The Ionian October 2010

The Ionian / October 2010 www.theionian.com 1

The Ionian English Language Magazine For The Ionian October 2010 Volume 1. Issue 8 Please recycle: give to a friend or neighbour when finished. Suggested contribution €2

Laying Up For The Winter page4 What’s Eating My Boat’s Annodes? page 5

Page 3: News, Calendar, Master Craftsman

Business Services pages 6-7 Classifieds page 7

2 The Ionian / October 2010 www.theionian.com

The Reckoning

If you have been a reader of The Ionian from the beginning, which was March of this year, you will likely have noticed some changes. At first, The Ionian was printed on a borrowed desk top jet-printer, and we produced 100—150 copies of eight, then 12 pages. All summer, prices were being kept low and often ads were “stretched” to cover the white space with-out increasing the cost to the advertiser. Anything to keep the magazine going. We’ve offered other services, such as building of WebPages and we’ve sold some of our “treasures of the bilge,” to keep afloat. We traded,

we borrowed from family and friends and accepted donations when nothing else worked. Blame the economy, everyone does.

Over the summer, we increased the number of pages to 16 and printed between 1,000 and 1,500 copies each month. Slowly the advertisers begun to trust that the magazine was going to be around and yours truly was not going to disappear in her boat over the horizon. The Ionian set up an office (under renovations), found an accountant, and ad sales agents. We’ve been distribut-ing The Ionian to most of the islands and the mainland on a rented scooter, by borrowed car, on foot and on bicycle, sometimes sending copies to the islands with friends on boats; other times by ferries and by mail.

Initially, the advertisers wanted to see the printed copy before they were willing to part with their hard earned cash, but towards the end of the summer several were brave enough to buy a full year’s contract. I’ve been getting feedback that their ads are working—more business, bigger con-tracts. And just as things were looking up, summer ended. The tourists are now mostly gone and the sailors are returning to the boat yards for their annual haul out. I know that most new busi-nesses don’t make a profit for the first few years and many close doors within the first few months, but many people said that the idea behind The Ionian is a good one and were it not for the difficult economic climate and the low season, it should be a breeze to publish.

Yet, the numbers don’t lie. The Ionian is struggling and win-ter is coming. And so, after debating for a long while, and asking both advertisers and many of our regular contributors and readers, I’ve decided to put a suggested cover price of 2 Euros for The Ionian.. There will still be free copies available through many of the regular outlets and advertisers, but if they run out—you will be able to buy a copy at News Stands and other agents as well from our website. I hope this won’t be a deterrent for you, — let’s keep The Ionian going through the winter and for many years to come.

In this issue, given that it’s a busy boat hauling out season, we offer you Laying Up For Win-ter by Cathy King, What’s Eating My Boat’s Annodes by John Cromp-ton and Master Craftsman by Neil Evans.

Enjoy reading. Γεια µας, ~~~_/) Barbara Molin

The Ionian By mail: Lefkadiou Chern 24, Lefkada 31100 By email: [email protected] Via our website: www.theionian.com By fax: Barbara Molin c/o (0030) 26820 61306 By telephone: (0030) 69486 46764

Founding Publisher: Justin Smith Publisher/ Editor: Barbara Molin Business Advisor: Yannis Dimopoulos Accountant: Pavlos Dagla: 26450 23008 Deputy Editor: Cathy King Layout: Barbara Molin Printing: Plamen Rusanov, Bulgaria Advertising Manager: Barbara Molin Distribution: Barbara Molin Subscriptions: Barbara Molin You can also download The Ionian as a PDF docu-ment from our website: www.theionian.com. ΑΦΜ: 148426549. ΛΕΥΚΑ∆ΙΟΥ ΧΕΡΝ 24, ΛΕΥΚΑ∆Α, 31100. ISSN 1792-4650. The Ionian is published monthly. Published on the last day before each month, approx. Publication is for informational purposes only. Although The Ionian has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions it may contain. The opinions expressed by the contributors are not necessarily held by the publisher.

Editorial

Cover Photo: Getting Hauled Out ©Barbara Molin

PHOTO CONTEST: Send in your best photos of the Ionian. Twelve winning images will feature in The Ionian 2011 Calendar. Subject: People, Nature and Landscape of the Ionian. Sorry, digital images only. One per email. Please check photographers’ guidelines and contest rules at: www.theionian.com. The best photos will feature on our website and the winning entries will be published in The Ionian as well as the calendar. Deadline for entries: October 31, 2010. Send your entries to: [email protected].


