Chapter One: WE’RE BACK AGAIN
We had laid a course from Çeşme, Turkey, to Chios, Greece, and after having completed the Turkish exit formalities we motored out of the harbour at 12.00pm. The going was good all the way, albeit under engine with only a little help from the genoa, and at 1.20pm we moored up on the café quay in Chios Harbour.
Our first stop was at the port police who stamped our crew list, then we had to find the entrance to the building next door for Immigration. The young officer had a good look at Peter’s passport and mumbled something about residency when a colleague joined him and was happy to just see our marriage certificate. He also pointed out the various entrance and exit stamps from other Greek Immigration offices, so in the end they added theirs and we were sent to Customs.
They were located in the same building at the ferry terminal and were very pleased to hear that Peter had filled in the online form. He needn’t have bothered though, as it had to be done on the day of arrival. Luckily we were already registered, so all we had to do was to fill in the form again on one of their laptops. It worked the first time after we’d submitted it, and after a bit more admin on their side we were finally issued with a Transit Log. It was a paper document (copied pages from the old transit logs), and we had to get back to the port police to have it stamped.
Once this was accomplished we went back to Cordelia. We had planned to move around the corner to the abandoned marina, but by now the wind from the South had built up to a Force 6, which would blow right into it. We decided to move somewhere safer, so Peter trundled off to the port police with the Transit Log for an exit stamp. We finally left at 4.00pm and headed North.
We had a look through the binoculars at the marina when we sailed past, but didn’t fancy our chances of mooring up there in the wind, and instead carried on to Oz Bay. A fisherman showed us where his net was, so we kept away from it and dropped the anchor. It dragged on our first attempt, and when Ingrid raised it she could see why – it was full of seagrass on the shovel, hoop, et al. It came off alright, and the hook dug in well on the second attempt. It was 5.30pm and we celebrated our completion of bureaucratic procedures and successful return to Greece with a snifter before we went to bed absolutely exhausted.
At 7.00am the next day we were underway again. We intended to have another look at the abandoned marina from where we could go shopping into Chios and hopefully also get some cooking gas. As it was, the wind blew a Force 5 as soon as we were out of the bay, which meant we would have to beat into it and the waves. Never a good idea!
So we turned North instead and poked our noses into Lagkadha. A ferry had come into the spot that had been suggested on Navily, but a yacht was leaving the town quay. With no other boats on it we decided to take their space for our first unassisted anchor stern-to mooring, i.e. without slime lines. The range finder came in handy when Peter told Ingrid to drop the anchor about 40m from the quay, and the remote control for the windlass helped, too, when we fastened Cordelia to the hoops. At 8.10am we were tied on, and not long afterwards we sat down for breakfast.
Later we ventured out through the picturesque village and looked for places where we could have dinner in the evening.
We also saw a derelict windmill up the hill, which prompted Peter to find a route to it, and in the afternoon we were on our way. We cut through the village and followed the road for a bit. Peter found the turn-off to a dirt track with a big red sign at the entrance. Drawing from our experience in Turkey we checked with Google in case it said “no entrance”, but it was only a “no fly-tipping” notification. As we had no rubbish with us, we carried on gently uphill to the top. We had a great view out to sea and down to the harbour while we were holding on to our hats. It was blowing a hooley!
Peter had found a different way down, some of it over some rough terrain, which was slightly awkward in our sandals. We made it back safely in time for iced lattés and chocolate cake, which we consumed below deck while watching Inneos Britannia win the Louis Vuitton Cup.
After a quiet night we prepared for departure. Had anyone bothered to watch us they would have been quite impressed as we must have looked rather professional when we slipped our mooring just after 9.00am and motored out of Lagkadha.
There wasn’t much wind (East-South-East, Force 4), so when we unfurled the genoa we didn’t make a lot of speed, but soon it started to blow seriously. When we rounded the cape with the lighthouse atop of it, the wind had increased to a South-Easterly Force 7-8, and despite putting in a reef Cordelia was still rushing along at over 7 knots. Just before we entered Kardámyla Bay we furled it away and made the last few minutes under engine alone. We found our spot from months ago (April) and dropped the anchor in 4.5m in sand at 11.15am. We spent the rest of the day clearing up, doing laundry, relaxing and swimming in the crystal clear water.
The next day we went ashore to have our Transit Log stamped by a friendly port police lady. Peter had also consulted the map and had found another chapel he could take us to, but before we set off we had a look at the harbour. An Australian flagged yacht that had overtaken us near the entrance to the bay on the previous day had moored up alongside, so we went to say hello and to enquire about the abandoned marina where they’d come from. They ended up inviting us on board, and we spent a couple of hours exchanging information and stories, and drinking their white wine from Mt Athos.
