Talkin’ Like a Pirate

Ahoy, me hearties! Did you know that September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

We be celebratin’ this by talkin’ like pirates all day (or as much as we can) t’ raise funds for t’ Jubilee Sailin’ Trust.

If you be (un?) lucky enough t’ be sailin’ with us that week you’ll have been sent a warning email from Cap’n Slashthroat on t’ starboard here, invitin’ you t’ dress and talk like a pirate to try t’ win a prize .. or else!

As well as raisin’ doubloons for charity t’ crews will be able to join in pirate activities such as walking t’ plank, treaaye huntin’ and such like.

Don’t think we’ll forget about t’ sailin’ with all this pirate stuff. A good pirate needs t’ be able t’ sail smartly to avoid bein’ caught.  And we’ll be relyin’ on our Day Skippers t’ navigate t’ boats well so that we can steer clear o’ trouble.

We’re hopin’ some o’ ye folk who have sailed with us before will help t’ raise doubloons by sponsorin’ us and our students t’ be pirates. I’ll tell ye more about what we be doin’ and how ye can help in a day or two.

Thar be a fair few barmy ideas on the horizon . . .

Meanwhile, if ye want t’ find out more about Talk Like a Pirate Day, click here. Ye’ll find pirate gear, pirate advice, even where to buy a stuffed parrot or how to get a pirate name.

Me’self, I just been doin’ a psychological test to fin’ out what me strengths are as a pirate. Here’s me results - beware!:

You, me hearty, are a woman of action! And what action it is! Gruesome, awful, delightful action. You mete out punishment to friend and foe alike well, mostly to foe, because your burning inner rage isn’t likely to draw you a whole lot of the former. Still, though you may be what today is called “high maintenance” and in the past was called “bat-shit crazy,” the crew likes to have you around because in a pinch your maniacal combat prowess may be the only thing that saves them from Jack Ketch. When not in a pinch, the rest of the crew will goad you into berserker mode because it’s just kind of fun to watch. So you provide a double service – doling out discipline AND entertainment.

Ter find yer own pirate personality check out What’s Yer Inner Pirate? brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

An’ all I can say to that is - “Avast, me hearties!”

King and Vieler families’ sailing holiday

On 4 August we welcomed Paul King and his sister, Lesley Vieler, with their families. Paul lives in England and Lesley in South Africa.

Their children are very close in age and get on famously, but had not seen each other for two years. There was great excitement when they all arrived and met up again in Greece.

Paul is a keen yachtsman but the sailing trip was a first for most of the party. The familes sailed on Zotelot and Valentine with instructors Suzanne and George respectively.

On their return to Aegina at the end of their 5-day course we arranged for these photographs to be taken.

The first picture below shows Valentine with crew Paul King,  his wife Erica King, and daughters Evelyn King and Justine King. Underneath that are Zotelot’s crew  - Jonathan Vieler, Lesley Vieler, daughters Amy Vieler and Stephanie Vieler, and Paul’s long time university friend, Steven Swart.

And here are some photos of them in action sailing. Click on the thumbnails for an enlarged version.

August 26 - I’ve just received some more photographs by email from Paul. I think they are really good so am adding them here. I especially like the yachts under sail and will use them on our website when it is updated next.

Thanks Paul. (click on the images for large versions)

Late Season Offers

We are now fully booked until 23 September.

Here is our current availability and special offer prices on late season bookings:

     23 September - plenty of places - price now 800 euro / 550 UK pounds

     30 September - 2 places left - price 750 euro / 515 UK pounds - NOW FULL

     7 October - 4 places available - price 750 euro / 515 UK pounds

     14 October - plenty of places left- price 750 euro / 515 UK pounds

     20 October milebuilder (7 days) - 4 places left - price 850 euro / 585 UK pounds

     21 October - 4 places left- price 750 euro / 515 UK pounds

    28 October - plenty of places left- price 750 euro / 515 UK pounds 

All the above prices are per person sharing a double cabin. Please add 25% for single occupancy.

The price includes all yacht expenses, tuition, RYA course books, linen and towels (please bring your own swimming towel), and food for breakfasts and lunches.

Fire on Hydra

 

This dramatic picture was taken from our yachts as they sailed in the Hydra Channel. It shows the blaze that ungulfed the island during last month’s unprecedented hot weather.

The record temperatures and high winds were a lethal combination that led to large fires in many areas of Greece.

