Hi forum!
I did my first yacht sailing in 1989 with a
delivery of a Norwegian-owned
Beneteau First 42 from Gribralter to Split. We had a week of force 9 on the nose, which meant my first
captain and crewmate ran out of time by the time we reached Cagliary, Sardinia. They were replaced by alcoholic ex-mercenaries, live abaords there, who I didn't really get on with. They loved to complain about sea
water getting in their whiskies on
deck while frazzled and demonstrating to this
novice how to lash the
wheel and let the
boat sail herself - while we slipped miles backwards. The only way to make progress was to do 16 hour shifts at the
wheel. I got off 'early' at Gallipoli, on the inside heel of
Italy. My sailing experiences have only got better since!
All my early sea miles were deliveries - always the wrong time of year, in the wrong direction in mostly unpleasant conditions - the passages the owners or the their friends were not prepared to do, e.g. sailing from the Northern tip of
Denmark across the North Sea in January.
Then one day, when I working as a
marine electrician in Marrmaris marina (there was only one then), a French-Swiss
skipper called Bernard asked me to crew on a
delivery to Dubrovnik. I discovered the real pleasures of sailing! You can actually stop at nightime! Even have a meal ashore!
I crewed the remainder of that season on the
classic skooner, the 'Vileehi', this time with pay.
My first owned yacht was a four-year old, Greek-flagged Dromor Athena 44'
charter boat. This was the five-cabin version suited to both
bareboat and skippered
charter. I did a few deliveries between paid charters and one skippered charter on her. It was one of those complex
financing deals and when she was crashed into rocks the year of the Athens
olympics during a long-term charter to a professional
skipper, what little I got back in
insurance and court winnings did not pay for loan +
repairs + marina
fees. My 'investment' was totally
lost and a lesson was learned.
So, many years and a few modest charters later, starting to make
money over the
internet and with a small house in the Peloponnese, I have just signed the
contract to buy an ex-flotilla
Jaguar 27 (same design as he U.S.
Catalina 27) which I hope to get much more personal value out of than my last yacht! She appears to have been well-maintained and adapted for the Greek flotilla market (bathing platform, in-mast
furling main sail, recent
mast,
rigging,
sails and
engine etc.).
I will be asking questions in the main
forums. For now, consider me introduced!
Tim.