Peter Robinson

I spent the morning clearing into the country starting by a walk to the post office for etepai followed by port police (easy), immigration (easy), and customs (challenging because I couldn't prove the boat wasn't vat paid. it took about two hours to set up a transit log which in the end they did for me because I couldn't get the system to work). I then paddled back to the boat, started the engine without difficulty, and motored to the marina. the oil pressure was high then dropped back, the engine temperature was fine but I still had a worrying leak. I arrived at the marina and got into a very tricky berth with only a little help and before I could call Leonidas the engineer he said hello. his initial diagnosis is the flange on the main cylinder is kaput (his word) and the fuel pump which was taken apart and reassembled by the Albanian mechanic was losing a lot of fuel. Leonidas is returning later to do the work.. hopefully it will be done before bedtime

I checked out at about 11:30 and paddled back to the boat there seemed to be barely any wind, but the engine started straightaway and off we went. I got the mainsail up immediately as usual and after a mile or so I was able to turn the engine off because we had about 10-12 knots just forward of the starboard beam..the wind built a bit and I eventually reefed both the mainsail and genny as we had about 17 knots and I was concerned it might build further into the gap between Corfu and the mainland. It didn't and I ended up shaking out the reef and then dropping the mainsail completely as the wind ended up behind me but it died away to nothing..I saw a few dolphins when I started the engine but on this occasion any luck they brought me was not obvious as the temperature of the engine was all over the place and the oil pressure read really low. more importantly than that, I was getting a lot of something in the bilge. I reattached the air filter as it had come off and the temperature seemed to correct. The oil pressure remained very low though and despite my best efforts at seeing where the liquid was coming from I couldn't. I motored into the anchorage, got the hook down and tried to diagnose the problem without much success..more professional help is needed alas

Having gone to the local restaurant to get good enough WiFi to check the weather I decided to leave the following morning. There were some southerlies forecast and some quite strong southerlies between Italy and Albania but the models showed these some way off..The alarm was set for 5am but I woke earlier. Unusually for this year then engine took three or four goes to start. I reversed off the dock (having gone in forwards) at about 5:20 and after some backing and filling motored out of the marina and headed for the entrance to the bay with two reefs in the mainsail. There was no wind and the bay was flat calm.. I was concerned about the area just south of the entrance to the bay on the seaside because there have been many difficult experiences there in the past, including my own. As it happened, despite some wind funnelling in at the entrance itself, the wind was actually light but typically right on the nose. There was a swell which was on the beam which was sufficiently big to knock things including very big heavy bottles of water over. I ended up putting them in the guest cabin. There were a few times when the engine seemed to make an odd noise but the gauges seemed ok and the bilge looked normal so on I went. I kept the mainsail up pretty much all the way to Sarande. As I was coming into the anchorage the engine seemed to slow and then when I took it out of gear and went back into tick over it seemed ok. After I got the anchor down I looked and pretty much all the oil was gone from the reservoir..from.Max to way below the Min line on the dipstick..It barely even registered. The agent arranged for an engineer to come over on a taxi boat and he discovered oil in the sweet water. He will return with his tools in the morning. I just hope the news isn't catastrophic.

I turned the internet on to get a weather forecast and some info from Navily as I was sitting on the boat at anchor in Durres. My less than 5 minutes of online time cost me £33!! The weather forecast essentially said there were going to be southerlies again but they were going to be very light..I was making decent time down to Corfu to meet Wenna but the anchorage was open to the south in any case so I decided to move on. The alarm was at for 5am but I woke at 3:39am to what I first thought was wash from a ferry or something but which turned out to wind caused waves. I left about 5:15 and although getting out of Durres bay was ok, by the time I got to the next section, ie up to the point I could bearaway into Vlore Bay, the weather was atrocious. There were very steep waves, high 20s winds and significant waves over the deck, etc..They might not have been the strongest winds I have encountered in this boat so far, but they were certainly the worst conditions. Even the toilet when flying at one point. Eventually after motoring at 1.8 knots (maybe it was 2.8 knots) and feeling like I would never get there, I eventually had enough angle to bear away a little..The winds came off the nose about 15 to 20 points but the waves remained very steep until I got protection from the mountains on the far side of the bay. In fact, I could actually sail for a few minutes once I was through the worst of it but then the wind died. I turned the engine back on and had the full mainsail now up (previously I had two reefs in) when one of the shackles holding the mainsheet to the traveller broke.I eventually got to the marina which despite ignoring my hailing on the VHF had an enormous space for me to get into. Despite the very little cross wind, I gave up after a bit and went in forwards. I felt very tired. I ended up staying there for two nights to recover.

