Chapter One: VASILIKI
We had arrived at Vasiliki where we’d spent two weeks in 2002, and were keen to find out what had changed. We therefore prepared Buddy and motored over to Ponti where we tied him to a rock on a tiny beach in the corner. From there we walked along the shore and promenade past the various centres. Just before the campsite we turned inland to the main road to find a bin. We disposed of our rubbish, crossed the bridge, saw the “Andromeda” where we had once stayed on a Club Vass holiday, and continued to the Euromarket supermarket. It was smaller than we remembered, but had everything we wanted at the time.
Further along the road which also featured pavements on both sides we found a recommended bakery for a spinach pie and bougatsa. Our rucksacks were now full, so we returned to Cordelia to offload. The impression of the town was that it had grown in hotels, watersport centres and other buildings into a “proper” tourist resort, but had somehow shrunk in dimensions (it all looked smaller than in our memory, even the bay).
In the afternoon the wind kicked in, so we rigged the iSonic and 6m2 sail, and out went Ingrid. Once she remembered how to do this she was blasting like the rest of them, and at times even faster. She had some really good and exciting runs, and made it back just before the wind increased from 22 knots to 28 knots. She’d done her bit for the day, so we de-rigged and she got changed while others continued until it got dark. What a great first day back on the water!
We had another walk, this time we made it all the way to the harbour. The marina, despite it looking complete, was still closed, and any moored boats were stern-to around the town harbour. We also discovered a new one-way system and lots of buildings we did not recognise. Even our old Mythos Restaurant looked like it had been turned into something else (a hotel? / an apartment block?). We popped into the bakery for bougatsa, peinirli and cinnamon rolls, as well as into the supermarket for liquids.
Back on Cordelia the anchorage filled up and some boats were asked to move by the centres. The wind did not fill in until 5.00pm (ish), still Ingrid gave it a go. She used the same equipment as on the previous day, and had a fantastic time during the 1½ hours she was out.
We stuck with the same kit for the next couple of days with varying results as the wind altered in strength. Peter had a go, too, and, once set up properly, enjoyed some good runs. He tried out a different setting on his camera with promising results when he took the pictures, not so much when Ingrid was behind the lens. Nevertheless, we had a good time when we were on and off the water, happy to partake in the action or watch the dinghy sailors and wingfoilers from Cordelia’s cockpit.
Chapter Two: NIDRI
Ingrid was awake at 6.15am and started clearing up bits in the cockpit before we had breakfast. We then emptied the windsurfing cabin, and Peter topped up the batteries with water. Next, everything got stowed away again, including the gear we’d used. Buddy and the outboard came back on board, then we prepared ourselves and Cordelia for departure. At 9.15am we were underway in no wind, and we motored all the way towards Nidri.
Peter put out the rod, but took it in when it became too busy on the water. It was mainly the smaller motorboats that had no idea of the COLREGs, so we had to stay vigilant as they crossed Cordelia’s bow by a hair’s breadth. We followed a ferry in and were chased into the anchorage by a catamaran that squeezed past anchored and slow moving boats trying to overtake us, only to turn round when they couldn’t. We carried on to the end of Vlicho Bay and dropped the hook in 7m into murky water. It was just after 12.00pm and quiet with plenty of space. We had a little breeze, sat in the shade and settled in while all the time it was getting hotter. Sweat was pouring off us, so we had a swim. However, the water was so warm it did not produce the desired effect.
Our original mainsail from 2003 was very worn and tired. The canvas had become so thin we could see through it, and it was time to replace it. Peter had done some research during the winter and had found a company in Nidri who were agents for Rolly Tasker. They wouldn’t come all the way to Leros to measure up for a new sail, but now we could arrange for them to come aboard in a week’s time. Meanwhile we tried to secure a berth for that date, but to no avail, so we agreed to try again closer to the day.
We spent some of this spare time walking around Nidri shopping for cooking gas, baked goods in form of spinach pies and bougatsas, and lots of liquids (it was getting really hot). During one of our outings we came across a (closed) site of excavated Bronze Age tombs, but with no sign of it ever opening to the public again. Peter also looked after Buddy who needed more glue to hold him together (even the seat slides had become loose). We hid under the bimini, sweating and sizzling when the sun found uncovered skin. We therefore decided we couldn’t just hang around in Nidri, but needed to find somewhere a bit cooler.
Chapter Three: HANGING AROUND
We put Buddy on the foredeck after breakfast, and heaved the anchor out of the mud at 9.25am. There was no wind in the bay as we slowly motored out of it. We were followed by half a dozen other boats into more traffic outside. Most of them were either coming from or going into the Lefkas Canal and were criss-crossing the waters in-between.
When we were approaching the rather busy Goat Bay the wind started to pick up, and when we passed it we had 35 knots on the nose. We battled our way through as we only had another hour to our destination, and at 11.25am we dropped the hook in 5m in the much calmer Palairos Bay. The water was crystal clear, so it was a pleasure to swim out to the anchor for a check. It was listing but nicely dug in on one side, so all was good.
We continued with cooling off and also had a (well-needed) shower. The wind was but a gentle breeze that kept the temperature to an acceptable level until all of a sudden we were hit by a big gust. Towards land the sky had turned dark as a thunderstorm passed by at a distance. We prepared Cordelia for a squall, but other than some bursts of wind we were spared.
During the next couple of days we enjoyed the cooling breeze in the bay and many a dip in the heavenly water. We were far enough from the beach to not be bothered by loud music or mosquitos, as neither reached our spot. The holding was good, too, and when we left the anchor came up with plenty of mud on it.
