Levitha, Wednesday 21 September 2016

I had a really bad night’s sleep, which is unusual when I am on the boat.  I had a whole load of crazy dreams and in the early hours I started to worry about our anchor being fouled.  The boat next to us has 6 or 8 (I never really counted eastern European men, Russian, maybe).  They speak no English and are rather weird.  There is one huge obese guy who helms.  One skinny guy stays by the boat and constantly smokes.  One of them slept in the cockpit in a sleeping bag.

Anyway. I have been worried about their anchor since they came in.  I was hoping that they would leave before us and that would solve the problem.  But they aren’t.  The morning is very fresh and clear and I can see in the water where the anchor chains are lying and I really think their chain is over our anchor.  Somehow I make my concerns known to them.  They are not leaving until this afternoon.  But they actually are very helpful.  They get out their dinghy and row up as I take the anchor up.  It is really touch and go.  For a while it looks like it might be OK with the two chains parallel to each other inches apart.  But at the last minute our anchor turned towards their chain and sure enough the chain is over it and I can’t get the anchor up.  After a lot of up and down they manage to pull their chain off our anchor from their dinghy and we are off.  Phew!

The weather report was for very light winds of about 7 knots and sunny weather.  That is not what we got.  It is rather cloudy and there is almost no wind at all.  Most of the time it is at about 2 knots!  So we just have a very long motor trip to Levitha.  The sea is calm and there is no problem.  But it is dull.

We get to Levitha at about 2:30pm.  There are only two other boats moored on the buoys.  We can therefore choose a buoy that is quite close to the landing stage, which is a help because our outboard is not working and Richard will have to row ashore.  I do my new nifty form of capturing the buoy.  I get the pick up line and put our line through it and secure it to the boat.  That only takes a minute or two.   Then Richard swims out to the buoy and I send him down another line to put through the buoy.  I pick that line up from him with the boathook and secure it to the boat.  Then I let the pickup line go.  Simple and quick.

As Richard is already in the water I join him for a swim.  It is getting more and more cloudy and is not that warm, but the water is nice once you get used to it.

We have a lazy afternoon.  At one stage it even rains!  It is only a very brief light shower, but unusual.  However I forgot to mention that we had a huge thunder storm in the early hours of Monday morning when we were in Katapola.  Richard woke up and ran all over the place closing hatches and putting up the sprayhood.  We managed to stay dry.  That is the first rain we have seen this year.

What we thought would be a quiet time here with few boats turns out not to be the case.  By the end of the evening there were 11 boats here when there were only two others when we arrived!

Tonight we rowed over to the farm to eat at their taverna.  As usual they had fresh fish which he called barracuda.  However, it was nothing like what I would call barracuda.  First of all it was a small fish about the size of a largish mackerel.  It was very meaty and tasty.  We made our way back to the landing stage with some difficulty in the pitch black.  We had a torch, but it wasn’t really bright enough to find the white painted stones that mark the path.  But we made it safely to the dinghy and better than that safely to the boat.

We are now trying to decide what to do.  We were going to rush back to Leros to avoid bad weather.  However, the forecast has improved and we really don’t need to go back for at least a couple of days.  We will make our minds up tomorrow.

Leros, Thursday 22 September 2016

When we get up we are a bit surprised to find that the wind is blowing a 3 here in this very protected harbour.  Does that mean there is some sailing wind out at see?  We leave fairly early to find out.

The answer is ‘no’.  When we get out the wind disappears entirely.  At one stage what little there is (2 knots) is on the nose.  When at one point Richard thinks he might be able to put out the Genoa , the wind dies before he does that and goes on the nose!

So we are motoring again.  We have decided to play it safe and head for Lakki harbour in Leros.  There is a nice little restaurant by a beach called the Lemon where there are mooring buoys.  We spent a pleasant night there earlier this summer with the Luries.  So we decide to go back there.  When we get there at lunchtime we are a bit shocked to find out that the restaurant closed two days ago!  It is all but an abandoned site.  We row over and use their toilet and just go back to the boat.  We could stay here for the night.  We are safe on a buoy and we have food for lunch and dinner.  But Richard wants to go back to the marina, not least to fix the bow thruster.  It has been pretty hopeless for the last week.  When we picked up the buoy here it would barely move the boat and I had a dickens of a time trying to get the pick up on board.  It is almost certainly the same problem with the nut that attaches the rotor blades to the prop.  It has come loose again.

So we call up the marina and warn them that we will need help moving into a space because of the lack of the bow thruster.  When we get there our friend Baba is in his rib and with no fuss pushes us into a tiny space on pontoon E.  So we are safely home. 

