Chapter One: SAILING ALONG
We had checked out of Lemnos, our favourite Greek island (so far), and were headed towards Evía, reputedly the largest Greek island. Near Skyros we were sailing under the starry sky, interspersed with a few stints of motorsailing which also helped manoeuvring Cordelia out of the way of “bigger boats”. Other than that, we had an uneventful passage past Skyros.
It was not until 4.00am, a few hours after we’d altered course for the last third of our journey, when the wind could be used again for sailing. We’d already put in a reef in the mainsail earlier which we now shook out. This resulted in nearly three hours of great sailing.
By 7.00am the wind was wide awake with a Northerly Force 5-6, and we needed two reefs in both sails to keep some control over Cordelia’s speed. At 8.00am we rounded the little cape into Agioi Apóstoloi on Evía, and on the second attempt dug our anchor into sand/mud at Petries. A few people were already setting up camp on the beach for the day, but we had breakfast and a sleep to recover from our 107NM passage over the last 20 hours. Suffice to say we did very little for the rest of the day and had an early night for an early start on the next morning.
The mossies found us in the night, but we were too tired to notice until it was too late. As a result we were rather anaemic when we woke up at 6.00am, having been drained of our vital fluid. We found enough energy to lift the anchor at 6.30am, and set sail as soon as we were out of Petries. Despite the Northerly Force 5 we weren’t making a lot of speed, and at each hourly log entry it kept showing 3 hours to our first waypoint. In the end we gave in and motorsailed for a couple of hours, so we made it there within the calculated time frame.
Before we reached the Strait of Kafirea through the gap between Agios Gregorios and Faros (yes, there was a lighthouse) we doused the sails and motored the rest. However, as soon as we’d turned round the cape we switched off the engine and unfurled the genoa to the first reef in anticipation of what we saw before us. Luckily it mattered more what was behind, which was the wind (Northerly, Force 5-6) and the waves (about 2m high). Together they pushed Cordelia along at an hourly rate of over 6 knots, and we were at the entrance of Kastri Bay in no time, well, in 1½ hours. Of course, as soon as we turned the apparent wind pitched to 37 knots, and with the waves on Cordelia’s beam it was quite a feat to keep her on the right path.
Once inside we found flat water and a nice sandy bottom to drop our anchor into. Ingrid swam to it and checked it (all good) just before the arrival of another boat in addition to the one that was already there. We cleared up, had a cup of tea and a biscuit, and relaxed. The latter was assisted by a glass of rosé, and by the time we’d finished it we were very laid-back.
We upped anchor at 8.15am on the next morning. Five minutes later we had left Kastri Bay and unfurled the genoa to the first reef. We were soon met by a North-North-Easterly Force 4-5 and the correlating waves. All was well, going South with the wind behind until past the little island of Mandilou, so we decided to hoist the mainsail before crossing the Bay of Karystos. Peter was hauling up the halyard when the wind suddenly began gusting to a North-Westerly Force 7. We didn’t fancy a roller-coaster ride with the wind howling down from the bay, so gave up on the mainsail idea and carried on under engine and a slither of genoa tied on with both sheets.
At the other end of the bay we changed course which meant heading directly into the wind. It was blowing at full strength, and at one stage we saw 43 knots (!) of apparent wind on the display. We were glad to see and then pass through the strait near Chersonisi, but it was only after we’d rounded its northern side when we found smoother water. We circled around the adjacent islands and finally settled on an anchorage off Tragonísi. We dropped the hook in lovely turquoise water, and were pleased to discover we were well sheltered from the wind and swell.
After a day of recovery we were ready to tackle the next section of our voyage to the mainland. At 7.40am the anchor came up and we motored away from Tragonísi. As soon as we’d turned at the North Cape of Mégalonisís we unfurled the genoa. With the weather forecast still fresh in our minds we kept a reef in it as the wind was blowing down the Petalion Gulf. This served us well until we were in the lee of the island, so we motorsailed for 15 minutes to get us out into the wind again. From then onward we had a wonderful sail downwind in a North-North-Westerly Force 5-6, and surfed down the swell at over 6 knots.