I met Mr Froku at the cafe restaurant at 9:30 on a calm day and checked the weather again. I looked at Predict Wind and he scoffed a bit and said these things can't predict local wind, and he was absolutely right. I bought some tomatoes and cucumbers and pears from a lady from the villages and paddled back to the boat. I started the engine and motored in calm conditions pretty much all the way to Durres. About 5 miles short of Durres there was enough breeze to sail so I got the sails up, made lunch and waited for the wind to drop away to nothing as usual which it duly did. I had sailed about a mile. I turned the engine on and motored the rest of the way. I found a spot in the anchorage enough distance from a slightly oddly placed green channel marker - the first one as you left the port itself, and got the anchor down.

I finished up at customs and returned to the boat. The police were fine but the customs lady wanted to see the previous year's vignette, which fortunately I kept. The boat was tied up in a commercial port on a dodgy dock, attached to just one bollard with a light crosswind. I got everything ready, started the engine and released the lines. Typically, and my fault for not being careful, I got a wrap on one of the two lines so I had to leap nimbly back onto the dock, undo the wrap, throw the rope back onto the boat, jumpy back onto the myself and head off, all while making sure the crosswind didn't blow the boat to the other side of the port and disaster. All was well and I tried to sail in the light and shifty winds as I emerged from the port and turned south but there was insufficient wind so I started to motor. I motored to about Ulcinj where there was enough wind behind me to sail. I got the genoa out - it was about 14 - 20 knots true - and sailed almost all the way to Shengjin. The best sail on the boat for a long time. The wind died about 5 miles from the port and I motored the rest of the way. The port bailed me on the VHF asking if I wanted to enter the port and despite the noticeable swell I said I would prefer to stay outside and anchor which I did. I paddled ashore, tied the boat to one of the foundation posts of the not yet open yacht club, chatted to Mr Froku and was then invited to his house (the pavement outside his house that he had enclosed with plants and greenery - to drink home made raki. I eventually went back to the caff restaurant and had pizza while he watched the Champions League final. I clambered back down the rocks in the dark, returned to the boat and let the raki encourage me to sleep

I woke early with the idea of being at the fuel berth at Porto Montenegro when it opened. After a pot of proper coffee and a banana, and checking that the forecast across all the weather models still showed basically no wind, I tuned the engine on about 7:10am and was anchor up - unsurprisingly needing to motor over it - at about 7:20. I arrived at the fuel berth and I was second there after a rib. Typically it had started to rain on the approach to the berth but as I got closer no wind at all became about 15 knots apparent. I formulated Robinson's Destination Law. If there is no wind on the way, there is always wind at the destination. Fortunately the berth was positioned ok for the wind and I filled up about 50 litres in the jerrycans and about 80 litres in the tank. I started motoring at about 5 knots towards Porto Novi and out of Boka Bay. As I passed Porto Novi I had my first suspicion of wind and by the time I was approaching the island at the entrance to the bay I had about 16-18 knots on the port beam. The rain was now heavy. A sailing vessel radio'ed me on 16 asking what the conditions were like inside the bay, he had come I think from Croatia. He said Windy was showing 'a.lotnof wind in the bay'. I told him around Tivat was calm, all on 16. I started hearing thunder and saw the sky light up somewhere with lightning. I was still in the bay but the wind was around 25 knots on the beam..I told myself that it was windy there when I came into the bay and this was probably a local thing. The lumpiness you would expect at the mouth of a bay was now pronounced and continued as I headed out. I noticed three or four speedboats heading out to the blue cave full of bedraggled punters which gave me some heart. The sea remained lumpy and the wind frequently gusted up close to 30 knots - I think I saw 28 a few times - but I was wrong to expect the sea would calm beyond the entrance. Shortly beyond this point is the entrance to Lustica Bay (my name for it I think, Bigova is in there) and because of the strength of the wind from my port and the fetch all the way into the bay, combined with the swell from the other side, the waves became biggish, confused and with a short period. The boat was thrown around a lot. I was pleased I stowed pretty much everything for sea so not much was spread all over. Some was. The washing up liquid bottle had fallen over and oozed everywhere for example. By this point the lightning had stopped but the rain was incessant and heavy. I had unrolled a bit of Genoa which gave me some extra speed and helped to steady the boat I am sure The wind was on the beam but it was not in any way safe to climb onto the deck and get the sail up, even clipped on. I was making about 6 knots with engine and sail and eventually I passed the bay. The wind became more on my port quarter as I approached Budva. There was still a big sea but it was now much more behind me.Thw wind has dropped to 12 - 18 knots apparent and it continued to drop as I headed towards Bar. The seas began to calm although a noticeable swell remained and about 5 miles out of Bar the rain stopped. I radio'ed ahead and was given an alongside berth. It was just spitting as I tied up but there was no wind. The end of an eventful passage. The boat performed immaculately. I made some sensibly cautious decisions

