Break out the sails

After our land based sojourn to consult the oracle at Delphi, we are back on the boat; taking on Poseidon as we follow Jason across the Cyclades in our quest for Turkey's golden fleece.

We are heading south and west: so far Kea, Serifos, Sifnos, Naxos. 

The Cyclades have rescued the term "Sailing" from irrelevance in our annals: the iron horse had many a day's outing in the sultry airless Pelopennese, but now finally in the Agean, Familia is fulfilling her destiny, because we have arrived in the Agean at the wrong time.  The Meltimi is the relentless north wind of the Agean high summer - shunned by knowing sailors with choices, who venture here only in spring or autumn. Hour after hour, day after day, the wind blows relentlessly between 25 and 35 ++ kts, fraying sails, mooring lines, and tempers in equal measure. 

Sifnos

"Sheltering" in a bay is often a misnomer - the hot arid land heats and destablises the wind, adding to it's fury as the gusts stampede down the valleys and across the anchorages.  Luckily our anchoring skills have improved, although one must admit to some residual nervousness when the bullets are screaming through the rigging at 2 AM.  

On the upside, Familia does enjoy a bit of a blow. Broad reaching in 25kts with a reefed sails is a breeze and it is only the confluence of a big gust and a few swells on the stern quarter that she rises up on her ear in protest, to be inevitably echoed by the crew. Post 30 kt winds have now become more of a chore or even a challenge, rather than an outright safety concern: most recently Cathe successfully used a difficult tail wind and swell combo as an opportunity to practise her helming, steering us into the safety of Naxos.

After cleaning the herb garden off the cabin sole and picking up the cutlery drawer again we have overcome our complacency and installed restraining cord around the place to ensure things stay where they are put on board. Indeed, on the odd day when the meltimi fails to kick, it seems a fair swap could be made if the sweaty airlessness above and below decks could be traded for the white knuckle and set jaw of too much wind, be it at anchor or on the high seas.

Kids schoolwork continues to be problematic and the wind conspires with parental teaching fatigue and the boy's own wheedling sneakiness to render study on passage difficult at best; we are developing strategies for keeping them at the books even as Familia buckets through the wind and swell, but shipping whitecaps over the side is one impediment that  is impossible to ignore.

A series of videos follows, illustrating on-board priorities as the Meltimi builds throughout the day.

In other news, the saga of the outboard motor continues: the problematic Yamaha 2hp, which met a hot and smoky end after a number of trips to the workshop, has been replaced by a new, internet bought Chinese 5hp via Italy. Alas, the early promise is marred by a slow oil (and maybe petrol) leak which manifests itself as an unsightly splatter on Familia's stern. Cant these bloody things just work? The post-purchase cognitive dissonance compounds the growing disenfranchisement of being locked up 24/7 with one's nearest and dearest....only partly medicated by the fine Kitron liqueur of Naxos. Who would have thought the 1/2 litre bottle would have proved so inadequate so quickly?

The solution is the one beloved of backpackers throughout the decades: head for a new country.

Turkey by the end of the week.