October 2009

Made it!

This update is being typed in our winter quarters at Aghios Nikolaos Marina, Crete, where we arrived on Saturday 26 September. The last part of our season, after we left Messolonghi, was full of incident, and quite a bit of sailing.

Heading south again

Graham went home from Messolonghi on 25 August, and the following day we set off on our journey south towards Crete. First stop was the harbour at Killini, after a 7-hour trip south, half of which we did under sail. This was more like the kind of weather we wanted.

Diversion to Zakinthos

After one night we moved on to the anchorage at Keri, on the south of the island of Zakinthos. This time we managed to sail for nearly 5 hours out of 7. Things were looking up! When we visited Keri in 2006, we had to make a hasty departure early in the morning to get away from the smoke from a fire ashore, which left the boat smelling of tar. We assumed the fire had lit the pitch from the pitch wells for which Keri was noted in ancient times.

Next day we went ashore to find the pitch wells, but no-one seemed to know where they were. In the end we discovered that they were not as we had imagined them, but were just springs from which water flowed, slightly contaminated with oil, which floated in a film on the surface. The area behind the beach is a marsh filled with reeds, and we suppose that in 2006 a fire in the reeds had ignited the oily film to produce the black, pungent smoke which we experienced. Our curiosity satisfied, we returned to the boat, where we rolled in the wash from innumerable motor boats zooming in and out of the little harbour, until the traffic stopped for the night.

The Blue Menace

Our next stop was back on the mainland, at Katakolon, and again we managed a couple of hours' sailing. Our sailing average was starting to improve! We didn't need to go ashore at Katakolon, so we anchored in the bay. Normally we would have taken the opportunity to go for a swim, but not here. In the evening there were quite a few pale blue jellyfish, of a kind we had not seen before, around the boat. They looked quite sinister, and we think they were stingers. Next morning all their friends and relations had come to join them, and there were hundreds of them in the bay, very pretty but very nasty-looking. After leaving Katakolon, we never saw another blue jellyfish all the way to Crete.

Jenny joins us

On 30 August we arrived at Kiparissia, after another day on which we managed to sail for nearly 3 hours. Kiparissia has a large harbour, with most of it occupied by small but widely-spaced local boats, and just a small space reserved for visitors. When we arrived, the visitors' area, which should have accommodated at least 12 yachts end-on to the quay, was completely filled by 3 large yachts moored alongside. We had to use another, less comfortable quay on the other side of the harbour. Next day, one of the big yachts left, and we were able to moor stern-to on the visitors' quay. We had decided to stay here for a few days to pick Jenny up, and on 2 September we hired a car and collected her from Athens airport. The next day we moved on south to Navarino Bay, and Jenny enjoyed some lively sailing for a couple of hours. We could have sailed for longer, but the batteries needed charging after 4 nights in harbour without shore power, and we had to motor for 3 hours to charge them up a bit. We stayed a day at anchor in Navarino, where Kay and Jenny went exploring ashore, then next day carried on down the coast to Methoni, another anchorage.

Return to Kalamata

The weather forecast was now predicting some nasty weather in the near future, and we decided our safest option would be to find a safe harbour in the Gulf of Messinia, on the south of the Peloponnese. We went first to the little harbour at Aghios Andreas, which we had used in 2006, but the entrance was badly silted and we ran aground twice. We decided not to risk getting stuck there and headed for Kalamata, where we had spent the winter of 2006/7. We didn't really want to go there, as it was a long way out of our way, but as soon as we arrived we felt at home. We stayed there for 2 nights, stocked up at our favourite supermarket, and were entertained by the predicted thunderstorm.

Into the Lakonic Gulf

On 8 September we made the long journey down the east side of the Gulf of Messinia, and rounded Cape Matapan, the most southerly point on the Greek mainland. We anchored for the night at Porto Kayio, just round the corner in the Lakonic Gulf, after 48 miles and 10 hours of motoring. When Jenny took a stern line ashore in the dinghy, an octopus wrapped its tentacles round her ankle as she paddled to the beach, but her ensuing war-dance persuaded it to let go. None of the anchorages in this area are completely reliable, and we were a bit anxious about going to Porto Kayio, as some friends had experienced nasty conditions there and had lost 2 anchors. Luckily, we had no such problems.