We go see the marina office. They arrange for a diver to come see us tomorrow to see if he can fix the bow thruster under the water.  Richard thinks there may be a chance we can go out after that and have a sail, but I think that is very doubtful.  Although we are back about 2 days earlier than planned, if we want to sail we can’t dismantle much of the gear and then we won’t have enough time to do it all before we go home.  He is really fed up that there has been precious little sailing this trip, but then that is the problem with sailing.  It all depends on the weather and that has not been cooperative this summer.

We also have a problem with internet.  We cannot get the marina internet to work at all.  The café internet, which was quite good when we were here before is acting up.  It will not load the Times nor the Archers.  So in the end we walk into town and go to the Vodafone shop and buy some more internet time.  It is expensive, but we can at least contact the world while we are here in the marina.

We have dinner on board.  I guess we will start to pack the boat away tomorrow.

Amorgos, Tuesday 20 September 2016

I haven’t written for a couple of days not least because we have run out of credit on our sim for the internet.  So I do not know when we will be able to post this.  There is free WIFI here, but it is very weak.

We left Iraklia in good time on Monday and made our way to Amorgos.  There was supposed to be a following wind so we could sail, but it never really appeared.  We motored more or less all the way save that there was a bit of wind for the last hour.  When we got to the harbour in Katapola just about at lunch time we were a bit shocked to see that all the mooring spaces on the wall where we understood you can moor were all taken.  We were then resigned to anchor again, but we were in desperate need of water.  After nearly four days we are down to a quarter of a tank and if we can’t get on the wall will water available we will need another three days worth at least.  So we just go to a space where we think it is reserved for local boats to take on water.  We make a poor fist of getting the anchor down straight, but as we only plan to be here for 20 minutes or so we aren’t worried.  We are too far away from the water tap to reach with our hose, but there is a hose on the pier and we use that and fill up.  Just at we are filling up a Turkish boat moors alongside us and it is clear that we can moor here if we wish.  We even speak to someone in charge who says we can stay and gives us a form to complete to register and pay. 

As our anchor is not set properly, we decide to go out and moor up again, closer to the boat that has just come in.  Well, we make a pigs ear of it.  Richard cannot seem to get the boat to go back straight.  Also I cannot make out his commands and at one stage he starts to throw lines ashore when I haven’t even put out the anchor.  With a lot of help from the neighbouring boat, fending off, directing anchoring etc, we finally get in to a proper space.  It is terribly embarrassing especially when the man on the next boat says he remembers us from last year!

So we are in Amorgos.  After something of a domestic argument we finally agree to stay two nights.  I want to get some laundry done and I like this place and want to relax for a change.  Richard wanted to sail off because his weather forecast showed that he might be able to sail on Tuesday.  But we stay.  We have paid for electricity and water, but the man who wanted us to pay for mooring never came back, so we have had no one to pay.  We have noticed this before, that as the season comes to an end, the Greeks can’t be bothered to collect mooring fees.  It is crazy bearing in mind their precarious financial situation.

Nothing much has happened while we have been here.  I did get one load of laundry done, so I can just wait to do the rest when we get back to Leros.  We have topped up a few supplies and cleaned the boat.  Midday today was very quiet and the town wall was quite empty.  However, by 6pm every space was taken including a place that isn’t really big enough for a large boat next to us.  Nonetheless a 50ft boat with 10 French people on board have moored up next to us.  I hope we can get away tomorrow morning.

Irakleia, Sunday 18 September 2016

 We raise anchor at 9am, which is pretty good for us.  There is no wind.  On a few occasions Richard puts up the Genoa, but it doesn’t do any good.  But it does prove that our work to the winch was successful.  No terrible noises when it is used.

We make it to Irakleia at about 12:30.  It is a small harbour.  The pilot book suggests that you can tie up to the mole, but it is more or less full with local boats moored alongside, including what calls itself the local sea bus.  There is just one other small catamaran in the harbour at anchor.  It is flying a red ensign and waves to us.  We put our anchor down a little way from it.  We are rather close to the mole, but given the boats on it we do not think that will cause any problem.

By 3pm our optimism about our mooring is sorely tested.  First a fairly large boat (40ft?) comes in and complains about our mooring spot.  He them whizzes around us putting down an anchor and goes stern to the end of the mole.  This seems to us to block in the sea bus, but it is not worried.  In fact, it moves around to moor stern to making more room!  Richard wonders if it was alongside just to reserve a place for this boat.  But then another 50ft boat comes in and tries a similar manoeuvre, but is not so clever as the first boat.  In the end he asks us to move and we reset our anchor so he can put his out to go on the mole.  At this stage we think the harbour is full, but it isn’t.  Four more 50ft boats come in.  One goes sideways on to the mole attaching its stern to the corner!  It is also in front of a huge Catamaran, which has gone alongside at the end of the mole.  Two more large yachts anchor on the other side of the harbour with long lines ashore.  Then two more come in and anchor at right angles further along.

