Chapter One: AROUND MOUDROS
As the weather forecast had foretold a change in the wind direction we had motored from one side of Moudros Bay to the other and had dropped our anchor off Nea Koútali.
For once, the wind came as forecast, yet started to change direction an hour early at around 11.00pm. Ingrid stayed awake till midnight in case the anchor needed to be reset, and Peter was up until 1.00am to monitor the situation. None of it turned out to be necessary, and early in the morning the wind calmed down, and we had a lie-in. We had also gotten a lot of rain during the night, and light showers continued in the morning. By lunchtime though, it cleared out and the wind diminished to a gentle breeze. Peter got antsy and showed signs of cabin fever, and urged us to go ashore. So we hurried to launch Buddy, threw our shoes in, and motored to the beach on the promontory opposite.
We clambered up the embankment to the Russian cemetery. There were no tombstones, but the plaques on the marble wall all showed their year of death in either 1920 or 1921.
We found the dirt track that led to/from it, and followed it down to the chicken farm and the nearby ANZAC hospital site. From there we continued to the chapel of St Nicholas which could only be reached via a causeway that led out to the island on which it was situated. The location was very picturesque, the inside of the chapel less so.
We had a good look, then carried on to the end of the peninsula where we found the lookout pyramid. Of course we climbed up the stairs to the top from where we admired the excellent views over the bay. A lovely walk through fields of thistle, undefined grain species and sea lavender took us back to Buddy. By then the wind had built up to over 20 knots and the ride to Cordelia was therefore “interesting” and rather on the damp side.
We ventured out again and motored over to the (closed) café at the fishing harbour, and took the little road uphill through Kallithea to join the bigger road at Livadochori. It was quiet but for a few cars, and both of the villages showed little signs of activity. We saw some people in their pretty gardens outside their equally pretty houses, and made it to the Chophouse restaurant (the hangout of the local old “boys”) on the main road from Myrena to Moudros before we turned back.
In the village we were approached by a Greek woman who’d been brought up in South Africa and had lived in the UK for a while, too. We had a chat and she invited us in for a cup of tea until she remembered that she’d run out of PG Tips. In addition, her mother with whom she lived did not speak English, so in the end we declined, but “maybe another time”.
We had envisaged to walk along a back road into Nea Koútali, but the track we took led us to a large locked gate with a “Stop” sign which all looked suspiciously military. We didn’t fancy a confrontation with the authorities and instead chose a variation to our route and detoured up to the chapel of St Dimitrios which proved to be a fantastic viewpoint. A few (goat) kids accompanied us along the way, but soon returned to their tethered mothers for comfort and nourishment.
We descended to the outskirts of Kallithea, and Peter found us a lovely track away from the main road into Nea Koútali and its bakery. After a restock we got back to Buddy and Cordelia. We’d done 5 miles and just over 100m up and down, and were rather hot, but a dip in the water soon brought relief.
We were off to the shore again, this time with the bikes. On land they were preparing the beach for the season ahead with a big tractor, so we motored Buddy inside the fishing harbour and dragged him on to the sand.
By 10.00am the bikes were assembled, and we headed off to Kallithea. We then cycled around the airport in the direction of Moudros. We took the main road and were overtaken by quite a few cars, but at least the going was mainly on the flat. We made steady progress, but the last 2km felt more like 5km with our bums beginning to ache. When we arrived at Moudros we somehow found ourselves near the church on top of the hill. This came as a surprise to us as we’d barely seemed to have gained height.
We free-wheeled down to the harbour and noticed that some boats had departed and had left three good-sized spaces on the concrete pontoon. Eager to bag one of them we pedalled back to Buddy. The return seemed to take forever, and Ingrid needed a couple of stops to rest her bottom, hip and leg which all had become annoyingly painful. On the way out we’d spotted a fruit and vegetable stall on the side of the road, and now we popped in to restock our supplies, though two of the bananas didn’t make it back as they were consumed on the spot.