Crew Photos from 22 July Courses

Here are some great photos of Ian and Suzanne, our instructors, with their students - Shukri (Chuck) Alfa, Georgina Lawrie, Valerie Krizan, Jon Papworth, Peter Clouting, and Ruth Bordoli.

There is also the first photograph we’ve had of Zotelot’s spinnaker - I must put it on our website.

Click on the thumbnails for a larger image. Thanks, Ian, for sending these to me.

Crew Photos from 15 July Courses

Here are two nice photographs taken of our yachts returning from their courses to Aegina on Friday afternoon.

In the green corner, on Zotelot with Suzanne Bourke, are Pater and Gail Stanway from the UK, who sailed with Suzanne in New Zealand last year, and Tim Black and Aggeliki Christou from Switzerland.

And in the blue corner, on board Valentine with Ian Papworth, we have Kars Neven and Marijke Van den Wildenberg, from the Netherlands, and Lucinda Beveridge from the UK.

Many thanks to Peter and Maria of Aegina for the photographs.

A Church for Sailors?

Came across this the other day - I can’t remember where but if I do I will post a credit. I thought it was great.

We’ve got plenty of wind here at the moment but there are days …

Crew with an International Flavour

One of the interesting things about our school is the wide range of nationalities and countries of residence that our students come from.

This picture shows the crew of Zotelot on our 5 May course. From left to right we have:

Issa-Ahmed Sidibe (from the Ivory Coast, now living in Switzerland), Jason Hickman (British, now living in Greece), Daniel Morris (British, now living in Canada), Sophie Gosselin, Daniel’s wife (French Canadian), and Ian Papworth, our Chief Instructor.

Our First RYA Powerboaters!

Our first powerboat students are busy in our RIB as they moor in the little harbour close to our home. They ahd almost finished their two-day RYA Powerboat Level II course.

I took the photo below as they sped towards the harbour entrance. You can see how nice and quiet the area is - perfect for novices to learn in.

.. and at the end of the course Ashley Robinson and Roger Smith, two of the successful students, were awarded their certificates by Ian.

Both Ashley and Roger live in Greece and, as UK citizens, can now get an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) from the RYA which will give them an easily accepted ‘licence’ to use in Greek waters.

Ashley and her partner already own a boat - a Mastercraft Pro Star 190 that they use mainly for water-ski-ing. Ashley wants eventually to be able to drive their boat while her husband skis behind. This was her first step towards that goal.

Roger is now also one step nearer to his aim which is to own a boat here. He sensibly wanted to learn to drive a powerboat and find out more about different types of hull so that he had a better idea of what would suit him before he started to look at boats in earnest.

Keep on Sailing, Chuck

Shukri (Chuck) Alfa from Beirut recently completed his RYA Day Skipper course with us.

Chuck is our oldest student to date. He was born in 1935. He’s keen and strong and looking forward to many more years sailing.

One of the great things about sailing is that it is not a sport that is solely for the young and super fit.

My father-in-law owned and sailed a boat well into his late seventies. This was despite the fact that he had lost both his legs at the knees. (He was the only ‘officially’ legless member of the Royal Northern Yacht Club!)

I sometimes receive enquiries from people who ask if they are too old to start sailing. Frequently they are only in their fifties! So I hope this posting will encourage you to start, whatever your age. Like anything else you are not going to reach Olympic standard if you don’t begin until later in life, but you can certainly enjoy it.

Chuck lives in the Lebanon although his business interests take him all around the world. He first sailed with us on a milebuilding trip to the Cyclades last October. He had previously sailed quite a bit and completed ASA (American Sailing Association) courses.

He enjoyed himself so much that he recently sailed with us for another 5 days in July.  Chuck did not do a formal course but asked Ian to assist him with things that he wanted to practice. We are always happy to accommodate people who want to come to improve their skills rather than take an RYA course.

I understand that he now plans to buy a yacht so I hope we’ll get pictures of that soon.

He sent the photos with the note:

Always very satisfied with Aegean Instruction courses, please keep me advised of the next Mile builder, early October might suit me fine……

With Chuck and Ian is the photograph below is Valerie Krizan. She was new to sailing and successfully completed her Competent Crew course during the week.

Both Chuck and Valerie arrived in Greece a day before their course. We booked them into the picturesque and friendly Hotel Vagia, close to our home. George, Ian and myself, met them for Greek meze the evening before their course began.

Chuck also sent me one of the nicest photos I have seen of Ian, which I will put into a separate post.