We have spoken to the other small boat that was here when we arrived.  They too are surprised by all the traffic in large vessels.  They say last night there were just 6 small boats anchored and swinging where we are.  What makes all these boats think there would be room to moor?  When I read the pilot I wondered if our boat wasn’t going to be a bit big in this small harbour!

But we are finally at rest.  There doesn’t seem to be much ashore, so we just stay on board.  The only thing is that the wind has picked up.  It is now blowing a 4.  I hope we will be secure here given all the boats around us!

Aliki, Paros, Saturday 17 September 2016

We stayed put in our anchorage outside Naoussa yesterday.  It was a pleasant stop and we have plenty of time.  When we were having breakfast a motor boat stopped by the boat and it was a fisherman offering to sell fresh fish.  This was just what I needed as we are running low on fresh food.  So I bought a nice big sea bream which will do for the two of us for dinner.

As we were staying in the bay we decided we would go ashore.  So with the usual reluctance Richard put the outboard motor on the dinghy.  It really is a performance to do.  Also we don’t tow the dinghy with the motor on, so it has to go back at the end of the day.  We have a little block and tackle to help, but it still is hard work.  It was all the worse as when we finally got the motor on, it wouldn’t start.  We tried several times during the day and it was as dead as a dodo.  We don’t know why.  It did work in July.  So Richard had to row after all.  That meant we weren’t going too far around the bay.  We just made it to the beach club at the end of the bit of bay where we were anchored.  Nothing much was doing there, so we just came back again to the boat.

Today we were moving on.  There is little wind and the sea is quite flat.  The plan is to find the anchorage recommended by Jonnie between Paros and anti Paros.  We make for the anchorage described in the pilot book only described at Andiparos.  It is a bustling little town with ferries going in and out.  The bay is very shallow and we take up the keel a bit to get as close as possible, but that is still some distance from the shore.  With no motor on the dinghy it will be a long row if we want to go into town.  I was hoping to eat out for a change and to buy a few essentials to keep going (milk and fruit mainly).

So we have lunch and then Richard suggests we try to find somewhere more appealing.  He even thinks he might get to sail a bit!   So we set out.  Taking up the anchor is a bit of an adventure.  It comes up with difficulty and completely covered in thick mud!  If nothing else, there certainly is good holding in this harbour.  The wind is only a 3, but Richard thinks he would like to put up the Genoa.  When he starts to unfurl it on the winch, the winch starts to make a terrible grinding come clattering sound!  I insist we don’t use it.  We should have serviced the winches ages ago, but never got to it, so this is our reward.  Until we do something about it we are a motor boat!

We can’t find a suitable anchorage on Antiparos, so we make our way back to Paros to Aliki, a little resort on the south end of the island recommended in the pilot book.  It looks a sweet place, but what is strange is that other than a large gentleman’s motor yacht, there are no other boats anchored here.  We can’t find a suitable place close in to the shore near the main part of the town because it is filled with buoys for local boats.  So we anchor along from the town near a nice sandy beach.  Again, it is very shallow.

When we are anchored, task number one is to do something about the winch.  Richard thinks it will be relatively straightforward to deal with.   So he gets out his winch maintenance kit.  First problem is that a plastic bottle of oil to lubricate the winch has leaked all over and soaked in the instruction book.  It is almost readable and we will have to make due with it.  Also we have to find an alternative oil for the parts.  R thinks WD40 will be fine.

The long and the short of it is that it took us over two hours to take the winch apart, clean it, fit new palls and put the thing back together again (that was the hardest part).  But we finally did it and a small turn of the winch sounded fine.  We shall see how it works under wind tomorrow.

By the time the winch is back together again we are both hot and bothered.  So we have a swim even though it is 6pm.  Then a quick shower and we decide to row the dinghy ashore and go into town.  The pilot book and the Cruising Association website says the town is nice and there is a supermarket there.

We have spotted a stone pier not far from the boat and we make our way there in the dinghy rowed by Richard.  The pier is wet and slippery, but there is a good stainless steel ring to tie to.  So we do make it in to town.

The town is sweet.  Just a tourist resort, but a rather old fashioned one.  I am able to buy the few things I need to keep us going for the next few days.  We find an attractive restaurant right on the waterfront and have a pleasant enough meal.  We make it back to the dinghy.  The pier is still quite slippery, but we manage OK.  We get in the boat and have a dickens of a time pushing off from the pier.  Pushing by hand and with the oars doesn’t seem to work!  Finally we get away and make it back to the boat safe and sound.  The weather looks settled for the next few days, but strong winds are predicted from next Thursday.  So we will have to press on to Leros a little earlier than we wished.