With the energy they provided we finally made it back to Buddy, only to find him further up on the beach. The tractor we had tried to avoid had come round to “our” side of the harbour to continue its beach cleaning operation there, and had moved Buddy out of the way! After 20 miles and 190m up and down we made it back onboard, off-loaded, stored Buddy, jumped into the sea for a quick cool-off, and upped anchor just after 1.00pm.
Ingrid reversed Cordelia to clean off the mud on the chain and hook, then Peter took over the navigation and helm while she prepared the lines and fenders. Within half an hour we entered the port and were moored up soon afterwards.
We were refreshing with a cup of tea and biscuits when the port police arrived and informed us of the procedures. Could we fill in the registration form and hand it in to the office? They were open until 8.00pm, or maybe sometime the next day? We opted for the latter, and in the meantime introduced ourselves to our Dutch neighbours Henk and Chris on “Cooky”. They invited us onboard where we had a lovely time and stayed until nearly 7.00pm. What a day this had been!
After a day’s rest we packed our rucksacks and left Cordelia just after 11.00am. We turned right onto the road out of Moudros and followed it along the coast towards Fanaraki. It took us about an hour to reach the end of the peninsula where we went in search for the Fokias Cave we had visited about a year ago on Buddy. We found the place, but it had totally changed. Turned out the entrance of the cave had collapsed, and it was no longer accessible from the sea.
We had a look at what was left which was a dry hole, but we didn’t investigate any further in case the ceiling decided to fall on top of us. Then, after having checked out the beaches on either side (Micro and Magali Fanaraki Beach), we reversed our route, and after 3 hours, 5.3 miles and 60m height we were back on Cordelia.
When we weren’t exploring the area around Moudros we visited the Port Police, supermarkets and bakery, and engaged in reprovisioning and preparing Cordelia for departure. The day before we left we attempted to fill up with water and discovered that our hose was not long enough and that we had no connector to attach another hose to ours. So up the hill we went to a well-equipped hardware store and acquired the gadget for €0.70. We also stopped at the supermarket and bakery before we returned home.
We borrowed our neighbours’ hose and, courtesy of the new gadget which connected theirs to ours and was subsequently long enough to reach our tanks, we filled them up. Luckily someone hadn’t used all their allowance on their paycard and had left enough for us on the meter to fill up our tanks. It was not till we’d done so and zeroed the meter when our neighbour informed us that they had also intended to top up their tank!
We put the gear away after Peter had tested the water quality (definitely not potable!), and later prepared ourselves to head to the Port Police for an exit stamp on the Transit Log. The same young lad who’d checked us in now checked us out, wished us a nice time, so we paid our harbour fees and were away.
Chapter Two: AROUND MYRENA
We slipped our mooring just before 9.00am. No sooner had Ingrid stowed fenders and lines when we hoisted the mainsail.
We had a Northerly, Force 4, and drifted slowly downwind. We were still in the Bay of Moudros when the wind increased. We reached over 5 knots on the mainsail alone and decided to head further out before we’d turn to stay away from Kompi Cape and its gusts. When we did alter course we unfurled the genoa, but soon put a reef in it when the tail end of the gusts reached us. Cordelia enjoyed herself with a top speed of 7.9 knots until the wind turned. Soon we were heading right into it, so we switched on the engine and furled away the headsail. We motorsailed the last 40 minutes to our anchorage in Platy Bay, and dropped the mainsail just before the anchor.
By 1.00pm we sat in the cockpit with a cup of tea and our lunch, and watched the sailors and windsurfers at the Mark Warner centre. They weren’t going very fast as the wind had decreased, so rather than joining them we went for a swim. Peter checked on the anchor and Ingrid cleaned Cordelia’s waterline, then we both had a shower off the stern. Cappuccino and “bougatsa” warmed us up afterwards, so did the sunshine in the cockpit.
