SERENITY NOW

  25th June 2019 (Leros) Another ‘on the hard’ installment I’m afraid..  We’re now into our 7th week out of the water.  We moved back into the boat last week, unable to justify the expense of staying at ‘Maison de Coleurs’ any longer. The current hold up stalling our repair is the ‘dampness’ of the GRP (fibreglass) in the bilge drain. Until that is sufficiently dry, the repair cannot proceed.  We have all the windows shut and two dehumidifiers are running 24/7 in the cabin. This makes going below into the main cabin close to unbearable with the outside temps nudging close to 30. The yard itself is dusty and airless, the surrounds have a baked scrubby feel reminiscent of a scene from The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Days are pretty lazy, there’s boat jobs that we’re chipping away at, but time is a commodity which we have an excess of, so not much urgency for anything. Highlights of the day are: Bugle call to wake up the local barracks at around 7:30, a bakers van beeps at 10ish b

  10th June 2019 (Leros) Not the usual sailing diary today... Serenity Now has been ‘on the hard’ for the last 5 weeks (wow! Is it really that long??)  We’re in Leros, away from the boat in Artemis boatyard. (Keel repair / rigging replacement) Days at the somewhat rustic ‘Maison de Coulers’ are generally spent fairly lazily: Up at 10ish, greet our adopted cats: Chatty Kathy, (my favourite), Ticky Boy and Batty Boy. Then wander down to the beach at Panteli around midday (mad dogs and Englishmen and all that). Bit of a swim, a bit of sun baking, some stone skimming (sometimes to applause from the clients at Zorbas beachside taverna). Entertainment is usually cricket on the radio - we’re in the middle of the ICC World Cup. Mooch back up the hill to our home/hotel mid afternoon for a nap ( or Candy Crushing if you’re the Cheese ), then either Gyros, a homemade dinner, or occasionally Zorbas at the beach if we’re feeling extravagant. This followed by Luther on the laptop until we agre