Ormos Ay Ioannou, Paros, 15 September 2016

Well, we finally had the courage to leave the harbour!  We haven’t come far.  We just motored out a way to dump the holding tank (where the sea was very lumpy) and then returned to the bay and anchored near a monastery about 2 miles away from the harbour.  The sea is flat here but there is a fairly  brisk wind.  It blows a force 4 and then there are gusts up to a 5.  But we are happily ensconced and all seems to be well.

There are a lot of other boats and even a mini super yacht.  There is supposed to be a taverna, but we can’t see where it is and we are unsure there is anywhere to tie up the dinghy.  Anyway R doesn’t want to get the outboard on the dinghy and I think it is too far to row.  So we just stay on board having had a pre-lunch swim. 

So not much to report.  We shall move on to another anchorage tomorrow.  I hope we find a restaurant because I really only have one more proper meal on board!

Naoussa, Paros, Wednesday 14 September 2016

We have stayed in Naoussa for extra day because of weather and the fact that we have 12 days before we need to be back in Leros and we are running out of islands to visit!

Monday night was very blowy and the boat was swaying all over the place.  I decided to take a pill to make sure I would be OK.  It is rare for me to do so in port, but this one is different.  All the warnings were true enough.  It isn’t as bad as it was Vernazza in the Cinque Terre in Italy, but nearly.  On Monday evening we walked all over the town which is another Chora with its narrow streets going up a hill and white washed houses.  We found a good restaurant right on the beach and had a nice meal.

On Tuesday we decided to hire a car.  They told us they would have a car for us and they opened at 9am.  So just before then R went to get the car and I was getting worried when over an hour later he hadn’t returned.  I went to find him just as he was returning.  Apparently they didn’t have a car and he had to wait for another company to bring one.

When we got back to the boat we were a bit concerned to see that one of he wheels on the passerelle, which we just paid to have replaced, has broken again after only two weeks!  It hasn’t quite snapped off yet, but it will very soon.  We need to get a fender to put under it to stop it deteriorating, but the one we had on it before the repair was never returned by the boatyard.

We had to rush off because parking here in the port is not allowed and they give big fines for it.  So we rushed off.  We did the highlights of the island.  First going to the town of Paroikia.  Another cute white washed town with a port.  We even managed to buy a fender for the passerelle.  Then to a hill village called Lefkas and finally to a beach, where it was too cold and windy to swim!  I put on a Bikini but spent the whole time wrapped up in my beach towel.

When we got back to the boat we had another disaster.  One of our brand new mooring lines had worn through on the rather rough metal cleat where it was tied on.  It was JUST holding the boat with a few strands left.  So we had to hurriedly get another line on.  This time we have doubled it up like we were advised to do in Ireland a few years ago.

It was worse for rocking this afternoon, so to avoid feeling bad we went ashore to dinner.  Richard says the further mooring line will be fine.

This morning we decided to stay for another day and let the sea swell go down.  We went into town for elevenses and then spent the rest of day on the boat.  I finally washed the floors to try get some of the filth from Mykonos cleared up.  Richard finally polished the chrome on the boat.  It was really looking bad.  Made the boat seem very neglected.  I tried earlier in the summer and couldn’t polish it well.  I bought some highly poisonous stuff to clean and a whole bag of disposable gloves which it needed to use.  But R just used the old stuff and it seemed to work OK.  Not perfect, but a good improvement.

While looking at the boat we have a second problem with the passerelle..  The end which attaches to the boat is also bent.  If that snaps when someone is on the thing it will dump the person in the drink. I don’t know what to do.  It seems it is just very badly designed and can’t take the forces on it.

So we had dinner on board.  The bouncing is much better.  We will venture out tomorrow.

I haven’t mentioned one interesting thing about both Naxos and Paros.  That is they are famous for their marble.  For instance the Venus de Milo was carved from Paros marble.  The availability of marble is obvious.  In Naxos the breakwater was half mode of huge slabs of marble.  The streets were all designed with marble set in the paving.  Here in Paros most of the bigger streets are paved with marble and many houses have marble surrounds around the doors.  All very pretty.

Naoussa, Paros, 12 September 2016

We stayed in Naxos yesterday.  There was no reason to rush off.  We have two weeks to get back to Leros.  The day was lovely and sunny. We spent the morning looking at the town.  We walked up to the castle and went into one of the Venetian houses that is part of the castle (it is a museum).  The archaeological museum was closed, it being a Sunday.

We stopped for an iced coffee and  use of free WIFI at a very nice café that seemed to be a meeting place for all the locals.  With the coffee they gave us each a good sized slice of cake and iced water.  After that we really didn’t need any lunch.