We motored back to Nidri and checked out mooring places, but they were either all busy or we didn’t like their review on Navily. In the end we decided to anchor and found a suitable spot close to the IBA Marina pontoon, our meeting place with the sailmaker. It had a dinghy dock which we used when we went ashore in the afternoon.
Peter had found a self-service laundrette where we could wash and dry our salty towels and sweat-soaked clothes. While this was done we had a nose along the pedestrian zone and stocked up with liquids at the MyMarket. Back on Cordelia with our lovely smelling laundry we stowed it away, relaxed with a cup of tea, and prepared ourselves for a meal out. We went ashore at 7.00pm and got a gyros which we ate on a bench at the large excursion boats’ harbour. Peter had brought along a couple of cold alcohol-free beers, and it all went down really well.
Ingrid did not sleep well or long in her cockpit bed, with dinghies, road traffic, rubbish collection, anchor chains going up or down, spotlights and mosquitos all contributing to it. She finally got up with the first light, then we had breakfast and prepared for the mainsail measuring. Peter picked up Ben, a nice young man, who had all the right tools for the job. The measurements we’d provided weren’t too far off, but the difference was justified by Ben knowing what he was doing. Peter motored him back just before 10.00am, then went to the bakery for spinach pie and bougatsa. In the meantime Ingrid re-installed the bimini and tidied up.
We were underway just before 11.00am and wiggled our way through dozens of other boats. In the strait we encountered the Neilson fleet which brought back a lot of memories.
Eventually the traffic on the water got lighter and Cordelia was the only boat that made it to Vasiliki at that time. We’d once again motored all the way with the wind consistently on the nose. Of course it picked up when we anchored, but finally Peter was happy where we dropped our hook and when it bit. It was 1.45pm and the other boats on our side of the bay were beginning to turn.
It remained gusty, and the windsurfers from Club Vass were altering between blasting and bobbing. We rigged the iSonic with the 6m2 sail in a dropping wind, and by the time Ingrid was ready to hit the water it wafted 8 knots. She refused to go out, but we waited till 5.30pm before we de-rigged. At 6.30pm the wind was blowing again, and people came out with their kit to play and have fun. It was too late for us by then with the kit being stowed on deck, so we just watched (enviously) as the wind blew until well after dark (around 10.00pm).
Chapter Four: FUN TIMES IN VASILIKI
We relaxed until Cordelia showed the first signs of turning. The wind was gusting and had big holes on our side of the bay, but Club Vass reported on VHF that they had good wind on their side and expected it to go ballistic.
We rigged the JP with the 5.3m2 and Ingrid went out for some fine tuning. The conditions were gnarly with big lulls and explosive gusts. The thirty or so boats in the anchorage didn’t help either, and Ingrid tired quickly. She came in for a rest and a drink by which time the wind had filled in, so out she went again. Despite never feeling totally comfortable, she then had a far better time than on her first session. She was back at 5.30pm, and as Peter didn’t fancy it we de-rigged.
In the mornings when it was still calm we ventured out for walks and shopping, and the lady in the bakery started to anticipate our order of spinach pie, bougatsa, cinnamon roll and the occasional mini ice-creams. In the afternoons we waited eagerly for Cordelia to turn, indicating the arrival of Eric, the local thermal wind. It didn’t always happen or it came too late for us, but then again, when it came it blew, and it was difficult to choose the right gear.
We settled for the JP and 5m2 sail. Ingrid had a few good powerful runs between some awkwardly anchored boats, but it was fun nevertheless. When it became too much for her she cranked up and returned to Cordelia. Just in time, as the wind was now around 35 knots.
Peter had taken the floor out of Buddy for yet another repair, and without the weight inside him he was about to turn turtle on Cordelia’s beam. We’d just started to de-rig, but we quickly moved him to her stern. It was quite an undertaking to get the windsurfing gear back on board with Buddy not being helpful and the wind hitting the 40s. We managed, then watched the action on, but more often in, the water. From what we could see the sail size was around the 4m2 mark, still they were whizzing along holding on for dear life. When the sun set they finally retired to the beach, but the wind kept coming. We were up until after midnight monitoring the situation till it finally decreased to around 25 knots and we could find some sleep.
It blew all night and was still going in the morning, though the gusts were not too bad. Nonetheless, we were relieved when we heard the anchor chain of our Danish neighbours come up. Their catamaran had been very close to us, around 20m distance dependent on the wind direction, and we were glad to see the back of them and their four children.
We had originally planned to go shopping but changed our minds as we didn’t trust the wind. It dropped off briefly, but at lunchtime it changed direction. By 1.00pm it was blowing a hooley in gusty conditions. Our kit wasn’t small enough, so we remained in the cockpit and watched the hotshots. By 3.00pm the wind had dropped to 12 knots, but still gusted 35 knots, neither of which we liked.
The wind pattern returned to normal, and Peter went out first on the i
Sonic and 6m2 sail. He found it very gusty and hard going. It was difficult to waterstart in the lulls and to hang on in the gusts. When he’d had enough Ingrid ventured out and encountered the same issues. She managed some exhilarating runs once she’d set herself and the gear up to her liking, but felt rather overpowered. She came in and we de-rigged, then watched the “bigger boys” ripping it up until sunset.
We’d had a fantastic time in Vasiliki, but after an uncomfortable rolly night and a forecast change in conditions we felt it was time for us to bid adieu to Vasiliki and move on.