Winter in Greece

I know, it's only early November, but my heater is blasting away and we've just had another gale blow through Levkas Marina. I didn't want to be outside to check the anemometer at the height of the storm, but it was at least 40 knots as I have a wind alarm set for 40. However, Eidos with double mooring lines on the bow and a hopefully strong mooring holding her stern was fine. A boat across from me, though had a problem - their mooring moved and she was hitting the dock with her bow.

Like I said, Eidos was fine, but with her bouncy motion she managed to pull tight on the power cable and in some mysterious way, that electricity works, my power went out at the worst possible time when it was still dark and cold. I had no intention of going outside into the madness, so I put on another pot of tea, got a second blanket on the settee, turned on one of the 12 volt lights, and waited while catching up on my reading.

Eventually, the rain stopped and I ventured outside. Nothing seemed wrong with the cable on the outside, but I knew that the splice in the middle was probably the cause of the problem, so I cut it off and stripped some more wires for a new splice. Hmmm. The blue wire was black instead of shiny copper colour. I wonder why. Nevertheless, not a good sign. A neighbour told me that it was just oxidized and should work, so I spliced it again just for
the heck of it, but no go.

Off to the marina shop. How much for that cable over there, please? 2.50E per metre. Wow, thanks but I think I'll try something else. I needed 15 meters, so that would have been 37.50 euros ($50) for a bit of cable. Amazing. I went back to the boat to see if I could resurrect the cable I had. After cutting off another few inches, I found the blue plastic covered
wire once more shiny.

I spliced it again and with a couple of extension cords I could probably make it work. However, by then it started looking like an accident waiting to happen. Too many plugs joined together outside in the weather and over the water. Besides, I couldn't fit one of the plugs through my cowl vent where I usually lead my power cord. I needed another plug that I could take apart, fit through first, and then re-attach inside.

So, off to town since the marina shop didn't have the right one. Good thing I did too. A five-minute walk away, in a proper electrical supply shop, I could buy the same identical cable for 0.60 euro per metre! Total bill: 9 euros. Unbelievable.

Back on the boat, I set to work once again. Soon, the new cable was ready. I plugged it in and - magic! I had power. So now, the little heater is purring again and I have plenty of power to update my blog. Lesson learned: never, never, never buy anything in the marina shop if you're cruising on a shoestring budget like I am.

Over the rest of the afternoon, the barometer rose millibar by millibar and the wind and rain eased. It blew again last night but I think we are back to good weather today and it looks like nothing really happened. Quick to come, quick to go... Next time I'll take a photo in the middle of the gale (through a plastic bag of course).

Still, I'm thinking, perhaps the Caribbean next winter? Or at least the Red Sea?