The next morning we upped anchor and motored to Myrena where we dropped it again. We launched Buddy and after a cup of coffee motored over to the slipway near the ferry terminal. We walked up to the winery where we were passed on to the same lady who did the wine tasting with us the previous year. She was pleased to hear we’d come back to buy some more wine, and in exchange for €160.00 they let us have a mixture of 63 litres of dry red, dry white and rosé. One of their employees even helped us carry the boxes down to Buddy. We uploaded them into Cordelia, had a spot of lunch, packed the empty gas bottle and took off into “town”. We swapped the empty gas bottle for a full one, then headed for the supermarket and the bakery on the roundabout. Before we took the purchased goods back to Cordelia we filled up two of the 10l water bottles. The rest of the afternoon consisted of stowing the wine bottles, taking out and cleaning the log, drying the bilges, filling the water tank, making repairs to Buddy, and cleaning up afterwards.
More housekeeping chores were carried out over the next few days which we combined with a hike to Depia Fort, a fortress built by the Russians in 1770. The short detour was worth its while as we had excellent views over Myrena and its surroundings.
We decided to rent a car to venture further afield and to help with the provisioning. On the first outing to the honey shop we found out that the tank was nearly empty and we needed petrol. The station was further up the road from the shop, and the shop was next to a café where we’d had frappés when we were out cycling with the Neilson crew all those years ago. We got the fuel, but the shop was closed, so we carried on to Kareíro to visit the archaeological site with its sanctuary of the Kabeiroi and its cave.
Afterwards we went in search of the flamingoes at the Aliki Lake, but they weren’t in season and none could be spotted. Still, it was impressive just to walk on the salt plains.
We had to drive through the villages of Kontopoúli and Kalliópi to get to Keros Bay. There we walked along the beach to observe the wind- and kitesurfers, foilers and wingers. It looked a really good spot for those activities, and we wondered why there wasn’t a big centre.
For old time’s sake we popped into the café for a frappé on the way back, then stopped at the Lidl and stocked up with all sorts of things. We also acquired 20l of diesel at the BP station on the bypass before Peter picked up Buddy and motored over to the car park behind the harbour. We loaded him (Buddy, not Peter) up with all the stuff we’d purchased and fitted into the little Suzuki Alto, and in one go made it to Cordelia.
Next day we were off again, this time to the archaeological site of Poliochni on the East coast. This urban settlement dates back to 3,500 BC. The early houses had stone-built bases and a superstructure made of perishable materials. Over the years they added retaining walls, entrance towers, a gateway, public buildings and drainage pipes, and extended their houses. After an earthquake at around 2,000 BC Poliochni was abandoned and never recovered.
We also left it after a while and retraced our route past the airport, turned off near Atsiki, and made our way up to Sardes. The port policeman at Moudros had recommended the “Mandella” restaurant there, and we were keen on trying it out. The food was indeed delicious and home made. Ingrid enjoyed it with a glass of the local cold dry white wine, Peter drank water, and we left totally satiated. On the way home we got another 20l of diesel, and took the rest of the afternoon to recover with tea and snifter.
An excursion into the seawater was cold and therefore rather brief, then we got ready to hand in the car. There was an issue over a dent we had not seen when we’d picked it up and taken pictures, but after a few phone calls the lady who scrutinized the vehicle confirmed it was an old damage and let us off. For a touch-up job which we hadn’t spotted either on collection Peter quickly took a snapshot when the lady wasn’t looking and then presented it as evidence that it had been there all along. If ever we rent from there again we’d certainly take pictures of the car from all angles and go over it with a very fine tooth comb!
Chapter Three: WINDSURFING QUEST
We left Myrena and motored over to Platy Bay. When we arrived 40 minutes later the wind started to pick up, so we launched Buddy in readiness for a windsurf session. First, though, Peter had an appointment with his barber, i.e. Ingrid. We motored over to the little isthmus where, on a previous outing, Peter had seen come comfy logs to sit on. Now they doubled up as chairs, and we used the one most protected from the breeze. Not too long after he’d taken the seat his hair was shortened and we could return to Cordelia and have our lunch.
While we ate and listened to Mark Warner’s VHF 69 conversations the wind began to drop. We checked the forecast which seemed to follow a similar pattern for the next few days, and agreed we’d have to move if we wanted to have a go at windsurfing. So we packed up and headed out of Platy Bay. We’d hoped to set sail when we got to open water, but by then any breeze had completely disappeared. We didn’t fancy a motorfest to our chosen destination of Parthenómitos Bay, so revised our plan and pulled into Vrachos Stivi instead. Maybe there’d be a sailing opportunity in the morning.