It was all very pleasant, and we forgot all about walking to the chapel. We only just made it back in time for dinner, but before we ate Peter had a swim and confirmed his suspicion that the chain was hooked up as in our absence the wind had changed 180 degrees and back again. So Ingrid jumped in, dived down and found the chain buried underneath the anchor. It was too heavy to lift, so Peter started the engine and pulled it out with the windlass. We didn’t have to re-anchor as the hook was still dug in, just let out the chain again, and with everything sorted we finally enjoyed our meal.
Chapter Two: TOURING AROUND CHIOS
We got up at 7.00am and were underway at 7.15am. There was hardly any wind to speak of, so the sails remained firmly in their bags while we motored South along the coast. The sea was calm, too, and Ingrid took this opportunity to prepare the lines and fenders. We were heading for the abandoned marina at Chios, and hoped to find a space alongside the breakwater.
Peter became very apprehensive when a British-flagged yacht came out of Lagkadha and motored ahead of us in the same direction, but luckily they carried on when we turned in. We got a space near the entrance with room for another behind us, and by 9.45am we were moored up.
After a cup of coffee and a biscuit we packed our rucksacks with two of our empty gas bottles and were off to the Eniv petrol station for an exchange. They were €20.00 each and available immediately, and we were glad to make the deal. Our Turkish gas bottle was only 2kg and had been used since 15 September, and we’d been expecting it to run out for the last week or so. It was a small miracle it had lasted that long, and we assumed it must be running on fumes!
Before we returned we walked to the nearby “Mymarket”, which was a “proper” supermarket with a good range of products. We filled the last space in our rucksacks with wine, pizza, tsipouri (a kind of brandy made from the grape must), a cooked chicken, breadsticks and masticha (a mastic flavoured liqueur) which we sampled later on. We are pleased to report it was quite sweet and not too strong, and we rather liked it.
Peter contacted a car hire company (Panagiotis T. Katsikadelis) who delivered a red Toyota Aygo to the marina, and we set off on our route South.
Peter had updated our TomTom during the night and it thanked us by taking us right through the centre of Chios. The roads were narrow with cars parked alongside and scooters weaving in and out. It was a relief when we found ourselves back on the main road leading to Kampos. The latter was known for its enclosed gardens full of citrus trees and rich inhabitants of large stone houses behind big walls. Things hadn’t changed too much since that report from what we could see just driving through it.
We made it to Pyrgi, a town renowned for its black and white façades. It was indeed a charming place, and many a photo was taken on our walkabout.
The road to our next destination was still very good, albeit up and down with lots of bends. It took us to the fortified town of Mesta where in the olden days the locals didn’t have any windows facing the front to protect themselves against marauding pirates. Openings had been added since, which provided a very picturesque scene.
We drove past their harbour at Limenas, then up to Vessa. This was said to be a typical medieval village of the area, and it certainly was quaint.
It didn’t take us long to stroll around it before we had a look for the route to Lidl. One option would have led us through the mountains, but both Google and TomTom suggested taking the road to Armólia, and from there to the airport. We followed their advice and stocked up with goods and goodies.
A brief excursion into the wilderness, i.e. the outskirts of Chios, offered a suitable lunch spot, then we planned our own route, bypassing the mayhem of Chios, to get us back to the marina. As we had the car for another day we were out again after breakfast, and headed North to the Sanctuary of Cybele. This was supposed to be a stone carving, but we couldn’t really make it out. Additionally, due to misinterpretation and mispronunciation it was now also known as “Homer’s Stone”, which still made no difference to our perspective. All we could see was a little boulder with an irregular shape on one side.
Next, we took the main road towards Karies, but instead of turning off into it we carried on along the long and winding road to Néa Moní.
This monastery, built in the 11th century, once housed 200 monks (we espied only 1), and in 1822 was sought as a refuge by the fleeing population. It didn’t work though, as they were all massacred. Some of their skulls and bones were displayed with cut and stab marks clearly visible, and there were more remains in the ossuary in a separate building. We had a good look around, saw the earthquake-damaged dwellings of the former monks, and admired the wall paintings in the “Katholikon”.
Then we changed back from long trousers into shorts and set out on the “Monks Path” up to the Skete of the Holy Fathers, with a 300m ascent up to a height of nearly 700m.
Ingrid could feel the altitude and didn’t cope too well with it, but after a lot of huffing and puffing and a few rests in-between we finally arrived at this most impressive edifice.