We had already made plans for the acceleration zone between the mainland and the island of Makronisi when the wind dropped to a Northerly Force 3-4. This was not what we’d expected as the forecast had predicted 30 knots. The genoa began to flap in the still rolling sea, so we took pity on it and furled it away. We made it under engine past Lavrion where even the sea calmed down. However, as soon as we pulled into our anchorage at Pasalimani the wind increased to 30 knots. Two boats were already there, but there was still plenty of room to drop the hook into sand. By 12.35pm we were all secured, enjoyed lunch and settled in.
There was some swell during the night and Ingrid got bitten by a mossie, but all in all it was quiet. In the morning we emptied the starboard cabin and dug out the spare pillows for our expected guests. It took us a while to find them, but the Aegean guidebook we’d also searched for remained missing. We had coffee and biscuits after we’d put everything back in its place, then jumped into the sea to cool off before we upped anchor.
At 11.00am we were away in not a breath of wind. Along the way and especially around the cape at Sounion with its Temple to Poseidon we encountered numerous other boats of various sizes. Some of them were intend of getting closely acquainted with Cordelia, but she managed to escape their amorous advances unscathed. At 12.00pm we had safely motored into Anavissou Bay and took our pick in this huge area on where to drop the hook.
We found a lovely sandy spot, had lunch, and Ingrid washed some clothes. Then we packed our rucksacks with our recyclable rubbish, launched Buddy and motored towards the small boat harbour. We locked Buddy onto an iron ring on the quay just outside and wandered off to the AB supermarket. We came back with chicken and pizzas, what a result!
The hum of the traffic carried on for most of the night, but was bearable. What kept us awake, though, was the constant threat of being sucked dry by the local colony of bloodthirsty mossies. They were out in force, and by the morning we were both bitten to pieces despite spray and Jungle Formula.
Ingrid left her bed in the cockpit at 5.30am and went below to save herself and make breakfast. Then, just before 7.00am we weighed anchor and motored up the coast. There was no wind to speak of, but the sea was flat and we made good progress. 1½ hours later we dropped the hook in Vari Bay in about 10m to stay outside the restricted anchoring zone. After a good look around and a cuppa we were underway again at 10.00am.
We motored until we were right on course to our goal on Aigina Island, then found a nice North-Westerly Force 4-5 to sail in. First, however, Peter had to negotiate a route through about thirty yachts, all circling around a race course and waiting for the gun. We successfully got through to the other side, only to be confronted with the next obstacle – the traffic separation zone.
By now Cordelia was blazing along consistently at over 7 knots, so a reef in the genoa was in order, swiftly followed by one in the main. This was all carried out before we crossed the zone perpendicularly. Despite the churned up sea from all the boats that travelled up and down the zone that led in and out of Athens we had a pleasant sail with an hourly average of 6.3 knots. We encountered a few boats along our passage, but we managed to stay out of each other’s way, and we made it through safely. Soon we reached Agia Marina and found a sandy patch for our anchor at 12.30pm.
While we had lunch and cleared up the wind started to turn to the East, and the swell came in hard. It also started to cloud over, we could hear the rumbling of thunder, and it got dark over the mountains. We had a swim and Peter checked out the inverter after having emptied the windsurfing cabin. Its alarm had gone off a couple of days earlier and Peter had surmised it was due to overheating and had left it to cool down. After his closer inspection, however, it turned out that the inverter had packed up and a new one was needed if we ever wanted to have ice for our G&Ts again.
Chapter Two: READY TO RENDEZ-VOUS
We had both slept well in our cabin till about 4.00am when Ingrid realised her blood had once again been served up as a delicacy to the mossies. We sprayed with insecticide, but as she’d also gotten hot in bed she adjourned into the saloon where it was cooler. At 6.30am we were both wide awake, so got up and had breakfast. Then we prepared Buddy and the outboard, packed our rubbish and a drink, and motored to the town quay. The latter was quite high, but after we’d secured Buddy with the lock we managed to clamber up the concrete wall. We walked out of Agia Marina and followed the bendy road uphill. Our efforts were rewarded with good views over the harbour and the goal of our excursion on the top.
We’d made it to the Temple of Aphaia (an illegitimate daughter of Zeus with a nymph) who was much revered in the area. We gained access by paying an entrance fee, and were allowed to wander around the complex. It was in surprisingly good condition, still with original Dorian columns, though some of the walls had been reconstructed. Plaques described what we could see, and we found it all very informative.