Our anchorage was lovely and quiet, no ringos or music until 4.00am. Ingrid went for a swim in the clear turquoise water, checked on the anchor (well dug into sand), then showered off the back, and we settled in for the night.
We weighed anchor just before 9.00am and set sails as soon as we’d cleared the bay. It didn’t take long for the wind to turn from a nice North-North-East, Force 3 to a Force 5-6, and we were busy putting in the first reef when we already needed the second. While we were working on it Peter accidentally got a riding turn on the winch with the main halyard. We sorted it out while the wind was howling and still building, but finally we settled and had an exhilarating ride with two reefs in both sails all the way to the entrance of Moudros Bay. From there we tried to tack into Parthenómitos Bay, but with the wind on the nose it would have taken us forever to get there, so we motored the last ½ hour. So much for weather patterns!
At 11.50am the hook was well embedded in the sand. We cleared up, had lunch, did crosswords, listened to music, had a swim, watched Moto GP and killed gazillions of flies, some of them biting and all of them annoying ones. The wind dropped after 5.00pm, too late and with no force left for any windsurfing. Instead, we tried to clear the cockpit from flies (not very successfully) in preparation for dinner on deck.
We had a quiet night, a good sleep and a calm morning. Despite there being no wind we launched Buddy and put the outboard on. Before lunch and with no change in the weather conditions Ingrid cleaned Cordelia’s rudder off some shells and tube worms that had attached themselves, then scraped the hull and starboard keel off the slime.
After lunch the wind made an appearance, so we prepared our windsurfing gear. We took out the new 7.7m2, put it in the cockpit, went below for more stuff, got back up, put away the 7.7m2, agreed on the 6.8m2, went below, listened to the wind, stuck our heads outside and checked the conditions, and decided on the 6.0m2 and the iSonic. We now had 28 knots of gusts which had Ingrid nicely powered up and whizzing along until she hit the lulls which stopped the fun. It continued to blow on and off, but it was warm in the sunshine and in the water, and Ingrid managed a few good runs in the hour she spent on the water. She was, however, utterly exhausted when she came in for coffee and biscuits.
Then Peter had a go. The gusts had diminished, and the “normal” wind wasn’t enough to get him going, still he had one planing run before he returned and we de-rigged. After a short recovery period we cleared up the mess below and killed a colony of flies to make room for cooking, though in the end we ate our pizza on deck and washed it down with a nice Lemnos red wine.
The wind came with gusts of 45 knots, so there was zero chance of windsurfing with our equipment. We more or less spent our time doing the same things we did the previous days, i.e. admin, crosswords, checking the forecast, making plans and killing flies.
When the wind abated we rigged our windsurfing gear again, Peter got himself ready and donned his outfit. When he emerged from below at 10.45am the wind had turned up another notch, gusting to 32 knots. Peter was less than enthusiastic to face those conditions and decided to sit and wait. What he did see whilst waiting was for the gusts to show just under 40 knots and it all becoming rather gnarly. As these were definitely the wrong conditions for him he changed back into his civvies.
We had lunch, did crosswords and killed flies. Then, at 2.30pm the wind showed some mercy, and 15 minutes later Peter was on the water. He had some good runs in the remaining gusts of around 25 knots, and Ingrid took photos of him while being pestered and bitten by thousands of pesky flies. After an hour Peter had recharged his windsurfing mojo and came in for coffee and biscuits.
We cleared away the gear for drying on deck and stowed Buddy in his place. In the meantime the flies had congregated once more below, so we sprayed rigorously to kill the little blighters. We ate in the cockpit with the swatter nearby, and repeated the aforementioned procedure before we adjourned for the evening.
With our windsurfing quest fulfilled, it was time to attend to our plans for the rest of the season. First, though, we headed to Myrena to check out of Lemnos.
Chapter Four: LEAVING LEMNOS
We weighed anchor at 7.45am and in a North-Easterly, Force 4-5, unfurled the genoa to the first reef soon afterwards.
