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| Olivia diving after a clothes peg. Screenshot from the video by Philip Elberling. |
My son Philip, daughter in law Henriette and granddaughter Olivia came to visit me on Aquarella last week. I had been contemplating about possible destinations to sail to and decided on a few places nearby that I had seen for the first time last year.
The first short voyage was to the bay of Mandraki on the island of Hydra.
With my experience from last year I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. But with planning, only a little wind and daylight this time I was optimistic. There were a lot of anchored boats with lines criss crossing ashore when we arrived and more were coming in. Henriette manned the remote control for the anchor windlass, I was at the wheel and Philip was to use the dinghy as tugboat. Knowing my long keeled boat is nigh on impossible to steer in reverse I thought this was the best strategy. Last time it took me 9 attempts before I succeeded getting my boat in place between the others. Most other boats have either twin engines or bow thrusters and short keels which makes maneuverability simple but not for 42 year old Aquarella. This time though I made it on the fifth attempt. Henriette let all 80 meters of chain out and Philip pushed the side of the boat with the dinghy at all the effort the little old 2 hp Yanmar outboard engine could manage. With my finger nails I hung on to a big catamaran on one side while Philip took lines ashore and tied them to rocks. After pulling 10 meters of chain back we were then perfectly in place.
We left the boat there to take the beautiful walk along the hilly coastal road to Hydra town to eat dinner. The only traffic was one of the locals trotting along on a donkey. After dark we returned by watertaxi which took about 3 minutes and cost 20€.
The next day we sailed to the uninhabited island of Dokos and anchored in the bay. It was a beautiful place and a magnificent sunset there. In the morning Philip and I took the dinghy ashore to send my drone up from the beach. I managed to fly very near to the boat for the first time but was nervous when I lost eye contact with it. I took care of the remote control while Philip kept an eye on the monitor until a warning popped up stating high wind velocity. Then I activated the go-to-home button and the drone became visible again and returned to land at our feet.
Then I realized I hadn’t activated the record button!
Classic mistake.
Retake.
I will post the final result when I have edited the film but so far it looks promising.
On our way motorsailing to Ermioni,which was our next destination, the dreaded sound of the engine revs going down told me there was something caught in the propeller. On arrival I snorkeled to take a look and found a fishing net firmly twined around. All four of us were then in action trying to free the propeller. Philip worked with a fishing knife while 12 year old Olivia, who is amazing at holding her breath and diving, pulled the lines out and tied them around a boat hook that Henriette was holding in the dinghy. I pulled and unravelled all I could get hold of. Finally, with great relief we succeeded and it was high fives and drinks all round.
For the last destination and overnight stay we chose Skillion, a very small bay behind a tiny island on the way back to Poros. This bay has the clearest, most turquoise water I have ever seen. We all enjoyed bathing, swimming and diving here and my underwater gopro camera was in constant use.
The first short voyage was to the bay of Mandraki on the island of Hydra.
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| Aquarella looking very tiny between the other boats in Mandraki |
We left the boat there to take the beautiful walk along the hilly coastal road to Hydra town to eat dinner. The only traffic was one of the locals trotting along on a donkey. After dark we returned by watertaxi which took about 3 minutes and cost 20€.
The next day we sailed to the uninhabited island of Dokos and anchored in the bay. It was a beautiful place and a magnificent sunset there. In the morning Philip and I took the dinghy ashore to send my drone up from the beach. I managed to fly very near to the boat for the first time but was nervous when I lost eye contact with it. I took care of the remote control while Philip kept an eye on the monitor until a warning popped up stating high wind velocity. Then I activated the go-to-home button and the drone became visible again and returned to land at our feet.
Then I realized I hadn’t activated the record button!
 |
| I couldn't see the drone anymore but it could certainly see the boat. This is a screen shot from the video |
Classic mistake.
Retake.
I will post the final result when I have edited the film but so far it looks promising.
On our way motorsailing to Ermioni,which was our next destination, the dreaded sound of the engine revs going down told me there was something caught in the propeller. On arrival I snorkeled to take a look and found a fishing net firmly twined around. All four of us were then in action trying to free the propeller. Philip worked with a fishing knife while 12 year old Olivia, who is amazing at holding her breath and diving, pulled the lines out and tied them around a boat hook that Henriette was holding in the dinghy. I pulled and unravelled all I could get hold of. Finally, with great relief we succeeded and it was high fives and drinks all round.
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| the last bit of the ghost net untangled |
For the last destination and overnight stay we chose Skillion, a very small bay behind a tiny island on the way back to Poros. This bay has the clearest, most turquoise water I have ever seen. We all enjoyed bathing, swimming and diving here and my underwater gopro camera was in constant use.
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| Aquarella as seen by the underwater audience. Screen shot from the video filmed by promising marine photographer, 12 yr old Olivia Elberling. |
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