On the way back down we took a straight and steep shortcut, then walked along the shopping street to the Proton supermarket for a mossie specific super-potent kill-them-all spray. Next door, and conveniently placed, was the bakery. It would have been rude to pass it by without buying anything, so a bougatsa was acquired.
It was 11.00am when we got back to Cordelia for a cup of tea, and the wind was increasing. At 12.00pm the entertainment started. Our very first flotilla arrived in the harbour with ten boats, all destined to go stern-to on the town quay. Their first challenge presented itself in the absence of available space, and through VHF we heard the lead skipper sending out his minions to ask other boat owners whether they’d be leaving their mooring soon. The next issue was the lack of grip for their anchors, and it took several attempts before the yachts were safely secured, back and front. As they also did not have a lead boat with a powerful tender, they couldn’t assist with the mooring by pushing the yachts with it into the desired position.
Also, despite each yacht consisting of at least one professional skipper and up to ten guests, the punters were only interested in sunbathing, and the crew were left fighting the wind and swell alone. They did occasionally receive some help from another skipper who’d swum over through the harbour to their boat, though the problems kept mounting. We observed one snagged anchor, one prop warp, one anchor chain malfunction, and one skipper falling off the back of his boat leaving nine of his sunbathing landlubbers without a capable hand to control the boat. He did swim fast, though, to give him some credit! They kept us entertained for over three hours, and even after we’d eaten our bougatsa with cappuccino they were still busy resetting a dragging anchor.
We’d both slept below with the fan on, mainly to drown out the (not too noisy) music from nearby. Cordelia kept rocking in the quite annoying swell, but at least we had no troubles from the mossies. After breakfast we weighed anchor and left Aigina island at 8.20am.
We soon encountered a nice North-Westerly breeze and set full sail. We averaged just under 5 knots per hour even after we’d entered the traffic separation zone, and enjoyed a ride that could even be described as “relaxing”. That was until one of the fast ferries changed course for the zone and bore down on us with over 20 knots. Peter reacted quickly, and noticing we could not outrun it, hove to and avoided a certain collision. In the end they passed about 3 cables ahead of us and all was well again.
When we popped out on the other side and neared the little island in front of Vari Bay we lost the wind, so the engine took over from the sails. Then, when we made it into the bay, the wind picked up again to 30 knots. It kept blowing long after we’d dropped anchor at 11.30am, so instead of motoring ashore we stayed on board and watched the spectacle that unfolded close to us.
A gulet-type Italian boat had somehow wrapped its own line around its prop and was now drifting backwards into our neighbouring catamaran. The deployed anchor was dragging, and one of the crew equipped with mask and tools (his hands) desperately tried to clear the line. Two powerful outboards plus their own 40bhp tender were pushing away the gulet and fendered off the catamaran which had started its engine. They certainly had “all hands on deck” and “manning the pumps”, even the punters were engaged in the operation. The brave under-equipped frogman finally succeeded and was picked up by the tender, the skipper motored forwards and away from the catamaran, and the punters helped lifting the anchor. One of the ribs left, the other one (their supply boat?) and tender followed the gulet to the far side of the bay where they anchored stern-to below a cliff. We wondered whether a mistake on their first attempt (like dropping the stern line) had been the origin of all that kerfuffle.
After we’d calmed down from watching their struggle we readied Cordelia for the long-awaited visit of Ingrid’s nephew Florian and his partner Helene and WhatsApped them with directions for the pick-up. After a shopping and cooking spree and a subsequent clean-up on one day, we moved out of our cabin on the next, ready to collect them from Várkiza Marina.
Chapter Three: VISITORS
At 9.00am we got a message from Florian and Helene that they were on their way, and 45 minutes later Peter collected them with Buddy from the quay. After a big hello and a short safety briefing we upped anchor at 10.40am and motored out of Vari Bay.
We started off in a North-Westerly Force 3, but it soon increased to a Force 4. We found an angle to set sails, and when the wind blew a Force 5 we put a reef in both and had a pleasant ride northwards. Before the wind turned to North-East we encountered a calm spell, so we motorsailed, but soon we could turn off the engine again. During the journey Ingrid was mainly talking to Helene who had been sailing before while Peter kept a look-out and was navigating. Florian concentrated on looking ahead, but just before we reached Selinia he started to feel queasy.