So we returned to the boat.  As it is hot Richard decides that we should go to the beach.  We walk around the harbour towards the beach and we see that the marina are moving our boat over to the berth next in, the boat that was there having left.  We have put all our fenders out on the port side on the assumption that they would put another boat back in the place of the one that has left.  But as they have now moved us over we suspect they will put something on our starboard side where we now have no fenders.  So Richard went back to the boat to sort out the fenders and the lines (I don’t think the marina have tied them well enough to support the passerelle).

Finally we get to the beach and stay there for most of the afternoon.  We had to pay for sun beds, but it is a nice sandy beach.  The only problem is that the water is shallow for yards off the shore, so you have to walk a way to get a swim.

When we get back to the boat, sure enough they have put a boat outside us.  The pontoon has completely filled up and then some again.  The boat next to us and the one across from it are charter boats (we are seeing a lot of them this trip and very few owner boats).  Not only that but they seem to be together with another boat down the pontoon and they are all gay men.  It seems to be a gay flotilla.

We wash the boat.  It is still filthy from Mykonos.  Everything is covered in black dust.  It is even inside so I must get down to doing a clean of the interior, but when?

This morning, after the gay flotilla left we made our way out to go to Paros.  We had decided to go to the Naoussa.  The problem is that the pilot book (and Jonnie) says that the marina there is very badly designed and when there is any wind a swell comes in and makes the place not only uncomfortable, but dangerous.  Richard is relying on the weather forecast which seems to show it will be quite calm today, but the wind will get up tomorrow.  We then plan to move to anchorages which are more sheltered. 

We put up the sails as we leave the harbour.  At first there is not much wind, but it soon builds up to a very nice force 4.  The only problem is that we are sailing upwind just as close to the wind as we can go.  We have a headland to get around and it is just too close to the wind to get past.  We try a couple of tacks, but we still can’t make it.  So in the end we had to put on the engine, which is really frustrating when you have a decent sailing wind for a change.

Also the fact that we are now motoring into a force four means that the sea is lumpy and uncomfortable.  I begin to feel lousy, but I don’t want to take a pill when we will turn away from the wind very shortly.  Finally we do and we have about an hour of a really nice sail.  Richard has chosen an “inside” passage, which I find a bit disconcerting because there are rocks all around and you can’t really see the way through.  It looks a lot like Brittany!  But we make it to Naoussa.  We go to a sheltered part of the bay and take down the sails and put out the fenders and lines to moor.  We then moved towards the marina, when the fun begins.

We spot a lady on the quayside and she is gesticulating and shouting to us and we assume she wants us to moor up where she is standing.  So we try to make our way there.  The wind is now blowing 17 knots and it is not easy to manoeuver.  Not only that, but as we approach our dinghy gets caught up in a large motor yacht's forward line.  We are stuck.  There is nothing to be done but to let the dinghy go and hope we can get back later to collect it.  If we don’t we will bash into the motor yacht.

As all this is happening we finally realise that the lady is telling us we cannot moor where we were going because there will be a big wind and a swell in and these berths will be untenable.  She wants us to go to the other side of the marina where there is one berth left.  As we start to go two crew from the motor yacht come out in their rib and retrieve our dinghy and tie it back on.  They also come with us to the other berth to help us in.  Would you believe it, the damned dinghy gets caught a second time on the bow line of the yacht we are supposed to be mooring next to.  Not only that but the guys in the rib have attached the bow line before we get in place and Richard can’t reverse the boat any nearer the quay!  We have never had such a bad time mooring up.  But eventually we are installed.  We are told that this is a safe berth and even in a swell, we should have no problem (even if it is a bit uncomfortable).  We are also advised that the wind will stay up for two days and we shouldn’t leave tomorrow, but stay.  So we will do that.  We are after all not in any hurry,

We were going to go explore the town but then things go a bit crazy.  The harbour master does not want any boats to moor on one side of the marina in the belief that there will be a dangerous swell there.  She turns two boats away, but later at least 6 or 7 charter boats come in one after another and refuse to take any notice of being told to go away.  One actually tries to moor up next to us where there is no mooring line and it is a very small space.  This boat is 45ft so we are getting agitated.  Not only that but in trying to approach this non- mooring space he gets his rudder caught up on our bow line!  Finally most of these boats just moor up on the other side despite the instructions not to.  They also make a mess of it to the extent that one hits the quay very hard with his stern.  He has not sunk yet!  So we have had an afternoon’s amusement at the expense of other boats and finally no one has tried again to pull in next to us.

With being a bit more relaxed that the boat is safe we make our way into the town.  It is very jolly.  Lots of little alleys with bars, restaurants and shops.  We have an ice cream at a posh bakery and enquire about hiring a car for tomorrow.  When the sun goes down it starts to get quite cool, so we return to the boat to get some warmer clothes on before going out for a nice fish dinner.

