Shamballa Cruising Yacht Club: I Hate Winter! – The Battle with Rain and Mould

During the season I was looking forward to spending most of the winter on Songster. It would be another aspect of the live aboard life I was eager to experience. Oh the naivety of the newbie! The previous three winters since buying Songster we spent the majority of the northern hemisphere winter travelling in warmer climes. When we had returned to Songster in late winter or early spring she was dry and welcoming. It is quite a different story when we are living, breathing and cooking on her during one of the wettest winters Lefkada locals can remember.

Since arriving at Lefkas in early November I can remember only one week where we had sun. The skies have been very gray and dreary and rain seems to fall five days out of every seven. Every breath we take, every cup of tea we make causes condensation. We bought a dehumidifier which runs 24/7 and although we empty cups of water from it each day, it just cannot cope with the saturated atmosphere. Every day we open another cupboard only to find a fresh crop of mould waiting for yet another attack with vinegar or bleach.

View of Lefkas Marina on a non-rainy day

Snow on the mountains

Unknown leaks and undiscovered dodgy wiring have revealed themselves. The lining inside of the boat has been stripped down to investigate. Except for the forward hatch which we knew needed resealing, all the ‘leaks’ have turned out to be condensation. I am really wondering how not to breathe at night so we don’t wake up every morning with water dripping off the windows! We have made some temporary ‘double glazing’ for the big hatches which seems to help a bit.

Under the lining looking for leaks

The wiring for the wind instruments under the mast

Our temporary bubble wrap double glazing

All the wet weather and our innate indolence mean that the major winter projects, such as rigging, mast work and varnishing, are not getting done. The rigging needs replacing – we have had no problems with it but it has been over 10 year since its last refresh and it is due for another. The B&G wind instruments also need fixing. As is often the case with a nearly 40 year old boat, these instruments are no longer made nor serviced by the manufacturer. Bob has been beavering away at the problem and after several trips up the mast on the few non wet or windy days, much head scratching and tinkering with wiring, we think we have identified the issue. But it will take several more trips up the mast and shipping parts to and from the UK before we are sure. Finally varnishing may just have to wait until the spring.

Bob up the mast

It is a long way down

View across the marina

Still on the days when we are not hunkered down from wild wind and rain, or uninspired to get out of bed with the dreary gray skies, we do try to take some long walks and enjoy the beauty of Lefkas.