Wednesday Ydra - on the boat

So it started off in an interesting way.  Each morning the first one up puts on a saucepan of water on the gas cooktop to boil for coffee.  We gather up the abandoned single bottles of water to boil up, as no-one can remember by the end of the night which bottle is theirs.  Kevin and Joan were first up, so Joan put on the saucepan of water to boil for coffee. 

After waiting "patiently" for some time,  I went to check the water again.  It was on the wrong burner, so back to square one.  In anticipation, I prepared my cup with coffee and milk but made the mistake of turning my back on it.  Joan in clean up mode, quickly disposed of the contents and washed up the cup.  Finally water boiled and Joan, Kevin, Jason and I all had the long awaited coffee.  It tasted a bit strange, but not unpleasant so we sipped on.  Then Joan commented that it smelled like whiskey.  I asked Joan if she had emptied the remainder of Kostantina's liquor, stored in a large water bottle, into the saucepan.  Bingo!  New record set for our first drink of the day.  

We were aiming to Ydra/Hydra for our island visit.  This is a very busy marina and surrounds.  Our access to the waterfront was via water taxi.  Konstantina anchored us but was concerned with conditions, and the number of boats jostling for space.  Stephen and Jacqueline very generously offered to forego the shore excursion to remain with her in case they were needed.   

The first issue to emerge, we were losing our water storage even though no one was using the water.  They pulled up floorboard hatches to try and trace the issue.  They were able to stop the loss of water by shutting off the hot water to the starboard side.  With a bit of cold showering and bathroom sharing - no problem. 

Then the anchor starting dragging, and with all the boat traffic around, a lot of maneuvering was required.   Thank heavens S&J stayed, as even with their expert assistance it was very stressful for our Captain.  She sent us a message on the island encouraging us to return soon so she could get right away from the place, which we did.  As we sailed away, one of the engines stopped after sounding an alarm.  We crawled along with one engine for a while, until Stephen diagnosed it was very low on coolant and topped it up sufficiently for us to cross the channel with both engines.

Later during our afternoon swim, Jacquie discovered a plastic bag caught under the boat.  With that removed and coolant again topped, we encountered no further engine issues.  

Meanwhile, while they were toiling away on the boat, the rest of us were having a day out on the ideallic Ydra.  A very busy waterfront to be sure, but crystal clear waters, cobblestone streets, white washed houses and donkeys!  There are no cars on the island, so bicycle, by foot or by donkey are the transport options.  I'll put the Ydra photos on next post.

I opted for a few hours wandering the delightful alleyways, while the others did some more energetic hiking.  I met them again for a coldie before we made our way back. That afternoon's swim saw the launch of the paddle board bar, and Jason's solo body bar sunset performance. 

This sunset went on forever.  Amazing