAH!!!\u00a0 Nothing like the feeling of danger and insecurity you can get with a non-working windlass.\u00a0 At least the anchorage in Siracusa is protected!\u00a0 We checked with the chandlery in town (from whom we had ordered some parts last time we were there), and they said they couldn\u2019t order us a replacement.\u00a0 They could, however, get the clutch and brake cables that Darold needed to replace.\u00a0 He took the cables off the boat, essentially disconnecting our ability to maneuver the boat using the gear handles.\u00a0 Hs said that in a pinch, we could maneuver the boat in forward or reverse and accelerate from the engine compartment.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t sound like fun.\u00a0 A few afternoons later we had a squall come through the anchorage and the wind got up to 50 knots.\u00a0 We braced ourselves to deploy emergency tactics and kept watch for other boats dragging down on us or our own anchor dragging. Fortunately, we didn\u2019t drag and didn\u2019t have to resort to those tactics.\u00a0 We cracked open a few more beers.<\/p>\n

We got our cables and Darold replaced them all.\u00a0 Meanwhile, he had researched what windlass he wanted to buy and contacted the manufacturer and a reseller. They were working on a quote and Darold let them know we might not have Internet access for a few days, as we planned to make our way toward Sardinia.\u00a0 It was a comedy of errors trying to get the windlass actually ordered.\u00a0 We take so many things for granted back at home.\u00a0 Including: having an address to send something to, and being able to use a credit card online.\u00a0 Try ordering an expensive part without being able to do either of those things.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say some very senior folks at Pay Pal got involved and we know the Gibraltar postal and customs system pretty well by now.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it was all of this work that appeased the Gods, but the gear box was working flawlessly.\u00a0 We\u2019ll never know.\u00a0 Truth be told, there is always something to be fixed on a boat.\u00a0 But in the future, we might take a ferry to Greece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We don\u2019t know what we did to piss them off, but the Gods have not been happy with us ever since we arrived in Greece.\u00a0 It couldn\u2019t have been the lack of knowledge about Greek history; one Greek shopkeeper told Dante that he knew more about Ancient Greece than most of the population.\u00a0 Perhaps we\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sailing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1837"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1842,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837\/revisions\/1842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easethemain.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}