The boat is rocking around a bit, but not badly.  I’m not sure these high winds and swell have hit us yet.

Naxos, Saturday 10 Setpember 2016

There was no reason to get up early, so we slept in until about 8:30 or 9.  When we looked outside the Cat in front  of us was still there, but the two boats behind him had gone, so he could move back.  After breakfast and a trip to the supermarket to buy bread we found the man in charge and he moved the boat.  So we were able to leave at about 10am.

Richard has been inspecting the weather and has decided that we do not need to race back to the Dodecsnese and we shall go to Naxos after all.  There is no wind expected which is just as well because the wind has gone around to the south and guess what, we are going south!  So we just had a long gentle motor for 20 miles.  We tried to put the Genoa up at one stage, but the wind went down to 2knots, so we gave that up.

At about 2pm we approached Naxos town.  The book says it has a marina with some pick up lines, but it is small. Jonnie has told us that sometimes you have to raft out.  So it was with a little trepidation that we entered the port.  First we had to go in the opposite direction to allow a high speed Ferry to leave.  When we got in to the port I could not get any reply to the VHF channel given in the pilot book.  However, as we approached the first pontoon (of only 2) there was someone in charge.  There really was only one proper berth left, but he did not put us there.  Instead he put us at the end of the other side of that pontoon in what is really only half a boat width at the end of the proper berths.  He was very helpful and pleasant and told us just where to put our anchor down and tied us up.  He even complimented me on my seamanship in being able to deal well with the warps!

This could be the most peculiar berth we have been in (perhaps with the exception of the one in Moneche on the Canal du Midi).  But it seems to work and we can just use the passarelle.  But at least we have a space and we have electricity and there is water available.  There is however no proper facilities.  There are two portable toilet cabins with chemical toilets and that is it.  Somehow we will manage.  One problem has been solved.  The marina manager has supplied us with a new gas cylinder.  So I am now fully supplied with gas to cook on, water to wash with and three days food.

It looks like we will need all these provisions because despite R’s view that we could remain in the Cyclades, the wind is getting up over the next few days.  We want to go to Paros, but the main harbour is said to be untenable in a blow because of a terrible swell.  There are however a number of anchorages on the island which are supposed to be sheltered.  So we may spend 4-5 days at anchor and at least we will have most of what we need for that.

After a very late lunch (we didn’t get moored up until 3pm) we had a little wander into the town which has a Chora.  It is very sweet, but I was by then really suffering from heat and perhaps lack of liquids.  So we stopped for an iced coffee and then found the restaurant recommended in the lonely Planet and by the Luries.  It was closed but had a number to ring for reservations and we eventually got a table. 

Back at the boat we relaxed a bit.  Another boat came and stuck himself in front of us not really in a berth at all.  He should have just rafted up to the boat on the end but he never attached any lines to them, for reasons I cannot understand.  I just don’t think these Mediterranean types understand rafting out!

So we had a nice dinner with a decent bottle of Italian wine.  Now back on the boat where it is completely airless.  We will explore the island tomorrow.  It has a very different atmosphere to Mykonos.

Mykonos Marina, Friday 9 September 2016

Up early to catch the 8:30 sea bus into town and then get on the 10am boat to Delos.  It all worked out fine and we even had a chance to have a coffee in town.

We had chosen to have a guided tour of the site.  It is huge.  In a way the 3 hours we had wasn’t really enough.  However, it was also quite hot and tiring.  In fact we could have stayed on ourselves and taken the last ferry back 1 ½ hours later, but we were too exhausted to do that.  Maybe we should go back one day.  I still think Pompeii is more exciting, but this was really unusual.  The problem is that the locals after hundreds of years took much of the marble and stonework at the site to use to build on Mykonos.  So things aren’t as intact as they are in say Pompeii which was just buried after the eruption.  Anyway it was very worthwhile.

Back in town we had a bite of lunch of the sea front and then  tried to go to the Archaeological  Museum.  Our guidebook said it was open until 4pm, but when we got there at 3:05 we found it closed 5 minutes earlier.  So we make our way back to the marina on the sea bus.  I did a little shopping at the small supermarket here.  We really haven’t decided what to do tomorrow.  When we came here was bypassed Naxos, because there was a threat of a strong Meltemi coming in to the Cyclades whereas the Dodeconese were forecast to have more gentle winds.  This made us think we had to beat a quick retreat eastwards to avoid bad weather.  However, we are not sure that is still the case.  So we don’t know if we will be in a port or marina for the next couple of days or if we will just try to find sheltered anchorages to make long passages to.