The place was in good shape but abandoned, so we carried on along the mountainside on a nice track with lovely smelling pine trees left and right, and fantastic views over terraces, down the valley, out to sea, and across to Çeşme, Turkey.
We met up with the road that approached Néa Moní from the opposite side, and after a last short uphill section got back to our hire car.
The road back to Cordelia was the same as the one out, and therefore equally scenic. Back at the marina we cleared out the car, left the keys under the mat in the driver’s footwell, and informed the rental company who collected the car later on.
Chapter Three: CHIOS CHORA
Over the next few days we busied ourselves with boat work, like cleaning out the drain and hoses of the forward heads, mending the straps on the sprayhood and washing away some of the salt crystals that had accumulated on Cordelia’s superstructure. We also used the time to explore the town itself.
We looked at the windmills on the seafront and walked to the harbour to look at the boats rocking and rolling in the swell, this despite of the wind coming from South-East which should have given them good protection. We then walked along the castle fortifications and through a pedestrianised shopping street. We had intended to visit the Byzantine Museum but were put off by the comments on the Internet, so headed for the Maritime Museum instead.
This was situated in someone’s house that had been renovated, and exhibited paintings and models of various ships. We learnt that Chios is the Greek centre for shipping companies with over 300 shipowners still stationed there.
On the way back we checked out an ouzery, and liked the looks of it. We sat down indoors (it was too windy outside) and enjoyed eight dishes of fish mezze with ouzo, water, bread and chips. And very tasty and authentic it was, too!
We started to look for a weather window that would allow us to move on, but the wind kept building up to over 50 knots. To get away from the noise we decided to go out for a walk after breakfast. We turned right out of the marina and followed the main road which led along the coast. This was of course also the place the wind hit first, so it was howling and we carried our hats rather than wearing them so they wouldn’t take off in the gusts.
We fought our way into the wind (as always, on the nose, even just walking!) past some nice beaches with and without sunbeds or tables and chairs, and another windmill to Vrontádos. There we turned left at a “no entry” road sign and returned on a near parallel road to the coastal one we’d taken out. We were slightly more inland and therefore not quite as exposed to the elements, so could enjoy looking at the houses and numerous churches along the way.
The next day it was still blowing in the 40 knot range, so we decided to check out the Hammam (Turkish Bath). Peter manoeuvred us through the narrow streets inside the fortification walls, but when we reached it there wasn’t much to see other than the hot room, toilets and cooling down area with remnants of paintings on the walls, and we didn’t stay long.
Then, after another blustery night and some more provisioning we spotted an opportunity, and started on preparing Cordelia for departure.
Chapter Four: HOMEWARD BOUND
We woke up at 6.30am before the alarm had any chance to go off with it still being dark outside. Peter switched on the navigation instruments which showed a wind speed between 17 and 23 knots. He also checked the forecast and announced “We’re on! This is the only weather window for some time.”
At 7.00am we slipped the mooring, motored out of the abandoned marina, and unfurled the genoa as soon as Ingrid had cleared away lines and fenders.
Of course outside the marina the wind was stronger, i.e. over 30 knots, but it came from the North and blew Cordelia down South along the coast of Chios. About two hours later we’d cleared the island, and now experienced a lovely North-Easterly Force 5. In addition to the genoa we hoisted the mainsail but left two reefs in it. This proved to be a wise precaution as the wind strength increased to a Force 6. The waves which were just under a meter of height followed us, and we enjoyed a fast ride with speeds of over 7 knots.
The wind turned North-North-East Force 6, then settled on North Force 4-5. Just after lunch it took a break, so we furled away the genoa and replaced it with the engine. Now it didn’t matter too much that the wind changed to North-West, then North-East. When we were within reach of Samos the waves played the same trick as they did when we’d sailed North in April – they increased in height and came from all kind of directions.
The dolphins seemed to like the conditions and played on Cordelia’s bow. Unfortunately they were camera shy, as when Peter tried to take a picture they scarpered. We got the wind back between the islands of Fournoi and Samos when it blew a North-Easterly Force 6-7. This, together with the waves made for an “interesting” journey, but luckily it all started to calm down once we’d passed the South-West cape.
We finally got protection from the land, and it wasn’t long before we doused the mainsail and motored to our anchorage at Limnionas. It had taken us 9½ hours for the 53.3NM when we set the anchor in 5m in sand. Despite some unpleasant swell we both had a wonderful sleep. We upped anchor at 8.45am and motored away from windless Limnionas.
