Nisos Levitha to Nisos Kos

All night the wind howled down into the anchorage and it was still blowing strongly when we slipped the mooring line in Ormos Levitha at 9.50am and motored out into the bay.   We knew the wind was forecast to drop but would be Force 5 or above all day and were not sure whether to go or not. So we decided to put a couple of sails up and venture out, just for 5 minutes then decide whether to turn around and go back again or keep going.  As we looked through the binocs from the flat of the bay it looked like the horizon was covered with palm trees moving fast – hell, they were waves! And big ones too. But we decided to go a little further and suddenly we were miles away from Levitha rocketing along in the sun through the waves in a good force 7 near gale and it was fun! Petronella just flew along at over 7 knots and I now hold the record of 9.7 knots as we surfed off a particularly large wave. We were reminded of Bernard Moitessier’s saying of his Joshua “Give me the wind and I’ll show you the miles” And it’s true, Petronella loved the speed – you can tell when she is really happy.  No-one else around other than one huge cruise ship which passed rather too close to us.  Kos, which had seemed so far away this morning, took only 5 hours to get to and we crept down the western side as the wind came further and further from behind and got stronger, trying hard not to gybe.  Then round the southern end of Kos and straight into the force 6 wind – we bashed our way north for what seemed like an interminable length time but was actually only 2 hours and we finally anchored in Kamares at 6pm.  Made a cock-up of anchoring as the depths on the chart were nothing like we found when we were there. Good views of Turkey across the straight.

Speeding along with following seas

Approaching Kos

Nisos Dhenoussa to Nisos Levitha

Had a wild night with wind rocketing down the mountains and into the bay. Don’t like this place much. We planned to get to Levitha as quickly as we could and hole up there for a day or two so were off at first light in a murky cloudy day. The forecast for the day was north easterly 4 rising to 8 in the afternoon. As we left the bay the waves were over 2 metres high and very lumpy, and the first wave of the trip joined us in the cockpit! Great! Fairly undecided as to whether this is a sensible idea but we only had 30 miles to sail to Levitha so thought we would go for it. And it was fine – romped along at around 5½ knots with the wind behind the beam, first of all Levitha and then the Dodecanese islands coming into view. The wind dropped briefly then swung round to the north and the seas got really lumpy and confused and quite unpleasant. We put the engine on and motorsailed as we threaded our way through the islands to the west of Levitha, then into the flat calm along the southern edge of Levitha. We arrived at the anchorage just before 3pm and picked up a mooring buoy. Fantastic place. A T-shaped bay like a fjord cut into the steep sided hills and with good anchorages in both ends of the T. The island has only one family living on it and they have installed moorings in the eastern arm of the T next to the jetty. Really picturesque and sheltered.

We launched the dingy and rowed the 20 metres or so to the jetty and tied up. Then we followed a rocky path which led up to the houses on the skyline and soon we were talking to the lady and her son that lived there. It is 6 euros a night for the mooring. Would we like a meal in their taverna? Yes please. Goats liver followed by goat stew? Sounds pretty good to us. Feel free to roam all over the island – just close any gates you go through. Fine by us. So that night we stumbled up the track in the dark to the taverna where there was just one table laid for 2 people in the doorway of a barn - sort of out of the wind. The food was just delicious – could she cook! It was a cold night but we were wrapped up and had a great meal. Then back along the rocky track under clear skies in pitch black. Another boat had tied up near to us so we were not alone that night.

All that night we were blasted by wind funnelling down into the bay. It was forecast force 8 all day so we decided it would be a good idea to stay put for the day – and it was such a good place to stay we did not really need an excuse. The French boat left early but we had a lie in then climbed up to the old fort on the top of the highest hill on the island and sat in the sun for a couple of hours watching the white horses race across the sea and texting friends and speaking to Ali – it’s the only place on the island that there is any phone signal. We could see Petronella being buffeted by the winds far below us in the anchorage and on the horizon were Kalamos and Kos with the mountains of Turkey in the background for the first time. Not far to go now. Then that night we had another of the family’s delicious meals – John had fish and I had a mutton stew – again just delicious, this time in the living room with the family as it was just too cold and windy outside. Had a long chat with them – only 4 people live on the island now and it gets pretty lonely at times. A fantastic place and I’m sure that we will come back.

