Whistlestop Commissioning

Sleeping on the chair of an airline departures lounge is never easy or comfortable. Despite being very tired, I think I managed just half an hour.

We had set off from Cirencester late that afternoon on the National Express 444 to Heathrow (cheaper than a taxi!). And then our late-night departure on Aegean Airways had landed in Athens about 03:00 local time. Our connecting flight to Leros wasn’t until 07:30. Fortunately, the airport shops were open all night, and a coffee, sandwich and adrenaline kept is going.

Flight to Leros

The little twin-prop Olympic Airways flight was on time and decanted 40 or so passengers onto the island tarmac an hour later. (I)Rene and her father were there to meet us with our hire car. It turned out that she was also there to meet another five or so British couples on our flight, who were also arriving to start the sailing season!

Alix and I drove straight to the marina to see the reception staff (Maria, Irene and the new girl). They seemed happy to see us (they admitted it was because we were smiling and not complaining about anything). (Marina) Irene said she would organise a slot with us at the customs the next morning to retrieve our Transit Log, which would effectively release Missy Bear from bondage. And she also called the marina staff to get a ladder so that I could climb up onto the stern and do a few pre-launch checks.

Despite my polite protestations last November, the hoist driver had parked Missy Bear under a large eucalyptus tree, in a dusty part of the yard. So, I wasn’t totally surprised to find her topsides caked in dust and bird droppings. The long thin leaves and fruits were also everywhere – we were still finding the odd one three days later, in nooks and crannies.

The good news was that the priming and anti-fouling had been done, the batteries, when connected back up, were in good shape. And the interior smelled just like a brand-new yacht. There was a tiny bit of mould around the taps and basins, but hardly surprising after five winter months on the hard. I got the fenders out and lines ready for the launch later that afternoon.

We checked into our hotel to get an hours well-earned kip, but just as I was about to nod off, my mobile range. It was Irene. Could we bring the launch forward to 14:00. Well, yes. (it would give is a bit more time to get through our long list of commissioning jobs!)

Transporter and hoist

So off we went back to the boat. The guys drove the low, transporter lift under her, and moved her slowly to the main travel hoist to which she was transferred. This then rolled her in two massive hanging strops towards the dock and lowered her enough so that Alix and I could climb on board. Missy Bear then lowered further so her hull was in the water. I went below and opened all the sea-cocks. Then I fired up the Yanmar diesel. More good news; she fired up first time. I tested the bow-thrusters – check! The crane staff then removed the two strops from under the hull and we were free.

After we had reverse-parked beautifully onto our temporary berth at the end of Pontoon D, we got out the long list of to-dos. My priority was to get the grime off the topsides! Out came the hosepipe, the soap and a soft deck brush. And the elbow grease!

The weather was warm and sunny (18 degrees) and we worked until sunset, before we decided to grab a beer and light bite at our favourite bar on the Lakki sea front. We couldn’t have an early night as we were awaiting our delivery crew, Tony, to arrive. He was due in to Lakki at 23:15 on the Rhodes ferry, and we tracked his progress on Marine Traffic. As the ferry steamed up the bay in the blackness, I drove around to collect him. We managed a quick welcome beer before the bar closed and then headed back to the hotel.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow: there was a good weather window the following day, and I was keen that Tony and I could set off for the Athens peninsular as soon as possible.

And what a great day we had – if you can call working through a huge list of tasks ‘great’. The wind was kind and we managed to get the mainsail up first, and the then jib, which was the most important (wind-dependent) job.

At 11:00 I visited customs and then the Port Police to get the Transit Log stamped. (The head of the police there is a real character and a true pedant, and our verbal exchange is worthy of a blog on its own.)

Then we finished off installing all the running rigging; erected the sprayhood and Bimini; checked and fixed all the safety gear; performed the engine checks; inflated the dinghy and stowed it on deck; stowed the clothes; went shopping; stowed the shopping; made-up the beds, checked the windlass and navigation lights, and finally gave the decks another swill down.

As the light faded and the sun began to pass below the hills, we intalled the solar panels. Check!

And relax!

The only thing that went wrong the whole day was a zipper-pull came off the teeth, but Rob on the next boat but one, helped us put it back together. I like days that go to plan like this. We treated ourselves to an Italian meal at Gabriella’s and then returned to our bunks. I was probably asleep before my head my the pillow.