Tuesdays - morning street market in Vonitsa. Scrabble Club forming in Lefkas town. Call Liz: 69461 59883 if you are interested in playing.

Nautical Yacht Club Of Lefkas race program winter 2010 10 October: Preveza triangle race 11am start. 24 October: Nikiana windward-leeward race 11am start. 6-7 November: Round island race 9-30 am start. 20-21 November: Meganisi race start 1pm Saturday, return race 11am start Sunday. 5 December: Agios Nikolas race- Ligia start 11am. Entry fee per race is 20 euros, the round the island entry is 30 euros. For more information please call Neil McRobert: 69327 16258.

October

6 Swap your good clothes with other people. Enlarge your tired ward-robe at no expense. Recycle and help the planet. Call Liz: 69461 59883. 10 Film Club first meeting. Share your favourite DVDs in our own homes with other film lovers. Lefkas town. LIZ on 69461 59883 10 Ionian Writers Association meeting. Please call Barbara 69486 46764 for more information. 16 Athens Boat Show 26 St Dimitrius Day 28 Ohi (No) Day. Metaxas’ refusal to allow Mussolini’s troops free passage through Greece in WWII is commemorated on this day with remembrance services, military parades, folk dancing and feasting.

Here are some photos from the Southern Ionian Rally and Regatta that was organized in September by Vliho Yacht Club and Ionian Boat Assistance.

The Ionian Calendar Please submit your community events to: [email protected]

The Master Tradesman by Neil Evans

The tradesperson occupies a special place in the psyche of the Greeks. In the absence of a long-standing DIY culture, the electrician, plumber, cabinet-maker, carpenter, stonemason and bricklayer have all risen to hold significant positions in Greek society, not least because they often hold the key to progress on a material level, but also because they can even affect peace, or otherwise, of mind on the psychological.

Although formally-known as “o technitis” (ο τεχνίτης =o teck-nee-tis), in demotic Greek, he (as almost inevitably the tradesperson is male) is known as “o mastoras” (ο µάστορας=o must-o-russ, and make sure you roll the r just a little), a word apparently borrowed from the English “master”. The implication here is obviously that he is a master at his job, knows everything about his vocation, and does it efficiently and compe-tently.

While, like everywhere else in the world, this may not always be the case, he usually does have a characteristically Greek approach to his vocation – a combination of relaxed nonchalance, technical dexterity, astute inventiveness and flexibility in juggling numerous jobs concur-rently.

Despite the prominence of the “master” in the Greek building industry, recent years have witnessed an increase in the level of DIY activity in

Greece, fuelled in part by the arrival in the Greek market-place of large home building supplies retail outlets. In this case, it is said that the person involved is mastering” (verb: µαστορεύω = must-o-ray-vo; don't forget to roll that r again) and creating "master-works" (µαστορέµατα = must-o-ray-ma-ta).

Although the “master” would possibly look somewhat askance at the results of the amateur tradesperson's efforts, at the end of the day, the handyman or woman will probably stand back and gaze with satisfaction at the day's work and nod approvingly, saying, 'I did a lot of good work today!' (¨Έκανα πολύ καλή δουλειά σήµερα! = Ek-a-na pol-ee kal-ee thoo-lee-ah sim-e-ra). But the tradesperson might well retort, 'Μας δουλεύεις!' (Mus thoo-lay-vis!: literally, 'You're working us!', but metaphorically, 'You're pulling our leg!'), such is his confidence that only his/her abilities and skills are top notch. For, in his mind, DIY people are only jacks of trades... and masters of none.

The Ionian καφενείο

Carpenter Chrisostomos Konidaris from Erisos on Kefalonia. ©N. Evans

The Ionian News Send your news stories and photos to [email protected]

©Neil McRobert


Be Practical!

It’s that time of year again. The weather has turned a bit unsettled, and the nights are getting cooler. The sailing season is drawing to a close for another year. For many of us, the end of the season means hauling out our boat at one of the local boatyards and leaving it there for the winter. Some sailors do the bare minimum to decommission their boat once it is out of the water. The fact that a boatyard isn’t the most congenial of places to stay probably has something to do with it. But spending a little time in the yard to tuck the boat up for the win-ter properly ensures it will be in good order when you return in the spring.

Here’s the checklist we used when our boat Makarma was lifted out at Aktio Marine, near Preveza towards the end of October last year. Before Makarma came out of the water, we topped up our diesel tanks to capac-ity to prevent condensation over the winter – the main cause of the dreaded diesel bug. If you forget to do that while still in the water, you can order a truck to bring fuel to your boat while on land.

