Big waves at Posidhonia, Syros. She made it through the surge at


the harbour entrance and we slotted into the vacant space before 10am. A Harley Street hair transplant


surgeon on a nearby motorboat lent us his fuel pump to empty the tank before handing it over to a specialist, Petros, to clean out. An inspection hatch would have made the job easier but there wasn’t one. We had no joy with the pump so bled the interminably slow trickling fuel by hand from the main outlet pipe in the engine, under the table midships. Holding a jug to catch the diesel Carl sat cramped over the pipe in the narrow space while I crouched a foot away near the fuel on/off lever. The job took three hours because, of course, we had a full tank. Petros discovered a bit of sludge in the bottom of the tank and, for reasons unknown, a small piece of plastic tape, the suspected cause of the problem. He welded an inspection hatch onto the stainless steel box for us. The next evening Carl celebrated the victory of our


averted danger with a dram of an expensive bottle malt whiskey gifted to us by the Dutch crew of a massive catamaran. Our neighbouring yacht left and the skipper of the


cat, which was being bounced around on its mooring at the harbour entrance, asked if he could squeeze in. The space was barely big enough so the captain dived


to tie an extra line to the adjacent underwater mooring block to stop his huge yacht crushing our tiny one. It worked and, for us graciously understanding the crews’ desire for comfort, they generously gave us (well


Lefkas canal as it enters the Inland Ionian Sea


Petros delivers the cleaned out fuel tank.


Carl re-fits the clean fuel tank


Carl anyway, as I can’t stand the stuff) a €65 bottle of 12-year-old Balvenie! This went someway towards compensating our dashed hopes upon spotting several crisp €50 notes on the seabed at Vathi anchorage, Sifnos. Recently dropped from a yacht perhaps, I saw them as we snorkeled overhead. With his flippers Carl was better equipped to retrieve the notes but lying five-metres deep he couldn’t clear his ears and they remained tantalisingly out of reach. The Dutch crew’s gift contrasted sharply with the


Carl with his €65 tipple.


attitude of another catamaran crew who attempted to squeeze between Leonie and a French yacht at the quay at Posidhonia, Syros in the dark of night. Clearly the space was not big enough but they


Leonie (right) at St Irini Bay, Kithnos.


Ginny at Koutala Bay, Serifos.


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