A bit further out we got some wind and unfurled the genoa. Ingrid was below when Peter urged her to come on deck. Big gusts were hitting Cordelia and she was heeling over badly, so we quickly put two reefs in.
The North-Easterly Force 6-8, however, only lasted until we’d cleared the landmass of Samos, then died, turned to South and had no more strength left in it. We reverted to the engine and fought our way South.
The waves were from abeam and steep, and shook Cordelia from side to side. Books, shoes and some vegetables ended up on the floor, and cushions, phones and iPads were sliding along with every movement of the waves. It was like being stuck inside a washing machine on a rinse cycle, and we had to hold on to our seats to keep upright and not follow the fate of the aforementioned articles.
It was a relief when we could seek refuge in the lee of Arkoi. The waves decreased in size and became manageable, and even the forecast Northerly Force 4-5 made an appearance. We had about another hour to go, so kept on motoring. A turtle swam past as if to reassure us, and then we arrived at Makronisi South on Arkoi. “Our” spot was occupied, but we found a sandy patch nearby in 6.5m to drop the anchor in the crystal clear turquoise water. It bit well and we could finally sit back and relax.
It was gusting hard during the night, and as Ingrid couldn’t sleep anyway she was on anchor watch during the worst bits. She caught up with the lost sleep later that day as we stayed on board and watched other boats going out to sea and battling the conditions. It looked rather comical when they headed into the wind and popped up and down like a cork in the ocean.
Another windy and rolly night followed, though the gusts seemed to stay below 40 knots this time. In the morning the wind had somewhat abated, so we weighed anchor at 9.40am. It was blowing a North-Easterly Force 5-6, and we had one reef in the genoa as we sailed across to Lipsoi.
For once, we were not overpowered and George, the autopilot, had an easy life. However, we did encounter some big gusts off the island which pushed Cordelia along nicely. Two hours later we dropped our anchor in Papantria Cove in 6m. It dragged at first in the clay-like substance, but then bit nicely. Ingrid dived on it as soon as she’d warmed up from the voyage when she’d needed long sleeves and her foulies overtrousers. The anchor had not dug in as deep as it would have done in sand, but had plenty of weight on the shovel. The wind had also settled on a Force 3-4, so all looked well.
We had lunch in the cockpit and watched the comings and goings. We were amazed by the amount of charter boats and the traffic around us, but maybe we just weren’t used to it any more. Despite the sunshine, clear water and finally some peaceful conditions we started to look forward to calling it an end to our season and prepared accordingly.
We had some gusts during the night in the 30 knot range, and as Navily reported that the holding was dodgy it made for a fitful sleep. Peter did an anchor watch for a while, then came back to bed to warm up, and had an early start when the anchor alarm went off just after 6.00am. It turned out to be a false one as our Mantus anchor had not budged. We upped it at 9.40am and it came up with a big lump of clay on it.
We sailed for an hour on the genoa to the anchorage at Arkhángelos where we winterised our holding tank. Then, after a brief lunch we set sail once more. Once we’d passed the island we employed the genoa. We were now protected from the big waves by the landmass of Leros and therefore had a pleasant ride until we lost the wind near the entrance to Portolago Bay. We even had a dolphin coming alongside to check us out, but after a brief hello it went on its own way.
Seeing another three yachts heading in our direction we put on the engine and legged it to the anchorage outside the marina. At 2.00pm we dropped the hook in 5.5m in mud and started extracting the warm engine oil. Peter also changed the filter while Ingrid attended to the decommissioned heads. After we’d topped up the oil we recovered in the cockpit in glorious sunshine, hardly any wind and definitely no swell.
The wind picked up during the night, and it was still blowing from North-East Force 4-5 in the morning. We prepared lines, fenders, halyards and the boat hook, upped anchor and called the marina, asking them to show us to our berth and help us in. It took a while for the marinero to turn up, then Peter reversed all the way in to our berth on the pontoon. It was 9.30am when we were attached.
After a cup of coffee followed by some line adjustment and connecting to the electricity Ingrid checked us in at the marina while Peter put on the wheel cover and cleared up the rubbish. Ingrid paid up and with the confirmation of our stay from the office we walked to the port authorities to have our Transit Log stamped. Next stop was at Customs where we handed in our Transit Log plus our confirmation, and hoped the officer would take good care of the documents and store them safely till our departure the following year. We had now officially returned to Leros where Cordelia would have her home till spring 2025.
Cordelia was now securely attached and after a season of 1,370NM and a total of 187 nights (160 of which on anchor) in 63 different locations she was looking forward to her winter rest on Leros.
