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16 Members of WUOTC Deployed for a week of fun and adventure on the Aegean between the 29th of September and 7th of October. Check out the Official Delphi Dragon 2 Gallery Here 13 Novice Sailors passed the Competent Crew Test set by the RYA. Keep reading to find out the day to day happenings on board...
Saturday 29th September 2007
Arrived in Athens at some unearthly hour in the morning, we were met by a minibus which took us to the marina where we found the two yachts and after splitting into two crews we went straight to bed for a couple of hours sleep. Sunday 30th September
Everyone on board was up by about 0800 and had a leisurely morning while Gemma and Caz went food shopping, before going for a lovely lunch in a Greek restaurant. We slipped from Athens at approx. 1500 hours and sailed at an easy pace, learning the ropes as it were, before getting into Aegina at 1900. After our first attempt at mooring the boat we went and looked around the town before sitting in the cockpit of the Meridian with the other crew where a disastrous game of ‘I have never’ ensued. We then returned to Iris and kept the training major awake... he wasn’t happy! After stealing several bottles of wine from the other crew we were sent to bed! Monday 1st October
Set off early from Aegina and had a 3+ hour sail to Epidavaros. We were going to drop anchor in a bay and go swimming but the depth gauge stopped working so we anchored in the main port. The sea started off rough, but had calmed down before we moored in Epidavaros, though there were several people suffering from seasickness (or possibly hangovers) not pleasant! We stayed in port all afternoon, having a lesson on knot’s which took us a while to pick up! We then went swimming and snorkelled using the dinghy to reach a nearby beach and having our first experience of rowing, while the others went to the amphitheatre inland. We cooked dinner onboard before going out for ice-cream as a crew and continuing on to a bar. Tuesday 2nd October
The weather was lovely, sunny and warm again today. We left Epidavaros early after breakfast and had a couple of hours sailing to AK Pirgos during which Albert, our suicidal sailor, only fell overboard once. Our man over board drills do seem to be improving and we managed to successfully rescue Albert before sitting him down and convincing him he wanted to live! The keel was almost on a constant heel which made for some exciting faster sailing. Gemma trapped her finger in a winch, but luckily it just seems swollen. We pirated from Meridian last night stealing their Welsh flag, fishing reel and fishing net. They didn’t realise until Dave started waving their flag at them once we were out of port! We anchored for lunch in a small cove where Aled, from Meridian, joined us for lunch before being made to walk the gangplank for trying to steal the flag back. Our plan is to be on guard tonight to prevent any recapture! We left after an hours’ swimming and headed for Poros. The sailing was smooth and very enjoyable with us all beginning to take turns at the helm. After a few attempts at mooring (we seem to have problems in snagging our anchor) we filled up with water and charged the electricity in Poros. At the same time some of the guys were attempting to mend the boat after a rather swift jibe in which the mainsheet got caught and the kicking boom broke off the mast. Not only that but the radio doesn’t seem to be working either, apparently the speaker has gone... oh well, at least we had had no more Albert accidents, just a lot of fun, sun, music, and many new good friends, good times! Wednesday 3rd October
Everyone woke up feeling a bit rough this morning, not surprisingly! The best way to describe last night was a fiasco! After going to a bar and playing yet another game of the now infamous ‘I have never’, we carried on to a nightclub, Greek style! Everyone got rather drunk and there were some sore heads and embarrassing stories this morning! We had a short sail this morning in glorious weather yet again, the sea being a lot calmer than yesterday, taking turns at helming and controlling the various sheets and warps, the names and uses of which we’re beginning to grasp, before stopping at a small island of Hydra in this gorgeous little cove with some amazingly clear water. Here we did our dinghy drills around the two boats, each demonstrating our surprisingly competent rowing skills before going for a swim and some amazing snorkelling. Afterwards we headed towards Spetses, on motor for some of the way due to poor wind, however, on arrival, after several complicated manoeuvres we realised that there was nowhere to moor so we sailed on to Porto Kheli. Here we found space to moor and a water taxi that would take us to Spetses as the general consensus was to go there for a meal and a few drinks. We returned to Iris later in the evening for a few (more!) drinks together.