I left in a building westerly. Unlike at Porto Montenegro a few days before, this time I dropped the stern lines (I had help from a worker nearby) and then motored forward slowly and dropped the slime lines. By the time I was in clear water I had 18-20 knots on the nose. I tidied up the fenders and stern lines and decided it was as good a time as any to do some sailing to make sure everything was working ok. I got the full.main up with about 2 reefs in the Genoa and sailed up and down a couple of times. The wind was between 15 and 20 knots. I put in a reef to make sure everything was set up correctly and it was messy as I rebooted the sail before tightening the outhaul. I sorted that out and then took the reef out again as the wind began to drop. I dropped the main and sailed down the channel to the anchorage under Genoa. It took several attempts to set the anchor, even though it was stuck in when I came to lift it to reset. I suspect it was just ploughing up the mud. On the third or fourth attempt it set really well. it was only then I realised it was 5pm and I hadn't eaten or drunk anything since breakfast

Navar hadn't finished some tidying up work on the deck so I headed over in quiet, basically no wind, conditions. I did not have access to a weather forecast as there was no WiFi in the anchorage and by the time I arrived at Navar a westerly was blowing about 6-10 knots. The westerly is the dangerous wind there. Despite loads of space the mooring did not go well as the wind and waves blew me alongside the wall. I eventually sorted it out by pulling the slime lines in etc and adjusting the stern lines (I had help but the chap didn't really know what he was doing. The errors leading to me being alongside were all mine of course) and then arranged the passarelle as normal. Despite the modest winds there were already choppy waves on the wall and the passarelle struggled to stay in one place. I spoke to Bojo who sent the guy down immediately who finished the job in about an hour. I asked and he said I could go shopping meanwhile. I asked because I could see the sea building and the poor boat being chucked around all over the place. By the time I got back it was really very difficult to get on and off the boat and if it had hit the wall there would have been substantial damage.

I had spent the morning getting the sails sorted out - adding the mainsheet, putting the battens in the mainsheet and bending on the mizzen and the mizzen sheet and then Phil and Judith were after a grub screw so I grabbed some bits and paddles over to them. We had coffee, chatted of this and that and then I went shopping to the shop behind the hotel with the brown balconies. I got back and said I wanted to head off. I paddled back and gently motors over in about 12 - 16 knots apparent on the nose. there was a mobo in the middle of my favourite anchorage. I looked at the one next door but didn't fancy it so anchored inside the mobo, my anchor broadly in the middle of the anchorage with about 45-50m out in about 10m. The anchor seemed to grip on a transit with a taut chain. I didn't motor too long going backwards as I was scared of running around behind me if the anchor wasn't holding. I hope I don't live to regret this. I am adjacent to the mobo so assuming the wind comes N, I hope he has a similar amount of chain out to me so we miss each other as we swing round. time will tell. I am half expecting to have to anchor again later