It took us three attempts before the hook bit in 8m of sand in slightly murky water. Peter could not see it when he swam out to check, so we had lunch first, cleared up while the youngsters were in the water with the swimming ring we’d saved from vanishing in the sea, then Ingrid checked on the anchor. She had to dive down to find it, and saw the shovel full of sand.
Peter later told her that Florian had been poorly while she’d been away, so we laid off with the food for a while, hoping he would recover. He dozed, we chatted, and while we caught up on admin tasks below they both had a little nap in the cockpit. They’d had a long day, and after dinner, a glass of rosé and a lot of catching up we sent them off to their cabin and dozeyland.
A few dogs barked during the night, but apart from that everyone slept well in their beds, and Florian looked a bit rosier in the morning. They were up at 7.30am, we had a leisurely breakfast, then they went for a morning dip. It promised to be yet another hot day as the region was going through a heatwave.
Undeterred, we launched Buddy, and the four of us made it to the shore at an unused kind of pavilion. From there we walked along the beach road and checked out the church where the caretaker (?) had beckoned us in when he saw us looking. It was quite pretty with painted walls and the usual icons and candelabra. From what we understood from his broken English they celebrated a different saint every day (just to be sure?), but the church was mainly dedicated to St Nicholas.
We popped into a supermarket for drinks, and suitably refreshed carried on to a little amphitheatre on the beach. It was a picturesque setting with mosaic-like floors and three arches facing seawards.
On the way back, after looking around for a while, we found a café for frappés and a cold soft drink for Florian. He’d perked up and began to feel hungry, so did Helene, and they invited us to a burger lunch. Peter and I shared the “classic” one which came with very tasty potato wedges and was a big portion, even for two.
We made it back with Buddy sitting slightly deeper in the water than on the way out, and relaxed with a cup of tea and a cool-off in the sea. The ring we’d picked up floating in the sea last year was employed again, and fun was had by all. We kept cool under the bimini, and while Helene read her book and had a little doze Florian and Ingrid had an interesting chat about his service in the military brass band. In the evening we enjoyed a little cold spread with white wine for the “oldies” and alcohol-free beer for the youngsters. Much more chin-wagging followed before we all were off to bed again.
We were underway at 9.45am. Another hot day was on the horizon, but we found a gusty breeze that blew Cordelia downwind on the genoa. On occasions Peter helped her along with the engine, and we had quite a gentle ride to Peristeria Bay. We had read about its clear turquoise water and had hoped to use it as our lunch spot. It seemed, however, that word had gotten around, and other people had the same idea. We couldn’t find an agreeable place for our anchor, and Peter decided to carry on to our destination at Trinisia. We were the only yacht in the bay there, and the water was just as clear.
It was put to good use as we spent a lot of time in it to cool off. We even snorkelled along the cliffs and espied a decent amount of (mainly small) fish. Helene also had a go with Ingrid’s gear, and she turned out to be quite a competent “Wasserratte” (water baby).
We left “our” bay on the next day and motored back up the coast for a little while. Once we’d altered our course towards Várkiza we also employed the genoa with various amounts of reefs. We had a gusty Northerly when we set off, which later settled into a North-North-Easterly Force 6-7.
As we didn’t want to expose our guests to sickness-inducing conditions longer than necessary we legged it under engine, and at 12.50pm we dropped the anchor in 10m. The afternoon was a little windy, but Florian and Helene managed a doze in the cockpit while we sat below looking at the forecast and hoping for the best. After coffee/tea and wafers the wind calmed down enough to hang off the back of the bathing ladder for a cool-off. Dinner was in the cockpit in improved weather conditions, and we stayed there chatting until bedtime.
The wind built up again in the early hours, so rather than having breakfast we said our good-byes and Peter motored the youngsters to the quay at 7.30am, while it was still possible. They made it but got very wet, and Ingrid was happy to see Peter come back in one piece. We had breakfast, and by the time we’d finished it there was no chance of taxiing anyone ashore. We knew because we saw our catamaran neighbours try in their heavy-duty tender and return pretty sharply to base after about 50m of bouncing in the waves. These kept building and we had winds of 50 knots, so we watched YouTube and listened to music below to direct our thoughts away from the conditions outside. During a lull of just under 40 knots of wind we managed to haul the outboard back on board, and pulled Buddy close to Cordelia, hoping he wouldn’t turn turtle.