Also, we are in despirate need of filling our water tank if we are not going to be in places where there is water.  This tank has lasted 5 days which is nearly a record and that includes showers on board.  The problem is that our boat is so far from the water tap we don’t think our hose will be long enough.  Luckily when we get to the boat we find a chartered Cat in front of us and he has a triple length hose.  He is kind enough to let us use it and we fill the tank, which is a relief.  We also try to wash the boat.  It is filthy.  This marina is a dust trap and the boat is covered in a thin coating of black and brown sand.  We do make do job, because the borrowed hose doesn’t have a proper end on it nor is it long enough to get to the bows on the boat.  But at least there is some improvement.

After all this is it quite late.  With our replenished water supply we shower and go in to town for supper. I don’t think I mentioned that this marina has no facilities, eg no showers or toilets.  So we have had to do everything on board. Anyway back to town for supper.  While we were eating at the really posh restaurant yesterday we saw a Gyros (donner kebab) place across the road that seemed very popular.  So after a sunset drink in little Venice we went there and had Pita Gyros, for 3.3 euro each.  About one tenth of what we paid yesterday  It was a great success.  Then Richard got himself a huge ice cream cone (which a shared a bit) and back to the boat. 

We think we will try to go back down to Paros tomorrow, but we shall see what the weather forecast looks like.  The problem is that we have to get back to Leros at the end of the month and don’t want to surf down 3 or 4 metre waves.  Also we have to get the Cats in front of us to move so we can get out!

Mykonos Marina, Thursday 8 September 2016

We decided that after two early mornings we would not set an alarm and just sleep in a bit.  So when we got up at about 8:30 we were a bit surprised to find the wind had completely changed direction and we were lying right next to a rib tied to a mooring buoy.  This was the buoy that Richard was concerned about yesterday in case a large boat should come back to it.  We must have dragged anchor during the night to get so close to it.  Alternatively we may have just swung oddly, bearing in mind that the wind had changed direction and strengthened.

Given the situation we decided to up anchor as soon as we could and make our way to Mykonos marina just outside Mikonos town.  You used to be able to moor in the old harbour, but now yachts are only allowed in the marina.

The trip to the marina should have taken us about 1 ½ hours, but that was not to be.  The weather forecast was for a northerly wind of about 7 knots.  We had to go north, but in such a light wind that would be fine.  But it wasn’t a light wind at all.  It built and built until we were going head on into a force 6!  It therefore took us just over 2 ½  hours to get to the marina.  When we got here it was difficult to know how to get mooring instructions.  The pilot book gave no telephone number or VHF channel for the marina.  So we just slowly went in.  In any event until we were more or less in the marina, it was too windy and rocky for me to put out the fenders and lines to moor.

At the last minute we saw a sign with a VHF number, but as I was about to call up someone clearly in charge started to give us directions.  He wanted us to stay in the entrance to the marina until a boat left the berth he wanted to put us in.  Not only that, but it was an alongside berth, which we were very pleased with.  The marina is a bit of a disaster place.  It is only half built and they have not maintained the moorings which had pick up lines.  As those lines are mainly broken boats mooring stern to have to put out their anchor, but there isn’t enough room to let sufficient anchor out and with the old pickup lines probably on the bottom there is every chance that you can foul the anchor.

So we were happy to wait, but things deteriorated.  Four boats all suddenly came into the marina and tried to get in before us.  Then the wind built up even more.  So when we were finally able to get to our berth it was very difficult.  I threw lines to the man in charge and others helping him and they started to rope the boat into place, but it went wrong and we hit the pier on the stern.  No terrible damage was done, but there is a nice little ding at the top of the back of the boat.  We were thinking of having some cosmetic gelcoat repairs done this winter, but it will now certainly need to be done.

So we eventually got into our berth and tied up.  The wind by this time was blowing 30 knots!  We have no idea why the weather forecast was so wrong, but we were very grateful we decided to come here directly instead of going to Naxos as we would probably not made it to Mykonos at all if we did that.

We have not yet been connected to electricity or water, but we will sort that out in due course.  After a light lunch we were anxious to get into the village.  We were going to walk (they say it is about 1 mile) and then saw that there was a half hourly bus, which we decided to take.  However as we waited for the bus we noticed that what they call a sea bus was on its way and we took that instead.  It is great; for 2 euro each you get into town from the marina in under 10 minutes.

We had a whole afternoon walking around the town.  Richard was here on a Scout Jamboree 53 years ago!  However, he says that physically it hasn’t changed much at all.  However, there are no more donkeys here (we have a photo of him on one here) and instead there are lots of posh shops.  So I did a lot of window shopping.  I got dragged into one jewellery shop where I saw a necklace I really liked.  However, despite high pressure salesmanship I could not bring myself to pay 5000 euros for another piece of jewellery.

We saw the windmills and what they call little Venice where we had a drink and watched the sun start to go down.  Then we had a very posh dinner at a gourmet restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet guide.  We find that everything here is twice as expensive as on other islands we have visited.  But we  both like the place and are enjoying ourselves.

