Pax latest

Hi Everyone,
We made it to Malta, almost 2weeks ago.
Had some lovely sailing from Greece, altho got blown back when we
tried to pass between Kefalonia and Zakinthos and had to spend a
couple of nights in Ayios Nikolais, Zakinthos.[the water was crystal
clear but cold]
We left there and sailed straight to Syracuse, Sicily with Emily and
Andy as crew.We saw dolphins, a turtle and Emily swears she saw a
shark , Paul thinks it may have been a sunfish but she's adamant.
Every night we had several swift type birds seek refuge and sleep on
top of the radio or curtains in the caboose, or snuggle up outside;
sadlythey didn't all wake up and fly of but most of them did.
After a rest in Syracuse we set sail south and had to take refuge in a
small port on the se corner of Sicily, as the wind too much on the
nose. We had hoped to set off early the next day but heard water
swishing around in the bilges and discovered the sterngland was
leaking rather more than it should be. So after pumping the water out
we nipped ashore to a boatyard and managed to explain the problem and
asked for a quick lift so we could undo the gland and repack it but
their licence to lift was not operating and they were unable to help.
However the yardowner assured us we would be able to take it all
apart, put in new packing and retighten it without sinking the boat
.So it was with a little trepidation we did just that.Emily and Andy
had their bags packed ready in case they had to get off quickly and
try to get a flight back to the UK from Sicily instead of the ones
already booked from Malta.
All went well and we sailed off to Malta that evening, making such
good progress that we had to drop all but one sail inthe middle of the
night to avoid reaching Malta before first light. Andy treated us all
to a full english before he and Emily leftthat evening to take those
flights that night.
We are enjoying Malta very much-they are very friendly, english
speaking, drive on the right and have shops full of British food, plus
they have excellent pie shops everywhere. There are some stunnung
places to visit and we have even had a few beers in 'The Pub', famous
as the place where Oliver Reed dropped dead in 1999!!! Paul's dad has
had 2weeks holiday with us too.
So now thinking about the next leg, planning to go from here to
Tunisia, probably via Sicily, then on to S Sardinia, across to Ibiza
and mainland Spain. We will leave early june, so now's your chance to
join us.Lots of cheap flights seem to be available to Malta,Trapani in
Sicily and Cagliari, s Sardinia. Not so sure about Tunisia, but there
probably are. Please get in touch asap, noone confirmed yet but one or
two are making arrangements to join us for some of the next sail

Pax Cruising 2010

Hi Everyone,

Happy and healthy 2010.

Started thinking about cruising plans for this year and are now hoping to leave here [Messolonghi, Greece] and heading for Malta during the latter half of April. Route and timing will depend on crew numbers and weather to a certain extent of course, but anyone interested in joining for that leg of our journey please get in touch.

There are lots of cheap flights from Malta and Catania in E Sicily to several UK airports at that time. We are about 3/4hours by bus from Athens,which is the cheapest way to join us and probably the nearest airport ,and the easiest to get to from UK,etc..

We will probably stop off in Malta for 2-4weeks and then head off west from there but more of that later, we'll see how this idea pans out.

Plenty of space so the more the merrier!!!

Cheers for now, just think of nice sunny days and pleasant sea breezes!! H&P

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010.

We are thinking about cruising plans for this year.

Probably we will leave Messolonghi [gulf of Patras, Greece] and nip over to Vlikho Bay, Lefkas island, Greece to get Pax ready for heading east. Aim to leave from there round mid April and sail to Italy, either the southern mainland or Sicily, depending on crew and weather conditions. Hopefully then to Malta, maybe Tunisia and from there to Spain and Gibraltar.

So start thinking about joining us if you can and get in touch so we can think plans thro!!!

Alls well in Messo;onghi altho a bit wet at the mo, nothing like as cold as UK, etc,. so not complaining, but looking forward to sun and sailing once again!!

Good luck and all the best Paul and Hils

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Mailing Address

Yassos,

As expected we have booked in to Messolonghi marina for 4months [takes us to 22nd Feb] and may stay here longer depending on weather and where we are going to lift.

Plenty going on, Paul runs a guitar/singing workshop on Sat afts -  it is well attended and a good laugh; also we have a jam session on weds evenings which is  proving successfultoo. Other regular events include games night [followed by take away gyros, etc.], curry night,Sun aft bbq,rugby matches on TV/computer and more occasional dos. So no probs with the social life. We have begun going to a taverna where guitars and more provide entertainment and have been visited at the workshop by the restaurant owner and offered a chance to play in his place when we are ready!