We had a leisurely ride out of Moudros Bay doing around 4.5 knots. This changed as soon as we came into the vicinity of the infamous Kompi Cape where the wind increased to a North-Easterly, Force 6-7. Cordelia was doing over 7 knots, so we put in the second reef in the genoa before we made the turn round the cape. Still, on this configuration we hit over 6 knots in the gusts that blew between the gaps and down the gullies of Lemnos.
Cordelia took it all in her stride and performed formidably, and we enjoyed a great sail till we had to alter course at Tigani Cape. From there on we were heading into the wind and the genoa began to flap. We furled it away and motored for the rest of the journey to Myrena.
The hook went down at 11.05am after 16.4NM, and while Peter cleared up on deck Ingrid killed the last stowaway flies from Parthenómitos Bay and prepared lunch. Afterwards we launched Buddy, gathered our rubbish, locked up Cordelia and went ashore. We secured Buddy, got rid of our rubbish in the bins at the car park, then walked to Lidl and replenished our supplies. We rewarded ourselves with one of their mega ice-creams before we carried it all back to Buddy. Someone had moved him from the corner to the steps, but he was fine. We loaded him with our purchases and 2x10l water bottles and returned on board.
After a swim and shower followed by cappuccino and buns Peter filled the water tank, we did crosswords and relaxed. Then it was time to get ready again for going out. We grabbed our empty gas and water bottles and headed for the shore once more. First we purchased a new gas bottle, then we sat down at the Metáximas Taverna for a Greek salad, mixed grill and ½l of red wine. It was all very tasty, especially the salad, and there were lots of the grilled meat and sausages with plenty of chips. Ingrid couldn’t eat all of her portion, but managed the free mini ice-cream we were presented with after she’d paid the bill. We left, filled up the 2x10l water bottles and returned to Cordelia for a cup of tea and a much needed snifter to aid digestion, and were off to bed.
The next morning we packed our papers, rubbish and empty water bottles, and were ashore at 9.15am. On the way to the port police we got rid of the garbage, then ascended the stairs up the authorities’ offices. When we rang the bell at the entrance door though, we were asked to come back about 40 minutes later. So in the meantime we went to the supermarket and the bakery on the roundabout for some last minute essentials, i.e. drinking water, pineirli and bougatsa. We filled up the 2x10l bottles at the fountain, motored back to Cordelia, off-loaded and stowed the goods, filled the water tank, and headed back to the port police.
This time they opened the door and let us in. The subsequent procedure was familiar to us but not to the apprentice nor the young officer who was training him. It took quite a while of to and fro and several “where have you been and where are you going?” before we finally got the necessary stamps in our Transit Log. With the bureaucracy dealt with we sorted out Cordelia for a night passage and weighed anchor at 12.10pm.
Inside the harbour it had been blowing a North-North-Easterly, Force 4-5, and we’d been discussing sailing on the genoa alone. That was until we passed the entrance to Platy Bay when the wind was barely reaching a Northerly, Force 3. We managed to sail wing on wing for a while and later the conventional way, but weren’t making much headway. After another look at the forecast we revised our route. We had originally planned to sail down the western side of the island of Ag. Efstrátios, but now this looked like a no-wind zone. We decided to head East instead and use the “Moudros Bay Effect”, and this gave us a pleasant sail for about an hour.
However, by 3.00pm we had to enlist the help of Arthur, our engine, as the wind had bid us adieu. The genoa began to flap so we furled it away, and the mainsail wasn’t doing much good either, but we left it up. With the apparent wind filling it we managed to motorsail for the next six hours or so. The monotony was only interrupted when a handful of large dolphins came to say hello and played on Cordelia’s bow. Later on, after our underway go-to dinner of pizza and alcohol-free beer, two small dolphins checked out the bow game, too, but they either didn’t have the stamina of their larger cousins or didn’t enjoy it quite as much, as they swam away again quickly.
The sun set as a red disc, and we got ready for the night with warm(er) clothes and safety gear. By 10.00pm we were sailing again under a starry sky, only being helped along occasionally by the engine as we were on course towards Skyros.