The following day we didn't have far to go up the Lakonic Gulf to the next anchorage, so it didn't matter that we sailed most of the way slowly in light winds. We anchored in Fisherman's Cove, in Skoutari Bay, and spent a comfortable night before moving on to the port of Yithion. This was where Jenny was due to leave us and take the bus back to Athens airport. We couldn't get into the congested harbour, so we anchored in the shallow bay outside. In the night, the wind turned on-shore, and, although it was not strong, we worried for a while that we might be blown ashore. Kay couldn't sleep, and spent much of the night on anchor watch, but in the morning we were still in the same spot.

On 11 September we saw Jenny off on the bus, then, as the wind had increased and the anchorage now seemed dangerous, we decided to go back to Skoutari Bay. We made good speed running before the NW Force 6 wind with just the foresail set, and 2 hours later were enjoying good shelter again in Fisherman's Cove. Next day, as it was too windy to put to sea, we went for a walk, and came back with a good haul of ripe figs which we had picked from a tree by the roadside. Late in the afternoon, the wind suddenly moved to the west, and was blowing straight into Fisherman's Cove, so we weighed anchor and went across to seek shelter at the head of Skoutari Bay. Then, at around 2230, the wind went back to the east and sent a swell into the bay, which was very uncomfortable. We weighed anchor again and used the GPS to follow our track back to Fisherman's Cove. There we anchored in the dark, and had a peaceful night. We were becoming very unhappy with the unpredictable weather and the difficulty of finding a safe mooring in this gulf.

The following day saw us heading for our last port of call in the Lakonic Gulf. After an 8-hour trip across the gulf, half of it under sail, we anchored in the old ferry harbour at Palaiokastro, where we enjoyed good shelter.

Out to the islands

Between the mainland and Crete lie 2 islands, Kithera and Andikithera. The latter has no safe harbour or anchorage, but Kithera is a convenient stepping-stone on the way to Crete, so that was where we headed on 14 September. We went first to Diakofti, on the east coast, sailing for about half of the 8-hour trip. There we anchored in the bay, and found reasonable shelter, though we had to move across the bay in the evening to avoid some of the swell which was starting to come in from the sea. In the night there was a fantastic thunderstorm away to the north, with continuous lightning. Although we had some rain, the storm was too far away for us to hear more than the occasional rumble of thunder, which was a great relief.

With the wind now blowing from the north-east, we decided to look for a more comfortable mooring, and headed for Kapsali, on the south coast. We sailed about half the 4-hour trip. There was too much swell for us to moor end-on to the quay, but we were able to moor alongside, which was reasonably comfortable. We were joined by a couple of other boats, one of which was sailed by a jolly Belgian, whose only crew was a small pug, like a cross between a dog and a piglet. That evening, an angler on the end of the quay caught a big fish, nearly a metre long. Everyone went to admire it. The Belgian went with a small frying-pan, but it came back empty!

After one night at Kapsali, it was time to head for Crete. The forecast was for a force 4 from the north-east, which seemed good enough. Leaving at 0735, we motored until the wind picked up, then settled into a nice close reach, with our Windpilot steering, and speeds of around 5 knots. This increased to anything up to 7 knots as the wind got up. At 1630, after 7½ hours under sail, our best passage of the year, we started the engine and put the sails away in readiness for anchoring at the island of Gramvousa, off Crete's west coast.

We had been advised to pick up a mooring line used by the trip boats that visit the island, but found it much too thick to attach to our cleats. By the time we made this discovery, the German boat which had followed us into the bay had anchored in the only suitable spot in the bay. Everywhere else was either too exposed and windy, or dangerously close to rocks. We decided we could not stay there, and left for the first bay on the Cretan mainland, to try the harbour at Kissamos.

And finally to Crete

Heading out of the anchorage, we had a choice of going round the island off the north-west point of Crete, or cutting inside it. As there seemed to be plenty of depth in the channel, we decided to go for the latter. What we had failed to predict was the strength with which the wind would blow through the gap, and the waves which this would create. Consequently, we had a rather uncomfortable ride through the gap, but Wild Thyme was up to the task, and we were soon through and heading south into Kissamos Gulf.

Arriving at Kissamos, we approached the ferry quay and were directed to a small quay on the other side of the harbour, where we were relieved to be able to tie up in a safe and comfortable berth after a trip of 12 hours and 56 miles. Next day we took a holiday from sailing, lazed around the boat and used the free internet connection from the ferry quay across the harbour.