Petronella at anchor at Levitha

Rough sea from the summit of Levitha

Praying to the god of mobile phones

Nisos Paros to Nisos Dhenoussa

Left the lovely anchorage at 7.30 am – on our own for the first time in weeks.  Crossed the busy strait between Nisos Paros and Nisos Naxos then motored along the north shore of Nisos Naxos.  Spent most of the time doing a crossword with George, the autohelm, doing all the work. At 11.30am the wind got up and we put up the sails and sailed at 5 knots on a nearly flat sea out away from the islands and into the more remote part of the Aegean sea, with the Dodecanese Islands approaching in the haze.  A pretty uneventful trip altogether.  Anchored in Ormos Dhendra – nice anchorage but very gusty with blasts rolling down between the mountains into the bay we were anchored in.  For a change it was quite cool and as soon as the sun went down it became chilly. Early night as we need to be up and off early tomorrow.

Nisos Siros to Nisos Paros

After going ashore in Finikas to get some provisions we came back to the boat to find that Rob and Sam had decided that there was not a lot going on, on this island, so they would like to come along with us. Fine by us, so we set off into a pretty flat sea with a force 4 north easterly wind in just the right direction, and we whizzed south towards Nisos Siros, Rob or Sam at the helm for most of the way. Really pretty sailing – islands dotted all around us disappearing into the distance. Rob wanted to put all the sails up on his own - again fine by us! As we neared Nisos Paros the wind really picked up and funnelled into the bay we were aiming for, pushing waves and us along with it. We shot round the corner into a spectacularly beautiful anchorage – Ormos Naousa has turquoise water with low hills surrounding a lovely sheltered cove. Rob put the anchor down and then he and Sam went for a swim to the shore.

Next morning we decided to stay in the anchorage for the day so we took Rob and Sam ashore and they said goodbye and set off with their big backpacks to find somewhere to camp and a more lively place to stay. It was great to have them on board – just a shame that their first 3 days of holiday were spent in a pretty awful boatyard. But that’s sailing. We went for an explore of the surrounding land – really pretty scrubby vegetation with an old hill fort overlooking the bay. A glance into the entrance of the bay made us pleased we had not ventured further –there were breaking waves coming into the mouth of the bay and a strong northerly wind. Nice place to stay though.

Sounion to Nisos Siros - Into the Aegean

Off early into a lively breeze.  Rob and John put all the sails up and we went off at a good pace.  Did several man-overboard exercises in a lumpy sea - have to admit that Rob was the best at these! Guess he has had a lot of practise with his job as an outward bound instructor.  We had thought we might stop at the first island we came to but we were going so well we decided to keep going, and apart from losing the wind in the channel between Kea and Kisnes – where we spent the time dodging the big tankers that use the strait, we managed to sail the whole way to Siros.  The wind really picked up as we approached Siros and with Rob on the helm we made over 7 knots – pretty good.  We anchored in Finikas and Rob and Sam took the dingy ashore and had a meal in one of the tavernas.  They had thought they would leave us here to go camping but they weren’t particularly impressed with the place!  A long day – over 10 hours sailing – just over 200 miles to go to Marmaris.

Escape from Aegina - Aegina to Sounion

Finally launched at 11.30 am onto a flat flat sea.  Strong northerlies are forecast for the foreseeable future so today is the last day we could put the boat back in the water.  4 people all very pleased to be away from Aegina.  The thunderstorms of the past few days finally died away and we motored eastwards towards the mainland south of Athens.  No water, no oil leaking from the stern gland –a bit early to tell but looking good so far.  Crossed the shipping lanes – missing all the big boats going to Piraeus, then put all 4 sails up and had a fabulous sail on flat seas – really nice to have Rob and Sam with us.  The wind died just before we got to Sounion and we anchored in the anchorage there just before it got dark.  The old temple ruins were lit up at night on the hill above the anchorage – very nice.

Rob and Sam Arrive

That evening was Emma and Cara’s last night so we got a taxi into Aegina town and met up with Rob and Sam (my sister Sue’s stepson - 22 - and his girlfriend).  Went for a really good meal but it was obvious that Sam was not well so in the end they both came back with us as well and slept out on deck as there was no room in the saloon.  Next morning we got an early taxi into the town and Emma and Cara said goodbye and caught the flying dolphin to Athens before heading back to Scotland. We then headed back to the boatyard and spent the week rebuilding the stern gland and antifouling the boat.  Not much fun for Sam and Rob – stuck in the back of beyond in a scratty dirty boat yard with little to do, no decent beaches and raining half the time.  We suggested that they should go off for a few days but they decided the best thing to do was to help us finish the boat work as quickly as we could and get off the island so they got stuck in and helped – Rob with the engineering work and Sam with a paintbrush antifouling the hull.