1.Winterise Engine How you do this will obviously

depend on the engine you have. This is what we do with our Mer-cedes OM636: • Drain the oil. • Turn off the main fuel valve.

We also have a secondary fuel valve at the fuel filter which we turn off as well.

• Flush out seawater cooling sys-tem with fresh water. • Some people drain their fresh-

water cooling system. We choose to top it up with antifreeze to prevent corrosion.

Make a checklist of what you’ve done to winterise the engine, and stick it somewhere prominent on the boat so you remember to undo it when you come to restart the engine in the spring.

2.On Deck

• Take down all the halyards and sheets, wash them and store them down below. • Wash all the mooring lines and

stow. • Remove detachable deck fittings

like blocks, etc. • Take down the sails. We ar-

ranged for the mainsail to be washed and stored for the winter by

one of the local sail-makers that collect from the boatyard. • Take down the bimini. • Take in the ensign and courtesy

flag. • Store anchor and chain on a

pallet below the boat.

3.Down Below • Batteries: Check the electrolyte;

grease the battery terminals. Our solar panels keep the batteries topped up over the winter, and the regulator ensures they don’t get overcharged. • Make sure all electrical circuits

and appliances are turned off including automatic bilge pumps to prevent draining the batteries. • Hose out the bilges with fresh water to re-move any oily smells, and clean out those hard to reach side channels which can get over-looked. • Clean the saloon cushion covers and washable bedding. • Empty the freshwater

tanks. We add water sterilising tab-lets to the small amount of water that’s always left at the bottom. • Scrub the toilet and pickle it

according to the manufacturer’s instructions. • Drain the calorifier and discon-

nect the power. • Disconnect the gas supply and

drain the line to the stove.

• Apply Vaseline to all the rubber window and hatch surrounds. • Lubricate the seacocks well

before closing them.

4.Protect Against Pests • Go through the food stores and

seal anything you want to keep in plastic containers to prevent weevils or mice getting at them. • Put old rags in all the through-

hull fittings to stop anything crawl-ing onboard. We stop up the boom as well. We’ve heard reports of people who’ve found birds nesting in their boom in the spring! • Put rat protection on the anchor

chain if you leave your anchor on the ground. An old chopping board or inverted plastic bottles threaded on the chain will do the trick. We put all our chain on the ground, thus avoiding this problem. • Finally we make a tent on the

foredeck by fixing our canvas awn-ing over the spinnaker boom and tying it down over the guardrails. We store the dinghy, life raft, life-buoys and all our fenders under-neath it.

We stayed in the boatyard for three weeks doing a number of re-pair and servicing jobs as well as following this decommissioning checklist. And what is the most useful piece of advice I can give you? Make sure you’ve got a good pair of waterproof boots. It rains even in Greece!

Cathy King is cruising in Greece with her husband Leighton onboard their Saltram 40, Makarma. www.theionian.com/CathyKing.html

Laying Up Your Boat For The Winter by Cathy King

FRESH LOCAL FISH, VONITSA RAISED MEAT, FREE RANGE EGGS AND HOME GROWN PRODUCE COOKED BY YOUR CHEF PANOS MARIS TO PERFECTION. MEET YOUR FRIENDS FOR A GREAT

MEAL TONIGHT


Be Practical!

At first glance it can be hard to tell why the underwater metal parts of a fibreglass boat are corroding. There are several reasons but by far the most common are stray current corrosion and galvanic corrosion.

It’s easy to protect a boat against both of these but it’s amazing how often it’s not done, or perhaps I should say it’s not done properly. Just bolting a small anode on your prop shaft is not enough!

Here are some simple tips which could save you lots of money. First though let’s see what we are dealing with.

Stray Current Corrosion – simple to under-stand, the title says it all. A current flow is cre-ated by your boat’s electrical systems, the shore power connection or sometimes by the boat berthed next to yours. Instead of it going where you wanted it to - it ‘stays’. On the way it can severely damage your parts!

Galvanic corrosion – this is old Mother Na-ture having a good laugh at our expense. If you put two different types of metal in sea water, an electric current is created — it’s the same prin-ciple that your car battery works on. When this happens, the most active metal will corrode. Your boat sits in sea water and creates its own current so your active metal bits will corrode.

There is a list called The Noble Scale that shows which metals are most active - Zinc is near the top which is why we use it for making anodes.