Thursday 4th October
Some sore heads again this morning and a very confused training major due to some people wanting to sleep and others not so keen some innocent bed swapping had gone on. We apparently have a long day today, typically no wind to speak of so we’re starting off under engine. Had a go at fender riding today which was really great fun, and hysterical to watch, as well as practising our man over board drills for real when Dave let go of the fenders! We pulled into Hydros for lunch and had a mess around in the water followed by a lesson in emergency signalling using flares and smoke and Abby taking a trip up the mast with the newly discovered bosons’ chair, she seemed to enjoy it!
After lunch we set off again for some more smooth glorious sailing. The mood began to change however as darkness crept in, the original plan was to moor in the day light and then set out again for some night sailing, but due to lack of moorings we turned to plan B. We sailed until gone 12 in the morning, learning to navigate at night using lights and the GPS system. It was a very different experience especially as the wind had picked up and we were all wrapped up in coats rather than our normal attire of bikinis! It was exciting sailing though, especially when helming, trying to keep on course in the wind as well as watching out for other boats and islands, which appeared closer, or further away than they actually were! Trying to prepare dinner was an absolute nightmare, anyone who was below deck for more than 5 minutes without lying down was feeling horribly ill, except Rose who somehow with help from Caz was able to cook Chilli and rice for everyone, what a hero. We are all very short of sleep tonight since we couldn’t find a mooring we’ve had to anchor in a harbour, and everyone is on 2 hour anchor watches to make sure we don’t drift, using a handheld compass and taking 3 bearings, though why these stay the same no one seems to be able to work out! An early slip off tomorrow, and thank god the waves have finally calmed down so were not pitching and rolling every step we take. It’s quite a bit colder tonight than it has been, or maybe it’s just the fact we have no alcohol in our systems and very little sleep making us feel it more. Friday 5th October
Everyone was very tired this morning after the anchor watch and so emerged on deck at 0700 looking a little blurry eyed, though after a shower off the back of the boat everyone was feeling quite a lot better and back in high spirits. The gorgeous sunrise and thought of real toilets that evening helped too! Today is the big day, it test day for competent crew awards and there are some nerves fluttering about. The wind started off blowing well but started to drop as the day went on, so we were under power for most of the day. Sam, Abby and Gemma took their tests in the morning while others revised hard before we stopped for lunch in Aegina. Caz Rose and Cat took their tests on the way back to Athens, all demonstrating helming and sheet controlling abilities as well as the theory side of things such as cardinals and man over board drills. Arriving back in Athens with Dave performing a very skilful mooring the good news is that the whole crew of Iris passed our ‘Competent Crew Test’! We had a visit from Colonel Lodge, DA Athens, during which the Training Major announced that everyone on the trip had passed their Competent Crew! After a lovely evening meal we went to a bar near the marina for the last night as a whole group, and had a really good time!
Saturday 6th October
We were up for 0700 this morning and sorted out by 0900. We had to give the boat a clear up including cleaning out the fridge and the heads, not a pleasant experience! We then bid farewell to Iris which was really quite emotional before getting a coach back to Athens. We left our luggage at the airport and went for a day round Athens; some people opting for shopping and MacDonald’s, the more cultured seeing the sights. It was absolutely boiling, especially climbing up to the Acropolis without the sea breeze. We were all back at the airport by 4; though some people only just made it thanks to some interesting behaviour! It was a really nice trip back and a rather emotional goodbye when we all split up back at Heathrow. An absolutely wonderful week where some strong bonds were established, some excellent sailing was had and everyone had a wonderful time pulling together as a team. By OCdt A Golightly / OCdt C Rollasson |