Chapter Four: SALAMIS
The wind was still howling up to 40 knots on the next day, so it was not until the day after when we ventured to the shore to dispose of our rubbish and restock our supplies. In the afternoon the wind had picked up sufficiently for the windsurfers and -foilers, and we kept watching them long after we’d finished our cappuccino and bougatsa. We also attended to some admin and maintenance jobs before we called it a day.
In the early morning the wind re-appeared, so after breakfast we heaved Buddy back on board before it would build up too much. We had originally planned to leave at 10.00am, but by 9.00am Cordelia was shipshape, the wind was blowing, and we didn’t want to hang around any longer.
We motored out of Vari Bay and were met with a Northerly Force 7 and gusts of up to 35 knots. Cordelia was pounding into the waves, and we were at times struggling to make 4 knots. We increased the revs to 1,600rpm and eventually reached the corner of the traffic separation zone in two hours.
When we turned towards Salamis we could put out a heavily reefed genoa which provided a better balance and reduced the amount of Cordelia’s bouncing. It was not until we reached the anchorage area of the tankers though, when the conditions improved and we let out the genoa to its first reef. Suffice to say that the forecasts we had seen on the way so far had all been wrong, having predicted 9-15 knots.
The closer we came to Salamis the less wind and waves were hitting Cordelia, so we decided to pull into Peristeria Bay for a quiet lunch and a swim. We dropped the anchor in 5.2m, and Ingrid cooled off in the clear turquoise water. Peter, on the other hand, never got the chance. We were just having a cup of tea when the wind changed direction to South-East, thus pushing Cordelia towards the shore. The distance to the beach decreased rapidly, so did the depth under the keel, and we quickly upped anchor and continued our journey.
An hour later the wind was back to North, i.e. on the nose, never giving us the opportunity to switch off the engine and have a sail. Still, from our premature lunch exit onwards we enjoyed a pleasant ride to St. George Stenou, our goal on Salamis. This was a lovely big sandy bay with a few villages on its shore. We dropped the anchor in 5m (still a long way off-shore), had a swim and further refreshed with a little glass of ouzo.
After a mainly peaceful night with only a few barking dogs we launched Buddy, prepared the bikes, got dressed appropriately and set off for the land. We secured Buddy with the lock, ditched our rubbish and assembled the bikes once we got there, then turned right.
At the church the road turned into a dirt track, and in order to rejoin it we had to push our bikes up a steep overgrown ravine-like path. Luckily it was only a short section, and we were able to carry on happily along the coast once again. The scenery was breathtaking with stunning views out to the turquoise water of the bay.
We passed plenty of picturesque beaches as we followed the coast past Xéno, Iliactí, Spithári and Agios Nikólaos to Salamína, the island’s capital. From there the road got very urban and busy, but we made it safely to the harbour for a gander. Today being a Thursday there was a farmer’s market right next to it, so we walked past stalls of deliciously looking fruit (peaches, cherries, melons, etc), vegetables (tomatoes, aubergines, etc), cheap clothes, shoes and household articles. We came away with a jar of honey, then we headed for the Sklavenitis for a cold drink, bougatsa and ice-creams. The latter were consumed in the supermarket’s covered car park where we both hit our heads on the low roof, with Peter drawing blood on his forehead and tongue.
On the way out of town we saw a statue of Ajax, a hero of the Troyan war, but as having a closer look would have meant crossing two lanes of the main road we admired it from where we were. We pedalled hard uphill to leave the town behind, and headed past Psilí Ammos and a (not open to the public) monastery down to the coast once more. The pine trees along the way accompanied us to the ferry port situated on the spit of the little peninsula. We had no intention of going to Péramos or Mégara on the mainland, and instead continued on the road past the settlement of Stenó back to our bay. After 14.6 miles and 200m up and down we made it back to Buddy and Cordelia. We’d had an enjoyable ride and were impressed by the beauty of this lovely island, but now we were hot and keen to cool off with a swim.
We enjoyed a day of rest with swimming, crosswords and planning, then we upped anchor at around 7.00am on the next morning and were underway again.