We have to get up early again tomorrow because we have booked a morning tour to Delos.  One of the other reasons we have come here is to get to Delos.  We shall see if it is all it is cracked up to be.

Mykonos, Wednesday 7 September 2016

We had a lovely dinner last night at the fish restaurant we went to last year with Jonnie and Marion.  We treated ourselves to Lobster spaghetti (really crayfish).  We had a small crayfish and it wasn’t much more expensive than an ordinary meal.  I was also able to get a loaf of bread so I can make sandwiches to eat under way.

The plan was to go to Naxos and then tomorrow on to Mykonos.  But when we got up and Richard looked at the weather and said he thought we should go directly to Mykonos.  The wind would be behind, we would save 16 miles overall on the trip and tomorrow the trip from Naxos to Mykonos would have the wind on the nose.

So that is what we did.  We started out just before 8:30, somewhat later than ideal, but then we only decided at the last minute.  The wind did not play nicely all the time.  At first we had a beam reach of 10 knots while we were in the lee of Amorgos, then there just wasn’t any wind.  It did eventually come around and we motor sailed to keep up the speed as we needed to go 45 miles!  By lunch time it was more or less behind and blowing a force 4.  Still, we motor sailed and did very well making over 6 knots.

The weather is better.  There is still a fair amount of cloud, but it is thin and patchy.  The breeze keeps it fairly cool and comfortable.  As we approach the island of Mykonos Richard decides to change the itinerary a bit.  The plan was to go to Mykonos marina, but that will take us until 5 or 6pm.  So Richard has identified a bay closer to where we can make it by 4pm.  So that is where we go.  I pointed to the depth gauge which wasn’t reading correctly and Richard went below to reset it.  Then he forgot to reset the autopilot and wound up in the bay next door which is full of super yachts, but then find Ormos Ornos.  It is a lively bay with a big beach lined with beach front hotels and parasols with beach loungers.  There are a number of anchored boats.  We find it a bit puzzling to decide where to anchor.  R goes much closer in to shore than the other boats, but it is still fairly deep - 7 meters.  We were worried we might be in the way or local boats who clearly have private mooring buoys, but we seem to be fine.  Local boats have waved at us and no one has complained. 

We planned to get to Mykonos on our first trip starting in June but the Meltemis wouldn’t let us.  Now we have made in a three days.

I finally begin to feel hot and for the first time in several days I have a nice swim.  Richard tries to see the anchor but says although he can see where it has gone down, he can’t see the anchor itself, which we hope means it is very well dug in.

The place is very lively.  They are playing pop music all the time and there are a lot of people around.  I can’t be bothered to go ashore.  I did all the shopping I needed for today last night.  So we just stay on board.  We hope that with all the noise we will be able to sleep.  Well, we always knew this was a party island and so far it is living up to it reputation.

Amorgos, Tuesday 6 September 2016

All went to plan today.  We got up a 7am and were off by 7:30.  It seemed a very nice day, blue skies and sun, but a hint of cloud was there.  We put up the main fairly early on when there appeared to be a bit of wind.  Then we played games with the wind for most of the morning.  It was just off the nose sufficient to sail, but the wind kept getting up to the top of a 3 and then would fall all of a sudden to 5 knots.  So we were constantly putting the engine on and then turning it off so we could make a reasonable pace to get to Amorgos in good time.

Things changed as we got to the island.  The problem was that the course from Levitha took us to the wrong side of the Island and it is a long island which we had to go around, a trip of about 12 miles).  Amorgos is known for being a windy place and would you believe it as soon as we turned into the wind it went up to the top of a 4!  Not only that, but every time we turned a corner the wind shifted and remained exactly on the nose.  It wasn’t really a terrible problem because the sea state was benign, but it was tiresome.  Why didn’t we get that wind when we were able to sail?  Sods law I guess.

The other thing is that the weather turned.  As soon at we got to the island the sky clouded over and at one point we thought it might rain, but it didn’t.  Nonetheless, it remained very cool.  I never got into a bathing suit.

So just after 2:30pm we arrived in harbour.  The weather cheered up a little and there was the odd patch of blue in the sky.  We did not even try to go on the pier, which looked to us to be full anyway.  We remembered where we anchored before and found more or less the same spot.  We also remembered that we had to be relatively close to the shore to leave room for the ferry to navigate.  We did well.  Later the port police came and moved two boats who anchored too far out in the ferry’s way.

We are now preparing to go into town to get some free internet access and to have some dinner.  Richard can’t bear the hassle of putting the motor on the dinghy and taking it off to leave tomorrow so he will row.  That means we have to beach the dinghy instead of taking it much further to get to the town pier.  Wet feet for dinner it appears.