March 2023 - week 1 round-up

See also on Instagram: aj_goes_sailing

We have been on Kos for just over a week now (arrived late last Saturday/early Sunday after a 72-hour car & ferry journey). I am pleased to report everything's working out well so far!

Our boat, Opua (named after a port in New Zealand), has survived the winter well. We were thrilled to see her again. We can't live on Opua yet as there is still some work to be done to her, to prepare her for sailing, so we have taken up residence in a small apartment a couple of kilometres from the marina. By now we are quite used to living in smaller spaces so this is a doddle.

Next week we can start loading Opua with any gear we don't need on land. If the weather permits, next week is also when the mast should be refitted with all the new rigging.

The rest of the work needs to be done to the boat when out of the water. As this is dependent on several teams as well as on space in the boatyard, it may take until the end of March to be completed.

We hope to be able to start sailing Opua from early April. Our plan is to do day trips and manoeuvres, returning to the marina, to gain practice and become familiar with how our boat handles.

At the moment our daily life consists of several hours a day down at the marina, doing boat-related stuff; tootling round town in the car to find a particular shop or service on the other side of town; hanging out with new boat friends Claudia and Thomas; enjoying the most delicious, mainly vegetarian, food; and exploring the town centre on foot.

The weather is not great just now. It is actually down to about 15 degrees but feels colder because of the humidity. (Kind of like a Scottish summer without the midgies.) But, on the plus side, some trees are in blossom and many streets are lined with citrus trees with abundant fruit and we had one lovely warm sunny morning which gave us a taste of the warmth to come. Bring it on!

Ganz liebe Grüße an alle.

Alice & Ralph