Tag Archives: waiting

Developing patience in Montenegro

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After sailing 183 miles non stop over 24 hours the last thing you want is to get stuck in customs.

We pulled alongside the customs jetty at the little port of Budva in Montenegro, just after lunchtime. We were all a little weary and ready to find a peaceful anchorage, before catching up on sleep. But nothing is simple when crossing borders it seems and this time, not because of Brexit!

Our skipper had carefully lowered the Greek flag and raised the Montenegrin one, along with the yellow flag, that tells them we are asking a question.. “May we enter Montenegro please?”

We thought the paper work might take a little while and the skipper disappeared with our passports and a serious folder of documents… this was the beginning of a very long wait. An hour later there was a problem – we hadn’t had our passports stamped out in Greece… and Montenegro is not in the EU!

The friendly harbour master and customs police were trying to help, but the policeman was agitated that we were waiting a long time on his quay – something about ‘Big Brother’ watching him and boats not being allowed to stay too long. The next issue was that a machine wasn’t working in the customs office so the skipper must walk half a mile to the Post Office to pay and printed off the sailing vignette (permit). Two of us used this as an opportunity to nip into the old walled town and find a local SIM card to get us connected.

Montenegro was a country none of us had visited before and I was intrigued to know more of its history. The little port was busy with colourful water taxis arriving from the beaches with visitors wanting to see the ancient walled town, which was a maze of cool narrow cobbled streets.

When we got back to the boat there was still no sign of the skipper but eventually he returned… but wait for it… someone at the Post Office had filled in one of numbers wrong – the vital paperwork was invalid. He must head back to the Post Office and rejoin the growing queue again! This time he was so long we were getting hungry. We feared he’d been kidnapped or just got disillusioned and gone to find a whisky! Just before we sent for a search party, he appeared.

The sun had set and dusk was approaching by the time we were eventually given permission to leave and could officially find an anchorage. After one aborted attempt, it was dark by the time we dropped anchor between a rocky outcrop and the beach. We fell asleep with twinkling lights from the shore framed by the cabin windows.

Could anything else possibly go wrong?

We were wowed by Montenegro’s famous Bay of Kotor a fjord-like sight in the middle of the Mediterranean. As we sailed up towards the ancient town of Kotor, we spotted what looked like a mini wall of China zigzagging up the mountain side above the port and offering 365 degree protection from attackers. It felt like something from a fantasy film. We enjoyed a few hours meandering through this historic town with its Venetian and Turkish roots offering a new delight at every corner. Its smooth cobbles, tiny passageways and shuttered windows with ironwork balconies, hung with washing, made us feel we had almost arrived in Italy.

The next day we left Kotor to the hundreds of cruise liner guests who arrived in front of us first thing in the morning. The two huge ships almost dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.

As we headed along the bay an issue with our rudders needed sorting, so we hovered as we tried to fix it. But in the process, suddenly we lost our steering altogether…In addition to knots and winds and tides and sails, sailing seems to require a good knowledge of engineering and electronics, which are both a mystery to me!

As the boat bobbed in the middle of the bay, I wondered how we’d stay off the rocks we were slowly drifting towards if we couldn’t fix the problem. I was informed by a reliable source, that with two engines we’d still be able to steer because “it’s just like a tank.” For anyone whose driven one of those…

With some calm and logical thinking, a bit of trial and error, the hydraulics steering problem was eventually solved and we could steer the boat again. I felt very relieved as we motored out of the entrance and turned right towards Croatia…hopefully that was the end of dramas, for today at least!

Waiting for adventure

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It turns out sailing a catamaran is all about waiting..

Two weeks ago we flew out to Greece to join another couple on their yacht to sail with them on a voyage to Venice. We were excited about the trip and all the new places we’d visit and very much looking forward to sailing a catamaran for the first time. We knew it would be very different from a monohull.

Unfortunately things haven’t gone quite to plan and the trip has turned into a bit of a saga. But as one of my colleagues told me – “There’s always a story!”

We planned to spend a few days exploring the island of Lefkas before setting sail. After a couple of days soaking up some sunshine, in between rain showers, we took a break from gazing at the azure blue sea, and headed inland to find a waterfall. The dry river bed en route didn’t look promising, but as we climbed we began to hear the sound of water and before long a tumbling stream appeared, visible at point between the arching trees and ferns and bushes sprouting from the banks and rocky outcrops. The path wound up beneath a steep ravine and huge boulders.

At the end of the path was a beautiful green pool, where water was streaming down a moss lined cliff. It wasn’t much of a waterfall, but it was fresh and tranquil and the sound was calming. I couldn’t resist a dip, so quickly slid into the water, staring around for ducks. I could hear them quacking, but couldn’t I spot them. It was then I spied two bright green things on the rocks beside me. Frogs basking in the sun and making a very loud sound just like ducks!

On returning from the frog pool we had some bad news as we heard the new propeller for the catamaran was stuck in customs at Athens airport.

However, the extra night on the island gave us the pleasure of meeting a most joyful Greek host – Costas – “call me Gas” – who served us coffee and homemade cake on arrival and made us feel welcome in his home on the cliffs with spectacular sea views. Breakfast was a lavish spread laid out in his rustic kitchen with everything from strawberries to croissants and cheese!

Further delays with customs meant we had to extend our road trip for a few days up the coast of Greece while we waited for the propeller to arrive. But we enjoyed visiting Parga, a pretty Italianesque coastal town.

The down or the upside of the delays, depending on your perspective, was that there was plenty of time to meander in the local shops and buy nice things! I managed to add a few more kilos to my rather full bag! Our BnB host in Parga was Kara (which she told us means ‘joy’ in Greek) and she lived up to her name with her enthusiasm for life and her warm welcome.

She was busy whitewashing a tree trunk when arrived, her clothes paint splattered and a smile spreading across her face. After throwing open the shutters to our room with its panoramic sea view, she sprang onto her motorbike and whizzed off.

The next day as clouds hovered we headed inland to explore a renowned river called the “Springs of Acheron”. Sounding like something out of a Tolkien novel, it lived up to its name. And although we weren’t venturing on the high seas we did find ourselves wading and sometimes swimming through the clear icy waters rushing through a narrow canyon.

An hour upstream we began to lose the feeling in our hands and toes and had to turn back. The river of Acheron features in Greek mythology as the gate to Hades… Despite the sunshine when we got back to the car we turned up the heaters and put on everything we had to warm up. Those icy waters would have put out the fires of hell!

When we arrived back at the boatyard the beautiful catamaran was at last ready for launch and we held our breath as she was lifted and then very slowly lowered into the water – all 19 tons of her!

So the adventure could begin.. after a bit more waiting as it turned out!