
There's nothing that doesn't happen when we're travelling with our Aglaya. When we wanted to moor in Agia Marina on the island of Aegina with the stern to the pier and let the anchor chain out, suddenly there was no more chain going out. So we ‘starved’ just before the pier and couldn't get ashore. What was going on? We have 100 metres of anchor chain and it was nowhere near out. We first checked to see if the anchor windlass fuse had blown. It hadn't. Then we checked the anchor block to see if anything was wrong. Everything was OK. There was only one thing left: the anchor chain must have jammed in the anchor locker. As the anchor locker on our boat cannot be opened from the deck, but down in the foredeck, we had to look there. We know the anchor locker well, as we clean it after every season. First of all, we clear everything out of the foredeck that is stowed there, then crawl forwards over our folding bikes and open the door. The light in the anchor locker comes on. Very convenient. And what did we see this time? There was a big knot hanging in the middle, a large tangle, as you might say. Unfortunately, we didn't take a photo of it, because: Problem recognised, but not yet solved. How do we get the tangle untangled? We managed it, but it was a feat of strength and something for the brain. Interdisciplinary expertise was required. Gisela's experience in untangling balls of wool while knitting was very helpful. And what does our anchor chain say? It stretches nicely in the water and holds our anchor. The rest lies neatly in the box again. Hopefully there's no Klabautermann up ahead having fun knotting our chain again.