Anodes can protect our boats, but they are often too small or badly placed.

If you think your boat’s anodes are disappear-ing too fast, check for these simple things and put right any problems you find before you call in the experts: • Wires underwater in the bilge and staples or

nails through wires. • Damage to engine wiring loom - especially the alternator connec-tions and cable insulation.

• Broken bonding wires and loose connec-tions or terminals and junction blocks bridged by salt. • Shore power circuits that are installed with

domestic wiring and sockets. And finally, one of the most common causes

of all - rusty old ‘car type’ battery chargers on the shore power circuit. This is one of the few places where shore power and your boat’s DC electrical circuits meet - if in doubt change it for a marine one.

If you’ve checked everything and all seems to be well but your anodes are still disappearing before your eyes you need a Corrosion Survey.

This is done with the boat in the water and involves putting a probe, connected to a meter, over the side and using a second probe attached to the meter to take readings from the keel bolts, the stern gear and all the through hull fit-tings. To do this, all the circuits are turned off and the shore power is disconnected, then a datum reading is established for your boat.

Now it’s a matter of turning each circuit on and testing again until the problem is found. Each problem found should be fixed on the spot or recorded for fixing later before the test con-tinues.

If you want to know more about protecting your boat’s metalwork from corrosion read chapter 4 of Nigel Calder’s excellent book ‘Boat Owner’s Mechanical and Electrical Man-ual.’ It’s a book you really should have on board.

John Crompton runs Ionian Boat Surveys & Deliveries, based in Nidri. They carry out all types of surveys on pleasure boats in the Ionian area and skippered deliveries throughout the Mediterranean. www.ionianboatsurveys.com

I found this damaged alternator connector on an 18 month old yacht in Scotland last March. The sail drive had been replaced after one season and the anodes on the new one had eroded away after three weeks. The boat was kept on a swinging mooring, which ruled out shore power problems, but the owner who motor sails a lot had fitted a bigger alternator.

What’s Eating My Boat’s Anodes? by John Crompton

The above photo shows the anode on the sail drive of a brand new boat that was lifted out of the water in a local marina two weeks after first being launched. I would not put money on this anode protecting the sail drive all season. There is something ‘electrical’ going wrong some-where! The original 40 Amp alternator had been replaced with a 70 Amp one.

This was a much bigger unit which made the connecting wires rub on the engine. The wires were replaced and clipped away from the engine and the anodes on the hull stern drive and en-gine replaced.

E-mail: [email protected] or Dimitri Soldatos: 69766 76367

Electrical engineering works

35 years experience


The Ionian Business Services

BOB PHELPS YACHT CARPENTER NEW TEAK DECKS & INTERIORS

WOODEN HULL REPAIRS LEFKADA ISLAND, AKTIO, VONITSA

TEL: 6932 877813 www.theionian.com/BobPhelps.html

To advertise: Prices per month: 4x6cm: €20; 4x9.5cm: €30; 8x9.5cm: 60€; 1/4page: 100€; 1/2 page: 200€; full page: 400€. Ask about other sizes. Ad layout: €20; WebPage €100. Please email a JPEG photo of your ad or a business card that we can scan. To order your ad please call: 69486 46764; Email: [email protected] or go online: www.theionian.com/advertising.html and pay by credit card, debit card, bank transfer or PayPal. Deadline: 15th of each month.

LEFKAS MARINA TRANSFER TAXI — MINI BUS — COACH


Near Main Agora Vladi St. Lefkas

The Ionian Business Services

Classifieds

FOR SALE NEW APARTMENT FOR SALE 87 SQ.M. Fireplace, central heating, b.b.q. veranda with awning, modern kitchen, storage room. Please call: Preveza 69463 74794 for more information.

9 foot double hard bottom inflatable dinghy—needs work—offers, Violin 80€, Pentax K1000 SLR camera and lens, Also, wanted house sitting position for winter in or near Lefkada. 69486 46764.

APARTMENT FOR SALE 60 sq. m. 30 years old. Centre of Vonitsa. 970 Euros per sq. m. Please call 69371 15056 for more information.

FREE COFFEE WITH AD

ITHACA

PREVEZA

To Advertise: Call: 69486 46764, email: [email protected] or visit: www.theionian.com. Please submit your ad by the 15th of each month.

Waterfront, Lefkada Port tel: 26450 22232

Vliho, Lefkada Island tel: 2645095236 - 6973201989

LEFKADA ISLAND


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The Ionian October 2010