Lakki, Leros - 11th June
There's an Hons-shaped hole on the boat now that she's gone back to Leeds, taking with her a bit of a tan and a rash of prickly heat. Cathy's daughter has left us with some wonderful memories and an emergency supply of teabags and j-cloths. It seems very empty without her.
Considering Honor doesn't much like roughing it, she coped remarkably well last week. We were amazed she came out at all given that on her last visit (it was to Dartmouth six years ago!) it hosed with rain the whole time; her sleeping bag got soaked as the forepeak hatch leaked and - the greatest indignity - a seagull shat on her head.
We were hoping it would go better this time to show her you can actually enjoy yourself on a boat even if sailing on Makarma doesn't quite have the glamour that 'yachting in the Med' conjures up. We decided on a soft start in Kos marina with a day strolling round the old town and sunbathing beside the pool of a local hotel. Then we made our way in short hops up to Leros taking in a few island anchorages on the way. We managed to sail most of the way despite unfavourable winds, although we spent quite a bit of time tacking backwards and forwards making slow progress to windward.
Honor made gentle fun of our constant monitoring of the batteries and the temperature in the fridge, then caught herself doing it too. She got quite handy pulling on ropes and we got to rely on her acting as relay between the bow and the stern when anchoring.
We swam every day, showered in strange places, ate chewy octopus in a taverna on the beach and saw a couple of dolphins. The sun shone every day. Generally we had a great time and enjoyed her company.
We saw her off on the fast catamaran to Kos from Aghia Marina on Leros yesterday. We'll miss her.
There's an Hons-shaped hole on the boat now that she's gone back to Leeds, taking with her a bit of a tan and a rash of prickly heat. Cathy's daughter has left us with some wonderful memories and an emergency supply of teabags and j-cloths. It seems very empty without her.
Considering Honor doesn't much like roughing it, she coped remarkably well last week. We were amazed she came out at all given that on her last visit (it was to Dartmouth six years ago!) it hosed with rain the whole time; her sleeping bag got soaked as the forepeak hatch leaked and - the greatest indignity - a seagull shat on her head.
We were hoping it would go better this time to show her you can actually enjoy yourself on a boat even if sailing on Makarma doesn't quite have the glamour that 'yachting in the Med' conjures up. We decided on a soft start in Kos marina with a day strolling round the old town and sunbathing beside the pool of a local hotel. Then we made our way in short hops up to Leros taking in a few island anchorages on the way. We managed to sail most of the way despite unfavourable winds, although we spent quite a bit of time tacking backwards and forwards making slow progress to windward.
Honor made gentle fun of our constant monitoring of the batteries and the temperature in the fridge, then caught herself doing it too. She got quite handy pulling on ropes and we got to rely on her acting as relay between the bow and the stern when anchoring.
We swam every day, showered in strange places, ate chewy octopus in a taverna on the beach and saw a couple of dolphins. The sun shone every day. Generally we had a great time and enjoyed her company.
We saw her off on the fast catamaran to Kos from Aghia Marina on Leros yesterday. We'll miss her.
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