Holiday(?) at Hania

On 18 September we travelled 30 miles along the north coast of Crete as far as Hania. The weather was much quieter: most of the trip was done under engine, though we managed to sail slowly for an hour once we were within sight of Hania. Our electric autopilot, which had been out of service for most of the past 10 days, was persuaded to work (for the last time!) by the unusual technique of turning it upside down and shaking it. This left the crew with the leisure to sun-bathe for the first time in ages – our tans were beginning to fade after all the cloudy weather we had experienced recently. It also gave P the chance to practise on the clarinet which Graham had brought out from England. After 5 years without playing there is obviously a lot of work to be done before he performs in public!

We had hardly tied up at Hania when the Harbour Master came and asked us to move to another berth, as the one we were in was needed for a larger yacht. It was a bit inconvenient to have to move, but we considered it right, as the only remaining space was too small for the other boat. We had been complaining all season (and frequently in other seasons) about the lack of organisation in Greek harbours, which allows the available space to be filled by boats, usually locally-owned, in a haphazard way which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for visitors to find somewhere to moor. This was the reason why we had been unable to moor in Yithion, and had to anchor in an inconvenient and potentially dangerously-exposed bay.

We spent 6 nights at Hania. Some of the time we were kept in harbour by strong winds, but we were also delayed by K getting a strange pain in the hips and back, which finally went away after about a week. The space we moved to was possibly more comfortable than the original one, but was also closer to a café on the quay, which was very popular in the evening. It started to fill up at around 10 pm, and the music and chattering lasted until about 2 or 3 am. At first, ear-plugs were a necessity, but after a couple of days P got used to the noise and managed to sleep through it. We noticed that a new disco was due to start up at the end of the quay on 19 September, so we were glad we were able to leave on 18th (some friends subsequently stopped at Hania and confirmed our fears)!

More mooring problems

Leaving Hania, we headed next for Rethymno. We had to pass through an area which is often used as a firing range, and forgot to check whether they were firing that day. Fortunately they were not, or we should have had to return to Hania, or make a detour out to sea of up to 20 miles. At Rethymno, we moored stern-to on the visitors' pontoon by the marina entrance. We were next to a French yacht, whose idiot skipper had taken the mooring line for our berth, while the one for his berth was lying unused on the other side of his boat. We therefore had to lay our anchor to hold us off the pontoon, and set it well out, to try to avoid it catching on the concrete blocks to which the mooring lines are attached. Our night at Rethymno was blissfully quiet after Hania. In the morning we found the anchor was snagged in the moorings and it took several attempts to recover it: fortunately we had foreseen the risk and rigged a tripping-line.

The next harbour along the coast was Iraklion, but we were warned that it is not very congenial for yachts. We therefore went to the island of Dhia, 6 miles offshore from Iraklion, where we spent a night at anchor in a peaceful bay. This island was remarkable for the large population of Eleonora's falcons, of which we saw up to ten at one time. A further curiosity was a little chapel which some eccentric had made in a small cave in the bay where we were anchored. In the morning we took our last chance for skinny-dipping this season, and P swam across to look at the chapel. It is apparently not the done thing in Greece to be naked within sight of a church, which is inconvenient as there are so many churches here. We weren't sure whether this was officially a church, and anyway, P was wearing shoes to guard against the sea-urchins on the rocks.

Journey's End

On the way to Aghios Nikolaos, the weather in the morning was good enough for sun-bathing, but we later had a little rain. What we still didn't have was wind: we did try to sail towards the end of the day, but without much success. In the 4 days from Kissamos to Aghios Nikolaos we managed only 1½ hours' sailing against a total of about 28 hours' motoring. The distances between harbours were too great to be accomplished in daylight at the speeds which we could have achieved under sail, and by this time we were interested only in getting there. Eventually, at around 1800 on Saturday 26 September we motored into Aghios Nikolaos marina, and were helped into a berth next to our friends Tessa and Tony on Little Roundtop.

That was 2009, that was

It had been a long and eventful season, since our departure from Marmaris on 9 March. When we decided to winter in Crete, we were concerned about the problems of getting suitable weather to get there. In the event, our apprehension was well-founded, as the weather did indeed become very unsettled from the time we had the thunderstorm in Kalamata. Still, with patience, a lot of motoring and a bit of discomfort, we made it by the end of September, as we had planned.

We went to sea 105 times, including one night passage, and covered 2050 nautical miles. We ran the engine for 385 hours, and spent 106 hours under sail, an average of about 22%. In all those hours under engine we used about 650 litres of diesel fuel. We landed on 35 islands, spent 80 nights at anchor in 43 different anchorages, and 113 nights moored up in 37 different harbours and marinas.

Now we have to get the boat ready for next season! And enjoy Crete, of course.