Workwise we are busy- Paul is currently cleaning up the aluminium dinghy we have had on deck for ages and is going to make a sailing rig so we have a sailing dinghy to play in. Hilary put up a notice offering sail repair etc., and has been inundated with work, which is great as it helps the cash flow!!

Both motorbikes are up and running so we can get about quite easily , we use the pushbike as well locally.

 

So we do have an address for a while, it is -Messolonghi Marina, 18 Cyprus Street, 30 200 MESSOLONGHI, Greece.

 

Hope to hear from folks either by snail or email

Cheers H&P

Pax Nostrum latest

Hi Everybody,

 

Currently in Messolongion Marina, north side of Gulf of Patras, Greece. We arrived here 2weeks ago having sailed from Lefkas with Andy, a new crew member, onboard. Unfortunately Andy had to return to work, so Paul and I began looking for somewhere to winter, we came here as it had been recommended by a few liveaboards, and sure enough we found a newly opened marina with reasonable prices and quite a large liveaboard community [mostly english but a few french, germans, dutch, scandis and one canadien boat], so we will probably settle here for a few months and get on with repairs, etc..

It was the 'clubhouse' opening party last night-just a room with 1table, 5 chairs, a stereo system and a fridge, oh yes and a bookcase with no shelves,but it looks promising. Paul took his guitar so we had the inevitable singsong.Lots of events and activities planned for the future so it looks as though we will be entertained or entertaining.

Messalongion is quite a big town and it has a Lidl and Carrefour!! It was the first place to be liberated from Turkish rule in 19century and is still very nationalistic, the folk are very welcoming but will have to get to grips with this Greek language mularky to get anywhere with supplies.

Unfortunately it is raining at present but not cold or windy,seems the same everywhere in Greece.Paul is fixing the pushbike up for me as he already has his motorbike up and running and mine needs quite a bit of tlc before i can ride it again! Hope to get the topmast on, stern filled in , raise the central hatch and put in portholes when the weather permits along with all the regular maintenance and mending jobs, so should be kept busy!

So anyone wanting to come out for hols here are welcome, it is about 3-4hours by bus from Athens,we will probably be here at least until March, or if we move it will be to stop somewhere else not too far from Athens.

 

Plan is then after lifting, reantifouling and painting hull to do some cruising around here and head back to the Guadiana sometime in the summer, spend a bit of time there and then the Canaries and hopefully across the pond next winter. Well that's the plan, so anyone interested in joining us think about when, etc..

 

Hope everyone is fine and well and enjoying life. Love to hear all your news too!! Cheers H&Pxx

 

PS Pic of Andy on the way here, great weather and he did a sterling job of packing the jib

Pax Nostrum Latest

Yassos Everyone,

 

Anchored in a beautiful inlet near Nidri called Vlikho Bay, on the east coast of Lefkas, Greece.

 

We spent a week in Kefalonia [where we saw a huge tutle feeding in the harbour],and then headed north to Vassiliki on Lefkas but had to turn back due to big wind and waves on the nose. So tried again the next day and encountered a very big uncomfortable swell. We persevered and eventually the engine packed in and Paul had to fix it several times to get us to the port. Anyhow we made it and met up with Sue, Tania and John. Investigations revealed a bad bacteria had contaminated the fuel tanks and we had to thoroughly clean out the tanks and start all over again -not a pleasant task and along with some repairs up the mast we were a week in Vassiliki, which was very friendly and we were alongside the quay which made a pleasant change.

 

After working hard to help sort out the problems John and Tania left in their car and Sue, Bedrick [a new Czech friend] sailed Pax round to our current location.

 

We have spent a couple of nights here, discovered the Vlikho Yacht Club complete with book exchange and also been visited by Graham off Peel Castle, which is anchored about a mile north of us[he seems fine- on his tod but expecting Katie in a week of so].

 

Paul is not yet fed up of gyros and souvlakis so next destination is Lefkas town about 10miles north of here and we will decide there whether to head north to Paxos Island [liked the name!!] or south down to Ithica.

 

Sue leaves next week but says she will be back, so plenty of opportunities to come and join us as we move on down the Pelopennese peninsula. There are still flights from UK to Preveza with several cheap airlines, but also into Athens [espec Easyjet] and Sue says there is a website which gives loads of info on transport in Greece- search 'matt barrett greek travel'.

 

That's all for now folks, still in swimgear but nice breezes and cooler nights make the climate very nice!!