and spread out on the workshop bench
like a jigsaw puzzle. I wondered whether
Spiros would be able to get it back
together again. Two days later, Georgios,
the yard manager, had ordered the
required spares listed by Spiros. No
worries, I thought. LL should be fixed
and in the water within a few weeks, in
time to get my partner Rosemary back
to Malta by late September as promised.
Not so! Nothing in life is simple. Some
of the spares despatched were wrong and
there were other problems. Rosemary
would have to fly back to Malta alone,
leaving me without a crew. What’s more,
my insurance did not cover me for
single-handed sailing.
So, how should I go about finding
a replacement crew? After scouring
Preveza harbour, I managed to find
a mature English liveaboard who said
he was an ‘experienced sailor’ and had
brought his yacht out from the UK.
Perfect, I thought, and after a few drinks,
a deal was struck. I would pay for his
flight from Malta to the UK, he would
be my crew and Rosemary would fly
to Malta. Problem solved, I thought.
How little did I know what was in store!
COMPETENT CREW?
The days came and went with
ever increasing frustration. In
mid-September Rosemary departed for
Malta and then we would be into October
and the bad weather. At last, all the spare
parts had arrived and Spiros could start
reassembling LL’s engine. On 6 October
the engine was re-assembled, but would
she start? Oh ye of little faith, of course
she would and she did! The engine was
re-fitted and ran successfully, with sea
trials scheduled the next day and
departure for Malta on the 9 October
with a favourable weather window.
At 1600 on the 8 October LL was
launched and underwent a successful
30-minute sea trial, achieving 15% more
power. Things were looking good. At
1900 the same day my crew boarded and
I was presented with new problems; he
was vegetarian and would not share the
washing up. Not a good omen.
October is not the best month to
be sailing across the Mediterranean,
as I was soon to find out. At 0700 on
9 October, on a ‘promised’ favourable
weather forecast, we cast off to sail
towards Malta. However, I soon
discovered that my crew had very limited
sailing ability. The way he handled the
mooring lines when we departed did not
fill me with confidence. All he seemed
capable of was standing watch whilst I
slept. However, the fact LL has an auto
pilot meant this wasn’t a huge issue.
At first the weather was as forecast;
NW Force 3-4, but at 2100 the weather
deteriorated with the wind going round
to SW and increasing to Force 5 with
squalls. This meant putting ‘iron lady’ on
[the engine] and crossing my fingers that
Spiros’ workmanship was up to scratch.
The weather was to remain
unfavourable for the remainder of the
voyage with rain, thunder and lightning.
Conditions deteriorated even further
when we were 10 miles north of Malta,
with winds increasing to Force 7 and a
very rough sea breaking over LL.At 0800 on the 12 October 2009, having
endured the three-day voyage
in the company of my ‘phoney’ crew
member, LL eventually berthed at the
marina in Malta. I was mentally and
physically exhausted, having had little
assistance from the crew member I had
engaged. Maybe I was getting too old
for this kind of life.
As you might guess, I was not very
enamoured of my crew’s lack of
contribution during the 365 mile voyage.
We had only managed to sail 70 miles,
the remaining 295 miles was under
engine, which did not miss a beat during
the 60 hours it ran; well done Spiros.
However, my duties were not yet
finished. I had to get my crew to the UK
for the next day. A flight was booked for
13 October at 1000. My crew would be
picked up by my friend at 0800 to be
taken to the airport. Only another 24
hours to get through, then I could relax,
having fulfilled my duties...
I was woken at 0400 by my ‘phoney’
crew banging around in the cockpit
above my bunk. His explanation was that
he could not sleep. With the noise he was
making nor could I, and I was exhausted.
That was the final straw and the end of
any ‘relationship’ with my crew. He was
off LL pronto and didn’t turn up for his
0800 lift – his problem, I concluded. The
next day I received an email from him
saying how pleased he was to have pulled
the wool over my eyes regarding his lack
of sailing experience; he had just wanted
to get a free flight back to the UK!
It is only when you sail with a person
that you learn their real capabilities and
skills. He wasn’t the best choice of crew,
but what option did I have? After all,
I did make it safely back to Malta.Spiros and his team
helped get Linga Linga
seaworthy againDespite the difficulties
along the way, we made it
to Malta where my counterfeit
crew made a hasty exitTHE LEARNING CURVELESSONS
LEARNED
(^1) LOOK FOR RED FLAGS
I placed too much credence on my crew
having sailed his yacht from the UK to
Preveza, and overlooked the neglected
state of his yacht. In hindsight this lack
of care revealed his true nature.
(^2) WATCH THEM IN ACTION
I should have had more interaction with
my crew prior to departure. Spending
more time with him on the boat would
have enabled a better assessment of
his capabilities and would have
prepared me for the problems I
encountered during the voyage. Luckily
I had enough confidence in my abilities
to safely complete the passage solo.